An important aspect of minimalism is not only to reduce your physical belongings but also to reduce your financial burdens. I found the minimalist lifestyle while searching on google for ways to cut down on my expenses. A lightbulb came on. Everything I read about our possessions causing us stress, debt, and unhappiness was spot on for me. That very day I went through my entire apartment and threw away three trash bags of junk and donated 4 bags of clothes. Mind you, I had recently moved from my college town of Lubbock, Texas, where I lived in a 1000 SF home for 4 years and managed to collect anything and everything apparently… thankfully my hatred of moving things ended up helping me along the minimalist path as I threw away at least 2 dumpsters worth of stuff and sold the rest of it in a yard sale the day before I moved…. So now, here I am living in Dallas and working at a job I love, but not making the money I was hoping for and paying an obscene amount for rent down here for my income level. But at least my apartment was on the right path to getting “minimized” in terms of clutter. I felt the weight leave my shoulders after that first day of decluttering. After this first step, there was still the matter of finances and how to implement the minimalist lifestyle so that I could reduce stress there as well. As of November, I am paying on my student loans and my goal is to pay double to triple the minimum amount each month. I like to imagine what my life would be like if I started my minimalist journey without the joy of student loans… just think of that money that could go directly into my savings instead… but hey, shit happens and I’m taking it on as a challenge!
Here are ways to minimize expenses and maximize income…