A Financial Minimalist’s Way of Justifying Expenses
If you have been following my work here, you would have already noticed the fact that I write a lot about personal finance and money management.
Although I am no expert or I don’t have any degree to tell people what to do with their money, the things I share are things that I follow and have worked for me.
I kind of do experiments and whatever I find best, I share.
So, just take everything with a pinch of salt.
And if you like it, I recommend giving it a try.
Since I never will ask you to spend more, there is little chance that you will lose money following what I do. (in my defense)
Now, enough of the Disclaimer.
Let’s talk about a few things that I do as a Financial Minimalist.
Planning Purchases
We have certain things in life, that we purchase on a repeat basis.
No matter what you do, or where you live, you will have these few.
Things, named necessities.
These generally include groceries, bills, and related stuff. Things you need in order to survive.
And no I am not asking to cut these off. duh!
But all I am asking you guys is to plan things that got some tendency of happening in the future. Things that are recurring and even things that can come up all of a sudden.
Let me tell you how.
I guess it is pretty obvious how you can plan to buy necessities like groceries and supplies.
It is as easy as knowing what kind of things you need regularly and then choosing the best possible time period to get the get possible value out of your purchase.
A ton of places give out month-end sales, weekend sales, or things of that nature.
Utilize that.
Buy these things at discount and store them.
I am very certain that you do have a refrigerator, so buying it on sale and keeping it in stock is the best possible option for this kind of recurring purchase.
And moreover, when you buy in bulk, it is easy to keep a track of your expenses.
It becomes way cheaper when done in a proper manner.
Now, coming to the things that are not recurring in nature.
But things that you need to buy.
Even, for this category of things.
You really do have a gap of time. Sometime at least a day or two.
Use it to find a decent deal. Make a plan, of how you can make the best of your purchase.
Believe me, with just a bit of pre-planning, you could save a lot of money.
A lot over a year, and then it will make sense.
Avoid Spending Too Much on Convenience
Do me a favor, and look into how much you have spent the last month on conveniences.
This includes easy food delivery, on-demand transport, and things of that nature.
Chances are that you will be surprised to see what you have spent.
These products are built with the sole purpose of making your life super easy, thus helping you spend faster and more often.
We humans will always choose comfort and move towards the path of least resistance.
This is why these companies are making so much money.
But in the end, they are working against what you want.
You wish to attend financial freedom with efficient spending habits. Right?
Now, just think about this, not only you are spending more because of these small conveniences, but also making yourself lazier.
I am not asking you to completely ditch these apps.
Rather my approach is like doing things that will serve you, and help you attain your set goal.
So, it is a good choice, that you kind of find a balance on how much you will spend on convenience because it just adds up real quick.
Maybe order food once a week, instead of 3 times. You know, I am just saying. You do you.
Defining what is Enough
To attain your desired lifestyle, you have to be in control of your emotion. Thus your spending.
You know,
the world is being infected with a wide spreading disease, name Consumerism.
We don’t even feel it is there.
You are being bombarded with 100s of advertisements every single waking hour of your day.
And then comes the “influencers”, pushing new brands every single day, just to make some bucks.
And we all are spending crazy money, just to keep up with the trend.
Since who on this earth would like to feel left out? No one right?
And this is where the problem lies.
The art of spending mindfully and spending on things that actually matter is underrated.
This is mainly because, as humans, nothing will ever be enough for us.
The want for more is the real devil here.
We just don’t know when to take pause. We feel that the next thing we will buy will give us the satisfaction that we have been looking for.
In reality, the hype stays for a max of a few days may be. And then we back to the hungry mode.
This is where clarifying what is enough for you is so necessary.
Justifying when it is enough, give the power back to you.
Helps you take the right call when that urge kicks in.
It is not to say that don’t buy anything.
Rather buy what you actually want. And Not what your favorite influencer wants you to buy.
Define, what you need to be happy.
And follow the path.
Buy Quality products, even if you have to pay more.
This might look like a direct conflict with what I have been saying so far.
So far, I have only been saying to spend less, but now I am saying to spend more.
What confusion!
No, it is not brother.
My point is to buy things that add real value and serves you long. Even if you have to pay a premium.
Say, on one hand, you brought a not so good and cheap trouser from a discount store.
You will use it, and it might last you just 6 months.
On the other hand, think of a good trouser from a quality brand.
It will serve you for years to come and even give you a great fit.
So, that is money well spent.
One, you will not have to buy cheap things on repeat, and secondly, you will get to use really good quality products.
So, think long-term. Spend money on things that will really serve you well or even longer.
And avoid the trap of spending on one thing on repeat, just so that you can get it cheap.
Spend only on quality.
I hope I did add a little value to anyone reading it till here.
Thanks for the reading anyways.
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