Do Less (10 page)

Beyond simple shelter and food, we spend our money on what we value—hence the term “value spending.” For some, that value is living in a large home in the suburbs, for others it's a sleek condo in the city, and for others it might be somewhere in between the two. Whereas one person may value the best cell phone or driving a newer car, another may put value on her education with evening courses and weekend retreats. No person's choice is better than another's.

The key to understanding the root of value spending is this: you have a choice with how you spend your money. Yes, each time you open your wallet, it's a choice. What you value in life should be what you spend money on. Do you make thoughtful, planned decisions, or do you buy first and think later?

That doesn't mean the choices are easy, though. The size and location of your home, the type of car you drive, and your cell phone plan—these are big decisions, and in most cases, the minimalist approach is not the popular one. Yet, you
can
:

• Choose to live in a smaller home
  
• Get rid of the second car
  
• Live without cable (or even a television)
  
• Do away with your expensive cell phone plan
  
• Stop coloring your hair
  

Making minimalist decisions can simplify your life and free up money that you could put toward things you value more: saving, travel, education, fitness, charity, and most of all, more time. Consider that by choosing the more expensive option in each of these cases, you're also choosing to:

• Work more
  
• Not have money for other things you want to do
  
• Add stress to your life by having lots of bills hanging over your head
  

Minimalist value-spending choices can be a challenge for many newcomers to the lifestyle. Take it slow, and start by prioritizing what you value in your life.

What do you value? List the top three things. It could be family, work success, your health, friendship, or creativity. How does your spending align with those values?

• If you value family and friendships, how do you spend your money so that you invest in those people and your relationship with them? Do you travel to see family and friends that are far away? Do you host large gatherings at your home?
  
• If health is something you value, do you spend your money on a personal trainer and organic food?
  
• If work success is at the top of your list, do you spend your money on household services so that you can spend more time working? Do you invest in career-specific education?
  

If you're not sure how much of your money is going to each category, make a quick tally of what you spend each month and what percentage of that spending is on the things you value most.

As you reflect on how your spending aligns with what you value, you may find that your values are nowhere to be seen. For example:

• You might value your community, but a large portion of your income is spent commuting into the city.
  
• You may say you value health, but your discretionary income is eaten up by takeout meals and your twice-daily latte habit.
  

This is not a time to feel regret or guilt. The conflict and misalignment between what you want and what you actually do is a challenge many people today face. Often you let yourself be pushed into spending money on things that your peers value or that you think you should value, instead of what truly speaks to you and your own wants and needs. This is, sadly, not that unusual. As you just saw when you uncluttered each room of your house in the Home section, it's very easy to buy, or in this case buy into, things you never needed or really wanted.

The exciting news is that you don't have to continue spending your money on things you don't really want. In these next sections, you'll create a plan to change your spending so you can Do Less and Live More.

One of the reasons our spending becomes so out of line with our values is that we think we need and want what those around us have. We should want a bigger home, a renovated kitchen, and an SUV that guzzles gas. We should be eating at restaurants as much as our friends do. We should be wearing the latest trends and fashions all the time. We should want and have everything we see our peers buying and doing.

The truth is, having everything has never made anyone happy. But if you've fallen into that trap, you're not alone. Many of us have sought out a promotion or new car, a new neighborhood, or even an elaborate wedding, with the idea that this one thing, a life milestone or massive purchase, will make us happy. But did it? The expense and stress involved with a wedding often brings unhappiness. The real contentment from a marriage doesn't come from a lavish wedding dress or an open bar, but from small moments and work that you put in daily over many years. If you're not happy with your life before you spend a lot of money on your dream kitchen with the subway tiles and granite countertops, you probably won't be happy after.

It sounds cliché, but spending money and buying things doesn't bring happiness. But having what you want—what you truly need for wellness and the time and focus to do things that really matter to you—that is a recipe for a contented life. Dismiss the idea that the conventional benchmarks of success—big house, new car, lavish vacations—are markers of happiness. In the minimalist life, you can make your own benchmarks for success, and they can be anything from sleeping in until noon every Saturday because you no longer have a lawn to mow to taking a month of unpaid leave from your job so that you can volunteer overseas. The possibilities for finding what truly brings contentment to your life are unlimited.

When you let go of keeping up with the Joneses, you'll find the resources to actually have the things
you
really want. The minimalist life means charting your own path to happiness. It's a path that dismisses the frequent affordable luxuries so many of us think are necessities for bigger luxuries like time and financial freedom. As you pare down possessions and commitments to achieve these big luxuries, you'll start to see that the Joneses don't have it all. The Joneses have trapped themselves in a cycle of wanting more and spending more and none of it will ever be enough. More monthly payments will eat up the raise, and the bonus will go to keeping creditors at bay. In comparison, your raise or bonus or small windfall will be found money that you can spend or not spend as you please. That is the kind of flexible and easy freedom that comes from a minimalist life.

An easy way to forget about the Joneses? Stop comparing. Accept that all of us have different needs and wants. Yours won't be the same as your friends' and that's okay. The goal is not to live like everyone else but to know what brings value and joy to your life. Have the courage to fill your life with those people, hobbies, and activities, instead of the things those around you choose.

It's all too easy to buy things today. Cheap clothing, everyday luxuries bought at the cosmetics counter, and inexpensive housewares at dollar stores make it easy to fritter away your money. All this cheap and easy stuff has made delayed gratification obsolete. Why bother waiting patiently and saving to buy that well-made wool coat that will last a decade when today you can buy the cheap synthetic knockoff that will last one season? We've lost the art of delayed gratification and our lives and homes are the worse for it.

