How Minimalism Can Change Your Life and Finances

I'm so sorry in advance, but we're very excited to get to this milestone, to be so close to it. It is the last milestone I think that we can technically achieve on our podcast hosting platform. They like give us little awards for these different milestones, and I think two hundred episodes is the last one. And then we've just hit it all. Oh my gosh. We when we first when we first switched to buzz Sprout, we had already been recording for three years or more, and so

we hit all of the milestones in one week. It was amazing. It felt so gratifying to just day after day after day be congratulated. We both kept getting these emails like NonStop like you have another subscriber, you have another listener, and like I know, keep up buzz Sprout. But now this is the last one. There's no more

awards for us. Jen, You'll have to, as listeners start to figure out awards for us, and you can leave them in the reviews for the show on Apple or wherever you listen, and to reward you, to thank you for doing that, we're going to give you episode one, which is not important enough to be episode two hundred, and it's about minimalism and how it can change your life and your finances because both of those things are intertwined.

They have to be. We love talking about minimalism and simple living and frugality and how they all pair together. So this is going to be a good one. And we've done other episodes like it, but I think always with a different perspective in each one, so how it helps your life and finances as today's look. But first, our sponsors. Our sponsors the Modern Frugal Living e book.

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So head to Frugal Friends podcast dot com, slash e book and start getting those quick wins that will snowball your momentum to financial freedom. Oh, this episode is also brought to you by Sweden. Sweden wants you to stop blaming it for traditional minimalist design. Minimalist design was actually originated from designs in the Netherlands in the early nineteen hundreds and traditional Japanese design, not Sweden, since the first

Ikea didn't even open until nineteen forty three. That single white chair and round table are not the original minimalist icons Sweden, it's not neutral on this fact that you need to stop blaming it for minimalist design. Now contral Wow, an entire country sponsored es. Yeah, that was more of a p s a um when Yeah, when when Sweden reached out, I just had to help them because they really are sad about this that people think that they have to adhere to IKEA in order to be minimalist.

Setting the record straight, but sorry Sweden, that you couldn't be Episode two hundred. Just you are so good but not good enough to be Episode two hundred. Other episodes that are not good enough to be Episode two hundred also are on minimalism. And if you like this idea, you're driving on it. Here are a few two key up two plane. Next, so we've got episode one O

nine which is how to maintain a minimalist lifestyle. That episode one forty one on minimalist budgeting that is a favorite of mine, Episode one sixty two Create a Minimalist Schedule. That one was a replay because everybody loved the minimalist schedule episode UM and then episode one eight Minimalist Investing. So if you've ever wondered how to build a comprehensive and diversified portfolio for your investments, you don't need to be a rocket scientist or a financial planner to figure

that out. You can do it and just one literally one fund or we talk about UM, two and three fund portfolios as well in that episode. So great episodes to queue up to listen to after this one. Perfect, but let's get into this one talking about how it can improve life and finances. This first article is from the tan Hill Homestead. I'm saying that, right, I hope, So that's how I would say it. So they go

into shoot. The writer goes into nine ways that she has seen minimalism help her, and super interesting because as I was reading through them, I mean, I would say, for for both you and I Jen, I think we both aim at minimalism. It looks different for all people. Both articles reference that, but I found myself agreeing with so much that's in here, like, yeah, I've experienced that too. Yeah, I've experienced that too. So I think it's worth it

to go through all nine. And I'll start by saying her intro in this article does give a little bit of background. Not a tard blog gives more background on what minimalism has meant for her, but it did include downsizing her home, and she says it's not necessary to live a minimalist life, but it's one of the things that happened for her and her family, and now she's able to homestead, so she uses some of what minimalism has provided in order to live a little bit more

of a homesteading life. So I found that interesting. So if these kind of aspects of this writer's life appeal to you, definitely check out this article. But I just

go through it. I don't know why. I don't typically look at the author of of our articles, but I really actually liked this one because like on the side it says I'm Aaron, I'm a modern homemaker, homesteader and decluttering enthusiasts, And I was like, yeah, like me too, except I'm not a homesteader, and I feel like a modern homemaker in that I make my child go to

daycare so that I can stay home and work. But like, other than that, I really feel I felt like connected to her, or maybe I just really liked like what she's about, like simple living, sustainability. And you don't usually talk about the author either, so I just I wasn't gonna say that, but like you said it, and I just wanted to put that out there that Aaron, if you're listening to this, yeah we get it. We're reviving with it, so so proceed, you'll like talk about important stuff.

