7 Tips To Achieve Financial Minimalism.
You might be spending on things you don't need.
Financial minimalism, sounds kinda fancy and a bit daunting doesn't it but what is financial minimalism? Financial minimalism means having a balanced lifestyle, knowing where you’re at and what’s right for you — and being OK with that.
Minimalism is the practice of living with what is required for you and nothing more or less. Mixing this mentality with money can yield some fantastic results and help you lead a more independent life, but why would you need financial minimalism? Well to put it simply, so you could take lead and control of your finances and ultimately make more informed decisions. other than that it can also help you get rid of expenses that you didn't even know you had and help you a lot with savings.
So without waiting here are 7 tips that will help you with financial minimalism.
1. Budgeting:
Budgeting is the most essential tip to become a financial minimalist.start with noting down all the expenses you have each month (track them for a few months so you could have a border idea), next divide them up into 3 categories essential(things like rent, car mortgage, school fee),semi-essential and luxury. this will help you see how much you spend on everything and even help you to see some hidden expenses, like that gym membership that you haven't used in months or that subscription you got to watch just 1 movie and didn't use it ever again.keep some money aside as an emergency fund and cut off the rest, cutting out luxuries and narrowing done the semi-essential is not only a good way of saving some cash but it a step towards being self-sufficient.
2. living Below Your Means:
To put it simply, living below your means is not spending more money than you earn, but it is actually way more than that. Living below your means is not overspending on a thing when you don't really need to, like buying a house when it won't really make a difference if you live in a cheaper apartment, not changing your phone every year just because you can. using this you can essentially see how much money you can truly survive on and that can help you with other tips.
3. Spending at the right place:
Once you have your budget penned down you can decide what to spend on and what not to spend on. A basic idea is buying the cheapest stuff and get the best deal but that's not always the case like buying a 25$ t-shirt that would get ruined real easily and be done in like 4–5 months instead of spending just a bit more on a 40$ t-shirt that would last you a couple of years. Things like sentimental value also play a big role, something might not be a great deal but it might mean a lot to you. Some other basics can be, buying an older car instead of the latest model, this will not only save money upfront but cars don't essentially change that much over the years.
4. Cut out Fast food and processed foods:
Of course, there is a huge health benefit here as well but we will be concentrating on fast food and finances. The typical American spends about $1,200 on fast food annually (Source:), that over a grand of your cash which could have been used better, making things yourself ain't only fun and cheap but can also help with other things like controlling the quantity, using favorable ingredients, etc. if you need any help just got to Joshua Weissman and watch his “but cheaper” series.
5. Decluttering
Decluttering can help you with getting rid of things that you didn't even know you owned, selling off things that you haven't used in a while. Getting rid of any credit cards, memberships, subscriptions that you haven't used in a while, and shouldn't pay for. having less material belonging can help you keep track of almost anything but also saves you in terms of storage and maintenance, this also keeps a check on where all your money is going so you won't be paying for things that you don't use anymore.
6.Dont live the Instagram life:
We all remember the rush of happiness after making our first buck but how many of us remember how we spend it? one of the best ways of being a financial minimalist is by spending less than what you earn. seems easy on the surface but it ain't so because we all want to live in the biggest mansion, drive the fastest car or have the most exotic vacation. If you want to be good with money you got to be smart with it, spend it because of necessity and not because you just can, realizing that you don't need to live in the best-looking life to live your best life is the wisdom that some people never acquire.
7. NO need to make sacrifices:
I know this all almost sounds like me yelling at you about you not being good enough with money and maybe you don't make enough sacrifices but that not what minimalism is, realizing what you need and being comfortable with spending just the right amount on it, not overspending on things you would barely use ain't really a sacrifice is it….
Financial minimalism would not only help you save money but will ultimately help you achieve financial freedom, leaving money for investing in your future and setting up some passive sources for income, as Warren Buffet once said: “don't save what's left after spending, spend what's left after saving”.with that said,
Peace Out.
