Rush17 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I have spent a lot of time over the last year and a half reading into living a more simple and minimal life. I often read the /r/minimalism and /r/PersonalFinanceCanada/ on reddit to help me assess how I could make simple changes in my life. I was curious if anyone else here has pursued a similar path and what are some of the tools and tips they have learned along the way. I'm not big into the title of minimalist or minimalism but I love the idea of simple and de-cluttered living. Love to talk with more of you on the subject if you are at all interested. The personal finance section often has good tips and advice for saving your hard earned money. It seems to fit in well with the lifestyle of saving your money and living with less. Hope this topic isn't too gooey for some of you lol. If so please click on! Here is a short video on the subject I found inspiring! There are many podcasts, youtube videos, and articles on the subject. Even some interesting books! Just curious if anyone else has any interest in this. I could use the help to work through the de-cluttering process lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejazz97 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I've thought a lot about it and thought of decluttering my house/life. Not to extremes, but just tone it down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brilac Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Wow, I was just thinking about this today, how to live a simple, minimal lifestyle, living on the cheap. I would very much like to live that way, and I have lived that way before, and takes disipline. I'm great at planning and making a budget, but it's hard to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift-4 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Has anyone else pursued a minimal lifestyle? Yes............but Monday keeps showing up and everything goes to $&!#. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I think I live a fairly minimal lifestyle. Not fond of gadgets other than my PS4 and big Tv for films/shows/games and my car as a hobby interest/commuter vehicle. I bought a non smart phone specifically because I don't want to be glued to my phone with data and all that crap- just phone calls & text! We live in a fairly small apartment with 2 animals so only having what we need is pretty important space wise. Anytime we downsize and get rid of stuff it feels great. Material things are just junk unless they perform some sort of function or have sentimental value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 11 minutes ago, brilac said: Wow, I was just thinking about this today, how to live a simple, minimal lifestyle, living on the cheap. I would very much like to live that way, and I have lived that way before, and takes disipline. I'm great at planning and making a budget, but it's hard to follow. I find food/grocery shopping to be the hardest. We like to enjoy food and order out quite often. I could prep a lot of my lunch/dinner for work but I don't often do that as well. I could probably save a lot more money if I stuck to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck_Fan_52 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 13 minutes ago, Rush17 said: I have spent a lot of time over the last year and a half reading into living a more simple and minimal life. I often read the /r/minimalism and /r/PersonalFinanceCanada/ on reddit to help me assess how I could make simple changes in my life. I was curious if anyone else here has pursued a similar path and what are some of the tools and tips they have learned along the way. I'm not big into the title of minimalist or minimalism but I love the idea of simple and de-cluttered living. Love to talk with more of you on the subject if you are at all interested. The personal finance section often has good tips and advice for saving your hard earned money. It seems to fit in well with the lifestyle of saving your money and living with less. Hope this topic isn't too gooey for some of you lol. If so please click on! Here is a short video on the subject I found inspiring! There are many podcasts, youtube videos, and articles on the subject. Even some interesting books! Just curious if anyone else has any interest in this. I could use the help to work through the de-cluttering process lol. Hey thanks for starting this post. Sometimes I try and sometimes I do not succeed but as for advice on how to conserve I have listened to Dave Ramsay. He has a series of baby steps to take starting with a $1000 CASH in savings. -Before starting, assess your monthly expenditures and add up how much you've spent. Find out how you can cut back on your non-negotiable expenditures (e.g. bills) and see if you can cut out some negotiable expenditures (entertainment, eating out). If married sit down with your spouse and discuss it without distractions. -Have an envelope system where you allocate a certain amount in CASH for the week on certain expenditures and no more. Using cash will make you realize how much you spend. -Have cash on hand as you can negotiate with sellers especially on large expensive items. -Shop at Thrift stores or garage sales. -Don't go grocery shopping when you are hungry. -Cut back on eating out. Food cooked at home is much healthier and besides you can probably make that same food sold in a restaurant at home for cheap (or have your spouse do that) -When running errands, do them literally if you can. If you live close to a grocery store, bike or run, this is the best of both worlds. You get the exercise in as well as save on gas. Also, if you live far from work, take public transportation. