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Frugal Articles of the Week

By Frugaling 3 Comments

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Reading Nook Photo

Every week I like to feature a few frugal articles that caught my eyes. Curl up in your favorite reading nook and enjoy. Hopefully these encourage you to live frugal lives!

Income Inequality vs. Wealth Inequality by Hamilton Nolan
After paying a $4,000+ tax bill this year and losing much of my net worth to self-employment taxes, it made me rethink the income versus wealth divide. Someone can make a lot of money one year, but have little in savings. Hamilton Nolan hit the nail on this article. He points out that the obsession with income inequality is nonsensical. Instead, we should be focusing on wealth inequality, and I tend to agree with him!

Minimalist Living: When a Lot Less Is More by Josh Sanburn
The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, are on a roll. Seriously, they’re getting published everywhere these days and their audience is growing rapidly. They were recently interviewed by Time Magazine regarding their success. The Minimalists mentioned that they had only 52 visitors the first month they started their site in December 2010. In 2014, they supposedly had 2 million! What an impressive duo and important issues. Keep up the great work, guys!

‘There are so many ways to live’: Meet the man who quit his job to make an $8,000 van home by Michelle Stoffel Huffman
This guy is a vandwelling inspiration. He quit his job, decided to travel through Europe, and the kicker, he’s doing it all out of a camper van! He retrofitted it with a bed, cooking area, and even a little shower.

What We Appreciate Appreciates by Cait Flanders
Cait’s been blogging about personal finance for years now. She recently wrote a guest post for Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist. This article is all about the confluence of personal finance, minimalism, and dealing with debt — topics true to my heart. Well done, Cait! This is an awesome article.

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: Income Inequality, Minimalism, minimalist, vandwelling, wealth inequality

What’s Your Most Prized Possession?

By Frugaling 29 Comments

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Colorado State University Oval

Hello, roomie!

The windows were open, and I could smell the grass outside. It was green and sunny — not a cloud in the sky. A prototypical Colorado day followed me around, as I moved what little I owned into a small cubby, under a lofted mattress, and into a petite wooden desk.

It was move-in day for college — fall 2007.

I rolled out a single-bed mattress sheet, chintzy comforter, and single pillow cover. The mattress was an ocean blue, and perpetually felt uncomfortable. But it was my new home.

Somewhere in this process, I learned to live with less. I didn’t call it minimalism back then. It didn’t feel like minimalism.

Forced space? Mandated minimalism

I wasn’t given the option to live any other way in college. My closet only accepted a few shirts, shoes, pants, etc. My bedroom didn’t allow for larger mattresses. And my desk only had room for the basic necessities: pens, paper, and laptop.

After my first year of college, I moved into another residence hall to become an “RA” or resident assistant. I loved my position. It was and still is my favorite job. But even then, with a little more room, I was forced to stay minimal.

Now, minimalism doesn’t always mean being frugal. Despite my enclosures, I cycled through lots of things. There was a $1200 road bike (kept outside and then sold), a mini fridge (under the bed and then sold), electronics (a desktop computer and then sold), and more. For everything I bought, I sold something else — both to afford the new item and make space.

I was hardly frugal. I was mad with the need to consume away my problems, concerns, and stresses of school. No matter how much I purchased, the feelings remained.

Where I failed budgetarily, I seemed to succeed in minimalism. My room was still neat and tidy, and presentable to residents and their parents. I didn’t have a need for lots of stuff — nor could I put it anywhere.

While I wasn’t ready to change my spending habits until years later, an inclination towards minimalism was cemented. All it took was a forced restriction from many years of residence hall rooms to prevent the purchase of more than I needed. I developed an affinity for a clean, organized room. I didn’t need or want to have tons of things.

The losses hurt immensely

Another component pushed me towards minimalism: loss. In college I was exposed directly and indirectly to losses in life. Three of my grandparents passed away, three people died by suicide on campus that I knew, and I went through some pretty nasty breakups.

These losses encouraged me to look beyond the petty grievances and consumer comforts of society. What was important was the life of those around me, and spending time with those I cared about. Again, things weren’t as important as people.

During this period of tragedy, I realized how loss of material possessions didn’t matter. Suddenly, I stopped worrying about people stealing my stuff, things failing, and/or leaving my home unattended. Renters insurance seemed irrelevant and unnecessary. I had nothing “priceless.”

What’s going to fit in the trunk?

After college and the losses, I moved for graduate school. Again, it was a time of forced minimalism. I could only take what would fit in my Honda Civic coupe. And there was an added caveat, as my brother would be occupying the passenger seat.

To lighten the load, I listed items on Craigslist and asked friends if they needed odds and ends. Then, my brother and I filled the car with deconstructed IKEA furniture, clothing, and other household items. Our seats were forced upright — unable to recline — by the tightly packed vehicle.

Everything I owned fit into one tiny little car. It felt freeing, but frankly, all I could think about was the truly precious cargo: my brother. If everything else disappeared, let it not be him. That’s all that mattered/matters.

What really matters in life is…

I never sought to be a minimalist in my younger years, it found me. When I entered a small space and shared it with a roommate, I was forced to have less. When I lost loved ones, I was forced to reflect on what was most important. When my brother helped me move, I pictured what I would really need.

