Minimalist budgeting is a strategy that focuses on reducing unnecessary expenses and prioritizing spending on the things that truly matter. It involves having a serious conversation with oneself, distance oneself from financial distractions, stop unnecessary spending, focus on owning things, limit oneself to one financial account, shoot for pre-determined payments, make a budget plan, and be aware of future purchases.
The first step to creating a minimalist budget is to figure out your priorities and goals. There’s no one-size-fits-all method to live life with, but there are five key methods to recognize the power of a minimalist budget and how it can have a positive effect on your savings.
To create a minimalist budget, first, identify your financial values and priorities. Then, make a list of all your expenses and eliminate unnecessary ones. Use a 50/20/30 budget to simplify your accounts and allocate money to your emergency fund, debt, stocks, or personal retirement accounts. Focus on lasting goods rather than all-in-ones, use your philosophy of minimalism to circumvent desire, clean and tidy frequently, and take inventory regularly.
Creating a minimalist budget involves prioritizing while discovering your financial values, listing down your expenses, and eliminating unnecessary expenses. Start small, such as a weekend or a day, and challenge yourself to live with less and find joy in the abundance. A minimalist budget allows you to control your money every single month and recognizes that your purchases change and expenses vary from month to month.
In summary, minimalist budgeting is a valuable approach to managing money, focusing on reducing unnecessary expenses and prioritizing spending on the things that truly matter. By following these tips, you can start living a simple life and learn the value of living with less.
📹 10 EXTREME MINIMALIST BUDGET TIPS (SAVE 70% OF INCOME) // Spend Less 💸 FINANCIAL MINIMALIST FAMILY
Here are my top extreme minimalist budget tips to save more money with your minimalist lifestyle. Minimalism has helped us pay …
What is the 90 rule in minimalism?
The Minimalists Podcast and Netflix documentary The Minimalists: Less is Now introduce a rule that states that if you haven’t worn something in 90 days and don’t see yourself wearing it in the next three months, it’s out of your wardrobe. The concept was coined by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who aim to help people streamline their lives and make it easier to let go of possessions. They advocate for flexibility, suggesting that the rule could be extended to 120 days or six months for a seasonal wardrobe. They urge individuals to be honest with themselves and seek a more meaningful life.
Are minimalists actually happier?
A survey by the Simplicity Institute found that 87% of 2, 500 people living with fewer possessions reported being happier now than when they owned more. This may seem contradictory, but considering the benefits of living with less, such as less debt, stress, and cleaning, it makes sense. Happiness is not about owning as many possessions as possible; it’s about living life consistent with one’s greatest passions.
How to survive on 500 a month?
To limit your monthly spending to $500, create a strict budget and track every expense. Prioritize essentials like food, utilities, and personal items. Consider options like sharing an apartment, renting a smaller space, or living in lower-cost areas. Keep energy consumption low by using energy-efficient appliances, turning off lights when not in use, and limiting heating and air conditioning use. Minimize food costs by planning meals ahead, buying in bulk, choosing generic brands, cooking at home, and focusing on nutritious, cost-effective foods like grains, beans, and seasonal vegetables. Take advantage of discounts and coupons when shopping.
What is the 20 rule minimalist?
Over the past few years, the couple has been reducing their just-in-case possessions, ensuring they don’t pack anything just in case. They believe that any items we need can be replaced for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes from their current location. This theory has been proven to be true 100 times, with no replacements needed and no longer requiring more than $20 or going more than 20 minutes. This theory is likely applicable to all items and people, including the couple.
The couple hasn’t missed the hundreds of just-in-case items they’ve gotten rid of, and most didn’t need to be replaced. Getting rid of these items clears their minds, frees up space, and takes the weight off their shoulders.
How do you live minimally financially?
To manage your finances and improve organization, it’s essential to stop shopping and commit to a shopping moratorium. This involves limiting purchases in categories where you’re overspending, such as Starbucks, shoe shopping, and grocery shopping. This creates financial discipline and helps you save more. Boundaries and constraints also help restore order to your physical home.
Another tip is to make coffee at home. Research from Empower shows that many people still spend $7 a day on coffee, or $2, 520 annually. To save money and maintain a healthy lifestyle, consider making good coffee at home. This not only saves money but also becomes a habit-stacking element of your morning routine. By turning on the tea kettle, grinding the beans, unloading the dishwasher, and planning your day over a cup of coffee, you can create a more organized and efficient financial system.
What is living on a minimal budget?
A minimalist budget is an optimal financial strategy for any individual, as it eliminates non-essential expenditures, allowing for the allocation of funds to the most valuable items. This approach offers individuals the freedom to allocate funds towards the items they value most, without the constraints of less important expenses impeding their financial goals. This approach can be beneficial regardless of whether or not the individual adheres to personal minimalism practices.
Is $5,000 a month enough?
If you have Social Security and other retirement savings, retiring with $5, 000 per month can provide a comfortable and affordable retirement. This amount is typically enough to cover rent, mortgage payments, and other lifestyle expenses outside the most expensive parts of the United States. To find the best places to retire on a monthly retirement budget of $5, 000, we’ve scoured the cost of living and other data to identify the top five cities.
New Orleans, Louisiana, is best known for its amazing history and culture, Nashville, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Indiana, The Villages, Florida, and San Jose, Puerto Rico, all offering warm weather and beach access all year.
Is it cheaper to be a minimalist?
