As I utterly freak out about the building report that will be undertaken on the house on Thursday, which might mean us having to get an engineer's report from knocking out walls sixteen years ago, and even getting a builder in to address any issues, plus worrying about the fact I've hardly worked this year and I don't know where our income is coming from next year, plus the work we need to do on the new house, my mind is constantly trying to figure out ways to save money.

Thing is, save a penny, you end up spending a penny later on. It's known as false economy - it might seem cheap, but if you're replacing it later due to faults or unhappiness with the product, you've done two things: contributed to the junk in the world and fucking up the environment, or end up paying again.

If you subscribe to the concept of minimalism, it's enough to do your head in.

Do I pick up that $100 induction cooker from Marketplace despite the fact it has some negative reviews, and only end up replacing it down the track?

Do I buy a chrome tap for $20 off Marketplace even though I hate the look of it and want one of those lovely warm brushed nickel kitchen taps for $250?

Do I keep the ugly curtains that are perfectly functional or do I replace them? And if I replace them, do I buy the cheaper option or the more expensive one that I like better? Do I buy them bespoke for more money or off the shelf and make do with the fact I might have to have different colours or brands in different rooms?

Talk about first world problems.

But wait, there's more. Do we sand the pine floors for $80 and risk staining and scratching them and not being regulation waterproof in the laundry or spend $3500 on laminate floors? Do we spend $10 - 20k insulating and putting new tin on the roof so it's future proof or just boil to death in the summer and have a more expensive weekly electricity bill?

I can practice minimalism in the garden - I've made my own fertiliser, dug up plants from the old place to transplant, I'll plant from seed, make compost. That's easy. I can edge with old red bricks from the back of the shed and make a chook house out of the cedar framing we pulled out from removing the walls.

Perhaps we need to sell the van. Will I need the van so much when I'm five minutes from the beach? What if I just buy a shitty old car? Could I drive the Series Land Rover to the beach on historic plates, which will remove the costs of one car since I won't have to pay road tax/rego on it?

And then it's being an hour from home and fucking starving and wondering if I should just buy a sandwich or put up with my stomach growling until I get home - which rarely happens, as I always pack nuts or lunch if I know I'm going to be out, and lately I've taken to bringing a thermos of good coffee, which feels like a luxury. God I miss being able to afford actually going out for a coffee.

I've been supplementing our food budget from shopping at a food charity in town where you pay what you can afford, which has been amazing. They always have so much bread - sourdough, crumpets, muffins, pastries - donated from the supermarket, and I swear it saves me $30 a week on that alone, because Jamie sure eats a lot of toast and sandwiches.

And thank goodness for chooks and nasi goreng and the veggie patch - a fried rice with greens and a fried egg feels like luxury sometimes.

Don't even get me started on kitchen reno - we'll instal ourselves, but we're looking at an Ikea kitchen which we'd like to buy new, so it lasts longer - or do we buy a second hand kitchen? Meanwhile, we're making do with my makeshift kitchen, which is doing perfectly fine. I picked up that toaster and kettle for $30 on Marketplace - they're worth over $200 new.

I look at my holey grubby trainers and wonder how long I can make do with them. I do need to go charity shopping for some cardigans, and though I'd love to knit one, I can't afford the wool. I can bum around in old clothes at home, but I find myself recycling the same clothes when I work, mix and matching them so it looks like I have worn something different. Thank goodness for scarves, earrings and black skirts.

I am utterly aware I'm all first world about this and people have a lot less than we do, but then life is so expensive here and the older we get, the less earning capacity we have, particularly me. We don't have a lot of savings or investments, and what we have we need to help us out in retirement.

This is what minimalism is sometimes. Constantly money shuffling and trying to save money where you can, and refusing to buy not just because you don't want to make a detrimental environmental impact on the world, but because you just can't afford it.

So when politicians say stupid things like maybe they'll tax spare rooms to encourage people to downsize or an extra $5 fee for the doctors is sofa change, no wonder people get infuriated. If I'm stressing out over kitchen taps and building regulations and trainers, imagine how people who are struggling a lot more than us are doing.

With Love,

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