After spending the previous week completely detached from work (to spend the whole week doing fun stuff with my son for the last hurrah of summer break), I came to a very important realization.
Minimalism is the key to my happiness and success.
I’ve been kind-of-thinking this for a while, but my time away really solidified it. I don’t just think it’s true anymore, I feel it in my heart. And my anxieties are starting to melt away as a result.
The roadmap has become so clear. Which solidifies the confidence and belief that I will achieve my goals. It’s inevitable. And less uncertainty means less stress (and more joy).
I encourage you to think about what your roadmap looks like, based on what you want to achieve in life. As for me, it looks like this:
1) Coach my son’s baseball team and build a strong community of friends around it.
2) Acquire 10 new clients / families before closing off my financial planning practice to additional clients / families.
3) Maximize the quality of this newsletter and my blog (which will also increase my value to my planning clients).
That’s it. Everything else is a distraction or planned down time.
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I had been planning to launch Season 2 of the Affordable Freedom Podcast in the fall. I even started recording some intros with some of the awesome cast members that will be joining full time in the new season.
But it became clear that I was spreading myself too thin, as I began feeling the same type of burnout symptoms that I experienced during my corporate career. Why would I do this to myself when I’m my own boss?!
As Dan Koe said in a recent newsletter of his, “Minimalism is not about having less, it’s about making room for more of what matters.”
And as Pareto taught us, focusing on the 20% of things that really matter will drive 80% of our results in life.
I will revisit the podcast in the new year. After I’ve completed the priorities above, I’ll be in a much better head space to ensure the podcast is great. So it can also become a money maker.
This is how I’m using minimalism to increase my happiness, success, and earning potential.
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And this week’s guest author — my good friend (and minimalism coach), Jimmy Helmick — provides a phenomenal overview of why minimalism can also help you crush your debt and save more money.
When coupled with increased earning potential, this can create significant financial margin in your life. Which is the fastest way to build wealth.
Take it away, Jimmy!
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One of the things I don’t talk about too often is how much better my financial situation has become since I started practicing minimalism, or essentialism. Six years ago, I was making considerably more than I make now, but I was buried in debt. I really didn’t think I’d be able to dig myself out unless I had a major financial windfall.
As I started to learn about minimalist principles, and started decluttering my life, I realized that what I was earning wasn’t really the problem, it was more about what I was spending. This might seem like an overly obvious statement, but to many, it isn’t.
It’s easier to complain about not making enough money than it is to take a closer look at where that money is going and taking responsibility. But only one of those efforts is actually productive.
As they saying goes, “When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is…
…Stop Digging”
If you’re in a situation where you have unhealthy debt, or you’re simply not moving your financial goals quickly enough, here are a few helpful things to try:
- Take an inventory of your financial status. What is your total amount of debt? What are your total assets? What are your goals?
- Review monthly expenses to know exactly where you’re spending your money. How much are you spending on essentials vs extras? Do you really use ALL of those streaming services?
- Create a budget that takes into account your current spending as well as your overall goals. It should be realistic and achievable, but reasonably aggressive. There are lots of different tools and apps available for this, and there is no wrong way to do it. The important thing is that you start tracking it.
- Sell non-essential items to reduce clutter and free up that cash. I don’t personally recommend a yard sale, but some people do that. I like to use eBay, but you could also sell to consignment or secondhand stores as well.
- Put a temporary hold on all purchases unless they are truly necessary.
All of these actions will help give you a quick bump of progress, and motivate you to keep going.
Ongoing Benefits
Ok, so you have stopped digging, but here is where the major benefits start to take hold. Utilizing these philosophies will save you a ton of money as well as stress, time, and energy.
Buy less and save more.
Easier said than done for a lot of us, but here are three main things to consider when shopping.
- Consider whether it is truly necessary? This means many different things to everyone, but if we’re being honest with ourself, the answer is fairly clear, even if we don’t want to admit it. The next tip can help greatly with this.
- Give yourself a little space and time before deciding? The amount of time of course would be different for everyone and would depend on the level of spend.
- Focus on quality over quantity. Over and over again we see how focusing on fewer, but higher quality items will save you money in the long run. This philosophy takes extra effort and possibly cost upfront, but over time will save you a life-changing amount of money.
The main point here is that YOU should be in control of what you have and buy. YOU should be the one deciding how you spend your time, energy, and money. Don’t let advertisements, sales, or other social pressures dictate how you live your life.
This is a very difficult mindset shift to make, but I guarantee it’s worth the effort.
Remember, life is pretty great.
Keep it simple.
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