I got something relevant. Well, I think it's worth just going through the nine things I think they're all relevant. I feel as though I can relate to most of them. So one of the things that she lists that minimalism has helped her with is that she spends less time cleaning. So certainly I think this has a lot to do with how locked your house is. I mean, it doesn't matter how much stuff you have in it, if you just have more floor space and baseboards to clean, that's

stur reality. But she does reference the fact that because she has less things in her home and a more minimalist wardrobe, she spends less time doing laundry, cleaning her necks, organizing, and tidying. And she does this basically thirty minutes a day of cleaning, and that apparently allows her to also do some deep cleaning on this like thirty minute a day plan. So that's awesome, and I feel like I can relate in some way. Sometimes it does feel for me like, oh man, there's so much to clean in

my little, like four square foot house. But I can only imagine how much more I would have to clean if I had more things to be taken care of. So I can definitely commiserate with that. Yeah, I have fewer things because I am lazy and I don't want to clean, and I know that I won't. It's not that I don't want to, it's that I won't. And so I have fewer things so that I don't have

to clean as often I think I did. We did a um my allergies were getting pretty bad this past allergy season, and so we did a deep clean of the entire house just for dust and we made it a focus. So that's like a really great cleaning tip. Like, so we didn't we were doing decluttering. We weren't doing

like sanitizing ing. Literally we were just dusting. And uh, there was some I have some mugs in the top on top, like decorative mugs at the top of my kitchen on top of my cabinets, and they were gross, like they had grease, Like I didn't know grease could get up and it was tops of kitchen cabinets gets grimy. Do yeah, clean it, y'all. It's uh, so I have to have, uh cabinets, so I have to clean those.

But like if I can get rid of as much other decor and appliances and things, then it's better for those. The once a year that I deep clean everything, because it only happens once a year. So number two, I'm still thinking about cleaning, uh, and how much I hate it. Number two, I have more time to do things I enjoy. So if you have spending less time cleaning, and I mean this this involves simple living, like simplifying your schedule,

having a minimalist schedule as well. You can have a really minimalist home, but if your schedule is jam packed, then you don't have time to enjoy your home. So she says with less cleaning and organizing, she can enjoy more things. But I think it it goes way beyond just cleaning. I think the more we focus on minimalism in the parts beyond our physical life, and I think physical gives us a quick one, right, Like we get rid of our stuff, we can instantly see that there

is less and that permeates into other things. But yeah, you do have more time to do things that you value and that you enjoy when you are obviously not cleaning as much, but can discern the things in your cow nder and in your lifestyle that are really there to serve you or are just clutter. Mm hmm. Yeah, it's just an overall getting to the things that matter most having a minimalist schedule, budget, home. All of these things helped clear it all away to be able to

focus on what's actually most important to you. I think that's kind of the bottom line there. Number three that she lists on here is that she has more money. So by reducing consumption and paying attention to where her money goes more each month, it saves money, it frees up money, and I would agree. I think that this

has been my experience as well. Minimalism has taught me a lot about contentment, not wanting as much, being happy with the things that I do have because they actually serve a function for me, and so I'm just I'm not spending as much, so it freeze up money for other things, the things that I want that money to be able to go to. Yeah, and I say this quite a lot on for me, Like if I have a minimalist design in a middimalist home, then I no

longer buy home decor or for anything. Like if you believe that a part of your life is complete physically, then you no longer spend money to complete it. So whether that is your home design or gosh, this might be a little too deep, but like even your body like, if you feel like your body, if you're content, you feel like your body is complete, then you will no longer waste money trying to make it complete. So there

is yeah, and unpack that how you will. But yeah, I mean if if you have this mindset, then yeah, you don't. You no longer spend money trying to complete things. If you feel there, why I just you know, stop showering, shoot my teeth. I am enough and I am complete. You are unpacking that little little is gen because I think you know, you're talking about spending money on various diets and fads that might not actually be serving us.

