What has drawn me to study minimalism is it feels close to home and very natural to me. The effects are well known and I welcome it. I knew before watching the documentary on Netflix what it would sound like and what it would promise. I’m not surprised, but it did give me words and ideas to thoughts that only existed in my head.

The compelling portion is the stories of those who have given up material goods (or, at least the excess) to live a life with few distractions. That’s what I need – fewer distractions. I don’t want to be “busy” because it’s normal. I don’t want to have a garage full of stuff or a portfolio full of debt.

The story of minimalism is simple. Live with fewer things and only things that bring value to one’s life.

In a way, it brings us back to pre-1960’s advertisement where agencies perfected making consumers desire an item before they actually needed it. Minimalism pushes back and says, “no, I don’t need ten of these. I will be fine with one that I really enjoy and I will buy it when I am ready and have a need for it”. 

We make more and more money, only to spend most of it with the hope that making more and buying more will put us in a better category of life. Want to be in “tier 3”? Get a higher paying job and buy a nicer car. Then your problems will go away and you’ll get out of “tier 2”, which is where unhappy people spend their life. It’s such a lie. There are limitless “tiers” and unlimited disappointments with that viewpoint.

In a convicting way, I think about the mistakes I make with my money and I also think there are choices I should celebrate. After all, minimalism doesn’t ask you to not spend money at all, but it asks you to only spend it on the need and on the items that bring joy to your life.

Value choices are the money spending choices I make that bring value to my life.

Examples would be a nice date with my wife, a morning cup of coffee on a Friday, new running shoes so I can run, my gym membership to assist my health, my cell phone so I can communicate with my wife while we are apart (but even this one is “iffy” because phones can be such huge distractions).

It’s interesting how few value-choices I can come up with, even after thinking about this for a few days. What about your life? Scrolling through your bank statement, how many of those purchases brought value to your life and how many of those purchases where momentary decisions that should have been avoided? Minimalism says you can spend money, just be sure it’s worth it!

The most compelling detail when I measure my habits up against Minimalism? My clothes. I like to be prepared for a rainy day. Literally. Including clothes for work and leisure, I have 12 pairs of pants and 9 pairs of shoes. I also have a giant pile of t-shirts and button-downs that fill my closet but might never be worn again. How freeing would it be to get rid of most of these clothes and only keep the ones I really like. To wake up in the morning, look in my closet, and not have to make a choice because I like them all and they all bring value.

Now, apply this same concept to your money:

Get rid of subscriptions so that your money “going out” is simplified.

Can you name off the top of your head every monthly auto-charge on your credit card? Either get rid of that service if you don’t need or use it or consider asking that company for a 12-month full pay option. Maybe (JUST MAYBE!) cancel Amazon Prime for a month. You can always come back to paying for a service if you find you can’t live without it.

Set up auto-payments for bills like cell phone, internet, electric.

Don’t worry about using your brain power or your time paying these every month. You know you need them so just set up an auto-pay and limit your distractions. 

Invest in your 401k at your work and don’t look at it for 6 months.

Why? Most people say, “I need to invest my extra money” but never take action. Contributing to your 401k is the easiest way to “automatically” invest in the market. Don’t worry about buying individual stocks unless you are a super aggressive investor who needs to buy and sell stocks monthly. Contribute to your 401k. Set it and forget it for 6 months.

Pay off any “lingering debt”.

If you have extra cash and small balances on an auto loan, credit card, student loan, etc., why not pay that sucker off and simplify your life. One less bill is one less thing to worry about.

Have fun with your money!

This is the most important concept I’ve learned through studying minimalism because it can transform my relationship with money and puts ME in control. The idea is to budget for the things that bring joy and value to your life. The trick is to plan for it and not be excessive. Let’s say you love going out to sushi and drinks with friends. Budget $75 for the following month to go do that. Take out cash for it or just “set the money aside” in your account. Enjoy that experience because it brings enrichment to your life. Drop the money in the bill and be happy about it.