Smart Ways Minimalism Saves You Money and Improves Your Finances

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A lot of people don’t notice but the truth is minimalism saves you money even when saving money is not your top priority, simplifying your life is.

Minimalism is a conscious lifestyle choice that focuses on reducing the clutter in your life both in material possessions and in other distractions. People who embrace it find ways to eliminate the distractions from their lives, and it opens up more opportunities for them in other areas.

Embracing minimalism does not mean that you stop spending money on things. But it can mean that you spend your money – intentionally, on other meaningful things instead of unnecessary stuff, and your focus may change from making more money to enjoying life more.

Minimalism can also save you a significant amount of money, even if you are not trying hard to save. It’s just one of the many unexpected benefits of minimalist living. Here are some amazing ways minimalism saves you money and improves your finances.

Minimalism limits the need for stuff

When you embrace minimalism, you often limit what you own. Since you enjoy the benefits of owning less, you spend less money on buying unnecessary, extra stuff. Minimalist living encourages you to live with only what you need and love to use. You try not to have duplicates in your home, and buy items that serve more than one purpose whenever possible. You focus more on experiences rather than things.

This shift in perspective helps you cut back on your spending to increase your savings or to get out of debt, and thus, allows you to enjoy more financial freedom. You can put more money towards other financial goals that can make life easier in the long run. This may mean early retirement or more relaxing vacations.

When you adopt minimalism, you also buy less toys for your kids that saves you money and allows them to be more creative and thoughtful. Instead, you give them the gifts of beautiful experience that don’t always cost money but bring them most joy and happiness.

You become intentional with your purchases

Once you have decluttered your home and embraced minimalist lifestyle, you become more intentional about your new purchases and what you bring into home. You won’t spend your hard-earned money on unplanned, random things that you truly don’t need or value. You will buy less and spend less. That means more money in your bank to spend on meaningful pursuits that you love and enjoy.

Knowing the difference between wants and needs not only keeps things simple, but it also keeps more of your money in your pocket.

As I decluttered my home, I began to regret spending money on those unnecessary stuff, and I started looking at my things differently. My view of enough has changed, too!

Your housing cost goes down

When you are practicing minimalism, you need less room to store everything that you have collected over the years. After getting rid of all the broken, duplicates, or unnecessary stuff, it’s easier for you to organize your home. Everything has a place where it belongs. Because of owning less stuff now, you won’t have to spend money on storage anymore.

As you begin to clear out some of your stuff, you may realize that you actually don’t need a bigger house and you can save a lot of money by moving to a smaller place. Not only will this save you on your rent or mortgage, but it can save you on utilities, home insurance, property tax and maintenance, and free up even more money to spend on the things that are meaningful and important to you.

You make money from selling items as you declutter

If you are just beginning to embrace minimalism, you can sell the items you no longer want, use, or need, and make some money from there. A lot of people do! You can use this money to help you pay down some of your debt to reduce some financial burden.

Or you can also use this money to jump-start an emergency fund or to fund a nice trip that you have always wanted to take. As you get rid of the clutter in order to simplify your home and life, you can use the money to fix your financial mistakes, too. Holding a yard sale is an easy way to sell a lot of unwanted and unloved items and make some money quickly. Or, you can sell your stuff online, too.

You pay off your debt and don’t live paycheck to paycheck anymore

A major focus of minimalism is just having more freedom in life. You know that if you are in debt, you don’t enjoy much freedom because you are trapped in more than just the cycle of monthly bills and payments. You are stuck in a constant struggle with stress and anxiety. So, as you choose to be in pursuit of that freedom, it will lead you to choices in getting out of debt. Debt is a huge stressor and goes against everything that living a simple, minimalist living stands for.

Because simple, minimalist living lends itself to buying less, you will no longer be spending your hard-earned money on replacing, repairing, maintaining, and insuring the stuff you don’t need. Instead, you will save that money to pay off your debt fast so you don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck anymore.

And once you are done paying off your debts, you will enjoy a special kind of freedom and peace of mind that you never had before. With that new found financial freedom, you will be able to increase your retirement savings or contribute more to other long-term investment to secure your financial future.

Related post: How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck

You become more focused on experiences than stuff

Let’s be honest. Many of us spend our hard-earned money for no good reason sometimes. We go to shopping mall and buy random stuff because we are bored and have nothing else to do for fun. But minimalism also saves you money when you are trying to live your purpose.

When you are focused more on a purpose that are aligned with your values and priorities, you have less time to be bored. Less time and desire for meaningless purchases. Everything you use your money for is in support of your life-goals and your dreams. You stop spending money on unnecessary stuff – only to get instant gratification, and start spending money in meaningful ways that add value to your life and bring you long-term pleasures.

Related post: 7 Meaningful Ways to Spend Your Money

You simplify your life and have more time & energy

Simplifying is a great example of how minimalism saves you money. When you make your life simpler, you slow down and do things differently. Your time becomes more abundant because you face fewer obligations. You find more time and energy to do things, some of which can save you money or include more opportunities to make money.

For example, let’s say you simplify your schedule in a way that gives you more time to pursue your creative passions such as blogging or painting. The more time and energy you spend on it, the better it gets. Perhaps good enough to turn it into a good side hustle, or something that becomes a full-time job that you love and enjoy. In addition to that, you lessen other things that cost you money. You start cooking more in home, saving you money you would otherwise spend buying lunch or dining out frequently.

Maybe you started gardening in your backyard and growing your own vegetables. Now that you are growing some of your own vegetables and maybe some fruits, too, you are able to save a good amount of money by not having to buy those from the market. In fact, depending on the type and amount you choose to grow, you can save a significant amount of money. By spending a few dollars on seeds, plants, and supplies in spring, you will produce vegetables that will yield pounds of produce in summer. Growing your own food is not only cheaper but it’s healthier, too.

You feel more content with what you have

Another way how minimalism saves you money is you feel more content with what you have and who you are. Usually, when you are more content with your life in general, you tend to need and want less. When you adopt minimalism, you recognize that the most important things in life are never things. So, you don’t go thinking about the next big thing you can buy to make you feel happy and successful.

You realize that you already have all the things you really need to be happy. And you realize that happiness comes from within – feeling good about who you are, what you are doing with your life, and the people you spend time with. That’s what true happiness is.

Related post: How to Be Content With What You Have

I hope you have enjoyed this article and are feeling encouraged to try simple living and minimalism if you haven’t already. Minimalism will do more for you than just save a lot of money. It will help you pursue your dreams, live a more meaningful life, and be happier.

Minimalism and simple living have certainly made me a happier person, and the money we save by simplifying our life has made things easier and more enjoyable for me and my family.