It's spending money on maybe even cosmetic things or clothing because we think it's going to give us the next boost of beauty or acceptance. And so if we are content with ourselves and some of the basic ways that we're caring for ourselves, that's definitely going to reduce the amount of spending. I love that, and then said, I mean I spend money on a gym membership and races, Like I spend money, you know, to help my body, but not because I think it's incomplete, because I enjoy

challenging my body to do better things. Well, there's a maintenance component, and I think it doesn't negate nutrition and exercise, but things that are above and beyond that, and they cost more than what we actually need to be spending. Or if it's related to being discontent, that's another story, right. I think it's the discontentment portion, whether we're talking about body image or home image. If you're content, you're looking

for ways to improve UM. If you are discontent, you're looking for ways to complete and both have a cost, but one has um. One is like at cost of you know, your mental health to an extent. MHM Number

four is I'm conscious about the things I buy. I love this one because it's we It's so rare for people to talk, like outside of the sustainability niche to talk about sustainability, and I'm just like glad that she's putting it in to the context, like she's conscious about the items and not just I mean, she doesn't talk about cost, but she's not just like buying things because they are the cheapest. So she says, I take my time when purchasing a new shirt or piece of technology,

I think if I really need it or not. When it comes to the beauty products with the food. She pays attention to ingredients, and I would say also pay attention to where a garment is made or how it's made, where you're getting it from, so you can if you're buying less, if you're shopping is minimalist, then you can take more time to think about the journey that an item takes to get into your house. You can't do

that if you're buying a lot. I'm definitely a lot more conservative with my spending when I think do I want to have this for years to come, versus just approaching it from a either not really thinking that much or throw away thoughts you know, where you just okay, it doesn't matter. I just I like it. Maybe I'll wear it once. But is this going to be a regular part of my wardrobe? Do I like all facets

of it and all the ways that it fits. I think it makes me personally a lot more choosy, and as a result, I do spend less because that is

kind of the standard. Now that I've done this work, I'm really bullish about not wanting to bring more things into my house, and I I think I also like to think, like, is buying this and I think about this for new items because I don't buy exclusively used, but when I buy something new, I was like, am I okay, Am I telling this company that I am okay with the way this is made, that I want them to produce more of this item in the way

that it was produced. Because when you give a company money, you're telling them I want more of what you're doing. Because the only thing that talks is money in you know, in the marketplace US. Sure, yeah, that's the only thing that talks. So if you do not give a company your money, then you are telling them I do not like your business practice. If you do, then you are saying do more of what you're already doing. Number five is I don't feel guilty about the items that I keep.

Oh I love this one too, because once you've done and minimalism isn't just about the declutter, I think that's just it's one small aspect. Somehow it gets most of the attention. Yeah, declutter is needs to happen, but minimalism is more of a lifestyle and approach, and so once that happens, the things that we do have and keep and choose to continue to engage and interact with, there's not guilt about that because there has been intentionality in why am I keeping this? Or if I buy something,

what am I going to use this for? And making sure that it lasts a while. So there doesn't have to be that like emotional mental baggage with the things that are in my home of like why is this here? It's taking up so much mental space and capacity. So I would agree with this one too, very guilt free with the possessions that remain in my home. Well, we have to say the same thing about our spending when

we sometimes budget for something and spend on it. If you're really pushing to reach a financial goal, you can feel guilty even spending money on the things that you've budgeted for. So there has to be this shift in saying like, there is no guilt on the things that I spend money on if I know that that is what I value, and there's no guilt on the things that I don't spend money on and transferring it to there's no guilt for getting rid of something, and there's

no guilt for keeping something. You design your own minimalism and it's yours and you shouldn't if any part of it may makes you feel guilty, then you're either following somebody else's standard of minimalism or you have to like really look inside to see like, Okay, what where is that from? Where is that coming from? And how can I like get that out of here? The part about

