I've said before that you don't have to be rich to travel. Being a Minimalist means that you have more money to travel. It means thinking about what stuff you really need in your life. I think we get hung up about 'stuff', and forget what's important. If travel is important to you, then it's time to think carefully about what stuff you really need.
Below is a good article from one of my favourite blogs - The Everyday Minimalist
How Minimalism Saves You Money
BY MMARQUIT – 15 JANUARY , 2014
I’m not normally known for my penny pinching ways, since I think that it’s a whole lot of work. However, I don’t like to waste my money on things that aren’t important to me. I find that following minimalist principles can, by default, help me stay on track and ultimately save money over the long haul.
Buy Less Stuff
One of the biggest ways that minimalist principles help you save money is that you buy a lot less in terms of things when you try to live minimally. Instead of spending money on a lot of things that you don’t need, and that you might not particularly want (even if you think they would be ok to have), you spend less because you are buying less.
Minimalism encourages you to spend conscientiously. You think about your purchases before you make them. If you don’t need something, or if it won’t add to the quality of your life, there is no reason to buy it. When you move from spending as a mindless consumer to spending with purpose, you are more likely to spend less.
And, even when you do spend money, it is likely to be on something that will enhance your life in some way. I do like spending on experiences and on a very few things, but my purchases are in line with my values and priorities, which means that when I do spend, I know that it’s something that will be worthwhile to me.
Smaller Spaces = Smaller Bills
With minimalism, you are encouraged to live in smaller spaces. We have a fairly modest house, in large part because we have a small family. We have a guest room and a home office, since I work from home and we often have company stay over, but our home is generally considered small.
We don’t want a bigger home because, often, those types of homes come with other costs and hassles. A bigger home often means a bigger mortgage, higher property taxes, and larger utility bills. We could have another 1,000 square feet, but that would just mean more expenses for the home.
Instead of spending that money on the home, we’d rather spend it on things we enjoy, like travel or eating out. It’s another way that we can avoid spending on things that aren’t important to us.
Plus, since we don’t buy a lot of unnecessary stuff, we don’t have to worry about buying a bigger house that it all fits in. When the house starts to feel cluttered, we know that it’s time to get rid of some of the clutter, and return some of the minimalist principles we have let slide.
No, you don’t have to be completely minimalist to succeed. However, if you take some of the things that characterize minimalist living and apply them in your life, you will likely find that it also helps you save money, as well as to direct your financial resources in a way that is more satisfying to you.
