A Frugal Simple Living Tip
I’ve never been the best with money. I spend it when I have it and am happy to live simply when I don’t. There are moments when I spend too much or buy things I don’t need like we all do from time to time. I’m not a minimalist to the extreme. I do, however, want to be purposeful with what I buy so that I can get closer to the simple life I want as I mentioned in my intro post to this blog. When I realized my money is time, I’ve gotten closer to that goal.
Stop Wasting Your Money and Time On Cheap Stuff
For the most part, I don’t have trouble with big purchases. I weigh them out.
Do I really NEED this? Is it really going to improve my life?
It’s the small purchases though that get me. Five dollars here, 10 dollars there. Excusing a drink at the vending machine, a candy bar at the gas station, or telling myself I’ve earned a coffee on the way to work is so easy to do. Anyone else have the same issue?
If you look at money as simply a resource–the amount of stuff you can buy–it’s easy to waste. After all, it’s just a piece of paper or a digital number on a screen.
When I think of money as a reward–a treat–for my work, I can’t wait to spend it just like I did with the change I got for extra chores as a kid.
But money isn’t a reward. It’s essentially a representation of how much of your limited time you’ve sacrificed to work. And I’m not talking here about dream jobs and vocations. The majority of people don’t really enjoy their job or at least wouldn’t show up if they had the choice.
Changing The Way You View Money And Work Makes You More Frugal
Changing my mindset about money is the biggest factor that’s helped me live more frugally and a simpler life. Money isn’t some kind of reward. I’m not forced to work. I’m choosing to work because I want the necessities of life taken care of.
Work is a transactional agreement not a social requirement that we earn rewards for.
My money is time. I agree to give a company my time and labor in exchange for a wage. When I think about the cost of an item in terms of the time I must give up, my wants are diminished and those impulse buys lose their hold on me. Why? Because my time on this earth is limited. Why would I want to waste that precious resource for an overpriced coffee, junk in the dollar section, or a brand name on a piece of clothing?
What Living A Simple Life and Being Frugal Gets You
We have grown up in a society where getting a full time job and working at least 40 hours a week (usually more if you want to be considered “successful”) is not recommended but essentially required. Unless you get inheritance money or come from wealth, you’re going to have to figure out some way to get your needs taken care of.
Having More Time To Spare By Not Working So Much
But a part time job is rarely considered for a career. Why not?
- A. Because of issues with health insurance and
- B. because of the belief that it’s for young people in school or for people who are lazy or disabled in some way.
Well, maybe we should start challenging the belief. I’m all for people working as little as possible if it allows them more time to do things of meaning, purpose, and that bring joy to their life. I don’t think that makes you lazy; it makes you wise and purposeful. That could obviously change depending on what you’re doing with that extra time.
The less we need to buy in order to be happy, the more time we have to do the things we actually want to do. So many of us (myself included) have or are still racking up all kinds of debt to buy things we really don’t need.
Thinking About Needs Versus Wants Helps Our Budget
Food, water, clothes, shelter, and access to medical care are really the only things we NEED. A vehicle is probably on that list too but depending on where you live you could get by without one.
Spending money is not bad as long as it has a purpose. Buying a camera to capture memories of your kids or grand kids is likely worth the investment of time. (You see what I did there? Not “worth the money” but “worth the investment of time”. Thinking like this will change the way you view money).
Spending hundreds of dollars on a designer bag or thousands on a sports car may make you look cool, but you’re sacrificing a whole lot of your time for something that really doesn’t add any value to your life.
Because most of us are in a toxic relationship with money, we are slaves to its demands. So many of us are broke not because we don’t make enough but because we spend too much of our income. The less you spend, the less you HAVE to work.
But don’t think society is going to come to your aid. In this area, it’s mostly an enemy. Everywhere you look are temptations to give away your precious time for plastic junk. Everywhere you look are reminders that you are nothing if you don’t have the newest and coolest stuff. Society wants you to get trapped in this loop because as long as your spending your money, you’ve got to give up more of your time to pay for it.
Forget societal norms. Keep telling yourself, “My money is time”.
Being Frugal and Living Simply To Retire Early
Now, it might not be realistic to think you can just freelance or work whenever you feel like it. Most jobs require you to work a certain number of hours a week. You might not get your reward for being frugal and living simple right now, but you will in the future.
Continue to see those paychecks as “good for tokens” of time. The more you collect them (and the less of them you give away), the more you’ll have to cash in for time when you decide to retire. And the sooner you can do so.
Money is Time
I don’t know about you, but this tip of seeing money as a form of time–time you give away when you spend and time you get back when you save–has been a great way to curb my spending. It has allowed me to live a more simple and more frugal life. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
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Life’s Marrow is a new blog and is dedicated to sharing advice and discussing how to live simply in the modern world.
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