the gifts and the section makes me laugh. They're saying, you know, oftentimes you're given a gift out of tradition or obligation, and the writer said, it isn't due to someone wanting to give you something you keep the rest of your life. I don't know anyone that gives you something and expects you to keep it no matter what. Apparently she's not that my mom. I'm like, what, No, I definitely have received gifts where the expectation from the gift or is that I will use it and love

it and keep it forever. M Thankfully, my mother knows me well enough at this point that she has needed to come to accept the fact that I probably won't keep hardly anything from my childhood or other eyes. My mom told me last Christmas, She's like, be upfront with me. If you plan on returning or giving away anything I give you, just give it back to me. And I was like, Oh, that's gotten obvious. I have not hit

it anymore. Um, but it's also like, so she gives much better gifts now, like because of that, she's more intentional about the gifts she gives us, you know, because of that. And I don't know, it's not I don't think that's like a sale to like train your family to give better gifts. But yeah, I am thinking now she thought that I would keep everything. Yeah, I think that's only a mother situation. I think most other people who give you a gift, there's no obligation there. Unless

your mother gives you a gift. It's full of obligation and expectations. That's that's where boundaries and communication come into play. You can all learn and grow absolutely all right. So number six is that for her life is simpler, She says, my life is simpler and more enjoyable. Everything simple, simple wardrobe, simple meal plants, simpler routines. I love this idea of simple over minimal because when we think of minimalism and minimalists,

we think of less. Mostly, I just think of simpler because simple things that are simple are sustainable, Like minimal isn't always sustainable, but simple is sustainable when you've got the simple wardrobe. You wear it, you go through everything, and and since you're wearing everything, you actually keep I mean, things last longer because you're not wearing you know, there's

this weird phenomenon. If you have like thirty shirts, then you wear like two shirts over and over again and then and so those don't last, and then you don't wear the other twenty eight. But if you ten shirts, you cycle through all ten. And there's I've don't know the research to back that up. I don't even know if there's research, but in my life, that is a weird phenomenon that I've seen. So that's you know, simple wardrobe,

simple meal plans, simple recipes get done. Like if your your meal plan is full of like gourmet things from the feed, feed, like cut it out because those the food like ingredients go to waste. Like simple meal plans, simple recipes, simple routines that like don't make your young children overwhelmed or you like, I just that is minimalism to me. It's cutting out all the clutter in every part of your life, simplifying so that all that remains is what lights you up and what lights your partner

up and what lights your family up. Yeah, I love that distinction that there it's possible that we might have a few extra things in order to make life more simple for our circumstances. So yeah, again, just permission to have this look for you different from other people. Whatever is going to work though. Number seven on here is I enjoy being at home And I can really resonate with this one too. This is like a newfound experience

for me. I don't know that I ever used to be one to fully understand when people are like I just like being home. I just want to go home and be home. And it still is not totally my mantram, but I do understand it more. You travel a lot, but you also have people at your home a lot, so yeah, yeah, it probably has to do with having a home. But certainly when it feels peaceful and calm,

that that can create a cozy and comfortable environment. When it doesn't feel dirty, untidy, overwhelming, chaotic, busy, complicated, then home can be a really enjoyable, RESTful place. And and certainly where you have contentment, then yeah, you certainly feel at home there. So I love what she's saying there, and I can attest to that as well. Yeah, I

think with anything that is unknown, we avoid it. So she's saying, like now that she's you know, simplified and minimize, she can find things so she doesn't have to waste time searching for things. Like when we before paying off debt, I just avoided my navigant account like the plague, because I didn't want to look at it, because I didn't know how I was gonna pay it off, so I

didn't I didn't look at it. And like when your home is cluttered and you don't know how to get it to the picture that you want it to look like, you just avoid it. You avoid being there. But if you can, like bust it out and you subtract act everything. I heard this recently, this design tip. It was from like fix and flip rehabbers from real estate, but I think it was so wise. It's aid add by subtracting.

