How Minimalism Saves Money

Most of us have heard of Minimalism, but did you know it isn’t just plain walls and clear surfaces? Minimalism is a popular approach to every aspect of life which, when done correctly, could completely transform your life for the better. Not only can you have a simpler, more care free life, but minimalism can also help you save money. Find out how minimalism saves money and how you can implement these ideas into your everyday life.

In a world of endless consumerism, cutting back on your spending and your overall needs in life can have a very positive impact on your spending.

Discover how embracing minimalism can lead to significant savings and a much more fulfilling life.

After this post, you should have many practical tips and insights that will help you save money by implementing minimalism into your life.

What is Minimalism?

Minimalism is a lifestyle that puts emphasis on simplicity and living intentionally. When applied to finances, minimalism encourages you to prioritise spending on essential needs and meaningful experiences. Whilst cutting out anything that does not add value to your life.

Minimalism is often thought of as the antithesis of consumerism. But in a world where everyone has to have the latest, viral products, it is very difficult to break out of consumerism to try to lead a more minimalist lifestyle.

Minimalists often save substantial amounts of money as they make thoughtful and conscious choices when spending, they sell and declutter possessions and embrace a more mindful and streamlined approach to their finances.

Mindful Spending

Let’s start with the obvious benefit of minimalism…. Less Spending!

Minimalism is all about living with the essentials and not overcrowding your home or your life. So that means you will spend much less on unnecessary items. You won’t fill your shelves with random ornaments and you won’t buy every piece of clothing you see in the sale.

Some minimalists actually opt for a capsule wardrobe where your whole wardrobe is full of basics and classic items that all coordinate with each other. This saves so much time when deciding what to wear, and ensures that you don’t waste your money on any items that would not match the rest of your clothes.

If you want to know the what unnecessary things you waste your money on I have made a dedicated post of 15 things you need to stop buying to save money.

Not only will minimalism encourage you to buy much less, but you will also be much more mindful with your spending. You will be able to take the time to decide whether something is truly necessary in your life. This is the key if you want to defeat those pesky impulse purchases that we are all guilty of.

Earn as you Declutter

As none of us started life as a minimalist, I am sure we have all managed to accumulate a nice range of clutter over the years.

Now is the time to get rid!

Decluttering is the cornerstone of minimalism and will be the biggest step in your minimalism journey. Once you have cleared your space of everything that is not serving you, you will feel more free and be able to live more intentionally and more efficiently.

The bonus to decluttering is that it is an excellent way to make some extra money.

It is so easy to forget that when we are up to our eyeballs in clutter we are actually surrounded by potential money! We all have so much stuff lying around that we don’t use or want anymore meaning we are pretty much just sitting on money!

To sell clothes I would recommend using Poshmark (sign up with code THEDGES237 for £5 FREE) or Vinted and for anything else I prefer Ebay. If you have some much bigger items like gardening equipment or sofas, you may want to consider Gumtree.

If you have a lot of old books that are taking up too much space I have found the most lucrative place to sell is on Amazon.

How much you can earn will depend on the condition and number of books you have to sell, but some types of books also fetch more than others. If you have some educational course or textbooks left over from your university days then they are really worth selling as they could sell for more than £30 each!

Amazon have a great, simple set up for you to list your books, and as they are one of the biggest retailers in the world, there will be no shortage of buyers for your items!

Selling your stuff can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to make a lot of money and clear your space ready for a new, simpler life.

Focus on Experiences

Minimalism shifts the focus from accumulating material possessions to cherishing more meaningful experiences. Instead of wasting your money on more possessions, you can invest your time and money into creating memories for yourself and your loved ones.

As memories last a lifetime, they are a much better investment than objects which are sure to wear out or become useless in a few years.

As well as that, once you start cherishing experiences and quality time, you realise that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to be happy. Sometimes a family picnic or a walk along the beach can make for the best days out. And you don’t have to spend any money!