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brilac Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 13 minutes ago, SILLY GOOSE said: I think I live a fairly minimal lifestyle. Not fond of gadgets other than my PS4 and big Tv for films/shows/games and my car as a hobby interest/commuter vehicle. I bought a non smart phone specifically because I don't want to be glued to my phone with data and all that crap- just phone calls & text! We live in a fairly small apartment with 2 animals so only having what we need is pretty important space wise. Anytime we downsize and get rid of stuff it feels great. Material things are just junk unless they perform some sort of function or have sentimental value. I love getting rid of things! It's such a great thing! The problem with me is that I enjoy going on day trips especially down to San Francisco and Victoria. Flying up to Vancouver for Canucks games, drinking wine and eating at nice places, and have a wonderful collection of Marc by Marc Jacobs handbags. I need to cut back on that. There's no point in partaking in those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I haven't looked into becoming a minimalist but I do kind of live that life. I don't live beyond my means. I own a small one bedroom condo because I am still not married or have any kids(that I know of). I mean it would be borderline impossible for me to purchase and pay off a house in BC on my own but I could easily get a 3 bedroom townhome if I wanted to but I can't justify paying that much for a townhome when that could get a swanky house anywhere else in Canada. At work we use the Japanese '5S' or Lean Manufacturing and I adopted some of those teachings to my home life. For those of you who don't know 5S stands for Short, Straighten, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. One day I came home and just threw out all the junk I no longer have a use for. By that night I filled my bed in my Dodge Ram and headed for the dump. Now everything in my place has a purpose. From my TV remote to my bed everything has a home. Every mourning before going to work I make my bed and clean my place as if people are coming over. There are no more Tupperware bins of old Nintendo controllers or old extension cords, if I don't use it atleast once a week it gets tossed. It's not like I live in an empty condo, it's just everything is sorted out. Some people are just packrats or worse yet, hoarders. They cling to stuff that they will never use again and it clutters up their personal space to the point were it might affect their well being. When I come home to a relatively neat and tidy place I know I can relax and my place is only 650sq ft. I definitely recommend looking into either being a minimalist or at the very least 5S or lean way of organizing your personal space whether it be at work or at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 1 minute ago, brilac said: I love getting rid of things! It's such a great thing! The problem with me is that I enjoy going on day trips especially down to San Francisco and Victoria. Flying up to Vancouver for Canucks games, drinking wine and eating at nice places, and have a wonderful collection of Marc by Marc Jacobs handbags. I need to cut back on that. There's no point in partaking in those things. If those activities bring you actual joy I think they are worth it! Like you say the key maybe is moderation so you don't feel like you are over indulging? I love coffee and definitely enjoy the combo of driving/travelling and a great coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Juice Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 29 minutes ago, SILLY GOOSE said: I find food/grocery shopping to be the hardest. We like to enjoy food and order out quite often. I could prep a lot of my lunch/dinner for work but I don't often do that as well. I could probably save a lot more money if I stuck to it Ditto. Aside from paying bills and filling up my car for gas and other things related to the car, I only ever spend my money on food/take out or drinks. I rarely go shopping for clothes or video games or anything of that sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck_Fan_52 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 31 minutes ago, SILLY GOOSE said: I find food/grocery shopping to be the hardest. We like to enjoy food and order out quite often. I could prep a lot of my lunch/dinner for work but I don't often do that as well. I could probably save a lot more money if I stuck to it This is hard. As a single, I allocated $100 in Cash for eating out per week. If hungry I overspend on grocery shopping or would eat out on a whim. I am fortunate to have a wife who cooks and leftovers are for lunch the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Much easier to live a minimalist lifestyle with electronic media. Back in the day you needed: DVDs, CDs, photo albums, books, etc... Now all of those things can be stored on a device the size of a match book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Kneel Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Before fb it was beer and toast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuktravella Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 ya just get rid of all the junk you collect i could move everything i own in a suv trip if i had bed matress on roof i own my hovkey equipement, 2 rubbermaid containers of clothes, 1 rubbermaid of books, photos, bartending stuff. 