The Minimalist Lifestyle

[Kiba]

I am interested in a really low budget lifestyle, that is really low budget living.

But so far, it seem difficult to find such information on the web.

Thus far, I read an interesting article about a man with a family in New York living under a ten thousand dollar budget. Here is the link

It is pretty cool that you can do with little money in a state like New York.

I am interested in other information source about living a minimalist lifestyle.

I do have plan to make a decent amount of money(30,000 per years as income as goal by end of 2010) but not with getting a job. So if I can cut my living expenses to under 10,000 dollars, I could have 20,000 dollars in surplus. It could go into research projects, or reducing my ecological footprint further by investing in green technology, and other numerous noble causes. Of course, I could invest the money too but I don't feel like I will retire(I think speeding trends of technology will make retirement unnecessary)

[AirBreather]

Minimalist would easily work with other noble efforts, like low pollution/"no impact" (@ No Impact Man ), and veg(an) lifestyles.

[AndrewJ]

I make more than 30k from home with a bunch of websites and the cost of running this business in both time and money is miniscule.
How do you plan to make the 30k?

[Keith]

Try googling "downshifting" and "voluntary simplicity". That should get you started...

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Keith

Try googling "downshifting" and "voluntary simplicity". That should get you started...

This article on downshifting is quite good, or at least the bit I've read so far.

I live a very simple life at the moment, but I'm a student so it's not entirely voluntary. But even so, it's a style of life I enjoy and I applaud you for taking an interest in it.

[Susie]

Check out the book "Your Money or Your Life."

It's all about radically reducing expenses and saving so you can retire at very young age and just do what you want to do with your time.

[Kiba]

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

I make more than 30k from home with a bunch of websites and the cost of running this business in both time and money is miniscule.
How do you plan to make the 30k?

I also make money from website(via selling ads space) though the profits is very low. I expect the cost to be very minimal(Right now 0 dollars). I also plan to make money from video games somehow. (Can't do anything at the moment though)

I don't expect to follow the model of other indies developers and successful game developers like Steve Pavlina because my contents and games are well, have a fundamental difference. I allowed other people to modify, redistribute, and sell them without them ever paying me a royalty fee (I tend to view intellectual property with distrust). So no "shareware" model for me.

As for others, thank you for giving me resources I can pursue

I'll try downshifting and voluntary simplicity in the search engine and read all the links you guys give me.

I expect the only things I will ever need to make a living are hosting bills, a good computer, and a good internet connection. So they're really marginal.

[SamBeaven]

Small House Society, though primarily focused on living in realllly small houses, does have a bunch of info on living cheap; see this speech for more: Living Smaller - Gregory Johnson

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Susie

Check out the book "Your Money or Your Life."

It's all about radically reducing expenses and saving so you can retire at very young age and just do what you want to do with your time.

I came across another book that seems to have been done in cooperation with the "Your Money or Your Life" people, Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth By Jim Merkel. You can see a preview of it on books.google.com and worldcat.org will show you the nearest library that has it.

NSP - Book Info Page

[AveryHorton]

Good reads:

"The Good Life" by Scott Nearing,Helen Nearing

"How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: A Handbook for Personal Liberty" by Harry Browne.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

The Simple Living Network has a lot of information you might like. They also have discussion forums. Good luck. I think what you're trying to do is really great!

[Kiba]

Thank everyone for helping me learn about voluntary simplicity. It is clear to me what I should do in the future. I currently live with my parents, but someday I'll have to live on my own.

I want to avoid the unsustainable hyperconsumption lifestyle and culture of many Americans so I am less of a factor to contributing to world harm.

EDIT: And thanks for the supportive response.

[Gemini15]

Why do you need to look on the web?


To live this type of lifestyle the first thing to do is not spend money! From now on everytime you get out your wallet to buy something, ask yourself is there a different way?

Of course there is. From here you will start to live this lifestyle and it will develop from there.

Good Luck

[hymalaia]

Kiba, you should check out this guy:

Ran Prieur

He's pretty hardcore about living cheap, if you read the zines he goes into things like squatting and dumpster diving. You may not want to go that far but he's good inspiration, living on something like 5-6k a year. Unfortunately he's recently run into some dental issues it seems that is threatening to wipe out his savings.

[Andrew Brunelle]

I've read Ran Preiur and he is something else. He is very intelligent, articulate, and makes sense. I don't agree with everything he says, but I do believe that the crash of civilization is inevitable. I am a minimalist and I own less than 200 items right now and I do enjoy cutting down on the amount of items I own, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to give it a try. Good luck in your minimalism. I have some articles on it on my website, link in my signature...

[openeyes]

Here's another link I've posted elsewhere:

Escaping the Job Trap: An Article by Thomas J. Elpel

[ahimel]

I'd say the ultimate in minimalist living is Walden, by Thoreau.

[The Minimalist]

I just started a blog about Minimalism. It has many meanings. It would seem that there is a direct connection to taking care of our planet. At least for me.

[openeyes]

I recently grabbed Work Less and Play More by Steven Catlin at the local Really Really Free Market ( Really Really Free Market - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ), where I ended up giving away ~30 books and a unicycle the last time I went. Whatever I no longer use and can easily sell for a good price goes on amazon, and everything else is either given or thrown away (preferably given).

Lately I've enjoyed the process of continually simplifying my life and making it more efficiently produce whatever I want. For example, yesterday when I needed to go into town I chose to bicycle the five hilly miles each way rather than drive, enabling me to save gas, get exercise, and experience a great hour or so outside.

[Erki]

Another good way to live on a small budget is not to worry about the money and income at all. Live from the grace.

