In a society that’s obsessed with possessions and property as a marker of class, success, and personal fulfillment, it’s no surprise that Marie Kondo and the cult of minimalism as a whole is sweeping the nation. Minimalism as a philosophy advocates that the less earthly possessions you hold the better and that cutting away the cruft around you will let you live a happier life.

While personal happiness is a worthy goal, our attention for this article is going to be somewhat more mundane: saving money. How can minimalism maximize savings? Simple: the less money you spend, the more you can put in your savings. But how do you implement minimalism into your life?

That’s a little trickier.

Isolate What Goals Are Important In Your Life

Often our attention and sense of what’s important in our life diffuse over time: we start fantasizing about a new hobby, a new vacation, a car we really want, and all those wants start competing with each other for our attention. And in trying to achieve all those wants, we end up achieving none.

If you’re serious about minimalism, then the first step is to isolate what goals are most important to you. Start by making a list of all your goals, and then go through one by one and order them from the most to least important. Is learning to ice fish as important as taking a vacation once a year with your kids? Is buying a brand new car as important as saving for your retirement?

Prune Your Expenses

Once you have a solid hierarchy of your goals you feel confident about, it’s time to start cutting back on them and the toll they take on your bank account. If ice fishing isn’t a priority, then neither is spending money on it. If you don’t need a brand new car straight from the dealership, then save the money and buy used.

While it’s painful to make these kinds of harsh financial calculus, you’ll quickly find that there’s something freeing about it too. And if it makes it easier, you can always keep a list each time you don’t spend money so you can quantify just how much of it is going to your savings now.

Sell What You Don’t Need

Now that you know what’s important and are keeping new cruft from building up in your life, it’s time to go back and clean out your house. Humans are natural hoarders, and you’d be surprised how much stuff has stacked up over your lifetime.

You’d also be surprised by how much that stuff can be worth. The easiest way to sell off what you no longer need is with a yard or garage sale, and now that we’re in the internet age you can often net even more from doing a little research beforehand to see if your things will sell for more online.

 

Look to the Future

Even with the best minimalist practices, it’s still possible to be floored by unseen emergencies like your car breaking down or having to go to the hospital. In emergencies like these, having access to a Tennessee title loan can be invaluable. Our title loans are fast and simple and can get you the cash you need in only a few hours.

 

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.