Minimalism is a cost-cutting lifestyle that encourages the consumption of less, leading to increased financial freedom. This lifestyle can take various forms, such as minimal furniture, open spaces, alternative living concepts, or becoming a digital nomad. People who adopt a minimalist lifestyle are frugal and thrifty, investing their money in stocks or other investments instead of buying items. They aim to live by their principles, spending more time in nature, connecting with friends, or venturing out of the corporate world into freelance work.
Modern society relies on continuous spending, which has a negative impact on the environment and dissatisfaction across even the wealthiest parts of the world. To escape this cycle, many people have decided to embrace minimalist living. They want to preserve resources, focus on essentials, and consume consciously. This may involve avoiding fast fashion and opting for high-quality items made to last.
Others might choose to spend on experiences rather than things, like a bike trip through Europe, an art exhibition, or a workshop on growing vegetables. Some may live hyper-frugally and save as much money as possible in a short amount of time to try to retire early.
In summary, minimalism is a cost-cutting lifestyle that encourages the consumption of less, focusing on essentials, and conscious consumption. By adopting a minimalist lifestyle, individuals can work towards their financial goals and live more frugally.
What is the 50 20 30 rule for minimalist budgeting?
The 50-30-20 rule proposes a budgetary allocation of 50% to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings. This encompasses the financial resources required to achieve future objectives. The category of “needs” encompasses utility bills, rent or mortgage payments, healthcare expenses, and groceries. This approach ensures a balanced financial plan.
What is an extreme minimalist budget?
An extreme minimalist budget involves fewer categories, tighter spending limits, a minimalist mindset, and a simplistic method. Examples include the 50/30/20 budget or a budget with two categories: “Wants” and “Needs”, “Bills and Miscellaneous”, “Essentials” and “Extra”. This allows for easy categorization of expenses, enabling the determination of needed expenses and excess spending on wants.
What is the 90 10 rule minimalism?
It is recommended that items of greater importance be given priority and that the remainder of one’s belongings be reduced to a minimum. It is recommended that the ten items which are most frequently used and worn be identified, and that only a small proportion of these items be retained. By learning to relinquish possessions that serve no practical purpose, one can adopt a more minimalist lifestyle. By focusing on the ten items that are genuinely utilized, the clutter within the domicile can be diminished, thereby creating a more organized and functional space.
📹 I Stopped Budgeting After Learning This | Financial Minimalism
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TLDR 1. Embrace your weirdness, ignore social friction against budgeting 2. Reflect on your financial goals 3. Track your money and create a budget 4. Cut Expenses (The big three: housing, food, transportation) 5. Think Free and Cheap 6. Practice Mindful Spending 7. Your Time in Money 8. Increase Your Income 9. Automate Your Savings and Your Payments 10. Continue to Educate Yourself
My coworkers think I’m “weird”. I use coupon apps, and use the rewards for Amazon/Starbuck’s gift cards. I BUDGET LIKE A BOSS!😂 I invest, have a goal fund, emergency fund, my son and granddaughter a savings/custodial account, a “travel/entertainment/fun” account, Roth and 401k, and track my transportation, grocery, personal, and entertainment expenses. I’m going to find every deal that I can.😆 I purchase quality clothing for the best deal(90% off makes my heart happy😌). I only purchase occasionally, and never before I’ve donated. 👏🏽❤️ I don’t want STUFF for the sake of having STUFF!
Love the first: embrace your weirdness. My husband had decided that after he paid off his student debt to a top engineering school, he would never have ANY debt again. Period. Including house, cars, kids’ college, etc. This meant we made some choices very different from friends, family, neighbors. We are in our 50’s now. We are still weird, but never stressed about bills, weddings, kids’ tuition, kids’ weddings, or vacations. Saying no to “keeping up with the Jones” used to bother me in my 30’s and 40’s, but now I embrace the simplicity. And when our car crossed the 350,000 mile mark (and it showed, believe me), we paid cash for a really nice used car with less than 80,000 without stressing. I even kind of miss that old car which served us with so many cross country trips with our kids growing up. You might think our kids were embarrassed by our pared down, modest lifestyle, but they were and are happy to invite their friends to our home (and our daughter is at a private university populated with extremely wealthy folks). Relationships make a home, not stuff.
I’ve been a minimalist for three years now and since then I’ve managed to buy a house as a single parent, and I’m aiming to pay off my mortgage in three more years if I stick to my budget and my financial goals. So I’m always perusal for content such as yours for motivation and inspiration to keep going. 💗 Plus coming from a third world country and growing up poor myself, makes me appreciate what I have Nowa do achieved. Wishing you all the best on your journey from Australia 🇦🇺 😊
I have been perusal a lot of Get Out of Debt articles, and have been amused/puzzled by how many people spend a lot of money to start getting out of debt. Plastic money separators, decorated envelopes, Louis Vuitton wallets, multiple binders, and cute little savings and debt trackers. This stuff costs real money. When I decided I was going to save some money, I started putting my coins in a tin that some chocolate came in, and my bills into a bank envelope. It is NOT cute, but I did not go out and spend anything to start saving.
It doesn’t happen so much now but people used to think my frugalism was wacky. I used to think to myself ” Yep, you keep on working while I’m busy planning my escape”. My husband and I paid off our mortgage early, completely gave up working at 53 and last year we also bought a holiday home – no borrowing involved. We’re not financial geniuses – frugality got us here. The best thing is that we never, ever felt that we were going without. We wore nice clothes, ate good food and lived in a nice house. We were just careful with our money.
I’m 65 years old now and looking back, the biggest and best way I’ve made money was to live in a home for a few years, make it look nice as I lived there and then sell it at a big profit. I’ve almost always bought a bit of a fixer upper. Nothing too dilapidated because, after all, I lived in it. If I made enough money, I’d even take a few years off of work so I could spend time with my kids. I’ve mostly been a single woman.