Personally, I have found that embracing minimalism has somehow brought me closer to nature. I feel much more at peace when I can get outside, and in turn I feel like I need even fewer material possessions! It has been an unexpected, but wonderful side effects of embracing minimalism.

Streamlined Budgeting

A minimalist lifestyle doesn’t just end at with your physical surroundings, in fact it can even streamline your budget!

Minimalism is all about having a simpler and more efficient life. So it makes sense that you should have a simpler and more efficient budget. You can consolidate your accounts so they are easier to follow. You can cut the unnecessary purchases from your budget. You could even investigate what subscriptions you have and cut out the ones you don’t need any more.

By simplifying your finances, it will be easier to see where your money goes and in turn will make you a more mindful spender. I have also found that having better control of my finances has made me calmer and I feel less guilty when I do spend money, as I know it is all justified in my budget.

Quality over Quantity

This may seem more expensive at first, but minimalism encourages you to invest in high-quality products over cheap or single use alternatives. Although you are spending more initially, you will find that you save money over time, as you no longer need to replace items every few weeks.

I actually started practising this long before I discovered minimalism, when I was buying earphones.

During my school and early university years, I would buy the cheap £4.00 no brand earphones you can order online. To me they did the job and were nice and cheap.

But over that time I must have bought and discarded at least 30 pairs!

One ear would break and have no sound, or the wire would snap, or because they were so cheap I wouldn’t worry about them and would lose them.

Then a friend told me that I had to buy more expensive ones, so I caved to the peer pressure and paid out £60 for a pair.

Not only was the sound quality unreal compared to the ones I was using, but they are still working perfectly 5 years later!

The moral of the story is that even when you think you are saving money by buying the cheaper option, it may not work out like that in the long run!

If you are looking for more examples where spending more with actually save you more, I have compiled a list of 10 Genius Products that will actually Save you Money. (Not all of these will be considered essential for a minimalist, but they are certainly worth considering when trying to live a more frugal lifestyle).

Digital Declutter

Whilst you are decluttering your home, it is also good to consider how cluttered you are digitally.

So many of us receive hundreds of emails per day, or lose hours of our lives aimlessly scrolling through social media. That can’t be good for us!

But did you know that it can be detrimental to your finances as well as your mental health?

By cutting down on your email subscriptions and unfollowing some social media pages you will actually save money!

How many times have you got an email from a retailer that is advertising a big sale, and before you know it you have bought something that you totally didn’t need?

Or perhaps your favourite influencer is advertising their new favourite skincare product and because everyone else on social media seems to be buying it, you feel like you just have to have it.

The only way to avoid these spends that seem to sneak up on you is by completely unsubscribing from the people trying to sell to you. That way, you won’t know what you are “missing out” on, and you can focus on what you actually need in your life.

Lower Living Costs

Once you fully embrace minimalism, you may want to opt for a smaller, more functional living space. You can cut down on unused spaces and excess space and find a place that fits you perfectly. This would save you much more money on rent and other bills. By living in fewer rooms, you will also use less energy, meaning a reduction in those dreaded energy bills.

By cutting down your space and your possessions, you will also have to spend less on household repairs and other unexpected maintenance fees that seem to pile up out of nowhere.

Conclusion

Choosing to live a minimalist lifestyle can help you adopt a mindful approach to consumption and unlock a healthier and more conservative approach to spending. Through decluttering, learning to spend consciously and prioritising experiences over products, minimalism can empower you to break free from the endless cycle of consumerism and find happiness with a simpler life.

By adopting minimalism into your life, not only can you reap the immediate financial benefits of cutting down spending and earning money through declutters, but you can also enjoy the lasting benefits of a mindset shift into a more purposeful and streamlined way of living.

Let me know which of these minimalist ideas you will implementing into your life first. And remember it is not about completely transforming your life overnight! A gradual shift in how you live is sure to have big rewards over time, without the stress of having to change everything right away.