Is that your minimalist response? Lol.
I am definitely a minimalist. I grew up in a house with a basement full of stuff. My parents weren't hoarders but they didn't throw things away. I think it made me want to be the opposite...I also have moved a lot which has led me to trim the fat over and over. Currently I occupy a bedroom. When I pay off my debts and get my own place, I'll buy some more furniture.
Lol, I practice a form of Minimalism. All of my personal expenses are budgeted for the year and I'm living well below my means which allows me to PUT AWAY a significant amount of money per year into investments.
The key here is proper balance:
- You want to make as much income as you can. I believe LIFE starts at $50,000 a year in a low/average cost of living area as an individual, at bare minimum.
- You structure your expenses to where you can live in a decent area, drive a decent car, and have a decent overall life with a good amount of recreation/entertainment......but do so in a way to where you have money LEFT over at the end of the year to put away into investments.
To me Minimalism is a
deliberate act of living BELOW your means in order to BUMP up savings/investments, which means you make $100,000 a year but structure your personal expenses to be no more than $35,000 per year and (after paying taxes) you have at least $40,000 - $50,000 per year left to put into savings/investments.
Now some people promote themselves as being a "Minimalist" but they only make like $25,000 per year, i.e., Aaron Clarey. Well, to me that's not a Minimalist, that's just being BROKE, because once you pay for basic personal expenses, you have very little if anything left to put away for savings/investments.