I have been sleeping on the floor for a few years now, because I don’t want to spend money on a mattress & bedframe at the moment. I have stopped telling people that I sleep on the floor though, because people look at me like I’m some kind of weirdo. LOL. Actually though, I’ve grown to like it, because the firmness of the floor feels really good on my spine, and it also feels like I’m on some sort of fun camping trip every night.
I didn’t know this is how your husband grew up!! My mom grew up similarly in the mountains of Seoul. She lived in a one room hut with her parents, grandparents, and 3 brothers. Her dad made her mom leave when my mom was 11, so she was taken out of school to take care of the family. It is crazy how different her life is now compared to then.❤️
Wanted the recap of the 10 tips …so summarized it below for all: 1- Embrace your weirdness (embrace that you will be perceived as different/weird when you choose different things than mainstream society) 2-Reflect on your financial goals (what are you trying to achieve? so you could focus your time and energy towards what you value most ) 3- Track your money and create a budget 4 – Cut expenses ( especially in the big 3: housing, food and transportation) 5- Think free and cheap ( before you buy anything- check if you could get it free or cheap) 6- Practice mindful spending 7- Your time is money ( think how many hours you need to work, in order to buy something) 8- Increase your income 9-Automate your savings and payments 10- Continue to educate yourself Best to all!
Another thing you can do is borrow from family or friends if you need something only occasionally! We rarely fly, and I don’t feel like spending $100+ on a big suitcase I’ll use maybe 3 times max in the next 10 years. We’re borrowing from my in-laws ☺️ And borrowing instead of buying leads to less clutter and stuff to store.
listing what u spend and earn in so much dept would make my head turn, I easly spend 1-2k a month and earn 20k+ and put in saving 90% of my income for last 5 years, without writting anything down and so on, just dont spend it on stupid things and remember you can always work more, but in same time please find time for yourself just your self and your loved ones.
I love your line ‘I never look at my life in terms of what I’m lacking’. This is SUCH a good mindset to have! When I was a teenager my mom taught me to keep a ‘gratitude’ journal if I was ever feeling dissatisfied or a sense of lack. It’s like the magical panacea to do this easy activity of writing down 5 things I’m grateful for in my life, it immediately shifts the mindset away from lack and improves my mood faster than anything else!
I’d love to hear about your husband’s story coming to America. My mother immigrated from country side Korea 45 years ago and I’ve never gotten to experience or get a visual into her life. The b-roll you shared of his home was just like stories I was told. It amazes me that my journey to be ok with less gets combated with “having enough to be enough” narratives from generations past…
Watched this article twice now and still can’t stop shaking my head at the moms that stopped talking to you after you suggested second hand designer clothing 😂 I follow professional designers that get their clothes second-hand from The Real Real (online consignment store). I don’t get why people would tell themselves they’re better than others by spending irrationally 😂
I love your website! My fam of 7 had the house payed off and 2 cars. I shop mostly at trift stores but im bot afraid to splurge on a nice comforter. Cooking at home and shopping at cheaper grocery stores, plus trifting saves me tons of money. And you know what? My kids go to a fancy private school where they receive classical education because thats more important than having brand name shoes!
Wow thank you so much for this article. I can definitely relate to that park conversation, but for me- I felt insecure because so many moms look lovely on the weekend whereas I always wear the same pants/ leggings 😅 but after listening to your article, instead of saving hundreds of dollars for that ONE summer dress, I’m going to the thrift store 😊 👍🏽
I can relate with the park incident. I have a trauma with frugal advise to even people close to me. I mean whats wrong with conserving your hard earn money . I feel ashame sometimes that im frugal. When most people cant live without being in debt. Most people cant understand some of us decides to LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS because We have specific goals and priorities. Just sayin… Thankyou for sharing your journey financialy. Very inspiring . Looking forward for your hubby to join you
You are such a gift to this world! I’ve just found your website and I can honestly say perusal your story has been life changing. I have bags of things ready to donate just from your inspiration. I’m a mom of toddler twins in the US, drowning in crap I don’t need and overwhelmed by the mess. Thank you for sharing your life because you are helping mine so much more than you know. And you are a beautiful soul and I wish we were real life friends <3 🙂
Love this .. I never new there was a name for this .. been like this since a divorce and I was left with nothing (still battling it out)kept myself out of unnessesary debt !Ditched a lot of men that were so far into debt it wasn’t funny .. it is so funny when a non- frugal person says don’t worry buy that crazy expensive item you de serve to be happy!! Haha to them happy must be being in debt …I’m so happy I prefer to save than overspend!!!
For me, meticulously tracking what I spend is not important. Each month when I get paid, I immediately transfer the funds I invest out of my account. I know that each month I have a certain amount left in my account to spend and that is what I spend. Over the years, I have definitely cut down my spending. My favorite kind of spending is investing.
I got a lovely dress for my daughters birthday and it was only $10 plus $6 shipping off mercari. It’s from a store that sells high end dresses for around $100 each, and I got it for a steal. I almost spent double that on a cheap Amazon dress. I also got 3 pairs of gently worn shoes for only $30 with shipping included when I almost spent $42 on one pair of shoes for my toddler! I’m proud of the changes I’ve made already with my spending because I used to just spend my money because I could.
