Recently I came across a blog that promotes Minimalism. This is the kind of lifestyle where one really takes a closer look at the things they need, questioning their necessities and literally getting rid of what they can do without. Some of the minimalists really take it to a high level where they learn to live with very few possessions and where everything they own can fit at the back of your car.
I often admire these people who can survive years with just a coffee table and a laptop although the truth is I don’t think I could. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from how minimalists live their lives. How they approach and think about possessions and belongings can be a very good inspiration for those individuals like us who are in continuous pursuit of financial freedom. Getting rid of things you think you need but actually don’t can impact the amount of money you spend in the long run and help you go about managing your bills.
With this in mind here are my sneaky 6 Living costs you didn’t know you can live without;
Living Room Lighting
Do you really need to light up the whole room when your only in a small portion of it? Your often only home at night time after work and yet we all run multiple lights across the ceiling to sit in one small place and watch TV! Remove all the light globes, remove the temptation and install a small lamp in the area you spend the most time. Its warm, cosy and saves money across a whole range of things from light globes to electricity.
That extra space in your house
It is more costly to live in a large home with several floors or several rooms compared to a smaller one which has less space. Unless you have a big family or are planning one then you should start thinking of moving to a smaller place. That way you don’t have to spend on energy to heat the home or on cleaning /maintenance costs for space you don’t really use or need. Take note that a small house in UK has an average monthly bill of £57 while a large one can have an average energy bill of £116. An alternate idea is to rent or lease out that extra room and your extra space may not only be paid for but generate some side income. Can you put up with someone else in the house for this?
Luxury Purchases
I cant live without coffee and I would imagine most of the western world cant either. But I often make a conscious choice to have coffee at home instead of out and about if I can help it. How much do you spend weekly for your caffeine fixes that could be changed by drinking at home? How about you challenge yourself to brew your own coffee at home to work out how much it can save you? Don’t give up on that coffee goodness just change the habit slightly and go without the premium stuff.
Clothes that need ironing
Did you know using the iron can cost you as much as the drier? Usually a modern iron consumes between 1-3 Kw per hour let alone an older one. You can calculate or come up with an estimated cost based on the number of hours you use it and how many times a month you turn it on. I personally hang everything that would normally need ironing to avoid more wrinkles from the drier. Not only do I not need the drier I dont need the iron and often the clothes are ready to go in the cupboard when I want them!
Your Itunes/Play Account
In this modern day of smart phones, tablets and apple devices everyone has an Itunes and Google Play account and they all happily spend away purchasing games, apps, music and movies without a thought to the total cost. Did you know there are a tonne of free apps, plugins and music you can load onto your devices and not necessarily pay for every time? Every one of those 0.99c purchases will add up over the course of the month and over a year is a chunk of change spent on something you really could live without!. As an alternative dont even have an active account on your device. Once you have it initially setup turn the account sync off. Or if you cant quite live without the account and occasional new stuff remove your credit card details so your not tempted to spend on paid apps.
Pets
Frankly I didn’t want to put this on the list because I can’t imagine living without my dog and he forms a huge part of my life. But pets aren’t cheap and being financially ready for a pet isn’t something most people take into consideration BEFORE they get pickup their new best friend. Living without a pet would probably save you in the region of two to three thousand dollars a year in vet bills, food and keeping. That is an awful lot of money that could be used for other purposes and a pet could be something you could live without. This even has a flow on affect to you not needing as big a home or the same type of home to allow your pet to live with you.
I have listed only six right now but we all know there are still a whole bunch of living costs we didn’t know we can live without. If you have something interesting to share, feel free to comment and dont forget to share with all those other non minimalists out there!
***photo thanks to fdecomite***
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