Wouldn't it be incredible if we all behaved this way? If I thrifted something, I usually try to recoup what it cost me by selling through eBay or Facebook marketplace. So if I was given anything as a hand me down, and it is still in good condition, I pass it on or donate it to charity.
#FRUGAL MINIMALIST LIVING PLUS#
Plus I set myself a rule - if it was free to me, it should be free to others. I now accept second hand things with pride knowing I'm doing my small bit to help create the kind of circular economy our future depends on. This is where embracing a sustainable approach to life comes into its own. For many, admitting you need support can be mortifying, embarrassing and undomfortable. I am fortunate enough to have three nephews, so when my son came along, there wasn't much call for buying clothes for him once I told my sister's I would happily take any clothes off their hands. Here, I want to acknowledge the power in accepting and asking for 'hand outs.' Keeping that in mind as our priority is how we are able to live solely on my husband's income so I can be home for the children (and squeeze in writing my books too.).Įvery one of these types of frugal living lists online will tell you to embrace secondhand. I figure if we can save during the holidays, the rest of the year must be a doddle, right?įinancial security is as important to us as our health. If we don’t spend it, we put it away in an attempt to build up the savings we used in 2020.
#FRUGAL MINIMALIST LIVING FULL#
When my husband returned to full pay in December, we created a 10% monthly figure for 'additional expenses' which include a toddler group, any shoes or clothing, household / garden items, gifts and trips out. The mortgage holiday saved us, as did our savings, but there wasn’t room to buy anything non essential.
In fact, those percentage values above shows we were living outside of our means. Reminding ourselves that our home isn't ours until the mortgage is cleared helps keep our spending in perspective.ĭuring the pandemic, we closed down every additional expense we could.
We have invested so much into our home, we wouldn't want to loose it. Seeing those figures, like your mortgage or rent, council tax and bills, as percentage values is a real eye opener - realising our mortgage alone took up 40% of our monthly income was (is) terrifying! That percentage became an excellent mantra for when we spent money. Each month we don’t spend it, we put it away ready for when we need it. Our regular monthly expenditure is broken down like this:įor expenses that don't occur as regularly as once per month, such as the car's MOT or the dog's groom (every 10 weeks), we add up how much it costs across a year, and then divide that by 12 and add the figure to our monthly outgoings. ( We use Google Sheets so both my husband and I can access it independently from our own devices.) This gives us the basis of how we split our income and expenditure. We have a spreadsheet which maps our income and all regular monthly outgoings. This was not something we had planned for when I resigned from my job three months before the pandemic hit. It also prepared us for the nine months we endured during the pandemic on a single income which was reduced to 80% for nine months.
#FRUGAL MINIMALIST LIVING HOW TO#
Having a clear understanding of how we spend our money has given us perspective on how to align our spending with our values. It has been an exercise in frugal living for six years. Maxing out our mortgage to the very most we could afford enabled us to live in the small town we dreamt of, but there wasn't much change from a tenner left to do the work. From broken floorboards to missing doors, gaping ceiling holes to unintentionally exposed brickwork, nothing could remain untouched.
Bought as a dirty half-empty shell, there was nothing that didn't need repairing. Since 2014 my husband and I have been renovating our 1930s home. Let’s get started.įrugality - spending and saving with intention From growing our own to culling our shopping apps, I hope you will find some inspiration for your own minimalist journey here. In this article I tackle the first on that list - frugality, and show you our five key minimalist spending habits which supported us the most during the restrictions placed upon us by the pandemic here in the UK. They are frugality, slow living and doing it yourself. I've reflected back over the past ten months and find three key areas of our simple lifestyle that held us up during these difficult times. From forced frugality, to a seemingly never-ending lockdown, our minimalist values were tested to the last. When I first dipped my toe into minimalist, or 'intentional' living, I had no idea that the two years of embracing the lifestyle would prepare me for life in a pandemic. What does frugal living really mean and how does it make you a minimalist?
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