Once you got to the second tip I just threw my fists in the air in triumph because hearing you give advice to do the things I’M DOING that I had to figure out for myself makes me feel like I am truly finding the right path and following my gut has been the right thing to do. I have an electric bike instead of a car and a good portion of people simply CANNOT understand it (probably bc they cannot relate), and I have even had people offer me a car they’re selling after I explicitly pointed out I do not want a car. They are so in denial this is possible they completely ignore it. Mind-blowing. Additionally, i am now looking into purchasing a truck and truck camper to become my permanent home, while all my friends are buying houses. Though some understand, most of the people around me do NOT and WILL NOT open their minds to understand. It’s always “um why in the world would you do that?!” Or “that’s not going to work.” But I feel so comfortable now with nt goals and choices they are the ones who appear odd to me. Have definately embraced my apparent weirdness! Thank you for taking the time to make this article and help a lot of people find their path!
SYSTEMATIC RACISM AND SYSTEMATIC ECONOMICAL FAVORITISM TO A SPECIFIC GROUP OF PEOPLE is what’s keeping the people you’re talking about poor. I became a minimalist almost 2 years ago and all I have saved is 300 a year. No matter how little you have in your home, for some people that savings funds wont grow to a sustainable amount….. I’ll leave you a like tho.
This is exactly what I was looking for! Every month good amount of income comes in but it also leaves the same way. You inspired me to start minimalist lifestyle and start saving. I’m graduating and starting my new (second) career as RN in a few months and I’ll try to document my journey from having ton of student loans to paying off all my various debts! Also my personal life transformations. Thank You! 🌺🌺🌺🌺
I would never have told the mom in the playground about the thriftshop because people don’t want to hear it… We usually save about 50% of our income when we both work, but as I’m studying at the university at the moment we live of my husbands salary. We say that we’re “mainstreaming” unless someone ask us, we don’t talk about it but all our friends and family knows we’ve cut out everything unnecessary so we’re able to focus our money on what’s important for us 🤑
Marissa: I think you’re my twin sister: Totally! separated at birth it it!!! and I finally admitted that I am “special” and hearing you is like hearing myself talk. I am having a “Marissa Zen Weekend” listening to all of your articles they are really genuine and very inspiring. I am buried in stuff “but” I have been selling and donating a ton. I even sold my bulky and heavy leather couch and my sister thought I was crazy and told me if I was going to sit on the floor, I said: “yes, why not!” I have a long way to go and I know it will be a long time but I am doing it and that’s ok! I am eating this elephant one bite at a time, just my style, happy to be ME!!!! Thanks for sharing your experiences in your website! We appreciate you !!!
I made 17k last yr on etsy selling my husband’s mother’s and grandmother’s collections. Unfortunately, I haven’t put a dent in it and I’m beyond overwhelmed. If it was cheap stuff it would be easier since we could just toss it but most are very expensive and beautiful pieces. I mean the 17k was just Capodimonte pieces and we still have 1/4 of it. I haven’t touched the fenton, Crystal, 7 sets of high-end china sets, 20+ sets of high-end stemware. I just want to scream. I don’t even want to look at it let alone get pics, look up value, list it, ect. It’s just too much
I just checked out your delicious muffin recipe and you know you can make it even healthier by substituting egg with flaxseed and water (1 TBS ground up flaxseed mixed with 3 or 4 TBS of water, leave for 20 min – super healthy and yum!) And switching plant based milk for cows breast milk also makes it healthier and cruelty free ☺ especially if your husband is Asian and your kids are half Asian going dairy free would be good for their health as well since the majority of non whites are lactose intolerant, often without even knowing that they are.
AWESOME TIPS 1) Embrace your weirdness 🤑 2) Write down your financial 💸 goals 3) Track your money 💰 and create a budget 4) Cut expenses in the big 3 – housing 🏠 food & transportation 🚘 5) Think free & cheap – free & cheap stuff 6) Practice mindful spending 7) Your time is money 💰 ( “All that clutter used to be money! All that money 💰 used to be time!) 8) Increase your income – get an online side hustle 9) Automate your savings and your payments 10) Continue to educate yourself
The best way to appreciate money is to be extremely poor at some point. My dad grew up with 11 brothers and sisters in a 3 room shack. No running water, no electricity. Quit school at 10 years old because he couldn’t walk to school barefoot in the snow. He doesn’t believe in debt. You have money to buy it outright, or you don’t. I moved to a very poor country 7 years ago. The normal income is $175/month. I was making $200. I saved for almost a year to get a new phone. Sometimes my dinner was potatoes. My home had no heat or AC. I was totally on my own. I got out of that poverty about a year later and now make $1,000/month. My husband does too, so we’re now very much better off but I still hoard money and we save about half our income.
Great tips! I can already tell you one though.. “because you must earn good wages and being 2 adults working, you have 2 wages and split the costs!” I have always been a minimalist.. But only earn 20K..single mum, 2 kids.. I spend nothing on me, and save.. But still struggle to save.. Especially as 15K to pay for my divorce
One problem I have with minimalists is that they all ape one another. There’s no originality or creativity. Every home looks the same – stark white walls, the same style furniture, the same bare, cold, clinical look and feel. I’m moving into minimalism myself but I’m doing it differently. I still want my home to feel warm, comfortable and cosy. For me it’s about getting rid of boxes of stuff I keep for keeping’s sake. I live on my own so my kitchen tools are minimal. Why have 20 forks when I only need one? I’ve also created order. Things that I need and use are stored in tidy boxes and labelled. It’s all about ridding yourself of clutter and mess rather than things that please you. One thing I’ve recently developed an aversion for is ‘stuff’. I took some things to the charity shop today and I was overwhelmed by the amount of ‘stuff’ they had. I realise now it just drains me. So I’d say to people go your own way with minimalism. Your house doesn’t have to look like an operating theatre.
