Much to say! (Long)
So I don't know if my minimalism/budget ideas are a "result" of not drinking. Not a direct result or just more of life getting better once you are committed to changing your life for the good.
Minimalism is not new to me. 4 years ago yes, I had the Marie Kondo book and after reading I did do a deep dive cleaning of my home: of old unmatched dishes and got one good set. I got rid of all the "just in case 12 people stop over for dinner" dishware, glasses etc. Because that surely was not going to happen. I cleaned out my closet. But alas, that was 4 years ago.
There is much to my madness and that is why the minimizing/budget "thing" came to be a week ago. I need to call it something better. My ultimate GOAL is to retire as soon as I can now that I am 60. In 2 years I can retire and collect SSI. Not smart, as I wont get full $. I doubt I can do it at 62, but maybe 63? I just don't want to work. I just want to sit home and do NOTHING. The sooner I get rid of my truck payment, the sooner I can retire.
So my thoughts are to put as much money I can toward the truck to pay it off sooner. I have a large top of the line luxury truck yes, cuz
1. I worked my ass off all my life and mainly drove embarrassing hoopdies. So I deserve it. 2. It's a well made truck and will need it for these winters( if I choose to leave the house) and it will last me at least 20 years. Or more.
I have been listening to Minimalist podcasts and Budget podcasts. So these 2 things go hand in hand in my plans. The people in the budget podcasts are mainly trying to get out of large debt and large student loans. I don't have any of that. I do have some credit cards and the truck. So I am using the same tools to reduce the $ I owe. I already have learned to live a simple minimized life and enjoy simple things, these habits will help me even more in my retirement.
Walk with me down my path on how this all melds together. Minimizing the home just makes living in it better. Putting all my stacks of "Books to read" piles away on the shelves just removed my guilt on not being able to sit and read them NOW. I know what books are new, I will pick one at a time to read. I usually am reading 3 at a time which actually defeats soaking in the book. Part of the Minimizing is "Keeping only what I LIke/LOVE. I have decided to only read books that are RIVITING and keep my interest. I buy books on a whim and feel like I HAVE to read them, and I force myself to struggle thru something that is just not doing it for me, thus why I have 3 current books to read, thus why I procrastinate. No more. 1 book at a time and only if I LOVE it. I have a Kindle as well and will try to get books from the Library on it. I already am able to read tons of magazines for free from the Library on my iPad.
Here comes the good part. So I cleaned out the refrigerator. I threw out stuff I bought thinking oh this is interesting. Dressings, that sounded good but were not really. I wont even tell you how many times I throw out salad mix. I buy with good intentions. But I ALWAYS throw it out. I only love salads in restaurants. That is a fact. I cleaned out the freezer. I moved on to my spice cupboard and Pantry. Let me just tell you. I threw out stuff that expired in 2016. I have a thing of poppy seeds I swear since 2003.
Not only does everything look sparse but pleasing to the eye. I can now see what I have.
One thing that struck me when listening to the podcasts. One girl was determined to lower her debt and said she didn't care if she ate PBJs for lunch every day for years. Yes, it hit a cord with me. So I sat down and created a menu for 2 weeks, since I get paid bi-weekly. I just started making soups for lunch which curbed my drive thru lunch habit. So I included that. I listed ONLY MEALS I LIKE. I mean, how many times has healthy Cyndie gone shopping and then fat Cyndie throws that stuff out. Bags of Lentils and Quinoa that expired in 2018 were thrown. Not saying my meals are bad. I am doing Taco Tuesdays. Meatless Mondays are roasted veggies, squash, beets fennel yams and brussels. All my favs.
But all meals I LOVE. That I can sustain to eat for a while. I then created my shopping list. and I will buy nothing else! Because I am committed to save save save. No more buying stuff that looks "interesting" that I will never eat. LIke the Black pasta made out of beans that I threw out. All savings go toward paying off credit cards. Smallest amount to largest. Once all those are down. The money that was toward credit cards goes to extra on the truck.
So yesterday was my first grocery shop with my new list. Can I just say I spent less than I normally did in ages! And now that I have a set menu my fridge and cupboards are not stuffed with unrecognizable things. This habit is starting to affect other parts of my life. I even minimized my purse! Its small, good quality. I got rid of all the crap on my car keys and only kept the Tops fob. I minimized my Apple music I never use and Apple storage was lowered from 2.99 to .99 a month. I have free storage with Google and Prime. So I cleaned out half my pics. You know those extra pics that take up space. I will do the rest this weekend. I am also doing my closet this weekend. I have done it before, but for some reason it has "grown" out of control again. I am not throwing out or donating. I am moving what I don't need to storage upstairs so that in my retirement when I am on a fixed income I can go "shop" upstairs. Same as with all my books and dishes. All goes in the basement so I can do garage sales in my retirement years if I should need $. I am not going to be destitute. I will be comfortable, especially since my habits are now being honed to minimize my spending and learning to be happy with what I have. My home is so comfortable with good quality furniture. I already cut the cord 2 months ago. What a savings there!
I am keeping a Good and Bad list of my minimizing buget "thingee". To keep track.
I am so excited about all this and if feels really really good doing this. It gives me more control of my life and my happiness.
And did you notice I didn't even mention anything about drinking? That was on purpose. I don't even think about it either.
#budget #minimize #retirement
#budget #minimize #retirement
