Minimalism and frugal living can seem like very different lifestyles but can you do both? and if so what does that look like?

Minimalism Is For The Rich?

<img width="755" height="560" src="https://gabebult.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/javardh-FL6rma2jePU-unsplash-819x1024.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://gabebult.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/javardh-FL6rma2jePU-unsplash-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://gabebult.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/javardh-FL6rma2jePU-unsplash-240x300.jpg 240w, https://gabebult.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/javardh-FL6rma2jePU-unsplash-768x960.jpg 768w, https://gabebult.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/javardh-FL6rma2jePU-unsplash-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://gabebult.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/javardh-FL6rma2jePU-unsplash-1639x2048.jpg 1639w, https://gabebult.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/javardh-FL6rma2jePU-unsplash-scaled.jpg 2048w">&nbsp;have always been a frugal person. Sometimes a little too frugal but I have also shifted my life to be more minimalist. Now frugal living and minimalism at a quick glance can either be incredibly similar or very very different, it depends on who you ask. There’s definitely a balance between the two, then they can work amazing together. It took me a while to get there so today we’re going to talk about how I did it.&nbsp;One of the biggest differences is that Frugal Living Only Thinks About Saving Money where minimalism affects every aspect of your life. As a frugal person, every time I spend money I have to think about a few things like how long did I have to work to earn this money? And would I be willing to work 3 hours to buy this thing? Whether that’s a healthy mindset or not… I don’t know. Every time I spend money on anything like vacations, food, travel, or housing, I am looking to save as much money as I can on those things. But from a minimalist point of view, I am looking to get as much value as I possibly can from those things. Value can mean a lot of different things, it can mean spending more money on things to get a better quality experience or object from your purchase as opposed to just looking for the cheapest thing. For example, I needed to put up a brick wall in my house for a project I was working on, and last year in my last house I got wallpaper which was the cheapest option I could find and it bugged me every day. It was crooked and flat and it just looked really bad. When we got to this house and needed to rebuild the set, I decided to go with something way more expensive (roughly 5x more). While it is still fake, I love the way it looks and the way the room feels with it so I was ok with spending a considerable amount more on it because it will last.&nbsp;Each one Looks At Their Time Differently. As a frugal person, I spent an insane amount of time looking for ways to save money. I would spend hours looking for ways to do things myself and anything I could do myself, I would even if it would only save me $5-$10. Honestly, it was really good for me to be frugal for the amount of time I was because now as a minimalist I am trying to find a balance between the two and value my time differently. If I can spend maybe $100 on something that’s going to save me 10 hours of time, 100% I will do it. I’m trying to value my time more and start trading money for time instead of time for money. For example, we got a robot vacuum so we can save 20+ hours a year vacuuming the house because I really hate vacuuming. For some of our bigger construction projects, instead of trying to do them myself, I’ve hired someone else to do them. That way I can focus on earning more money and being useful instead of taking 3x as long to try and figure out a project. Even something as basic as cleaning your house or doing yard work, a frugal person would never consider hiring someone to do that for them but a minimalist might hire someone to do their lawn because they don’t want to. I haven’t gotten to that point yet as I am still on the more frugal side and I’m trying to find a balance. That minimalist mindset is very different when you’re looking at it like “can I spend a few extra dollars to increase the value of this event or to value my time more” as opposed to “how much money can I save by doing it myself”.&nbsp;Just In Case means different things when you’re frugal vs minimalist. When I was frugal I would hold on to clothes that were too small or too big just in case I gained or lost weight. I would literally hold on to everything I could just in case people came over or just in case I need that in 5 years for 10 seconds at a party. As I’ve shifted more towards the minimalist mindset, I have gotten rid of the just-in-case items because 98% of the time, you never use them. You don’t want to take this to the extreme where you have to go out and constantly buy stuff again but for the most part, you won’t have that problem if you just think about it a bit before getting rid of stuff. The trap of the frugal person is buying things on sale and holding on to absolutely everything to the point where it almost turned into hoarding for me in the beginning just because everything you do buy you want to hold on to because you’re so stingy with your money. As you blend into minimalism, you start to value having space in your home and not having a bunch of crap cluttering up your home or flooding your basement with boxes. While being frugal is good too because you don’t want to waste your money, I do tend to lean more towards minimalism in this regard.&nbsp;Experiences vs Stuff. As a frugal person, I definitely didn’t spend money on experiences and I think I missed out on some travel and things because I didn’t want to spend money and honestly that could have been more because I was cheap at the time and not just frugal, I went too far. I do think I was more focused on material possessions and money when I was frugal as opposed to now where I am more minimalist, I focus more on experiences. Instead of asking for or giving gifts, I want to start doing experiences instead. I have tried to seek out opportunities to do things and have spent more of my budget on activities that I want to do like traveling. I do still look for ways to do this cheaply but I’m not upset if I have to spend some extra money to enjoy myself more.&nbsp;Long Term vs Short Term. As a frugal person, I was always looking at things like “how can I save money right now” and that can be affected but eventually you have to start looking at the long-term approach which is more of the minimalist perspective. I think this is where the two can really start to come together and work for you. If you do look at the long term now and are ok with spending a little more money on things that are better quality, it’ll save you money down the road so you don’t have to rebuy that item. This has happened to me a couple of times where I’ve tried to cheap out and I’ve had to rebuy that item because it broke or fell apart.&nbsp;So, can you actually do both?? I consider myself a frugal minimalist. There are definitely a lot of differences like we’ve talked about but once you put them together and use minimalism to say no to a lot of things and hone in on your goal lifestyle, frugal living can help get you to that goal a lot quicker. Delayed gratification has really helped me save money and help me be able to make enough money to start investing and quit my job. Frugal living and simplifying my life are the biggest tools I have used to get to where I am today.&nbsp;I hope you enjoyed this, thanks for reading!!&nbsp;

Frugal living and minimalism have been a huge part of my life over the past few years as ive been working my way towards financial freedom and while they are vary different they can also help you in different ways.

