Begin Living a Minimalist Lifestyle & Change Your World
Instinctively I’ve always lived a pretty minimalist lifestyle…
However, it shocks me how many people live well beyond their means and don’t even realize they’re doing it.
Buying things they don’t need, going into unnecessary debt, having to spend every paycheck they get on ‘stuff’ and never paying themselves first.
This immediately puts you in a hole and creates habits that are hard to break.
When you begin living a minimalist lifestyle, your options really begin to open up in life.
The simple life in my opinion, is the good life.
It cuts out so much extra tension (especially with finances) but also with unnecessary clutter as a result of mass consumerism.
And down the road if you save/invest the surplus, it allows you to do what you want, when you want and where you want to.
Financial independence is always the end goal.
And this ultimately means creating more freedom in life and never having to rely on money again.
Sound impossible?
Well it’s not when you begin living a minimalist lifestyle and do things differently from the vast majority of people.
It actually can be quite addicting once you start to see your savings increase and your spending decrease….and also when you start getting rid of unnecessary crap that serves no value.
This isn’t just liberating from a financial perspective, but also from a mental health perspective.
Knowing that when tough times come up (which they will), you have money in the bank to lessen the burden.
I want to tell you a quick story…
The other day I was with a group of people having a conversation (although I was mainly just listening/observing) and there was this one guy there who talked a “big game”.
He gave off the impression that he had his sh*t together…
He had a nice car, living situation, expensive clothes, shoes and the latest gadgets.
When the conversation went on a bit longer, I began to realize that this guy wasn’t as “put together” as he wanted to come off as.
In fact, it became apparent to me that he was flat out broke, in debt and barely getting by day to day (as he confessed in a round about way).
Nothing against his character or personality, however it does bug me when people own all this stuff and have absolutely nothing to show for it.
To me, it’s just plain stupid.
And even worse, the first impression this guys gives off would fool many people into thinking he’s got lots of money.
When the exact opposite is actually true.
To make a long story short, do not buy expensive things to look cool or wealthy…as most people don’t really care.
Once you adopt a minimalist lifestyle, there is no going back.
I realize this post was a bit of a rant, however I think it’s an extremely important topic and I encourage you to try this for yourself.
If this changes even one person’s mindset on how they are currently living and encourages them to live a more basic and freedom enriched life, then I’ve done my job.
What are your thoughts on this subject?
Are you already living this way?
Are there improvements you can make?
Great post Evan. Enjoyed that. I started down the ‘simple living’ road a few years ago, and really as you say, there is now no way back. At least for me. I’m selling of the last of my uncessary possessions and it feels f&*king great It started out as a lifestyle change for me, but I am seeing that there are all sorts of benefits, and the financial ones are kind of amazing.
Hi James,
Thanks for stopping by! It really is a game changer when you start living this way. It opens up so many options in your life and as you say, there are endless benefits (and not just financial). Keep up the great work and happy to see we’re on the same path
~ Evan Hoeflich