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Starting from nothing - the liberation and wealth that comes with financial minimalism

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@fredrikaa
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Financial minimalism has been a popular topic the past few years, and for good reasons. I've been incorporating it myself, although I started doing so long before I was aware of the trend. Here is how I approach financial minimalism, the benefits I've seen, and why I think you should try it out too.

Most people who first considers financial minimalism start off with an interest to simply make more money, or increase their wealth. But what's the best place to start if your goal is to quickly impact how much money you have? Imo, the best place is almost always to start by cutting out any unnecessary costs that you already have, and start from financial minimalism.

Although in the long term, establishing new and scalable revenue streams will be the ultimate road to success, it may take a good while to achieve. Cutting costs, on the other hand, can be done immediately and give immediate benefits. On top of immediately increasing how much your actual wealth goes up each month by reducing the monthly costs that are subtracted from your existing income, it also allows you over time to significantly increase your revenue by giving you more investable money.

"But Fredrik, I don't want to live like a poor college student! I would rather enjoy life now than live like shit in order to save more money for when I'm old and can't do shit anyways!"

This is a common rebuttal (excuse) that many make as an automatic response to the idea of living more like a financial minimalist. However, I've found that this always comes from people who have not yet tried it out in practice, but merely make up an emotional response to defend their way of life or to avoid needing to change.

Here's a different perspective: Having more investable assets at the end of each month to put into your favourite stock, crypto or other portfolio-item is exciting! (And rewarding over time). Also, reducing the number of "things" in your house, number of trips to the stores, and bills that you have to pay is very liberating. First it reduces time, attention and stress spent on things that you don't want. Second, experiencing that you can handle yourself with less makes you more confident in taking risks and being ambitious, as you know that even in the worst case, you'll still be fine. This alone is incredibly liberating!

And perhaps least expected, I've found that the less things I pay more, the more I enjoy even the simplest of things. Understanding that our minds and bodies are adaptable, it makes sense. The more you stimulate the brain by rewarding it with a certain pleasure, the less sensitive it will be to that pleasure. So rather than continuously moving the goalpost for what your mind and body considers pleasurable, making it more expensive and likely unhealthy in the process, why not keep it cheap and simple while experiencing more or less the same pleasure?

So how have I incorporated this into my own life?

Every time I've moved (which is now 3 times since mid 2016), I've set out to challenge myself to see how little I am able to survive on for just one month.

Why one month? Because it is short enough to appear as a realistic challenge (imagine telling yourself you would go from normal to minimalism forever? You would probably say "fuck this" after just two days). But one month is something most can consider as just a fun challenge to prove to oneself that they can do something even if it's inconvenient. At the same time, one month is long enough to make new habits stick. Whether it is getting used to being happy with less things. Getting used to planning your weekly spendings in advance, or prepping your meals to reduce costs per serving.

Then, once I'm there, I'm not afraid to add things to my budget, but only if it's something that I actually believe will make me happier and bring me closer to my goals. For instance, I have a gym subscription, I eat as healthy as anyone you're likely to know, and don't mind going on a party once in a while. While I shop new clothes, furniture, technology etc very seldomly, I don't mnd paying for high quality. These are all things that, although not as cheap as it could be, are things I really do know I can rationalize. But starting from the point of financial minimalism means that they are the exeptions and not the norm.

It's the small things you do every dayt that make the big difference in the long run. Not the occasional deviation in either direction. At least I've noticed not only that I've always been able to save much more than my friends and/or colleagues, but I even find it fun and motivating (sounds crazy if you believe spending more will make you happier) because I can really feel how every day takes me closer to my goals.

You should try it too! :)

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