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have always been a frugal person. Sometimes a little too frugal but I have also shifted my life to be more minimalist. Now frugal living and minimalism at a quick glance can either be incredibly similar or very very different, it depends on who you ask. There’s definitely a balance between the two, then they can work amazing together. It took me a while to get there so today we’re going to talk about how I did it.

One of the biggest differences is that Frugal Living Only Thinks About Saving Money where minimalism affects every aspect of your life. As a frugal person, every time I spend money I have to think about a few things like how long did I have to work to earn this money? And would I be willing to work 3 hours to buy this thing? Whether that’s a healthy mindset or not… I don’t know. Every time I spend money on anything like vacations, food, travel, or housing, I am looking to save as much money as I can on those things. But from a minimalist point of view, I am looking to get as much value as I possibly can from those things. Value can mean a lot of different things, it can mean spending more money on things to get a better quality experience or object from your purchase as opposed to just looking for the cheapest thing. For example, I needed to put up a brick wall in my house for a project I was working on, and last year in my last house I got wallpaper which was the cheapest option I could find and it bugged me every day. It was crooked and flat and it just looked really bad. When we got to this house and needed to rebuild the set, I decided to go with something way more expensive (roughly 5x more). While it is still fake, I love the way it looks and the way the room feels with it so I was ok with spending a considerable amount more on it because it will last.

Each one Looks At Their Time Differently. As a frugal person, I spent an insane amount of time looking for ways to save money. I would spend hours looking for ways to do things myself and anything I could do myself, I would even if it would only save me $5-$10. Honestly, it was really good for me to be frugal for the amount of time I was because now as a minimalist I am trying to find a balance between the two and value my time differently. If I can spend maybe $100 on something that’s going to save me 10 hours of time, 100% I will do it. I’m trying to value my time more and start trading money for time instead of time for money. For example, we got a robot vacuum so we can save 20+ hours a year vacuuming the house because I really hate vacuuming. For some of our bigger construction projects, instead of trying to do them myself, I’ve hired someone else to do them. That way I can focus on earning more money and being useful instead of taking 3x as long to try and figure out a project. Even something as basic as cleaning your house or doing yard work, a frugal person would never consider hiring someone to do that for them but a minimalist might hire someone to do their lawn because they don’t want to. I haven’t gotten to that point yet as I am still on the more frugal side and I’m trying to find a balance. That minimalist mindset is very different when you’re looking at it like “can I spend a few extra dollars to increase the value of this event or to value my time more” as opposed to “how much money can I save by doing it myself”.

Just In Case means different things when you’re frugal vs minimalist. When I was frugal I would hold on to clothes that were too small or too big just in case I gained or lost weight. I would literally hold on to everything I could just in case people came over or just in case I need that in 5 years for 10 seconds at a party. As I’ve shifted more towards the minimalist mindset, I have gotten rid of the just-in-case items because 98% of the time, you never use them. You don’t want to take this to the extreme where you have to go out and constantly buy stuff again but for the most part, you won’t have that problem if you just think about it a bit before getting rid of stuff. The trap of the frugal person is buying things on sale and holding on to absolutely everything to the point where it almost turned into hoarding for me in the beginning just because everything you do buy you want to hold on to because you’re so stingy with your money. As you blend into minimalism, you start to value having space in your home and not having a bunch of crap cluttering up your home or flooding your basement with boxes. While being frugal is good too because you don’t want to waste your money, I do tend to lean more towards minimalism in this regard.

Experiences vs Stuff. As a frugal person, I definitely didn’t spend money on experiences and I think I missed out on some travel and things because I didn’t want to spend money and honestly that could have been more because I was cheap at the time and not just frugal, I went too far. I do think I was more focused on material possessions and money when I was frugal as opposed to now where I am more minimalist, I focus more on experiences. Instead of asking for or giving gifts, I want to start doing experiences instead. I have tried to seek out opportunities to do things and have spent more of my budget on activities that I want to do like traveling. I do still look for ways to do this cheaply but I’m not upset if I have to spend some extra money to enjoy myself more.

Long Term vs Short Term. As a frugal person, I was always looking at things like “how can I save money right now” and that can be affected but eventually you have to start looking at the long-term approach which is more of the minimalist perspective. I think this is where the two can really start to come together and work for you. If you do look at the long term now and are ok with spending a little more money on things that are better quality, it’ll save you money down the road so you don’t have to rebuy that item. This has happened to me a couple of times where I’ve tried to cheap out and I’ve had to rebuy that item because it broke or fell apart.

So, can you actually do both?? I consider myself a frugal minimalist. There are definitely a lot of differences like we’ve talked about but once you put them together and use minimalism to say no to a lot of things and hone in on your goal lifestyle, frugal living can help get you to that goal a lot quicker. Delayed gratification has really helped me save money and help me be able to make enough money to start investing and quit my job. Frugal living and simplifying my life are the biggest tools I have used to get to where I am today.

I hope you enjoyed this, thanks for reading!!

Frugal Living and Minimalism | Can you do both? – Gabe Bult Blog

Minimalism Is For The Rich?

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