Tag Archives: minimalist

Minimalist vs Misers, Money Fight Matchup #2

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Well, it seems the Minimalists already have a new challenger!  With the freegans beat during the last matchup, the new challengers “The Misers” have issued some serious smack calling the minimalists “Baby Nothings“.

So, let’s GET IT ON:

Who is the Greenest of Them All?

After a tough fight from both camps, this battle is won by the Misers!  You see, the minimalist, while taking a vow of trying to buy as little as possible has been perfectly countered by the Miser’s level of cheapness and using what they find (they recycle).  So from a “which group is the more green” perspective, the Misers actually win this one, but it’s not entirely because they try to be… no, it’s because they are too cheap to do otherwise.

Who has the Healthier Lifestyle?

Another tough battle (most misers live to be pretty old), but the minimalist pulls ahead (barely) on this one.  Part of it is their minimalist lifestyle, but part of it is the wisdom they have around health these days.  However, we only head about the wise minimalist, I’m sure there are plenty that are living on ramen noodles, day in and day out…

Which group has the potential to make more money?

This is where the fight becomes both ugly and unfair!  The misers are for the mostly part rich, while the minimalist are an unknown factor.  So this is like winning the fight by default since the misers are rich already.  If they need to use their incredible savings, they have access to it.

So the winner of this Money matchup goes to “The Misers”! 

This was a close call because a lot of the minimalist can evolve over time into Misers too, if they aren’t careful!  So it’s entirely possible for a “Baby Nothing” to evolve to a “Rich Nothing” if they are not extremely careful!

This fight was a big of a shocker to me, especially with respect to the similarities between the two.

Not all misers live the way the media represents them…  These two groups are very similar in many ways!  The minimalist being the younger version of the older, more wealthy misers.

I know that minimalism is the newest fad but what do you think?  Is the minimalist life style for you?  

-MR

Less is More On The Road To Accumulating Wealth

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Some think that you have to fake it to make it… and in some ways this is true.

But I think it’s also true that less is more when it comes to accumulating wealth while having an average salary.

Whenever a person moves up in their salary amount, or their rate of pay, they start to think that they have made it. They start to buy more expensive things because they believe that they are supposed to.

But the way to build wealth while on a modest income is by practicing the less is more concept!

The “less is more” concept in a nutshell is that the less you spend, the more you get to save for wealth building activities!

Here are the ways that you get ahead by following the Less is More idea:

  1. Less House!  It’s true, that housing has traditionally been a great way to acquire wealth (excluding the past few years).  But along with a big fancy house, comes big expenses!  With a larger house you will pay
    1. More in Real Estate Taxes (unless you are outside of city limits, or in a state that doesn’t tax Real Estate).
    2. More on your utilities (gas, electric, water, sewage)
    3. More for repairs to your appliances and house (roof shingles, heaters, water pumps, etc).
    4. More on landscaping (after all you have to keep up with the Joneses, if you live in a big house).
    5. More on Cosmetic features (faux paint, fancy decorations, artwork, etc)
    6. House cleaning…
  2. Less Car!  If you buy a decent dependable car instead of a luxury car, you’ll save money instead of spending more!
    1. Insurance will be less for a cheaper dependable car.
    2. Surprisingly, luxury cars break down more than the reliable cars reviewed in Consumer Report Magazine.
    3. Auto Repairs will be more expensive, or auto mechanics will charge you more because they know you can afford it.
    4. It’s more apt to be stolen.
  3. Less on Eating out and Living Large!
    1. Eating out more (especially drinking alcohol), is a quick drain of money!
    2. Buying Football (and other sport) tickets!  Nothing waste money quicker than spending hundreds of dollars for sporting events.
    3. Fancy vacations!  There have been years where my family had to vacationed in backyardsville, so that we could get our finances stable.
  4. Less on Electronics!
    1. Skip the newest smart phone when it comes out (iPhone anyone)!  At first, they are typically overpriced.  Some people toss their current phone and run out to get the newest electronic gizmo!  As someone in the technology field, I understand the temptation!  But if I can do it, then so can you!
    2. Once you buy a product stick with it!  I keep my computer at least 5 years!  Once we buy our newest TV (with credit card reward points money), we’ll keep it until it breaks down.
    3. Don’t stick to brand names!  Believe it or not, an Apple IPod is still just an MP3 player…  I know I can buy an MP3 player for a much cheaper price!

These are just some of the ways that you can apply the Less is More idea to save more money which could then be used for investment, or paying off debt!

Readers, did I miss any other big “Less is More” item?

-MR