So basically for their properties, they just take away everything as much as possible, leave the things that are still you know, working and have to be there, and then just take away everything else. Landscaping, just take it all away and then only add back what is like desperately necessary. You know, it's like mulch on the ground, very minimal everything,

and I love that idea. I did this on a smaller scale um with my fridge, and it was inadvertent because we had to clean the fridge front face and we took off all of the magnets and pictures and drawings, and then I only put back what I thought really needed to be there. And it's something I wouldn't have done just like looking at it just taking things off. But I had to take away everything and only intentionally

put back what I wanted. And what a great way to look at things to always just have the mindset of Okay, let's strip everything away and we only put back what matters, and and that's a lot easier than trying to just like take things away slowly or nitpick away. Yeah. I like allowing the holidays to jump start that for me. So I decorate for Christmas every year, and then I feel like I experience what you're describing. When I take all of the decorations down and I repack everything up.

It almost gives me fresh eyes from the space of oh yeah, I do like it so much more when there's not as much stuff, and then the things that I choose to put back into that space are much more intentional, and so I think even grasping onto some of these typical rituals and routines throughout our year can help us to see how we want the space to look and be and what's most important to remain. Yeah, all right. The last one for me is I notice and appreciate more of the small things in life. And

this is super important. There are so many small things that we try to ignore, um like by being on our phones or just focusing on like big things. But like she's saying, before decluttering, I was distracted by all the stuff, didn't see the small things in life that really added value. Now I make sure to take note of small things. With gratitude journaling, she spends five minutes writing all the things she's grateful for for the day.

I really am a huge advocate for just one sentence journaling, Like one sentence every day something you're thankful for or something that happened, whatever, But just like one sentence a day, that's it's all. You need to have three sentences in a year. How great is that? That's awesome? I like that,

super attainable. And the last one on this list is my mental health has improved, so for this article, they're saying that minimalism has absolutely freed up mental space, noticing that sensory levels are more stable, and just an overall again I think contentment. It sounds like for her minimalism has helped her focus in on her self care routine. So again, when we have minimalism, simple ways of life routines, schedules, it does give us time and money to put towards

the things that actually matter. And so some of that can be how we choose to care for ourselves doing things that are life giving, enjoyable, beautiful, and that absolutely has a positive impact on our mental health. So I would agree this is another peripheral impact of minimalism, and I love that she highlighted this. Mm hmmm. So our next article is how minimalism can help or hurt your finances, So this is we're gonna kind of breeze over this a little bit more, but we're just we're going a

little bit deeper on the money aspect. And this is from the Balance and it's written by Alla Linton, who I actually know. So I'm excited to go through this one. What do you think about it, Jill? I love this perspective of saying how it can help your finances and how it can hurt your finances. I think there are ways that minimalism is very congruent with frugality, and there's times when it can maybe be an offshoot of it.

They may not align perfectly, or it depends on kind of how we approach frugality, but I think this is worth looking at. That it doesn't always mean that we're going to save money. It can and absolutely mean that, but I love this additional perspective and almost a warning of potential pitfalls. I see this article as so, Yeah, I think it's worth looking at both how it can

help and how it can hurt. And so they start off with how how it can improve our finances, and so for starters, minimalism does discourage excess, So it does give this rejection of over consumption and encourages us to limit possessions to the essentials, which is going to automatically mean buying fewer things, spending less money on maintaining or

replacing belongings. So when we just don't need as much, don't buy as much, then that of course is going to have a good benefit on our finances, just because in general it discourages taking on more, owning more, and instead having less. Yes, it says minimalism courses you to prioritize your spending as well. So many people incorrectly assume

minimalism means having an aversion to buying. While this indeed could be one approach, minimalism is less about avoiding spending and more about spending intentionally, which is literally all we talk about on this show. Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. So you just have to think twice about what you buy. You have to have. You have to do the hard work of figuring out your core values, figuring out your partner and your children's you know, values, and making sure

you're spending aligns with those. And the what I will spend on list is just as important as making a list of things I won't spend on. So that's also an important list to have. So things that you have spent on in the past that you have identified do not you know whether it bring you joy or fulfill your values or whatever that you make a conscious decision not to spend on in the future. For me, that's beer, I and an iced coffee, So I love drinking things.