My mother used to tell me to simply save half of what I make. But she never told me how! It was impossible for a young person with no resources where I lived. Now that I’m much older and make a nice living, I purposely didn’t elevate my living standard along with my salary. Now I can comfortably save/invest half of what I make. Even more if I want to go the minimalist route. I’m just not “there” yet. My struggle continues…
Saving always easier with 2 wages I’ve been either single or a partner that did not contribute financially all my adult life. I hate my mom having to help me financially when I got in a knot and this happened More than once. I’m on 20k and government benefits for disability I have a mortgage and an essential car. I have spent money on preps and was able to keep myself going during covid. Any. Advice for just stopping spending. My new tip is instead of writing a shopping list I write an inventory and shop from that is there anything else I could do?
Im so glad how I noticed the habit of saving can make myself in a peaceful state of mind, Since my first job(16yo) I ve mentality of saving money, now I moved to USA and am saving 70% of my income, living w roommates, driving a 07 Honda Civic w 243k miles and I wanna use this car as much as I can, I cooking my food, and I go once in a week to Starbucks bc I don’t like to be an extremist lol, I’m saving up 2k to 2.6k each month, My expenses are 1.100 and I add extra 100H$ for my self
1. Embrace the weirdness. It’s ok to weird people out. Stick to your financial goals 2. Reflect on your financial goals. What are you trying to achieve 3. Track your spending and create a budget. Use the printables! 4. Cut expenses on the big three. Housing, food, transportation. 5. Think free and cheap! Ex. Look for local buy nothing groups and exchange free stuff. 6. Practice mindful spending. Don’t be a shopaholic 7. All that clutter is actually money. Get into the mindset that this expensive thing costs this many hours of work. Then decide is it actually worth it. 8. Increase your income. You can only cut so much from your budget. After that, focus on making more money. Side hustles. Sell clutter. 9. Automate your savings and payments. Pay yourself first (savings). And avoid late fees cus they’re so unnecessary 10. Continue to educate yourself
RIP TO YOUR MOM & DAD SO SAD, WISHING YOU,& YOUR SIBLINGS,& FAMILY,& FRIENDS THE MOST LOVE, PRAYERS & HAPPINESS,& HEALING,& STRENGTH GOD PLEASE LET HER HER FAMILY & FRIENDS/EVERYONE PROSPER IN EVERYTHING THAT THEY DO . & EVERYTHING THEY HANDS TOUCH IN THE NAME OF JESUS. REMEMBER WHEN THINGS GET HARD GET ON YOUR KNEES & PRAY TO GOD /JESUS. HES LISTENING
I even automated my property tax payment. I simply pay monthly installments early so by the time it’s due it’s already paid. I have totally automated my weekly investments in dividend stocks as well. I use what I used to call my mad money but I own everything I need and I don’t shop as an activity anymore so I just enjoy perusal the account grow.
I try to be myself. Myself is a simple person. I dress simply or wear cozy everyday clothes. I don’t eat out a lot and if i do eat out it is not some 5 star restaurant either. It is more like 2 or 3 star places i go to eat at. I eat at home and cook at home a lot. Also i cut back on meat items because meat can be expensive sometimes. I also work from home as well which i don’t mind being at home. Speaking of home, i also workout at home. I don’t pay a gym membership anymore. I don’t treat myself very often. I don’t travel a lot either. I don’t own nice high cost furniture or shoes or clothes. I don’t online shop either. These are some items and some ways that i have cut back on or simple never bought or owned.
I so needed that quote and also i need to write that quote down. Ok look i am sorry but i had to go back and pause the article that way i can write that quote. Love it. By the way i am loving your website so far. So helpful and good information. You inspire me more and motivate me more. Thank you so much again.
do you ever share your income throughout the years? These are great tips, but they don’t help a whole lot when you are working as much as you can and still not making enough. you share everything you have been able to achieve, that is wonderful, but not everyone,even if living smartly, will be able to achieve what you have depending on income.
Great article. Thrift shopping is mainly for those who cannot afford “the finer things” in life. Not for people who can actually afford the expensive dresses without worrying about necessary expenses. Not saying you can’t shop at thrift stores. I’m just saying be considerate and don’t overdo it for the sake of being a minimalist.
I would love to hear your husbands story!my father is from Hong Kong. Came to theUS with nothing and has taught me the true value of life. He lived with my grandparents at and my bundle in one room and all had to sleep together. He survived and made it through college. Many think it’s crazy. Hopefully your husband will share soon. I would love to hear.
I sold my house with over asking price within a week! Bad news was I had to leave it in ten days! All my Pottery Barn furniture was to be moved and put into 3 storage units for $2000. I said no I gave and destroyed what I could not give away! That taught me a lesson! I now get everything from thrift stores so when I move I can throw it out and not care about it!
Great article. But let me talk about something important, I see that many young and old make mistakes that I think they should not be. I believe that everyone, young or old, should have an investment plan that will increase their financial return from three figures to six figures. The investment can be your retirement plan or future plan, depending on what you want, but the most important thing is that you have an investment that is profitable.
Děkujeme. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
I appreciate the content of the article, but I would like to mention that those of us who are named Karen are getting tired of hearing rude, self-entitled women as Karen. I am neither rude nor entitled nor usually thin skinned, but I think it is important, especially for people I consider to normally be very kind (such as you, Marissa) to be so thoughtless. Just my thoughts.
