Minimalist Money: Managing Personal Finances

I’ve been thinking about money a lot these days. It’s not that I’m overly materialistic or going through a financial rough spot. However, tax day just passed, and I’ve been focused on income and deductions and all that fun stuff. I’ve also started searching for a new home. It’s probably not financially wise to sell a house within two years, but now that I’ve lived in my new city for a while, I know where I wish to spend my leisure time. I also want to find a place before prices and interest rates increase too much (my new city has become a hotter market the last few years). I want to decrease my cost of living despite moving closer to downtown, so this means going smaller. Fewer square feet also means lower utility bills and less space to clean, a win-win. So it begins—gathering all the documents of my financial life to prove to a lender that I’m a worthy borrower.

Money is a slippery topic for many of us. It’s often cited as a major source of conflict in families, even friendships. Having struggled financially for a long time in my younger days, I have learned how to make my dollar stretch. I’ve tracked expenses on and off during the years, and my expense tracking spreadsheet has evolved to fit my needs. Tracking costs and income isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it has helped me analyze my spending. It also reassures me when I’m on the right track.

One of the earliest personal finance books I read was the original edition of Your Money or Your Life. It really opened my eyes about linking my spending to how I value the time it takes to earn that money. Since then, I’ve skimmed through many resources on personal finance, but what has really grabbed my attention are the many personal finance bloggers.

I discovered quite a few of them through Optimal Finance Daily, a short podcast in the Optimal Living Daily family, where blogs are read aloud. I had already heard of the financial guru Dave Ramsey through a friend, but on the OFD podcast, I was introduced to Mr. Money Mustache, J.D. Roth, Ramit Sethi, J. Money, P.T. Money, Cait Flanders, and more. Some writers focus on getting out of debt or curbing spending, some on investing, others on early retirement, but they all have useful tips about managing money. Leo Babauta and The Minimalists also cover personal finances, though their work does not focus solely on these issues.

My goal is not to get rich (gasp) or even to retire early (too late for that), but I do wish to have more financial security than I had in the first few decades as an adult. I don’t focus only on retirement, either, but I’d sure like to have that option some day in the future. Becoming more minimalist in my approach to household and finances has helped enormously to reassure myself that I can live with less and still feel secure and content. How much is enough varies widely, depending on your needs, but if you continually seek to live with less money but more life, than you might be a minimalist!