Coffee and alcohol are or you know, things I enjoy, But when I would go out, I would go maybe getting iced coffee because it's cheaper, or I would go to a bar and get a beer obviously it's cheaper. I do not enjoy these things. I have decided I don't. I don't like beer, I don't like iced coffee. Um, I would prefer an iced latte or a cocktail when I go out. These things are more expensive, but I have prioritized them because I value the experience more and I will go out less if it means I can

enjoy the time I have out. So like I have put things on my I will not buy list. And now that I know, I can plan better and I can experience better times because of it. I appreciate that knowledge of self. I think that comes in this whole journey of minimalism and frugality, being curious with ourselves, knowing ourselves better, setting parameters around what's life giving and what's not. It's all part of this. The last thing on this list as far as how minimalism can help our finances

is that minimalism does encourage simple living. Like everything we talked about in the previous article, it's not just about having less, but can in some ways be about doing less or only engaging in activities that are fruitful, beneficial, life giving and maybe dropping costly commitments or activity. So

it's not just about things. It can also be about experiences that we pay for, and it can help our finances when we really get in touch with what are the experience as in activities that I actually want to spend on, and only spending on those things is going to have a beneficial impact on our wallets as well. Yeah, all right, so let's move on to how minimalism can

hurt your finances. And I actually think that this is more like how minimalism can hurt your heart or your pride more so than your finances, honestly, especially for this first one. So it says quality comes with a price. So one of the core tenets of minimalism is to prioritize quality over quantity. But with high quality comes a higher price tag and so that is not necessarily hurting your finances, it definitely hurts your budget in the time

that you buy it. Overall, though, we know that buying quality last longer, produces less waste, and saves you more in the long run. Typically, so I don't think it hurts your finances, but it does. It hurts your budget in the month you are buying it, and I think

it kind of hurts. It hurts me a little bit if I'm being honest to spend more for something of quality, even though I know that it's going to last longer and save more in the long run, even though I know, like it's still I don't know, it's a scarcy mindset that just like creeps up and saying like, oh, you don't have enough money to get the nice thing, Like you're not the nice thing buying person. Uh, you're the

generic buying person. And that is I think more of a thing to overcome when we're talking about buying quality. I think it can great against some of the characteristics

that can be true about us frugal folk. And but I will say too, I think only spending quality on the things that matter the most I think where it can hurt our finances, as if we start to really adopt this outlook of well, I'm minimal, so I'm only going to buy the nicest things, and then we just start doing that for even the things that we actually don't need it to be that quality or it's not

actually that important of a thing to us. And I think that there are plenty of times where the middle of the road or even the lower cost option is still going to last long. And you can buy quality second hand. You can buy very amazing things that have already been used. So I agree and I disagree with this point. I still think it depends on the approach and what it is that we choose to buy quality with. In the long run, it can save us a lot

of money, for sure. The next one on here, though, I appreciate at this point as it relates to minimalism hurting our finances. Purging can cost us. So one of the things were related to minimalism is decluttering. It's not the only thing, but they're they're saying that it's possible that we go overboard, get rid of things, and then discover that we did need something and we rebuy it. I can see some people falling into that trap, like we're going to throw it all away. It's a minority

that is not the common approach. I've not the common approach. But the other thing though, that I can see as well happening that they point out is if you really embrace the Kamari method, where you only want to have things that smart joy. Sometimes this could lead to people getting rid of something to buy the better replacement because

they're gonna like it more. I the whole thing with KonMari is that you're, of course you're keeping things that don't directly spark joy, but you have the you have the They are a means to something that sparks joy for you. And so I I think to blame it

on the spark joy, you know. Excuse I just I don't. Yeah, I don't want to throw the Kumari method under the bus, but I could see that if you have something but it's not exactly the way that you want it to be in order for you to keep it long term, it's possible that you'd get rid of it to buy its better replacement. We don't necessarily have to put KonMari into that equation. I could see that happening, Yeah, for myself or others, I could. But the joy, the sparking joy,

isn't the thing like this. Does this thing? Does this iPhone spark joy? No? But it would if it was an iPhone A two. That's the wrong mindset to do. When you are doing the kun Marine method. It's like, does this iPhone spark joy? Like I get to take pictures and and do all this stuff, And yeah, I would like the newer one, but this one's okay. You know you will will upgrade when it's time sort of thing.