I shop at thrift stores. Poshmark is cool too. Sometimes you can get tee shirts cheap at walmart or other stores too. I learned to live frugal after 2008 crash and lost my home. 2015 I bought a house for 10k and my husband and I did a complete remodel on our own. I paid off all my debt and have no mortgage. I am using mint. My goal is to have over 1 million in 10 years. I am working cutting down on my food bill. We cook all our meals. I would rather invest my money then spend it on junk I don’t need. I made 95% return on my investments in stockmarket this year. I did this on my own. It is my new hobby. I am 55 yrs old and saving for retirement. We started our own business and doing well. I also do travel nursing which most my money is tax free which is crazy good. I can work six month out of the year if I want. Our home is worth $120k it is small only 720 sq.ft. but it’s paid for.
Liked the article so we can hear your husband’s story! My parents always discussed money in front of us so I’m a saver because of it but on the other side of the spectrum, sometimes too much of a saver ahah 🙂 I’m better than I was 5 years ago though. I like “Money Manager” for Android to track all my expenses, it’s also pretty handy when somebody says: how much did we pay when we went to that restaurant? and I just take out my phone and go through my app to find out 😀 How can they roll their eyes when you mention thrift shopping! I’d be your friend right away ahaha
LMAO! Your dress story reminds me of my senior prom! My friends, who weren’t any better off than I was (we were all pretty poor, some more than others), went out and splurged $400 on their dresses! Meanwhile, I went to a thrift store and found a super cute dress, brand new – *for $5*! My friends thought I was nuts, but my date loved it, I did, too, and I saved a FORTUNE (and AFAIK, they never wore those dresses again *cringe*), so HA! lol. (I think you dodged a bullet with those other ladies at the park! They don’t sound like people you’d want around you anyway! X’D)
lol. My friends, espec at work, think I go extreme with my saving, call me a ‘dragon’ (jokingly), lol, but it’s how I was raised (we were poor and parents taught us about saving very early), and you know what? At least I have money saved, a shit ton of it! They, on the other hand, can’t save money to save their lives! They can’t save $400 between (they ‘buy things when they get sad’ *rolls eyes*) – and they don’t even pay rent! X’D
People in the USA should use Credit Unions instead of Banks (I don’t know if other countries have anything similar). They have the same products as banks, but are non-profit and have fewer fees. Banks are all about making money and have a fee for everything. I switched to a Credit Union 20+ years ago, and have saved so much. There is a national network of credit union ATMs that have NO FEE if you are a member of a credit union in the network. (Don’t pay to access your own money.) Credit Unions have the same coverage as banks, that is up to 250,000 covered by the Federal Government. I have my credit card, car loan, and mortgage through my Credit Union and use their website to pay all my bills. +++++++++ My other tip is count and roll your own change. Coin machines take 10%, that leaves you 9 dollars when you were needing or counting on 10.
why people struggle so much: I was poor, enrolled with an Washington-based company to do five years in Afghanistan, did six years, cashed a bit more then a million clean, became UAE resident, done. All with US taxpayers money. You should use them too: you have the Burma Act (about 100 M going every year in deep pockets), Korea, Japan, Ukraine, the silent war to Mexico. Just take back some of your money, rather then give them away: can’t buy more then three penthouses and two villas anyway
“Pay yourself first” but when you DON’T make the same amount every week: I saved SOOOO MUCH by giving myself an allowance, and saving the rest right away. My paycheck would hit, auto transfer the bill money to a “bill checking” I would log on, and anything over my weekly allowance would go straight to savings. Some weeks it was $20, other weeks it was $300. I never could have saved if I felt pressured to save a certain amount, for me, keeping my “spend” on a firm limit was easier. 😁
About the “Big Three”, Do NOT cut too much on your food budget! Restaurants, takeaways and such, for sure but it can be tricky to find healthy food for cheap and you should never settle for low-quality food because it’s cheaper! Food is basically your fuel and healthy food comes at a cost but it is truly worth it.
This reminded me of how recently I decided to take what all you frugal people crow about: shop at Goodwill! This was a first for me. I needed a couple of lamps to help with staging my house for sale. Silly to spend $30 a lamp at the big box stores for an item that will probably go for a few dollars at the ‘moving sale’. I get to GW and find a pair of perfect lamps for $13. I bring them to the register when she realizes, even though they are a matching set, only one had a tag. She calls the manager who then tells me they can’t sell the:one without the tag until it gets ‘processed’. I said, ok. I’ll wait. She got irate and said no – it is not for sale until it gets processed and she didn’t know how long that could take. I walked away, disappointed that I couldn’t have the items at such a good savings – with the register person says how silly the manager was (although didn’t use the word ‘silly’ – lol!) It was clear they were the same item so pretty simple to price them. Not sure I’ll be going back to get any more bargains if I have to waste so much time and frustration to save $15. I walked over to Walmart next store – no stress; no hassles.
My husband and I are “weird,” too. Especially me. I’m a freegan. We’re not minimalists, but we’re very careful about money and owe $0 in debt. We bought a nice house in cash and drive four year old base model cars that we bought in cash. I won’t spend $60+ a month to have my garbage hauled. I take it to the dump once a week. There is a Take it or Leave It swap shop. I got about five large plastic drawer units and two large single drawers there for FREE! They’re in my garage and basement and labeled “light bulbs,” “paper goods,” “beach toys,” “grill items,” etc. I love beautiful things and got a Lenox bowl for $6 at Goodwill. Every time we take a family road trip, I pack a large cooler with drinks and snacks so we don’t have to shell out $15 to satisfy our thirst. I learned that as a child!
In terms of money, I do not want to significantly increase my income as it – again – follows the rule: you give your time away for getting more money. I don’t aim for buying a house, car or other expensive stuff. My time is the most valuable thing I have. I will not trade it anymore to get a higher paying job as I did in the past. As long as I have enough money for traveling, I’m fine.
