Minimalism is a lifestyle that helps people question what things add value to their lives. By deliberately clearing the clutter from their life, they make room for the most important aspects of life like health, relationships, passion, growth, travel, community etc.
On a superficial level, it feels like an Indian concept. We don’t waste. We reuse stuff. We find ingenious ways to use something. We don’t throw away things just like that. We bring in juggad wherever possible. But that is not minimalism.
Minimalism stems from awareness. A minimalist deeply questions the choices he/she makes in life and tries to de-clutter at every possible opportunity. Minimalism is about simplifying your life – and that includes minimising your physical possessions, as well as reducing the time and money you spend on stuff you don’t need.
While minimalism isn’t about obsessively counting things or your monthly subscriptions – thinking about how much money and time you’re spending on things like that can help put everything into perspective. The following principles helps you in the path of a minimalist.
Keep your expenses simple. Your fixed costs should not include more than food, water, shelter and wifi. Anything above it, question it. Pro tip: create a budget and stick to it so your expenses are tracked and you can know your money.
Question every purchase. Deliberately ask hard questions. Take a week to make a decision on everything. It is not overthinking but really questioning the need.
Pay your future self now aka investing. Go ahead and make an investment whenever possible. Compounding creates magic with time.
Prioritise debt freeness. Debt means you’re stealing money from your future income. Getting out of financial debt should be your number one priority.
Getting rid of stuff you don’t use. Use the 90 day rule. If you haven’t touched something for 90 days, you don’t need it.
Financial freedom is about making smart financial decisions. About spending as little as possible and saving + growing as much as you can.
Slowly your asset based income (active/passive doesn’t make sense to me) will ultimately generate enough money so that you can retire from money early. Minimalist is not equal to miser. It is being aware about your spendings and savings.
You could even be a hedonic minimalist but a minimalist. You could have one watch and that could be a Rado or a Rolex but only one watch.
By constantly weighing your needs and wants, your expenses will reduce to a large extent. I could write an entire series on just minimalism and how difficult it is to put in practice with a large Indian family 🤷🏽♀️
🥂to minimalism!