I think the key there is okay, potential pitfalls in it, and just a reminder to remain tethered in our process of this that be realistic about what you're getting rid of. If you're uncertain if you're gonna want it or need it in a few months from now, then you put it in a bin, out of sight, out of mind, and then come back to it six months later. Did you need those things? If not, okay, then you're free

to get rid of them. And and then just being realistic about the new things that you actually need to buy, not throwing all frugality, problem solving and sustainability out the window. Yeah, all right. And the last one on the list is that simple isn't necessarily cheap, and this is similar to the first one, is that quality it does cost more than everything that's cheap. So they're saying, if you're pursuing simplicity in your physical life, then that will flow over.

You want to live you know, more organically, sustainably and rethink what you drive where all of this stuff, which is great you should, but these things are more expensive. But the hope is that you are buying less of other stuff so that on the things you do care about you can spend a little more for. But again, it had like I, when I go to buy something that's more expensive, I could get it cheaper at lesser you know, lesser quality. I think, oh, I'm not the

kind of person that drives the electric car. I'm not the kind of person that shops at the health food store. You know. It's kind of it has to be an identity shift. And I know not all will think this way, but it's like what I struggle with, but I do. I think I live more by the let's just eliminate as much as possible so that I don't have to

make as many of these hard decisions. Um. And then I'm slowly kind of getting better at buying quality, buying sustainable, and then also kind of figuring out, Okay, what are the things I actually do need to buy and what are the things that I don't Because sometimes I'll go to the other end of the spectrum to be like, okay, now I'm okay with spending money on this, so I'll just go from spending zero on it to four hundred.

And that's not either. I think overall, minimalism's ability to save us money and help our finances far and above outweighs minimalism's ability to hurt our finances. There are some active, intentional decisions we need to make in that um, but most mostly it's going to breed contentment and less purchasing of things. And that's the takeaway. But you know what, I never want to minimize and I always want more of mm hmm we that's right. It's time for the

best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Duck bills, Buffalo bills, Bill Clinton, this is the bill of the week. Hey everybody, this is Lisa from New York and I am happy to say I have completed paying alimony. Whoo who done? Girls out there, get yourselves the prenup ladies, Lisa, I have to be honest. I listened to this one before

because it was so short. I was like, oh, is this a real Bill of the week, because it's just like an accidental call. And I heard it and I laughed then and I laughed now, And I love this excitement and it's it's definitely a new one for us. It's it's better than the debt free scream right now. I'm loving everything about it. It is a good idea to get a pre nup, especially if you are marrying

later in life. Um, and it's not We actually have an interview coming up next month that we've already recorded that where we talked a little bit about this. But uh yeah. Also, to be the woman who owes the alimony is also something that I am obsessed with. Get it, Lisa, right now. It's um, it's great. I love this will go down as one of my favorite bills. It's short, it's it's jubilant, and I want I want more of it.

I want more ands like this, And it teaches us all something, Well, if you want to submit your Bill of the week, if you've paid your last alimony payment, or you did get a prenup, or you did not get a prenup, or it has nothing to do with your maritalnbtuals. Visit propal, friends podcast dot com, slash bill, leave us your bill. You know this, and now it's time for people what frugal minimalism looks like for us because we want to keep it. We want to keep

this minimalism real niche like, we're not just minimalists. We are frugal and minimalist. So that looks different than somebody who considers them themselves like a sustainable minimalist primarily or just a minimalist. So we all we all look distinction. Yeah. Uh so, Jill, tell me about what frugal minimalism maybe looks like for you. Oh yeah, For me, it has wrapped up a lot in contentment. I think I've learned this a ton. Tiny living taught me a lot of

