Tag: minimalism

Life is Short- Spend for Today vs. Save for Tomorrow

Life is Short- Spend for Today vs. Save for Tomorrow

Can you believe how much of your life has already passed?  F-word, man. Summer has for sure faded and we’re smack dab in the middle of fall.  This time of year always gets me thinking, usually about random stuff like the eternal expanse of space or wondering what the ancient Egyptians were really like but sometimes I think about money questions.  Questions like should we be in camp spend for today or camp save for tomorrow?  Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed and life passes us by at breakneck speeds, even if we are lucky enough to make it to this mythical tomorrow. Continue reading “Life is Short- Spend for Today vs. Save for Tomorrow”

What if Everyone Ate Rice and Beans?- The Hedonic Treadmill and Pursuing Happiness

"You know, if you could learn to cater to the king you wouldn't have to live on rice and beans.' To which the monk replies: 'If you could learn to live on rice and beans, you wouldn't have to cater to the king." - The Simple Path to Wealth

Woooo girl.  Rice and beans.  That little parable is straight fire, as the kids say.  Red, hot fire.  At least they used to say stuff was fire, until adults started to say it on their financial blogs.  Now kids no longer feel the need to say it.   If you’re wondering, yes, I did high-five myself when I read that story.  It’s called a clap, it’s trendy.

If you would only spend your days working your life away you wouldn’t have to live so frugally.

OR

If you would only learn to live more frugally you wouldn’t have to spend all your precious days working. Continue reading “What if Everyone Ate Rice and Beans?- The Hedonic Treadmill and Pursuing Happiness”

5 Amateur Tips You Can Use to Keep Your Wardrobe in Check

Last month I posted an article about 7 Things I do Every Morning to Avoid Decision Fatigue.  One aspect of that is my wardrobe.  I love my wardrobe.  I love my wardrobe because I have very little in it and I only wear what fits the best and is the most comfortable. If it isn’t comfortable, or doesn’t go with everything else, I’ve pretty much gotten rid of it.

“You’re trick to a great wardrobe is to not own any clothes?”- A naysayer 

Continue reading “5 Amateur Tips You Can Use to Keep Your Wardrobe in Check”

Local Minimalists Give up Dresser/Ceiling in Bid to Find Freedom

Portland, ORE. -Local aspiring minimalists, Jane and Fred Teeples, made headlines this week by taking their minimalism to new levels and getting rid of their dresser.

“We want to become minimalists,” Fred said as he proudly stood in a pile of loose clothes inside their Multnomah County home.

Continue reading “Local Minimalists Give up Dresser/Ceiling in Bid to Find Freedom”

The Retirement Plant- Your Life is a Garden and Each Expense is a Plant

Retirement is a Plant in the Garden of Life. 

What is your financial goal?  Is it to own a bigger house, fill your closet with nicer things, be able to not worry about each months bills, or to fully fund your retirement accounts?  Whatever your financial goals are, the way you think about your expenses can make a huge difference on your success.

Think of your life as a 4×6 foot patch of dirt.  It starts off bare, but as we get older, we start to add plants to it until one day we look up and we’ve made an entire garden. Continue reading “The Retirement Plant- Your Life is a Garden and Each Expense is a Plant”

Financial Independence- The Freedom to Choose

What is Financial Independence and why do we pursue it?

In a nutshell, financial independence is when you have enough passive income to cover your basic expenses.  Being financially independent means working for money is optional.

We are pursuing financial independence because life is short.  We both enjoy our jobs but we want the freedom to take time off, spend more time with our future children, and travel more.

Being financially independent also guards against having a financial emergency if something happens and one or both of us are no longer ABLE to work. Continue reading “Financial Independence- The Freedom to Choose”

Minimalism- The Gum Splitting Movement

Today’s minimalism inspired blog post is a topic we’ve all debated for years- How can I reach true life optimization by chewing gum?  More specifically, how can I reach it by becoming a minimalist gum chewer?  It’s like a type of nirvana us humans aspire to attain.  I’m sure there have been thousands of articles written about gum chewing but keep with me.

There’s something magical about the minimalism movement.  Every item you have has a place and a purpose and there isn’t a lot of useless sh*t cluttering up your view of these few precious things. Continue reading “Minimalism- The Gum Splitting Movement”