In this road to financial independence series, we have already gone over the non-budget and housing.
https://steemit.com/debtfree/@moneymosey/road-to-financial-independence-don-t-need-a-budget
https://steemit.com/debtfree/@moneymosey/road-to-financial-independence-housing
Minimalism. It seems to be popular these days. I would say that complete minimalism is not necessary, but what is necessary is learning which things make a difference to you. We all have different items which are important to us, and other items in which we can do without. As the main shopper for our family, here is what we do not buy.
-Most food that is not on sale I do not buy unless it is a staple like milk or tomato sauce, otherwise, I wait for a sale
-Pre-made meals, we usually make meals from scratch
-Paper towels and napkins, we have one roll laying around for true emergencies, but use real towels for most messes, and we do buy napkins for guests
-Paper plates
-Soda and expensive bottled drinks and juices
-Haircuts, we cut our own hair
-Manicures, pedicures and fingernails
-Unnecessary new clothes, usually we wear thrifted clothing or buy something at Walmart if and when needed
-Cleaning products we keep to a minimum, usually only Awesome cleaner and Comet from Dollar store, I do buy special toilet cleaner from there as well since we have moved to well water our water is very hard and stains the toilet otherwise
-New cars, we always buy used vehicles
-Furniture, bedding, household items and décor, most of this we have either gotten for free from family members or we buy it one time and keep using it until it wears out
-towels, we just keep using the ones we have, I think I have purchased new bath towels once, I will spring for new washcloths now and then
-oil changes, hubby and the boys change the oil in the vehicles themselves
Minimalism is not a one size fit all thing, as different situations call for different spending. Think about which items you do not need and get them out of your life so that you are no longer spending money on them. I think you will find, that once you are not using it, you will not miss it at all.
Love,
Marie