this because you couldn't bring more into the house. But I like your distinction there, Jen, because I think frugality could on one spectrum lead to hoarding, minimalism on one spectrum could lead to expense of and so the pairing of frugal minimalism for me, it means that I am making really intentional decisions with my finances and resources and and home and lifestyle. So because I'm I live frugally and minimally, it means that I'm not collecting things in

my home just because they're inexpensive. And I know that for some people with just the frugal mindset, it could mean that like, of course, I'm gonna buy ten toothpaste because look at how much I'll save in a year onto the base by using this coupon. So that's not my approach, and and with that it has led to

an extreme decrease in my thrift store shopping. Previously, I think I was just frugal, and when I paired it with minimalism, I realized that going to the thrift store and getting as many things as possible, even at like a steep discount don't wasn't actually serving me because I was filling my home with a ton of things that I didn't need and just kind of um caused me more stress and clutter in my house. So frugal minimalism

means just not buying and not having a ton. So for example, like we only have one vehicle, That of course works for our lifestyle because both Eric and I work from home, so that's fantastic, But things like that where it's leading me to only have the things that I need in a really frugal way. Yes, I agree with so so much of that. I won't copy you exactly, but I do agree with everything that you just said.

For us, I would say it looks like very minimalist decore in our house because and and not minimalist things. We still have a lot of toddler toys because everyone thinks a toddler needs multiple toys at every Christmas and Birthday. So we do have the toys. But I don't love decorating things, so I don't feel the need to try and be something i'm not and or do something I don't enjoy just because Instagram or hd h G t

V tells me I should. So that's something that we keep very minimal and that means that I buy less home to core, and what I do buy is from a thrift store. I definitely I have a smaller like I don't love to shop for clothes, so I just have fewer clothes naturally. But one of the ways I limit that is that primarily only by clothes from the thrift store or from the threat up. So I think that's those barriers. I try to I think the commitment

to shopping second hand first just naturally inhibits. It prevents me from going into stores that sell new things, and so that helps a lot. Yeah, I still make impulse purchases. Amazon is just really easy to do that, but I make a lot fewer of them because it's not the first place I go when I need something. Yes, uh, I love that. Yeah. Well, thank you everyone for listening.

We hope that this has inspired you in one way or another related to your finances, minimalism, how that pairing can look for you and let us know the benefits that you're seeing, whether that's in our Frugal Friends community group on Facebook, wherever you can find us Instagram, and we also want to thank you for your kind reviews on Apple. Podcasts like this one from veh L N one four one seven titled best Podcast for Values Based Living Happens to Be five stars. Jen and Jill are

fantastic hosts for this amazing podcast. They highlight the best things about frugal living. The word frugal can have a bad connotation to it, but as someone who is naturally frugal and prefer simpler living, finding this podcast and this community has helped me solidify my values and has helped me live my life and embrace my frugality. The personal finance aspect also has helped me tremendously. Thanks Jen and Jill, amazing,

so welcome. I'm so glad you you separated the frugality portion from the personal finance portion, because they are there are separate to an extent, and so I'm we're glad it's helped you with both. And we also want to thank our friends who share these episodes on social media. So when you share the latest episode on Instagram, we're adding you to our monthly drawing. For every five tags and reviews we get each month, we're giving away fifty

dollars for you to spend in the Frugal Friends shop. Whooo. So keep leaving us those reviews wherever you listen to podcasts and sending the screenshot to reviews at Frugal Friends podcast dot com, and don't forget to tag us on social See you next week. My Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirian Jen. I have done so well with not like buying anything because I've been sick for an eternity. It does seem that way. I feel like I was sick the entire month of December, and you have had

it January. It's been so long since we've been together in person, and that has been a travesty as well. Mm hmm. But soon we will be reunited. But I still won't spend any money, absolutely mean, thankfully. I just don't have a lot of money. I have everything you need right here, honey, everything you need right here. Come content for that content in relationships. Mm hmm, amen style. Oh my gosh. We're a month away from Valentine's Day, actually three days away. Yeah, no, um, get you chocolates,

Happy Valentine's Valentine's Day, keep it happy Galentine's Day. Yes, all right, enjoy