Minimalism-A Guide to Spending Less

A simple guide to spending less

A home with fewer possessions is more spacious, more calming and more focused on the people who live inside it. -Joshua Becker

By that time, I was stuck in debt so the concept appealed to me. I didn’t own a lot of household items. My addiction was low-quality clothes and shoes. To get out of debt, I stopped buying these for a year.

When you buy quality, the price is eventually forgotten. When you buy junk, the price will haunt you. — Wealth Theory

How to shop like a minimalist (or like me 😉 )

1. Have a budget

Living or spending without a budget is like driving a car while blindfolded, you’re bound to mess up! You should start with the 4 basic items; food, rent, transport and clothing-if you don’t already have enough of this!

2. Create an excel sheet titled ‘My desire list.’

Any time you think you want, need or deserve something, add it to this list. At this point, you can go wild and add anything or everything. Leave the item on the sheet for a minimum of a month and use the time to ask yourself whether it’s really a need or you’re playing that dangerous game where you justify to yourself that a want is a need.

3. Do I NEED it?

When you’re out and about and happen to spot something that calls your name romantically, ask yourself if you need it. If the answer is no, move on.

4. Do I already have something like it?

If yes, move on.

Many think that clothes and accessories make you look rich, but I believe a man who is debt-free wears the confidence on his face. The ability to be patient, thoughtful, and unhurried in decision making belongs to the man whose time and money is his own. — Wealth Theory

5. Will this go on as an impulse purchase at end month?

From January this year, I started this habit where I record all my purchases on the notebook app on my phone.

6. Will I use it often?

If the answer is no, skip it. Stop bringing clutter into your house.

7. Where will I store it?

This is perfect for me because I love having empty space, space to practice my dance moves, and indoor exercise. If an item takes away this luxury, I skip.

8. Does it match the things that I already own?

This works while buying clothes. Buying a pair of shoes that don’t go with anything in your closet means having to spend more money in the near future to buy clothes that go with that pair of shoes. Just stop.

The most useless expense is buying something you don’t need just because it’s available at a discount.- D. Muthukrishnan

9. Do I absofuckinglutely love it?

I stopped buying stuff that I don’t like 100%, e.g. a blouse that just doesn’t fit perfectly around my bosom, pants that just don’t fit right, heels that will never see the light of day… Not listening and honouring these doubts slowly morph into disgust and regret. When I look back at something with regret, it makes me feel stupid. I hate feeling stupid.

10. Will I still love it later?

Again, I hate feeling stupid.

11. Does it have long term value?

This is about not buying rubbish, quality over quantity. I wrote about it.

12. Is this purchase a status game or lifestyle game?

We could all save so much money if we stopped buying stuff to impress other people.

Make purchases that will improve your lifestyle, not your status. Status is the life other people believe you live; lifestyle is the life you actually live. Free time is the ultimate status symbol. — Wealth Theory

13. By buying this item, will I be killing the dream that I’m currently saving up for?

If you’re saving towards building an emergency fund, medical insurance, school or even working towards paying off debt, then go ahead and buy something that isn’t in your budget, won’t you be doing yourself an injustice?

Before you buy anything, ask yourself: Does this help me live a better life now, or is this something my imaginary future self would own? Only buy for the person you actually are, not for the person you think the right purchases would make you. — The Financial Diet

Before corona happened, I used to have a hard time paying attention at work. We have those open-plan offices and my colleagues will openly have meetings in the office or have conversations in a language I don’t understand. I work better in silence. To improve my productivity, I need noise-cancelling headphones. They’re pretty pricey and I want the best quality I can afford. This is on my desire list and I’m saving towards owning a pair. This is an example of a purchase that improves the quality of my life. Better still, it plays a role in ensuring that I produce my best work.

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Your voice of reason before you blow all your money this weekend! www.thewealthtribe.com

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