1 small rubbermaid of shoes and one of hiking camping stuff and my bed and dresser. i try living off wage and saving tips to travel but seeing i got in that accident last yr no travel and minimal savings til all thats dealt with after knee surgery basicall im 40 grand in debt with 2 g in savings if not for accident if be maybe 17 in debt with 5 months more in savings accidents really mess peoples lives up all i wanna do is travel again (nepal, myannmar, more laos vietnam, turkey, europe) i think im gonna start a photography site to sell my travel photos its killing me not travelling. living simple is way more fun than collecting crap you dont need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kragar Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 1 hour ago, Canuck_Fan_52 said: Hey thanks for starting this post. Sometimes I try and sometimes I do not succeed but as for advice on how to conserve I have listened to Dave Ramsay. He has a series of baby steps to take starting with a $1000 CASH in savings. -Before starting, assess your monthly expenditures and add up how much you've spent. Find out how you can cut back on your non-negotiable expenditures (e.g. bills) and see if you can cut out some negotiable expenditures (entertainment, eating out). If married sit down with your spouse and discuss it without distractions. -Have an envelope system where you allocate a certain amount in CASH for the week on certain expenditures and no more. Using cash will make you realize how much you spend. -Have cash on hand as you can negotiate with sellers especially on large expensive items. -Shop at Thrift stores or garage sales. -Don't go grocery shopping when you are hungry. -Cut back on eating out. Food cooked at home is much healthier and besides you can probably make that same food sold in a restaurant at home for cheap (or have your spouse do that) -When running errands, do them literally if you can. If you live close to a grocery store, bike or run, this is the best of both worlds. You get the exercise in as well as save on gas. Also, if you live far from work, take public transportation. Hope this helps. Dave is pretty sharp. My wife and I did his FPU recently, and it has helped. It's amazing how much money you can find when you are spending it consciously. We were a little scared when we started doing a budget like he describes, figuring that we had to cut a lot. Turns out, when you take the time to look at what you are spending on, you find a lot of things you don't really need to purchase. One thing I find interesting with Dave is that he puts some emphasis on the psychology of finances. There are some pieces of his advice that don't make sense when you look at it solely from a numbers standpoint, but when you take in the feeling of debt freedom, that has value as well. As a numbers guy myself, it was hard for me to get past that, but the more he talks about it, the more I understand. I often listen to Dave's radio show on the drive home from work. Not sure if anyone carries him on a Canadian station, but perhaps those in the Vancouver area might be able to find him on a Seattle station? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuckles80 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 As someone who has been quite financially successful in life (not bragging just stating a fact), I don't think I could ever go to that extreme of 'minimalist' but I have learned from growing up middle class, to reaching the "1%" (and perhaps its my middle class background that caused me to think this way), losing that 'status' then earning it back (yes life has been a roller coaster!), that owning alot of 'things' and expensive things does not make a person happy. Most people don't think before they spend anymore either. When I grew up, there wasn't alot of 'credit'. Most people in the mid 70' / 80's didn't have credit cards or if you did (my parents had one), they paid it off monthly and used it like today's debit cards (for convenience). Back then people budgeted and thought about interest costs! Now with the availability of credit, no money down, do not pay for 12 months, financing plans, leasing cars, everyone who wants something now can have it now (key word 'want' vs need) and they ignore the costs associated with it. My parents thought about every cent they spent (because they had to), we seldom got the 'best' of anything but we had what we needed and were able to go to university and beyond, they thought about the value of money. Now , few people do. That is a big issue with our society today, consumerism, lack of financial awareness and overspending on wants vs needs. Buying a starbucks every day for a full year is $5 a day for a latte. Multiply that x maybe 6 days a week, its 30 bucks per week or 120 a month. 120 a month is $1440 per year. Now think about buying lunch at work daily vs making it? 10 bucks now? so that's 50 bucks a week, 200 a month, $2400 a year. Just by taking your own coffee in your roadie, and making lunch, you're saving probably 3k per year (after you account for your costs of the alternative). Think about that $3100-3300! Now if you're married, that's 6k+ between you and your wife. That's 2 vacations a year folks! I have learned the following: 1. Owning alot of 'stuff' just for the sake of it makes you need a bigger place - vicious circle, so spend more! 2. Owning alot of expensive stuff, the first time you buy it, yes makes you feel great, makes you feel like you've 'made it' and you've achieved. Then, that fancy car, or that bigger home, just is a car, or a home that costs more to upkeep, or a car that costs more to repair. Again, some people don't care and have soo much money nothing matters, but for most even reasonably successful people money always matters. 3. The admiration you get for expensive 'stuff' is fake. It's people who admire money, not you. And yes more people in this world admire money than they do integrity, effort and your character. I learned this the hard way. The first time I lost it, alot of people disappeared. When I gained it back, I was more quiet (was never showy but I learned to stay a bit more humble, because I learned it can go any second), and guess what, those 'types' of people who were attracted to me for those things, have never returned, and the people in my life are good, honest, real human beings, and I am happier with 'real people' around me vs fake. 4. Having more things, gets you caught up in always wanting newer, and better, and more things. Keeping up with the Jones's becomes a way of life. It however, does not lead to happiness, it leads to misery, because you compare compare compare and nothing is ever good enough. You house, your car, your salary, bonus, your girlfriend because someone has more and better. Reality is, someone will ALWAYS have more and better unless you're a Saudi Prince! 