Tag: re life frugal frugality minimalism

Money

by growingtakata
Hope is not a strategy

Money is not my God. I don’t want to be the richest person in the morgue.

I want my freedom and my choices to be made on preferences unrestricted by money.

We each make our own choices with money and here are some of mine:

  • I pay my credit card off in full every month
  • I don’t buy coffee out the house (unless on holiday or it’s a long day away from home)
  • I (mostly) limit eating out to holidays
  • I save 50% of my income
  • I try to not buy much stuff
  • I don’t get status from paying five times more for designer brands
  • I pay my mortgage down
  • I happily pay for experiences and especially love travel – this is my biggest annual expense
  • I don’t do ‘small treats’ because they add up to a lot of waste and limited upside
  • I buy what I want and don’t always buy the cheapest

Each month you should pay yourself first. Put as much as you can into a stocks and shares ISA. Then pay your mortgage (I think you should buy and not rent though there can be exceptions to this). Then pay for essentials. And limit ‘additional’ spending to 1 or 2 % of your net worth.

If you combine the above, you should gradually increase your net worth and therefore the amount you can ‘enjoy’.

There are lots of blogs explaining how to be better with money, my two favourites are

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/blog/

https://theescapeartist.me/

It is an interesting and fun way to spend time finding cheaper ways of having a ‘similar’ experience.

For example, there is no better restaurant than a bench next to the River Thames or a blanket on a green.

Spending money does not make you happy, the experience of the moment does and often that can be free/cheap.

I wish you good fortune! Built on a powerful and sustained money strategy.

Fitness

by growingtakata
The barest minimum

No matter where you are in your fitness journey, you are not the unhealthiest person in the room.

I hope you are blessed with legs or arms that function with minimal pain. If so, congratulations, you have everything you need to increase your level of fitness.

No matter how long it has been since you last did any formal exercise, you can start now.

Start small and be consistent. A daily 10 minute walk is better than a single 2 hour stomp that is never repeated.

Trainers help but are not essential. A beautiful view is helpful but not essential. A water bottle is helpful but not essential. An activity tracker is helpful but not essential.

You just need to stand up and walk about. And make a note of what you did.

Then repeat.

That’s it.

Everything else is a bonus, you can join a gym, you can get a personal trainer, you can join an online course, you can increase your chances of committing. These are your choices to make.

Getting fitter is not easy, but it most definitely is not complicated.

I am cheering you on your journey. You can do anything you put your energy into.

Re-life

by growingtakata

Charity shops get a hard time. There are too many. The money they raise goes to expenses rather than the charity. They sometimes smell and carry overpriced items.

While all of the above may or may not be true, we have a moral obligation to avoid adding to the toxic waste building up on our planet.

You don’t need a set of matching dinner plates from John Lewis or Ikea (choice driven by your budget). Why not go to a charity shop and buy a selection of mis matched plates, cups and glasses?

We like to buy cups on holiday to remind us of a lovely time spent together. And we often buy glasses, serving bowls and plates from charity shops.

It’s true that they don’t alway last long but we have saved the world from one more unnecessary purchase, given to charity and made a choice based on aesthetic rather than how the purchase makes us look to others.

As a family we can afford to buy a very fine and expensive set of dinner plates, matching bowls, side plates and serving bowls. I appreciate beautiful design and my father was a potter so I understand the energy and passion that can go into producing ceramics. But, if you are looking for a useable set that your family is going to use daily it doesn’t have to speak to what you can afford, it doesn’t have send a message about your taste. It can be a message to our little ones and friends about what we think is important.

The planet, being frugal and making a stand against capitalism that benefits a chosen few and punishes a whole lot more.

Let’s hear it for re-life articles. What can you re-life to help the planet and everyone in it?