My granddaughter is an absolute treasure, but that doesn’t mean that she requires great expenditures. I used to pay retail to buy her inexpensive clothes made in ….(wherever) until my daughter told me that the fabric wasn’t long-lasting or even comfortable. Now I search for high quality used clothes, like Hannah Andersson, for less than the cost of low quality imports. She’s happy. I’m happy. My wallet is joyful.
I was born in 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, and was educated there, and earned all my income there by honest work, and taking responsibility for my life, and helping non beggars help themselves. I am back in Mexico, for the safety, beauty, and the cleanliness of Queretaro, Mexico. I do speak Spanish as a second language. Do what you have to do to survive. Always do you. Rent and utilities were too expensive, so I had to take my pension and I moved to Mexico on 11-2-2021. I have been coming to Mexico, since 1962, and beautiful Acapulco is my love, but the earthquakes is why I did not retire there. At 79, I had to leave the USA due to deadly crimes, high rents and utilities. I am happy in Queretaro, Mexico. Thank you God.
I dont go thrifting often (mainly because I dont cloths shop often) but my guilty pleasure if books. I try to be very intentional about the books I buy and get them free or digital most of the time but when I do buy books I pretty much only get them from a second hand shop. I love tracking my spending and building a zero based budget every paycheck styled after the Budget Mom’s: I have tithing and saving off the top then expenses, then smaller variable sinking funds, works beautifully.
I have adhd and I have stoped buying 3 years ago( except for food &cleaning) even my babies stuff I found them in thrift store and I’m glad I didn’t buy them new, cuz he grew out of them so fast! I’m trying to achieve a minimalistic lifestyle just bcz I can’t keep up with many things, to keep my house always clean! And I like my house always clean!
In order to save money when buying expensive items, one must initially be able to afford the expensive option. If spending $200 on a sofa is a stretch for a family, they aren’t saving $300 by not buying that $500 option. They are literally scrapping that $200 together… These are great tips for those who are already in a good position financially. However the average North American is not in that position. One can argue all day that people should “better themselves” and get a better education or a higher paying job, but they don’t factor in that there are only so many high paying jobs, and as the pandemic has showed us, our full time grocery store workers are ESSENTIAL and are treated as disposable. The system is broken, and money saving tips for the wealthy unfortunately are only applying to those who make enough money to exceed their basic needs. How to save money: make more than your basic needs. It’s that simple. But it’s not that easy.
I actually had to do this when I thought I would have to do taxes. I didn’t. And I was so annoyed. I’ve been saving money ever since I was little. I don’t have a good relationship with money really, I don’t feel good with using my money. Anyway, my money was going to school. Which was frustrating because when it wasn’t that then it was on food. Which believe me, I think $20-30 a month for groceries is pretty good. But basically I haven’t spent money on things I want so bleh lol
We also only have one car. Affordable mortgage, don’t clothes shop etc. But I do like to go out to eat. I’m also a great cook. Having spent 5 year’s fighting cancer i love to travel and eat out. 153 countries and counting. My husband just retired at 54. I’m great at saving. Zero car loans, no credit card debt.
Im not even past your first tip yet (LOL) but I feel i need to comment NOW. I love the “ex hoarder” turned minimalist statement. I just purchased a house that I will be moving into in just over a month and I have quite a lot of stuff. To be fair, my stuff is contained to 2 bedrooms and I will now have free range of an entire house, which might make my “stuff” look less hoardy LOL. In any event, I am with you, I hate debt and the only debt i ever intend to have is my mortgage and that is it. I paid off my car 2 years after I bought when I saw what i was paying in interest, but that was 15 years ago so, no AC now and no music except for the radio. My friends think im too cheap, but I dont care LOL. Though, I may need a new car soon (but only when she no longer starts) ANYWAY, back to the article 🙂
I did tip no 7: how long I have to watch my not so dear work mates to buy those shoes!?? That is how I stoped needing expensive clothes and focus on being no make up, simple clothes beautiful. It turns out that clothes is distraction from inner beauty and also following fashions means that you are no different than the next girl. Same hair, same make up, same clothes and than me brunette with no make up white skin and simple cut clothes (jeans and t-shirt style). Soon after I had ot of savings and started to build my own house in my parents backyard (typical in eastern Europe). By the age of 27 I had my own home – 45m2 but my own 😊
I’m around minute 8 and I have to tell my experience.. me and my husband used to eat out a lot.. I’m not talking expensive restaurants, mainly fast food or delivery at home. Once Corona virus came to our country we were shocked and afraid like everyone we stopped eating out immediately, you really can’t imagine how much money we saved only by cooking at home. It was insane!!! We didn’t give up fast food like foods altogether, we just made them ourselves!
if you’re on 20k you cannot be anything BUT frugal. These articles just come off as patronising tbh… Saving for a house, “paying the mortgage early”, as if you can even save for the deposit, let alone pay it off when your single room rent not in a city is still 35 to 40% of your income, plus food (food banks at times), child care, transport to work. I don’t eat out, I don’t do cinema, I haven’t had a holiday away since 2017, my last phone lasted me 8 years, I don’t do avocado on toast, but please do tell me how much one can save on 20k p/a. Bollocks…
Yeah, I have coworkers that judge my frugality, but they have a hard time putting their finger on what’s wrong with it. We don’t deprive ourselves, we’re just patient and selective. Quite the opposite of needing to deprive ourselves, money is never an obstacle to us. If a car would make us happy, we’d buy one cash tomorrow. Instead we bought a large home with an attached apartment in walking distance from out jobs. Not spending all your money isn’t an act of punishing yourself, it’s a way of always having an option.
clothes can be tricky to cut back on. In Toronto, many thrifty stores are still too costly. I did better by setting up a clothing swap where my friends just bought too much and gave me a bunch. Little did I know I could wear a tee shirt under some of these sweaters and wear them for this long! I saved probably 1000 in long sleeved shopping.
