#1 Minimalist Living Personal Finances Declutter Tips
Almost all of us can benefit from Minimalist Living’s personal finances declutter tips. Many of us would not like to admit we live in a consumerist society where we are defined by our material possessions.
The hours we work and the things we do to obtain these useless possessions detract from the quality of our lives where the possessions add only temporary value and then often become a burden.
I have found relief from it all and added greatly to the quality of my life by living a Minimalist Lifestyle. I have found that adding these principles to my personal finances has saved me time, money, and eliminated almost all of my financial stress.
Please check out my Minimalist Living personal finance declutter tips and see if you find as much value in them as I do.
What Is Personal Finances
If you do a Google search you will find many definitions of Personal Finances. You will also find many strategies describing how to better manage your personal finances
.I believe Minimalist Living Personal Finances Declutter Tips are among the most powerful, but let’s take a look at the most common definition of Personal Finances.
Personal finance is the financial management which an individual or a family unit performs to budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events. When planning personal finances, the individual would consider the suitability to his or her needs of a range of banking products (checking, savings accounts, credit cards and consumer loans) or investment private equity, (stock market, bonds, mutual funds) and insurance (life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance) products or participation and monitoring of and- or employer-sponsored retirement plans, social security benefits, and income tax management.
Why Minimalist Living and Decluttering?
Before we talk about how to let’s talk about why you should use minimalist living principles to declutter your personal finances. Just the way minimalist living can get rid of possessions that negatively affect your life, decluttering can do the same for your personal finances.
Just take a minute to follow along and I am sure you will agree, decluttering your personal finances will simplify your life, save you money, time and promote peace of mind.
To achieve these wonderful results you have to first believe they are possible. You may not believe there could be a problem but improvements in your personal finances are possible and should be explored.
Once you believe improvements are possible you will be ready to embrace these Minimalist Living Personal Finances Declutter Tips and reap the many rewards.
Personal Finances Declutter Tips
There is nothing special about these Minimalist Living Personal Finances Declutter Tips. These are simple tips inspired by the realized benefits of minimalist living.
They are the simple principles that living intentionally and discarding everything that does not add value to leave more room for quality inspires.
Starting The Process
Remember the journey is just as important as the results as we begin. The key is to just get started without too much thinking and over-analyzing, putting one foot in front of the other.
The journey towards realizing a more stress-free, streamlined, less stressful, better quality of life is what really counts in the end.
There will be difficult choices to make and there will be easier choices just embrace them all. There will be good times, bad times, and mistakes made as we fine-tune for the most optimum results.
Declutter and discard the unnecessary, question every item, expense, and their connection to what you value most in your life. Follow these personal finances declutter tips that will yield powerful results and surround yourself with the most important.
There will be light at the end of the tunnel and I promise it will not be an oncoming train. LOL.
What Motivates You?
Minimalist living usually dictates you to live very intentionally. Living with less and promoting the things you value most as priorities in your life.
Let’s use what motivates you to towards that goal to help declutter your finances. Let’s search for and eliminate unnecessary expenses and personal finance components that add no real value to your life.
I often find when you take a look into your personal finances with this new eye you find many components you would rather do without and some you did not realize were there.
There is no obvious right or wrong way in this process. Paying every month for Netflix may be an essential expense for one person and an unnecessary expense for another.
Personal finance software may be a tremendous help for one person and just adds an unnecessary complication for another person.
You decide for yourself what is essential and what is unnecessary.
List Those Motivational Expenses
It’s easy to spout phrases like intentional living or sparking joy but what does that really mean for you when it comes to your personal finances?
Of course, that boat or timeshare sounded like a joy sparking an idea but turned out to be just another unused money pit. You don’t enjoy either like you believed you would but the bills always arrive on time. It may be time to deal with such things and quit avoiding them.
Make a list of motivational guidelines to help avoid those types of expenses from creeping into your financial picture in the first place. Less is more.
This is an approach common in Minimalist Living but let’s look at budgeting your money according to minimalist values. Other than financial necessities, identify the purchases or spending habits that matter most to you.
Intentionally choosing to spend on the things you value most makes it easier to let go of the things you don’t.
Declutter Before You Organize
I recommend you not waste time trying to make sense of and organize your current situation. Just Nuke and pave. LOL. That is an old I.T. term meaning blow it all up and start overall new.
By Nuking and Paving your personal finance management strategy you avoid overthinking and falsely adding emotions like familiarity and sentimental value.
We will start clean, with old tracking systems and old spending habits scrutinized to see if they pass your newly imposed standards. All expenses will now have to audition for a spot under the new Minimalist Living personal finance rules.
Even that Netflix account has to shake that money maker and drop it like it’s hot to make the team. LOL. No habits or expenses will get a free pass. They all will have to add value to make the cut.
This is not about limiting your spending to what to can afford. We a looking to declutter your personal finances to what is essential to your happiness regardless of what you can afford.
Your lack of finances may already force you to adhere to that standard or you may be flush and swimming in cash. That standard will stay the same. Declutter to what is essential and adds value.
Use Personal finance software like Quicken, Mint, or YNAB.to make this process more enjoyable.
Start With The Low Hanging Fruit
Stop buying shit you do not need or can not afford (Did I say that out loud? LOL). That is the lowest of the low-hanging fruit. No, seriously, stop it.
