Maximum Gratitude, Minimal Stuff

COMING IN SEPTEMBER!  My new book, The Wealthy Minimalist .*  The e-book edition is available for pre-order now, at a discounted price. *  This blog is supported by you, dear reader.  If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission. We all want to have time to relax and enjoy life, but work, laundry, cleaning, and cooking still have to get done.  I'm really thankful for my dishwasher and in-house laundry room, but there are some elements of modern life that promise more ease and don't deliver it .  So how can we tell the difference?  What are some things that are really stealing our time and/or money, and what are some practices than can actually save them?  4 things that don't simplify life 1.  Your phone We all know this.  We know our phones are time sucks, yet we don't put them down. When I was a kid, if someone needed to contact my parents, they called our land line.  Usually, someone was home and would answer, a...

As I've written many times, minimalism is not about living in poverty.  Minimalism is about focusing on what matters to you so you can put your time, money, and energy toward what you really care about, while minimizing anything that might distract you or weigh you down.  Minimalism is about paying attention to the satisfying details of each day, enjoying simple pleasures instead of always looking ahead (or back) at the big bucket list adventures or celebrations. So what are some of those daily details that feel like a luxurious indulgence?  What are the little treats and comforts that enhance your life without overturning your finances? 15 minimalist luxuries 1.  Attentive upkeep Cleaning, repairing, and maintaining your possessions makes you feel that they're valuable and of high quality. For example, you might have a ritual of cleaning your summer shoes (and having them resoled if necessary) before you put them away for the winter.  Add cedar blocks * to keep...

Have you heard of the latte factor ?  It's the idea that your daily coffee habit (or any small, unconsidered purchase) is sabotaging your financial future. It's true that seemingly insignificant purchases can really add up.  A daily $5 latte comes to $1,825 in a year.  Not so insignificant after all, is it? Is Starbucks really the problem? We all know that making your coffee at home is cheaper than buying it at Starbucks.  Cooking at home is cheaper than eating out.  Home haircuts, DIY lawn care, and washing your own car all save money. But it's possible that morning latte isn't just a convenience – after all, you probably wait in a long line to get it.  Maybe your daily treat is satisfying an emotional need.  It's a little indulgence that makes you feel pampered because you know it's unnecessary.  It's a harmless pick-me-up, and if you're not living on the financial edge, it may be something you can easily afford. Don't get me wrong.  I enj...

When I helped my mom pack up and move after my father's death, she kept repeating, "I feel like I'm losing everything."  I wanted to help her feel more comfortable with the process, and not as if she had no future to look forward to. Now that I'm a lot closer to the age Mama was then, I think I understand how she felt.  On one hand, I'm sure she appreciated the help my siblings and I offered.  She probably didn't want to deal with all the planning and decision-making on her own.  However, as a still-capable adult, it must have been hard to submit to her children's opinions about her life. So be aware of your parents' mixed feelings.  This transition can strain family unity.  Hopefully, your parents can respect you as an adult who is trying to give the help they need.  Regardless, you must plan to respect them and their point of view as much as possible. 3 things to remember before you start 1.  Let your parents reminisce.   This process is go...

I know, I know.  I'm a heretic.  How could I possibly be so misled/crazy/plain stupid as to suggest that buying a house might not always be a good idea?  Isn't buying a house the American Dream and the Holy Grail of financial security? Please don't stop reading.  I'm not going to say you should never buy a house, just that it shouldn't be an unconsidered, default goal for your life. Let me see if I can explain my position.  Then you decide if it makes any sense. How you might lose more money owning instead of renting I know that most people believe that renting is throwing money away.  But that's not always true.  Back in 1988, my husband Jon and I believed that "responsible adults" who planned to have children were pretty much obligated to buy a house as soon as possible.  So we bought a basic tract home for $76,000.  In 1996 we sold that house for $115,000 (just over 50% more than we paid for it).  It looks like we "made" $39,000 on th...

We live in a disposable culture that pushes us to buy and replace items all the time, yet hasn't paid enough attention to what we should do with the things we're getting rid of.  No wonder there are people who would rather hang on to things they don't use – effectively creating a garbage dump in their own homes. How do you declutter if you care about the environment?  Where can you take your items so they don't just end up in a landfill?  How can you donate so that you're helping an organization, not burdening it?  The good news is that with some thought and care the problem can be solved, and you can use these solutions to keep your space calm and clutter-free without feeling guilty about the process. Thrift stores aren't always the solution. Decluttering experts may have a lot to answer for.  Since the premier of Marie Kondo's Netflix show, Tidying Up , donations have risen to the point that some charities are begging people to consider other ways of unbur...

Binge-worthy.  What does that mean to you?  What is most likely to entice you to take in more and more and more, until you are stuffed, exhausted, or depleted? For my 97-year-old mother-in-law, it's Gunsmoke .  Her favored cable channel plays a lot of old TV shows, and back-to-back Gunsmoke is their offering from 5:00 until 9:00 every evening.  No matter what, Mom never misses a minute of James Arness and the gang in several of their 635 episodes ( Gunsmoke was on the air for 20 years).  If we're visiting, we have to be quiet and watch it with her.  When that evening's binge is over, she goes to bed. Maybe you binge on a TV show, like Mom.  Or maybe social media grabs your attention and won't let go.  Maybe it's shopping – even if you don't buy much, it's easy to spend hours looking, comparing, reading reviews, researching prices, and more. Or maybe your binge is food.  My sister-in-law can't get enough of salty things.  She struggles ...