5. Helping your family before buying things you don't 'need' and just 'want' because of the above, makes you feel much happier than any 'thing' could 6. Traveling vs buying things makes you happier than any new car or pieces of clothing would 7. You need money to live, the more you have the easier (at times) life can be, but alot of money usually comes with alot of pressure and stress from your job - so finding a happy medium is often the path to happiness. Don't get caught up with "needing" to buy things to make yourself happy. The result? Well, you don't need as much money, you can work at a job or career you enjoy more vs dread. Now those who find their passion, become superstars at it often do what they love and get PAID, but they are few and far between and are truly blessed / fortunate people, not all of us get there! So if you're not that lucky, buying less, traveling more, and not worrying so much that you drive a civic vs a porsche will probably make you a happier and more content person! Just my 2 bits of experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putgolzin Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 1 hour ago, Kragar said: Dave is pretty sharp. My wife and I did his FPU recently, and it has helped. It's amazing how much money you can find when you are spending it consciously. We were a little scared when we started doing a budget like he describes, figuring that we had to cut a lot. Turns out, when you take the time to look at what you are spending on, you find a lot of things you don't really need to purchase. One thing I find interesting with Dave is that he puts some emphasis on the psychology of finances. There are some pieces of his advice that don't make sense when you look at it solely from a numbers standpoint, but when you take in the feeling of debt freedom, that has value as well. As a numbers guy myself, it was hard for me to get past that, but the more he talks about it, the more I understand. I often listen to Dave's radio show on the drive home from work. Not sure if anyone carries him on a Canadian station, but perhaps those in the Vancouver area might be able to find him on a Seattle station? Hilarious that Dave Ramsey gets mentioned on CDC. I wouldn't think he would be the type of personality most of us would abide. I'm a big fan of his and plan to actually teach his course in the near future. I created the Bunkie in my profile as part of the Tiny Home movement: http://www.thebunkie.com While it's not a "home" per se, it does take a lot of similar principles into effect, such as using every square inch in multiple different ways. Which all go out the window as soon as kids show up and fill your house with copious loads of huge, plastic toys from China via Walmart... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kragar Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 34 minutes ago, nzan said: Hilarious that Dave Ramsey gets mentioned on CDC. I wouldn't think he would be the type of personality most of us would abide. I'm a big fan of his and plan to actually teach his course in the near future. I created the Bunkie in my profile as part of the Tiny Home movement: http://www.thebunkie.com While it's not a "home" per se, it does take a lot of similar principles into effect, such as using every square inch in multiple different ways. Which all go out the window as soon as kids show up and fill your house with copious loads of huge, plastic toys from China via Walmart... I wasn't so sure about him at first. I had listened to him a few times, but there was something that didn't make sense from a numbers perspective when it came to investing and paying down the mortgage, and it drove me nuts. But, when I heard about his class, I thought that it couldn't hurt. Turns out, in addition to helping improve spending habits, it also helps bring the couple closer together and in alignment when it comes to home finances. Good for you to teach the course sometime soon. I've pondered doing it myself, but I'm sure I can talk myself out of it. Yay, ChinaMart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldBrashear Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 I have made it my mission my whole life to live a minimalist lifestyle. It's easier when you're younger for sure, but not unattainable as you get older. I hate stuff, I hate clutter and I hate useless crap. Fortunately, the world has adapted nicely to me by allowing me to live ever more clutter free. For instance, just 10 or 15 years old, it seemed mandatory that every single person have a huge collection of CD's, DVD's, and books, which caused a huge amount of clutter around the house. Now I have thrown all that crap out. My wife still keeps a lot of this junk and it really pisses me off, but it's her life and she has her own office and so I tell her as long as she keeps the crap in her office then she can do whatever she wants. But she has her old college textbooks from 12 years ago that are just sitting there and she refuses to get rid of them. I finally got her to get rid of some of them by showing her that there were kids in Africa who needed the books, so she agreed to send them to Africa. Same goes with DVD's and CD's... I see zero point to keeping these things because of Netflix and Spotify and all the other stuff. But anyways, it's nice to live in a world where a small Kindle can replace an entire 100,000 square foot library, and a small ipod that fits in your hand can replace an entire radio station full of records, and a small hard drive can replace thousands of DVD's on a shelf. Life is good for the minimalist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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