Tony Bennis - Minimalist Budget: 30 Days to Minimalism! Discover Amazing Benefits and Powerful Strategies of Minimalist Budgeting to Save Money, Pay Off Debt, Avoid Emotional Spending, Build Discipline, Declutter!

Minimalist Budget:

30 Days to Minimalism! Discover Amazing Benefits and Powerful Strategies of Minimalist Budgeting to Save Money, Pay Off Debt, Avoid Emotional Spending, Build Discipline, Declutter!

Copyright by Tony Bennis 2019 - All rights reserved.

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Introduction

M ost of us have to hustle to cover our expenses and needs. After we have been paid for a job well done, we all want to be able to use the money in such a way that it meets all our needs (and then some) without being completely depleted. So, we reevaluate our spending, create budgets, and try several strategies in a bid to extend the lifespan of our finances and put an end to the paycheck to paycheck living. All that is good and will be discussed in this book. But, without a solid plan, all our resolutions are destined to go up in smoke, whether or not they are for the new year or mid year.

There have been many misconceptions and false information on the subject of minimalist budgets and minimalism in general. The book, Minimalist Budget: A Practical Guide to Managing a Minimalist Life , was written to correct this erroneous perception about what a minimalist budget entails. This book will not only help you effectively manage your finances, it will also reveal to you the many other benefits of a minimalist lifestyle, which include a much happier life.

Abandon all you have learned about minimalism and enter the pages of this book with a curious, critical, and open mind. Be willing to make the necessary lifestyle changes. You'll be glad you did.

Chapter 1: What Is a Minimalist Budget?

T he analytics company Gallup conducted a survey in 2013 to determine how many Americans write, in detail, a budget for their personal finances (Jacobe, 2013). The result exposed that less than one in every three Americans had a comprehensive budget for their household finances. This means, if you are an American, there is every possibility that you spend your earnings without the plan or strategy that a budget provides. Now you might be thinking, Im not from the U.S., and I do not even live in the country. Unfortunately, the result of the poll performed by Gallup is one shared by most people in many countries of the world. That same year, another financial poll was done in Canada (Household). It discovered that the average Canadian family spent, on things like food, shelter and transportation, a total of 62.14% of their earnings. This does not include expenses on education, clothing, furniture, healthcare, alcohol, gambling, and so on.

Clearly, the struggle to control the many outlets that empty our bank accounts is one shared by the majority of us. We can agree that there is a need for a budget plan that works. That said, I present to you the minimalist budget.

The minimalist budget is one that does away with the complexities that have become synonymous with many traditional budgeting plans. Basically, your expenses should be channeled towards only the very essentials of your daily life. So, instead of fantasizing about a Gucci bag on your shoulder, your primary concern would have to things like rent, insurance, groceries, and the like. Minimalist budgeting keeps your focus on the future, but away from the trivial and ephemeral. It also encourages you to own only necessities and weed out the things you have no use for. This is because we, as human beings in general, devote a lot of our time, money, physical energy, and mental energy to maintaining our properties. As such, it only follows that the more of such properties you own, the time, energy, and money you would expend.

Before we dive further into the minimalist budget, let us understand what is meant by minimalism and how it started.

The Origin and Concept of Minimalism

D etermining the exact moment in time that the idea of minimalism was born can be problematic. This is because the further you walk down the shifting sands of time, the more examples of minimalist ideologies you find. They can be seen in religion, with different groups upholding a sometimes extremely simplistic lifestyle. Adherents to such beliefs subsist with the bare minimum and choose poverty over any semblance of luxury or comfort. Figures like Jesus, Mohammed, Gandhi, and Confucius were all advocates for a life of very little. This they did for the reward of spiritual enlightenment. Generally speaking, those who lived on few possessions by reason of their religious faith were of the belief that earthly belongings, especially in large numbers, represented a detour on their journey of spiritual progress. So they unburdened themselves and went about simply. There are still many who choose minimalism for religious purposes.

But the way in which minimalism has caught on in modern times may be thanks to minimalist art, which began something of a movement after the Second World War. It was, arguably, at its most intense stage in the early 70s. In fact, decluttering and a simplistic lifestyle had nothing to do with the term minimalism when it was first in use. It took off in the music world, as several composers thought it better to strip their pieces to only a few instruments. Some early minimalist music composers include Michael Nyman, Tom Johnson, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and La Monte Young. In the words of Tom Nyman, "The idea of minimalism...includes, by definition, any music that works with limited or minimal materials (Johnson, 1989). This would later extend beyond music, as painters, photographers, architects and other designers would climb aboard the minimalist train.