I am frequently asked over at LifeExcursion how I implement minimalism. Most people are asking to find out how I minimalize stuff, which is definitely a big part of minimalism for me, but the best implementation of minimalism has been with finances.
I hate when people have stuff. I hate when people blame others. But what I hate most of all is when people complain about their finances. It’s their own fault. No one told them to buy all the stuff they have and/or that living lavishly was a necessary aspect of life. One way to implement minimalism is to address the organization of where your money is going. I think implementing minimalist ideas in your finances will help minimalize other aspects as well.
The following may guide you towards a more minimalistic approach to finances:
- Use Mint.com – I have used this service a lot recently. It is very easy to set up and involves NO PAPER. Mint will keep it simple and help you focus on your budget and goals.
- Scan all of your files – Scan all of your files and store them on two or even three items. I highly suggest an external hard drive to store all of these files as well as a flash drive for extra backup.
- Stay organized - STOP letting yourself get behind. The further behind you get, the less likely you are to get back on track.
I have gone from no debt at the beginning of college to debt coming out of college and then back to very little debt. Guess when I had the most stuff in my life? You got it, that debt-filled portion of my life. What I want to stress here is that anyone can go from debt-ridden to debt-free and applying the minimalist approach may help in more ways than you originally thought.
Dave Damron
The Minimalist Path
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