If you feel you can stop buying shit you do not need or can not afford to get professional help. Really, there is no shame in seeking help.
Don’t start removing things you enjoy or your guilty pleasures just yet. Slow your roll. We are not uncivilized. LOL. Start with duplicate expenses and expenses for things you will not miss.
You really don’t need cable, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. Do you? I know it is just a few bucks but it is the principle. For some people, a few bucks can go a long way.
Check your monthly expenses and see what you can edit out. Get rid of the nice to have junk or expenses that do not add quality to your life.
Like the junk you have in storage that is causing you to carry a large monthly expense. You can get rid of some stress and finance a ton of joy with those savings. Out of sight does not necessarily mean out of mind.
Do you have those expenses (memberships) you carry just because you occasionally use the service with a friend? Find something more meaningful to do with that friend when the time comes. Even if it’s sitting around talking and creating memories. What can beat that?
What about expenses you are socially expected to carry that do not add value to your life? Really look hard at cutting low-hanging fruit expenses and bad habits that are not important to you. Especially those you will not miss. They can be anything. Only you will know what they will be.
Add Value and Avoid Stress
How many financial accounts do you have? Is it possible you are stressed out by some of them? Do some of that accounts stress you out or make you feel uncomfortable?
Do you avoid looking at some of them for one reason or another? Is it possible you can relieve some stress by eliminating or consolidating them? Sometimes it is better to cut bait if the volatility is too stressful.
In minimalist living, it is common to use three baskets when decluttering. They have usually labeled something like “Keep”, “Get Rid Of” and “Maybe”. The labels speak for themselves.
You evaluate all of the items you own and place them in the appropriate basket. Let’s do something similar to your personal finances.
It may be possible to streamline your personal finances to save you time, money, and stress. Some of the best ways to do this are:
- Go paperless.
- Sign Up for Online Banking.
- Use Online Bill Pay.
- Use Smart Phone Apps.
- Automate Payments.
- Consolidate and Eliminate Account.
- Schedule Regular Budget Checks.
- Divide Payments.
For more details Click Here.
Value Over Stress
It is standard practice for a person living the Minimalist Lifestyle to choose things that add value in life over things that do not. Apply this principle to your personal finances.
Remember financial institutions should add value to your life. They are not doing you a favor by housing your money. They should save you time, money, and/ or stress. If not they do not really serve you. This should be your mindset.
Money is the biggest source of stress for Americans, research shows. Indeed, a survey by Northwestern Mutual found that money was the dominant source of stress for 44% of Americans, followed by the 25% who said personal relationships, and just 18% blaming work.
If you have accounts that are causing stress and discomfort in your life it’s time to switch, consolidate, or close it. Even if none of those steps solve the total problem it’s better to have one problematic account instead of five problematic accounts.
De-cluttering your personal finances can greatly diminish stress levels and save you time and money. Take a look at your Investments, Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, and all of your debts, and begin working your magic.
Deliberate Spending
Spending may seem counter to Minimalism but it is not. Minimalism is not about living with less, it is about making room for more.
Know the true purpose of every purchase. Don’t go buying things because you are bored. Refrain from buying duplicate clothing (or anything else) because you would like something new for an event or occasion.
Don’t buy an item just because it is trendy or the latest and greats thing is being advertised ( latest phone or fashion accessory). Don’t spend your money on these wasteful things.
The phone, gadget, clothing, or accessory you have now worked just as well and the new one being launched.
Declutter Everyday
Practice Minimalist Living Personal Finances Decluttering Tips every day to help maintain your financial health. This will save you a ton of time, money, and stress in the long run.
Incorporate small parts of maintaining your personal finances into your daily routine. Periodically login into your accounts and look them over. Even the not-so-fun ones. Go paperless or buy a paper shredder.
Use Google Docs to save documents. Google Docs is great. You get access to quality a word processor and spreadsheet software all for free. Benefit from the access or sharing your documents from any computer with Internet access and it saves space in your home.
You can also try using a service like FileThis.com to download and file your online statements. You can download statements from up to 30 financial institutions every month with this service.
Keep tabs on your actual spending and the changes that may occur with all of your accounts. Track where your money is, where it is going, and what it is doing.
We all know the awful feeling of neglecting our personal finances and having to deal with the mess during Tax time. Declutter every day to avoid suffering those types of feelings.
It Is A Journey
Just like Minimalist Living and physical fitness the journey never ends. Make decluttering your personal finances a routine thing. Do not abandon it when you believe you finally have everything under control.
Just like when you clean and maintain your home, try to eat healthily and exercise regularly, think of decluttering, and maintaining your personal finances is essential to living a happier life. Your personal finances will just get better over time.
Conclusion
Please do not allow these powerful Minimalist Living personal finances declutter tips to become a temporary practice. Live with intention and make it a daily habit.
Do not allow your hard work to go to waste after a few months by not continuing to practice these personal finances decluttering tips. When you live life under the scrutiny of Minimalist Living principles you begin to choose value over quantity. Less is more.
Your newly streamlined, personal finances will save you money, time, stress and bring more happiness to your life. I am sure of it 😉
Please let me know if I have missed anything or any personal finances decluttering tips you know of in the comments below. Free help getting your debt under control.