[Jonathan Mead]

I suggest checking out Zen Habits. Albert (I believe is his name) has a lot of great posts about minimalism and living frugally. Here's a good article to start out with:

The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Tips for Frugal Living | Zen Habits

I'd also recommend this article:

Confessions of a Bottom Feeder, Part 1: When Frugality Becomes a Survival Skill

Best of luck to you!

[simplystephen]

Wow...this is a great thread. I have been living a minimalist lifestyle for about a decade now, though we can always do more. I find that I meet people while travelling that inspire me.

When the thing that is the most important in your life is in jeopardy, you will realize that material goods are not a priority. That is how I felt during my divorce when my visitation and time with my daughter was reduced to a minimum.

My greatest inspiration has come from Thoreau - Walden is the ultimate source for taking on the attitude of a minimalist. Ghandi is another famous minimalist, though I'm not suggesting following either of these lifestyles, choose the balance you need.

The web has been full of great resources, though I have spent 10 years accumulating websites and tools. Here are a few, unfortunately I have hundreds and can't share them all. I'm working on a green directory, actually two green directories as a project for the year end - they will be listed there eventually. I am situated in Toronto, Canada but these resources are pretty useful.

Freegan AND Why Work?
Be Green Now AND Best Green Blogs
New American Dream OR Planet Friendly
TreeHugger AND try Hugg 2.0
All Things Frugal PLUS Frugal Corner
The Simple Living Network AND Simply Living
One Planet Living AND 100 Ways to Save the Environment
Think Simple Now

You will note that a lot of these are promoting a green lifestyle, that is because a green lifestyle truly promotes the idea of limiting consumer habits and offers a greater chance of happiness, as many of the people on Steve Pavlina's website have come to seek.

I hope I didn't put too many links on here. If I did, tell me how I can change them. NONE OF THEM ARE MINE (oh, except for the two in my signature) but they are all excellent sources to get started. I have hundreds more but I hand chose a few, it took me a little while.

Enjoy.

[David Turnbull]

Here are some of the best minimalist resources:

• | mnmlist.com
• simple links
• Minimal

And as a some self promotion I also recently started Peacefulness which isn't directly related to minimalism, but it has similar themes.

[earylbird]

Here are some blogs on minimalism, frugality and personal finance that may interest you:

Frugal Dad
Get Rich Slowly
Wise Bread | Personal Finance and Frugal Living Forums
The Simple Dollar

Also, if you do a search on "frugal living" or "frugality" or "personal finance blogs" etc, you should find a lot more resources on the subject of making the most of your money.

[Flaming pie]

''The Simple Guide to Living a Minimalist Life. '' It's only $9.95,quite helpful.

''But buying is not the solution -

Instead, buy less. Stop yourself before going out to buy things. See what you already have that you can use. See if someone else has it that you can borrow or trade or barter for. See if you can solve the problem without anything new.

Just a few examples:

Instead, buy less. Stop yourself before going out to buy things. See what you already have that you can use. See if someone else has it that you can borrow or trade or barter for. See if you can solve the problem without anything new.

Just a few examples:

To help the environment, consume less. Live simply.
To lose weight, eat less. Eat clean.
To get in great shape, try a minimalist workout by just walking or running or swimming or doing bodyweight exercises.
To get out of debt, spend less, save money, pay off debts.
To make your house look better, declutter.
To save gas, drive less.
To get organized, declutter.
To improve your life, read free stuff online, or just start making small changes over time. ''

[codefreeze]

I've been living simply for several years now as a means to retire early. Back in 2004 I was heavily in debt after a nasty divorce and saddled with huge child maintenance payments, but I made the decision to retire to Thailand in 2012. It looks like I will be hitting that objective this year, and I've already taken several mini-retirements along the way.

Just to reiterate what one commenter posted earlier - you don't need to know a lot, just write down everything you spend, and start assessing where your money is going, then cut back. To be honest it's not that hard. There are those out there (some quite well known) that don't advocate this approach of tracking expenses, but I found it worked very well for me. I found living simply to be, err, simple.

This year I'm becoming much more minimalist, which is a natural progression in many respects from voluntary simplicity.

There are two main resources I used, and found very useful, and both of them have already been mentioned, but I'll list them again:

1) Walden by Henry David Thoreau

This was recommended to me by a friend living a frugal (but rich and happy) lifestyle in Bangkok. It really provided a lot of inspiration, and consolidated various suspicions I'd had about life, the universe and everything. I love this book, and listed it as one of the 5 books that changed my life on my website (see below for link to review).

2) Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robbin

I can't heap enough praise on this book. Although I'd already made a number of positive changes by the time I'd stumbled across this book, it certainly help me move towards financial freedom a lot faster. This book provides a lot of useful practical advice.

In summary, I wouldn't fret too much. Just dive in. When I started simplifying my life I knew nothing, but you soon get the hang of it - it's not that hard.

Good luck! (Actually it's been a while since you posted - just wondering how you are getting on?)

5 Books That Changed My Life - Regards From The Balcony

[danthony]

Minimalist and NY don't go together in my mind too well. Sounds like you have a solid plan. If you don't already, read zenhabits blog, very minimalistic, yet effective methods on there.

[gene2009]

Kiba, move to one of poor countries and you'll get a Minimalist Life Style
Sorry, i don't understand your goal. Do you try to save money and have 10000000... buck when you'll be old, or you just want to avoid any work

[Vitya]

what a monster thread! got some good links from this one. thanks guys

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by gene2009

Kiba, move to one of poor countries and you'll get a Minimalist Life Style
Sorry, i don't understand your goal. Do you try to save money and have 10000000... buck when you'll be old, or you just want to avoid any work

If you'll notice Kiba started this thread over 3 years ago!