Delayed gratification makes you value what you have more. Those impulse purchases are more likely to be lost or carelessly broken because you didn't work hard for them in the first place. But that new laptop that you saved for a year before buying? That laptop is treated with kid gloves and routinely cleaned and serviced so that it will last a long, long time. Not only do we treat the things we work hard for better, but we also enjoy them more. Dessert on a day when you played tennis for two hours is more satisfying than stuffing your face with chocolate at the movies when you haven't worked out all week. You value and enjoy what you work hard for, more than what you carelessly buy and consume.

Waiting for something makes you savor it more. When you wait all week to finally watch the season finale of your favorite television show, you enjoy it more than watching it while multitasking through household chores you can't put off. This works for the small and the big. Make a game of it. Challenge yourself to pack your lunch all week and put the money you save into an account marked for something special. When you finally hit your savings goal, you'll get more value from the purchase than what it actually cost. The work you put into waiting and building anticipation for the end result actually increases the enjoyment and value of it.

What if there was infinite money in your bank account? What if you never had to worry about a bill or mortgage payment or baseball fees or what that new furnace is going to cost? One trick to changing your mindset about money is to practice abundance. It sounds counterintuitive, but it doesn't mean spending every penny you have or pretending your annual salary has doubled. Instead, practicing abundance means freeing yourself of worries of scarcity. Here are three ways to practice abundance:

1. Give your time freely. If someone you know needs help, offer assistance without any worry about it negatively impacting your own needs or commitments.
   
2. Share your possessions freely. Give your stash of baby gear that you are saving for a potential future child away to people who can use it today. Loan your second car to a friend who can't afford to get hers fixed.
   
3. Don't worry about future needs. This doesn't mean not preparing for retirement or not planning who's going to pick the kids up from swimming tomorrow. It means that those problems you imagine in the future—the ones that could or could not happen, like losing your great job or urgent and expensive home repairs—shouldn't weigh heavily in your thoughts today. Do your best with the information at hand and the things that have actually happened or are on this week's calendar. If that “what if” scenario does happen, you can deal with it then. Don't bother worrying about it now.
   

When you practice abundance, you not only create more calm and less stress in your life, but you also practice the law of attraction. If you want good things to happen in your life, start by doing good things for others. If you think and act as if there is an abundance in this world, there will be.

Being in control of your finances and spending doesn't need to be overly complicated or time-consuming. The goal with minimalism is to have to Do Less, not more. Complicated money-management systems often create more work and stress. The intention with minimalist money tools is to give you a clear picture of your spending and help you achieve your goals. Those goals could be spending less on transportation and more on health or reducing your monthly fixed costs so you can work less. You make the goals and then use these tools to help achieve them.

Budgeting can be fun. Really, it can. Whether you're a big earner or make an average wage, budgeting will allow you more freedom with your finances and help you meet your goals. It doesn't have to be complicated or boring. A lot of people feel budgets are meant to limit spending and that budgeting is really just another word for deprivation and saying no a lot. On the contrary, budgets can actually help you say yes more and also help you see that you are richer than you think.

So let go of your preconceived notions about budgets and also let go of any failed budgeting attempts you've made in the past. This time will be different. This time, you'll start with the minimalist approach: You already have all, and more, than you need.

Now that you've let go of keeping up with the Joneses and made note of how you spend money on your needs and wants, it's time to go minimalist with your bills. This is where the fun starts and where you start creating room in your budget for things like working less, saving more, and spending on things that actually bring value into your life.

The goal with a minimalist approach to finances is simplicity and awareness. You want to have a good understanding of where your money is going and not feel burdened by dozens of bills that are hard to keep track of and that hinder your cash flow. Ideally, you want to pay bills automatically each month, so you merely need to check your accounts online periodically to see that everything is running smoothly. If you find it hard to track what's coming in and what's going out of your bank account each month, or if you are overwhelmed by the sheer number of bills, it's a sign that your finances need a facelift. Re-evaluate everything beyond rent, utilities, and basic transportation.

Start by making a quick list of discretionary and nondiscretionary bills. Nondiscretionary bills are things like mortgage or rent, and home, life, and health insurance. As you tally your discretionary bills, make a note of which bills could be renegotiated or possibly reduced. Could you renegotiate your mortgage and knock $50 a month off of it? What about your life insurance or home insurance? Call the agents and review what your policy covers, if it's still appropriate for your life situation, and if they can offer you a better rate. Often one phone call can result in a few hundred dollars of savings each year.

Look at your nondiscretionary bills with an open mind. What are you really and truly using on a daily basis? Everything should be on the table for elimination or reduction. Do you really need the most comprehensive cell phone package? Do you read the newspaper daily or does it just fill up the recycling bin? If you do read the paper, could you read one at the office for free on your lunch break and switch to just receiving the weekend paper? If you have an expensive cable television package and a digital video recorder, think about how often you use them. Could a Netflix subscription and streaming television shows online save you $100 a month? Be open to experimenting with cutting services. Get over the fear that these changes have to be permanent. They don't. If you cut your cable package and then decide a few months later that you want it back, the provider will often offer you an incentive rate to get you to sign up again. Experiment with downsizing in different areas to find the extras and services that are easiest for you to part with.