Stuff never came first.

Recently, I was grabbing a drink with someone and this question came up: “What would you grab if your apartment/house were on fire (excluding pets and humans)?”

I thought briefly about this question and almost cried. I couldn’t come up with anything. Nothing mattered beyond the human and pet connections in my life. Nothing. I feared the loss of… nothing.

Filed Under: Minimalism Tagged With: apartment, Consumer, family, Frugal, home, Minimalism, minimalist, Space, Stuff

8 TED Talks That Will Inspire You To Become A Minimalist

By Frugaling 18 Comments

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Zero Inbox Emails Minimalism
Here’s a screenshot of my email account with zero emails! Happens twice a year. 🙂

I call myself a “frequently failing, but always aspiring minimalist.” There’s a powerful consumer drive inside of me, but I work effortfully to reduce its hold. Sometimes that means going to a store and picking up an item — temporarily — and then returning it to another shelf. I can be captivated by new things — quickly dreaming of what happiness they could bring.

When I’m really struggling to save money and stay minimalistic, I return to some favorite role models’ messages. The following are 8 of my favorite TED Talks on the subject of minimalism, living with less, and learning to love yourself in the process. Hope you enjoy!

1. Jon Jandai: Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard?

2. Mark Boyle: The Moneyless Man

3. Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

4. Grant Blakeman: Minimalism — For a More Full Life

5. The Minimalists: A rich life with less stuff

6. Adam Baker: Sell your crap. Pay your debt. Do what you love.

7. Angela Horn: The Less You Own, the More You Have

8. Amy Henion: How can tiny houses offer the ultimate freedom to our generation?

Filed Under: Minimalism Tagged With: anti-consumption, Consumer, debt, less stuff, Life, Minimalism, minimalist, money, rich, tiny houses

Dating As A Minimalist

By Frugaling 23 Comments

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Dating As A Minimalist Date Night
Photo: Derek Key

Becoming a minimalist, then dating…

I recently joined an online dating site. This isn’t the first time, but it’s definitely one of the longest periods of keeping a profile and messaging people. The results have been surprising, and a couple of conversations may turn into more.

But my mind toils over my values. Something about joining a site and attempting to meet new people pushes me to buy new clothes, furniture, and conform to the idealistic picture of success. I switch to a basic consumer, and it goes against everything I’ve tried to accomplish with this website.

Joining the frugal frontier has led me to sell the extraneous and embrace minimalism (e.g., I’m actively trying to sell my remaining books, as I’ve switched to ebooks). Amidst this lifestyle shift, the cost of dating seems to be measured in more than a meal.

There’s a psychological change — for better and worse — associated with going into “dating mode.” That mode urges me to buy, buy, buy. Like a laser beam surveying my belongings, I scan my apartment for the out-dated and unimpressive.

Out with the old, in with the new?

Dating mode makes me think, “Maybe I should get a nice, full couch?” Yeah, that would really spruce up my apartment. Cost would be no object. I want something that speaks to my unique personality. I don’t want to stoop to some cheap, tattered, beat up couch — that’s not me. Moreover, maybe I should’ve kept my TV — because what would a couch be without one? It’s like I draw from a catalog every time I enter this state.

Dating mode pushes me to upgrade my wardrobe. Most days I think I have the perfect amount of clothes — providing style and warmth, and offering a wealth of options year round. But when I enter this other place, I see the fault in everything. I think, “Look at my pants! I bought these about 5 years ago. Why do I still have them?” In this warped state: “That shirt isn’t crisp enough. It’s gotta go.”

Dating mode suppresses my critical mind. All I can think about is the stink of old versus new. Everything is stale and worn out. As a mere extension of what I own, I feel stale and worn out.

There’s only one solution: own it!

Not only can my budget not withstand wanton purchases, but I left that life — intentionally. It took a significant leap of faith to buck the trend — what we’re told and sold by corporate America. The Ikea catalog and Macy’s mannequin sell a life I’ve always strived for, but it’s artificial and constructed for maximal spend. Unfortunately, I’m conscious that many people subscribe and aspire to this “perfect” home and wardrobe.

Does that minimize my ability to see and date people? Perhaps, but here’s the important part: I’m willing to take the risk that someone doesn’t like me for my aged wardrobe and accoutrements. This is who I am. I am an environmentally conscious minimalist. I’m frugal, clip coupons, and look for the generic brands. I’m interested in saving for a future. I struggle to spend without restrictions, as there’s an entire class of people — globally — that don’t have enough healthy food, water, and basic necessities.

There’s only one solution that fits my new lifestyle: to own who I’ve become. I can’t be ashamed of this life I’ve chosen and the new path I’m taking. I have loved paring down my wardrobe, selling my car, buying a bike, and sharing my story with people. Hopefully, someone will see that passion when the time comes.

Filed Under: Minimalism Tagged With: Clothing, coupons, date, dating, Frugal, Ikea, Minimalism, minimalist, online dating, Wardrobe

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  • The New Rich: How $250k A Year Became Middle Class
  • Dating As A Minimalist

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  • How To Live Stream Your Art
  • 5 Fun Summer Activities on a Budget

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