I Started Practicing Minimalism for the Financial Benefits
By: Evan Thomas
Tags: Personal Development, Money, Minimalism, Mental Health

The real benefit so far has been my mental health.

Neither my wife nor me. Source: Vinicius Wiesehofer

In 2015, I graduated from college (for the second time) and like many graduates, I was looking at some hefty student loans.

I had graduated in 2009 with a previous degree, ripe for the peak of the 2008-induced recession. Great timing.

For those of you that weren’t looking for work at that time, it was tough. I stood in line with literally hundreds of other applicants for jobs like a security guard, waiter, cook, or grocery stocker.

I had given up trying to find anything in my degree field.

I’m not sure which was worse, graduating in 2009–2012 or graduating in 2020–2021.

I returned to school for a STEM degree, which has paid off for me now.

Anyway, long story short: I had no savings and lots of debt in 2015 and with the suffering that came for many people in the 2008 recession fresh in my mind, I became obsessed with personal finances.

I was determined to change my financial story.

I essentially fell into minimalism naturally… You see, it’s very easy to do when you don’t have any money.

Luckily, my wife shared the same financial goals. In our 20s, we were tired of the constant consumerism being rammed down our throats, the stress of buying gifts around birthdays and Christmas, and to be honest we felt depressed when we compared our lives to the picture-perfect Instagram profiles of others.

Five years later, in 2020, I performed an evaluation of my minimalist lifestyle and its effects on my life. And that’s what I want to share with you here.

No more gifts

My wife and I mutually decided to give up gifts for ourselves. The agreement was zero purchased birthday, Christmas, Valentine’s, or anniversary gifts. Instead, we find other ways to celebrate like making cards, having a special picnic, or making each other’s favorite pastries on these (and other) special occasions.

This was born out of an idea that came from my dad and my grandparents, who several years earlier, all very much broke, decided to chop the Christmas stress. They decided each family would donate X amount of money to a charity we selected together. The grand total was enough to help elected charity and also represented much less than we would have otherwise spent on gifts.

The subsequent years were the most enjoyable Christmas celebrations ever because we just ate, drank, talked, and were generally jolly.

We did decide to keep giving gifts to the kids under 12 years old in our families, and to our mothers (especially massages…they totally deserve it).

The fathers were either not in the picture or also requested to not receive gifts.

But even with continuing those gifts, the financial burden was significantly reduced.

To this day, we have continued to donate money at Christmas time to different charities. We tend to donate to the Red Cross, Children’s Hospitals, and nonprofits.

Practicing the 72-hour rule

I first read about the 72-hour rule on a financially related Facebook group.

Basically, the ‘rule’ says that if you want to buy something, wait 72 hours. If after the 72 hours have elapsed, you still need to buy that thing, then go for it.

What we found was that most unnecessary, frivolous spending was avoided because we simply forgot about it after a few days.

We also discovered that some things were almost always worth spending money on, like nearly anything in the ‘experiences’ category. Taking small local trips, traveling to other countries, and going to concerts provided us with so much joy that we had no problem paying for them.

Since spending had been cut down so much from other areas, we enjoyed having more disposable income to use on those experiences.

A trip to the mountains in a paid-off car can be done for an incredibly low price.

We eliminated social media

What does social media have to do with minimalism? Well for me, it left me with thoughts and feelings that made me feel depressed, anxious, inadequate, and wanting to spend money. I know I’m not the only one that felt that way.

I could tell it was holding me back in other areas of life, too. So, it had to go.

I think my wife and I were lucky that we both lived our teenage and early adult years with essentially no social media, no smartphones, and no tablets.

(Does Myspace count as social media?)

Facebook started in my second year of college.

Thus, we grew up without all the gadgets that today’s teens and kids can’t unglue themselves from.

I admit that I got off of social media because I was tired of seeing everyone’s “perfect” life.

For example, I had friends that were Olympic athletes who trained all over the world. By age 25, they had been to dozens of countries. I was feeling somewhat like a failure.

So I eliminated all of my accounts.

In the beginning, I felt some FOMO. I think I was also addicted to looking at my phone. After a few weeks though, I could feel a weight lifted off of my shoulders.

The payoff has been wonderful. I like not getting stuck in a daze of constantly scrolling through feeds on my cellphone. I enjoy focusing on my life, and not worrying about what others are doing.

Granted, I have also matured some in these years, and I realize now that social media serves as a great front to cover up the problems that so many of us experience.

I have noticed significantly less depression and less anxiety as a result of eliminating social media.

My wife decided she missed seeing pictures of her family, so she re-opened her accounts.

I have kept mine closed, as I enjoy the benefits thus far. We don’t have to agree on everything.

Free (or Cheap) Stuff Generally Works the Same

In our apartment, we have several pieces of furniture. A couch, a La-Z-Boy, kitchen chairs and a table, a bed, and some smaller tables.

The grand total for all of those pieces was $58. The couch accounts for $50 of that.

I find that sitting, lying, and placing things on these items works just the same as if each piece were to cost $100, $200, or $500 dollars.

We Experienced Zero Wedding Stress

Mainly because we didn’t have a wedding. We got married in a courthouse, for $50.

Prior to getting married, we had a large family BBQ with a friend that DJ’d. My dad was the photographer, which is his hobby, and so he didn’t charge any money. The total cost was less than $200 for this 7-hour gathering.

It was just as fun as a wedding, though. Our friends also thanked us for not making them buy/rent $200–300 suits or dresses.

At work, I observe how my very much in-debt coworkers experience significant amounts of stress over their weddings, to the point where some have thought about calling the wedding off altogether.

All of that just to essentially get a group of people together, listen to music, and eat? But under the label of a “wedding.”

I keep finding that by being mindful about our spending, we don’t seem to go through the same holiday, vacation, wedding, home decor, clothing, and appearance-related stresses that others experience.

Other benefits of minimalism that I have enjoyed:

· Upgraded my phone only once in 7 years (which essentially was forced upon me as my old iPhone was rendered useless). You can imagine the savings

· Paid off $72,000 in student loans (I know, I never should have gotten into that situation. Kids, go to community college)

· In 5 years, I have gone from a -$72,000 net worth to a much more positive, six-figure net worth. This has helped reduce my money-related stress/anxiety

· I’m on track to reach financial goals that, 10 years ago, I would have never thought possible for me to reach

· Enjoyed less stress overall

Find that I actually stay in touch more with my family or friends, since I have to call and or text them as opposed to reaching out via social media

Love the stress-free Christmas seasons

A major self-reported drop in depression

Less stress, less anxiety, and less depression have left me with more energy to dedicate to my job and side hustles. This has resulted in a higher income, more savings, and better investing. It’s a self-feuling cycle.

What do I do with the money saved?

It is invested in either experiences or assets.

Do I think I’m better than you?

Absolutely not! In fact, I’m acutely aware that I’m full of flaws and that I battle demons, like any other human.

If you think minimalism is cray-cray, do whatever makes you happy.

I only want to share what I have experienced. Maybe I can help one or two of you out there. That’s my only goal.