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Home > A no-spender, and thoughts on minimalism

A no-spender, and thoughts on minimalism

March 13th, 2013 at 01:28 pm

Yesterday was a no-spend day.

This morning I found what I thought was a dime on the stairs of the train. I think it is actually a Greek coin. I'll give it to my grandson for his "collection" as well as the Euro coin. Collection is in quotes, because he is not a coin collector, just a little boy who likes the jingle of coins in his bank. He is very proud of his two half-dollars, as well as his Sacajawea dollar.

A co-worker gave me a small bag of dried fruit that her kids didn't like. I don't know why she doesn't want to eat it herself (maybe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!) Anyway, I ate some, and the rest I'm going to chop up and put into rice, and serve with honey-glazed chicken. I love building a meal from free food!

I read an article yesterday about minimalist living. The writer was young and wealthy, but lived in a small apartment with few possessions, and spent his money on travels. I am interested in the minimalist lifestyle, but I wonder if it's really doable for most people, and if it really transfers into big savings. I live pretty small -- my condo is about 900 SF. I don't have a LOT of stuff, but I have stuff. I don't think there would be much value for me in getting rid of, say, my dinnerware and making do with eight shallow bowls. I'm also glad that I have enough furniture so that people can visit and expect to sit down -- even sleep. And I will always have a toy chest for my grandchildren -- well, until they get into college, I guess. Smile I suppose I'm not a minimalist, but scaled-down compared to most people. I certainly feel strongly that paying long-term for storage for your extra junk is ridiculous. If you aren't using it, let it go! But maybe I've never really had anything truly valuable.

3 Responses to “A no-spender, and thoughts on minimalism”

  1. ceejay74 Says:
    1363193118

    I'm with you -- don't know if I could ever be minimalist (especially with 2 kids, a record/CD/DVD collector and a craftsy woman in my house! Big Grin), but I'm always interested in cutting down the amount of stuff I buy and how much I keep around. Two reasons besides more financial freedom: The environmental/human cost of producing, shipping and disposing of things, and the fact that my mom is a hoarder. I know that's in my genetic background and my upbringing, so I want to be very careful.

  2. Thrifty Ray Says:
    1363225306

    This post was inspiring CB..definitely made me think and look around at my stuff. Thank you!

  3. CB in the City Says:
    1363265534

    My sister is a hoarder, so I'm always on guard for those tendencies in myself.

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