Less But Better – Simplify Your Life

The first thing I learned in my intro to microeconomics class is that “There is no free lunch.” Do you know what that means? Everything has a cost. It does not matter if you are living a “normal” or a minimalist life, there is a price to it.

The other day I had a conversation with my grandmother, who is 80 plus years old (you never reveal a woman’s actual age). She complained that even though she has been living with my parents for the past year, she had to pay for keeping her own apartment in the city. See what I mean? Owning stuff costs money, albeit an apartment, car, computer, clothes, or whatever else you can think of.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not about to tell you to get rid of everything. It would be ridiculous. But, if you keep an apartment, you don’t use, which is full of stuff you don’t need; well, that is a bit too much.

When I was graduating and had to move back across the ocean, I had to pack my 5-year-life in the US in several suitcases. I was only 24 when I had to face the fact that I own too much stuff for the first time in my life. So I tried to part with some of it. At that point, I have not heard of this so-called minimalism or the popularized by The Minimalists 90/90 rule.

The rule states that if you have not used something in 90 days and you would not forest using it in the next 90, you probably should part with it.
My grandma’s apartment can easily fit into this category neatly. But how to tell somebody that they need to part with basically all their possessions?

It is not that easy to get rid of stuff you have been accumulating your whole life. Especially if you have worked hard to obtain them in the first place. This, on the other hand, does not mean that you have to cling to everything you have ever bought.

Stuff, as illustrated above, requires space and maintenance, which cost money. The fewer things you have, the less it will cost to keep them. But then again, I am not saying that you should only own 53 things that you can fit in a backpack. This is not for everybody.

There is this claim that minimalism is for rich people, who can have the privilege of owning less. The theory is that if something they own breaks, they can easily buy a new one because they have the money. Yes and no! Take me as an example. I am undoubtedly white (or at least I think I am), and I have no children, yet. But I am not rich. Not even a little bit. However, I still manage to keep my possessions to the things I absolutely need and use almost daily. And I am ready to pay a premium for them.

There is a reason, though, why discount stores are so popular. Things there are cheap, and most people can afford to buy them.

I have lived through that myself. And for quite some time too. As a young student, I used to go to Walmart, Costco, and Target, and buy loads of things I thought I need. Something I wanted at that precise moment because I have seen somebody else owning it. However, I soon came to the realization that you buy what you pay for.

Everything that I bought cheap, because I did not have the restraint to save for a bit longer, I usually had to replace not very long after. It did not take me too long to figure out that every attempt to save on something I really need actually costs me more. There is the reason for the saying: “I am not rich enough to buy cheap stuff.”

The designer Dieter Rams is famous for his quote, “Weniger, aber besser.” I’d rather have fewer things, things that will do the job better and last for longer.

“But I cannot afford to buy expensive things,” you may say.

Let’s to some math. I own two pairs of sneakers. Each of them costs $150. I have been wearing them for three years now. This comes to $100 a year, or less than 30 cents a day. This, for sure, is cheaper than buying a pair of $30 sneakers every three to four months, because I need to replace them. It is certainly not less expensive!

Nowadays, I tend to go over the math for everything that I consider buying now. I don’t need to be extremely precise. I just do a rough calculation in my head.

This easy trick is even more relevant for the more significant investments you will be compelled to make, like buying a car or a house. Not to mention purchases that I use in my business, which help me earn a living — camera, laptop, phone, etc. With those, I try to figure out how long it will take for them to start bringing income. But this is another story.

Owning less, especially clothes, has freed me from the constant dilemma of what to wear. As I have mentioned above, I won two pairs of sneakers. I also own the same number of jeans, 10 T-shirts, two jackets, and a couple of other clothing items that I cannot go without. For clothes, I strictly follow the 90/90 rule. If I have not worn it in the last three months and I will not foresee wearing it in the next three, I don’t need it.

Nowadays I usually buy things only when I need them, not because I want them. This keeps my budget low, and I can afford to spend more on better quality. Oh yes, and I can extract the most value of every object I own.

After almost twelve years of trying to simplify things, I realized that all those guys who are writing about minimalism are right to a certain extend. I feel less desire to spend money on things I don’t need, and I feel happier and less stressed. But to get here, it took a lot of determination and deliberation. I had to stop myself buying things I want, so I can save money to buy the things I need. And then again, everything costs something. Even owning less.