At first glance, the minimalist lifestyle has a simple goal, “Own fewer things.”
However, below the surface, minimalism is about something more. It is about re-evaluating our pursuits, our habits, and our motivations.
My family was introduced to minimalism eight years ago and immediately began removing unneeded possessions from every room in our home. As a result, we quickly found more time, more energy, less stress, and more opportunity to focus on things that matter.
As you might imagine, we also experienced financial benefits.
Excess possessions are a drain on our finances. (tweet that)
Here are eight ways minimalism can help put more money in your pocket:
1. Selling Unneeded Clutter. The L.A. Times recently reported the average American home contains 300,000 items. That’s a lot of clutter and that’s a lot of money sitting around—probably more than you realize. Bob Lotich, a personal finance blogger at Seedtime, even reported making more than $2k his first month selling off clutter.
2. Buying Less Stuff. Minimalists routinely spend less on retail purchases than their consumeristic peers—this should come as no surprise. What is surprising is how easy that transformation occurs for some people. Once a person experiences the freedom of owning less, they routinely become more and more attracted to living with less. At that point, the grip that consumerism holds on their checkbook begins to break.
3. Maintaining Fewer Belongings. Too often, when we purchase an item, we only look at the sticker price. But this is rarely the full cost. Our purchases always cost more in the long run. They also require ongoing energy and focus. And because everything eventually fades, breaks, or becomes obsolete, many of our existing possessions often require additional financial investment. This can clearly be seen in large items (houses, cars, appliances). Small fixes and maintenance costs also tend to add up.
4. Storing Fewer Possessions. The structures we build, buy and rent to store our ever-increasing number of possessions is quite unbelievable. Our houses have tripled in size over the last 50 years, off-site storage is the fastest growing segment of commercial real estate, and only 33% of Americans can park both cars in their two-car garage. Those who choose to live a minimalist life return all that added expense of storing possessions back into their pocket. Just imagine how different your finances might look if you lived in a smaller home.
5. Taking Tax Deductions from Donations. As people begin to experience the benefits of owning less, they are drawn to remove even more clutter from their home. This almost always results in more possessions being minimized than can be sold. But even in this case, the financial gain remains as the IRS provides opportunity for taxpayers to deduct the fair market value of donated clothing, household goods, used furniture, shoes, books and so forth.
6. Experiencing Improved Emotional and Physical Health. Every possession adds increased anxiety into our lives. Recently, the New York Times referred to our generation as the most stressed, tired, and rushed generation of all-time. Many of the statistics cited in the article can be traced back to the fact that our generation simply owns more physical possessions than any generation in history. Minimalism brings greater emotional health to our lives. Emotional health brings physical health. And both are among the greatest investments we can possibly make.
7. Finding Increased Intentionality in Spending. Minimalism brings greater intentionality in all areas of life. It begins by forcing us to evaluate our possessions—why we own what we own. But often times, the principle of keeping “only the best” extends to other areas of life too: schedules, relationships, health and habits. Once we begin to practice healthier habits in other areas of life, wiser decisions are easier to implement in our spending as well.
8. Freeing Up Time for Extra Income. One of the greatest benefits of minimalism is the amount of time that is returned to our lives. When we have less to clean, organize, maintain, and repair, we have more time for other pursuits. Whether you are working hard to reduce debt, build up a savings account, or fund an early retirement, minimalism allows you the opportunity to direct that free time towards extra income—if that’s how you choose to use it.
Maya Angelou once said, “We need much less than we think we need.” This truth lies at the heart of minimalism. And it may be an important realization to maximize your pocketbook as well.
JANA says
I think so often the things we keep are aspirational. “For when we have a party, for when we go to an event, for when we take a trip” And we never actually do those things so we don’t need the stuff that doing those things requires.
Vince says
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Marissa says
Francine Jay, Miss Minimalist, calls these our fantasy selves…the super eBay seller, avid scuba diver, charming socialite and entertainer…they all come with a host of gear and things to store. This was a big hurdle for my husband and I over our last 8 years of minimalizing, and always the first type of thing that creeps back in. Also one of the first things we talk about to our friends who are contemplating a more simple life. They should be the first things to go in my opinion.
Joseph Anthony says
Thanks a lot Joshua for your valuable tips based on your own experience. This was really helpful.
Have a good day????.
Regards,
Joseph Anthony
Raluca says
That’s why I adore hotels. There are only necessary things and a few personal things we carry in our luggage
The Tepid Tamale says
I so agree that the definition of Minimalism is so much more than owning fewer things. For me, it involves thinking through all the decisions I make, and then making them thoughtfully.
Thinking from a clutter standpoint, a financial standpoint, an environmental standpoint, a time standpoint, an efficiency standpoint, a stewardship standpoint, etc.
This can sometimes seem overwhelming, but it really has started to pay off. I really need to apply it to my daily job now ……
Thanks for the great posts, I have been following you for a long, long time!
– The Tepid Tamale
Chris Hufnagel says
I have definitely seen the benefits of minimalism. When I went freelance five years ago, I became a minimalist. This helped me cut costs so I wouldn’t need as much income when I started. Even now my family keeps these minimalist ways and we use the extra income to travel more!
The big one that makes the most difference in my life is not having to maintain stuff. When something breaks you feel the urge to replace it. Instead we try to go without for a week, then see what happens.
Wonderful tips,
Chris
Judy says
Hi, Joshua. Happy Easter! :)
I’m so glad to be on-board with minimalism.
I know a family living in a “McMansion” as described above. Life is a big struggle for them…trying to maintain the house and always falling behind. It has the potential to be a beautiful, serene home…but it is so filled with clutter and unfinished projects. The house is rather dirty too—it’s hard to clean an enormous house. The homeowner told me one day that she can never catch up. I knew her specific challenge and offered to help her “clean up and clear out”. She never took me up on my offer. Truth is, they are not on-board with a minimalist lifestyle…and to each their own. ; )
Lowell says
I left a <1000 square foot 1949 cottage with established landscaping when I married and am in a 4 story, 4000 sq. ft. builder's McMansion and struggling to establish a pleasant (and I do not mean mono-culture grass, magazine perfect) yard. I love love loved my simple hardwood floor, plaster walled (with lotsa cracks) house but this house was my husband's dream. Compromise…
Ms. Montana says
I’ve seen the financial benefits from almost all your points. Especially sneaky is the cost of storage space. Not just in paid space but larger homes, making sure people have a garage or big enough closets. We thought about moving when he had our 5th child, but to spend an extra $100,000 just to have more space for things we hardly ever use, in the end, seemed crazy. So we just sold or donated a few hundred items and took a year off instead.
Lottie says
I agree with the tips. Although it sounds trivial one of my main questions to myself when clothes shopping is “If this item was in a cheap supermarket would you still want it”. That way I can differentiate whether I actually want the piece or whether I am just wanting it because of the brand name.
http://www.flareaforte.com
Tony W says
I agree with all of your points. For me the greatest benefits result when I subconsciously resist buying unnecessary items. Also when I decide to repair or mend an item and not replace it with a new one.
Granny P says
Tony W this is so true! Right now our dryer is in pieces because we are repairing it ourselves. In our (UNCOMFORTABLE) maximalist days we would have ordered a new one online and had the delivery guys haul this broken one to who-knows-where. It’ll take probably another day to get it back together and in place, but I have to admit it’s kind of fun, actually, not having a dryer and hanging our clothes to dry . . . something so . . . SIMPLE and purposeful about that.