I shop every 6 months for groceries etc for home delivery from Walmart. I am retired, so I cook from scratch. I am a very generous person to non beggars. I dislike beggars and scammers. Work and do not steal and beg. I love my controlled cluttter, and when I die, my family will let whoever they want to take anything out, but they cannot look in the boxes, but grab and go and throw it away, or give to others. I have donated my body. I travelled the world and worked from age 20-73. I married twice, and had one daughter at 37, after 10 years of marriage.
100k income living paycheck to paycheck seems a but wild. It’s not that they have no income coming it….its that they want to pay for a 6 bed 5 bathroom home and have nothing but luxury cars. I people around where I live can live off of 25k a year in CA…..people in other areas can easily do it to. Especially with a 100k a year job
Even though I make cold process soap to wash my body etc., I find these articles usually say stop buying meat, stop buying laundry detergent, stop buying toilet paper/paper goods. (I understand paper towels and maybe tissues, but rags instead of toilet paper. 🤮 Maybe a bidet.) I appreciate this take a lot!
Omg those moms at the park. That’s so pretentious 😂I sell a lot of my clothes through consignment stores in LA and every time I do I always shop there as well. There’s no shame in that at all! Unless an item is an investment piece like a classic Chanel bag or jewelry, which can increase in value over the years, designer items are just depreciating assets and money that I would rather use to invest in stocks or pay off student loans or medical bills.
We moved from CA to IN a little over a year ago. We needed sweaters, jeans, jackets, all the winter things. Someone mentioned how we were going to have to go shopping. I said we pretty much got what we needed at the thrift store. Their reaction 🤣 They weren’t rude at all, but still you could totally tell they never thrift. 🤣
My mama and her family grew up in semi- poverty when they lived in Belarus. When they immigrated to the US, they lived in deep poverty, as they left their entire careers and dwellings behind in their home country. My mom was in her early 20s at the time they came to the US; her parents were in their late 40s. Nobody spoke a word of English… It astounds me how my mama turned her life completely around and became prosperous in this new country! She’s very inspiring to me. Would love to hear your husband’s story 🙂
I have been pursuing minimalism for over 1 year now and it has changed my life. We just purchased a new home and I want to declutter even more now before we move in! I am at a point where I want just what we need BUT I want those items to be AMAZING and in my head amazing means expensive haha my thought is I will use the items a lot and plan to keep them for a long time so investing is ok but this can just get extremely expensive and out of hand. Any advice on how to find the right balance?
Nice! Something I do is give myself a specific food and gas budget with a small cushion every month and it make me be creative because I really want to stay within the guidelines I’ve set. I also give myself a cash allowance every month to get things I’d like. The funny thing is I rarely spend it because it’s nice have cash in my wallet. Also if I get a cash gift or sell something locally I keep the cash as part of my allowance and then if my kids and I are out of town or it’s extremely late when I get them we can get a burger or a pizza and it doesn’t affect my budget what so ever.
What has always shocked me about culture around money is that women will actually spread their legs repeatedly for their partner & not have a clue what is earned, how it is spent, saved, given to charity. Clueless! And so unacceptable if we are to actually be equals with equal responsibility for our own financial safety, for the family good and to work towards big dreams to the future.
We were so good with our money! We paid off our house, our cars and now no any credit. However, after we done that and now we spend money like crazy with eat out, vacation, give some to family and kids expensive activities. Now it is so hard to save money for us and I feel like we spend every dollars we make!!!! My husband says that we need to enjoy it, after we reach our goal,but I feel like we still need to save more.
I love budgeting. I know. I’m weird I guess. I never did a strict budget until 2020. I got on Dave Ramsey’s plan and paid off my house and everything else last year. I still use Every Dollar today. I give myself some wiggle room every month so I have freedom to buy some stuff but I’m also saving 40% of my income to invest for financial freedom. My budget assures me that my money is going exactly where I want it to go so I’m not wondering where it went.
Thinking of budgeting as a diet is a perfect comparison because as a fitness person, I dont sugget dieting. Dieting is temporary. The key is a lifestyle change. Philosophically how you see food and fitness has to change. It makes sense to do the same with money. So thank you, not sure how I wasnt able to put that together before.
Budgets are good people. It’s not set in stone. If it doesn’t work change it/adjust. Budgeting got us out of debt. It’s not for everyone, but if it’s for you. Keep doing you. Remember this article is sponsored and he is debt free (I believe). Life is different when your debt free. Stay focused, keep on budgeting.
I am happy your method works for you. For me, I don’t want to look back at my spending and ask if it was worth it or aligned with my needs/wants. By that time it is too late, money gone. I budget, which only takes 5 minutes a day to maintain. My budget is as restrictive or as loose as I choose, it is very flexible. I have an expense category named “Paying Me First” and I do so religiously. The notion that a budget is inflexible or too restrictive is a misconception. It is just a plan that helps you spend your money in way that serves you best. If done with the right mindset, a person controls their budget, it does not control them.
My approach is simple: set up automatic deductions for important payments/savings goals. Spend what is left wisely. If you want to buy something, ask yourself how many hours/days will you use that particular product or service. Also check if you could rent it, buy a used version or an alternative which is cheaper?