Beginners Guide to Minimalism: Finances

(IMPORTANT NOTE)

I do not have kids, or share income with a spouse. (For those tips I highly suggest you look into Joshua Becker ) Also, I am still living under my parents wings at the moment, so I do not share some common expenses. However, some of the tips I give today can be implemented into any stage of life!

A minimalist approach to finances would be to:

• Make a conscious decision on what it is that you are purchasing.

• Spend less on objects that you don't need and spend more on life experiences.

• Make it a point to save some money for when "oopsies" happen.

I have a history of spending all of my paycheck, and at some point I was spending more than I earned (and thats where my credit card debt came in). One day I sat down and added up all of my check stubs from the year, I then realized that I had earned around $7,000 and only had about $150 of it. At that point in time my only expense was gas. I couldn't believe that I had just blown all of that money. Sure there were birthdays and Christmas but really I had just spent the majority of my money on gas, going out to eat, and purchasing objects I really didn't need.

This is when I first looked into minimalism.

Since that day, I have gained more expenses and that has only made me more purposeful about what I spend. So today I would like to share with you what I have learned from my experiences with finances so far (with a minimalistic approach).

Determine what is a need vs. want.

This seems like a no brainer but it can be easy to neglect. At the beginning of each week I sit down and figure out:

1. What necessities I have to pay that week (gas, groceries, bills) and then if I don't already have something fun planned then I set aside $20 for life experiences like going to the movies, museum admission, or anything that envolves not shopping.

2. What I want. If there is something I want to buy that will be coming home with me then I plan on the purchase. I first make sure that I don't already have it, evaluate how much I will actually use and benefit from it, and then I set a max amount of cost for the item.

Utilize the envelope method, it really does work!

It is truly as simple as that. Really.

Now that I have been consistently doing exactly what I have just shared with you, I have been able to stop living paycheck to paycheck, I also have been able to save a few dollars on the side, and I am steadily paying off student loans and credit card bills! Once you get out off that consumerism mindset then you will have so much more relief!

I hope that this post has encouraged you in your journey! I would love to hear from you :)