The Problem With Financial Minimalism

by Startacus Admin

Saving money for the sake of it isn't always the best solution. Adam Eleiko, Editor-in-Chief of SaleSource shares his thoughts...

I saw some years ago a quote in a post that struck a chord: "Build the life you want and then save for it".

The importance of this post was about saying that the end goal is not the be all and end all and that you should not prioritize that.  After all, what's the point of cutting back on the things that you enjoy if doing that makes you miserable.

From this, the solution to all of this is to first figure out what you want from your life, then figure out how much that's going to cost and then plan your savings and investment goals around that. Nb. Not forgetting to save extra for shopify product research (of which as Editor-in-Chief at SaleSource, I'm admittedly a little biased about that particular habit). 

Really think about it - without money getting in the way -  what do you really want out of life and what's important to  you?

You’ve got to do some soul-searching and figure out what you want to do with your time and what you want to contribute.  Then from there you could build your life with that being the goal – dropshipping product research tool, and hey if it's going and buying a Lamborghini sure I'm all for it! But do make sure that what you want is not simply about impressing others or getting things to make you feel better about yourself. Instead you should address the root of the issues  to discover experiences that will help you grow as a person.

Second, the post also recommended leaving a little bit of room for new experiences. After all, priorities change and that's entirely okay, so give yourself a little room to pay for that upfront and work that into  your overall savings and investing goals. By doing that you could really do your best to lead a fulfilling life now rather than just save endlessly waiting for some moment in the future where you could finally walk away from things and do what you really want. 

Even for me this is something that I have absolutely worked on and become better at. There was a time in my early 20s where I would do anything to save money. I mean not anything but… ANYTHING.

And it certainly meant that I missed out on a lot of great experiences just for the sake of saving an extra thirty dollars by staying at home, and thereby hopefully enjoying at some distant point in the future. You could of course still have a chance at that now by  living within your means and prioritizing your savings around that. 

That is the point where earning more money comes in. I'm almost afraid to mention making more money in the same article as financial minimalism because I don't want to give you the wrong impression or make it seem like I'm going against my core values (even if it means I have to stop doing my aliexpress product analysis). There I go again, talking shop, and it's often hard not to...

I mean on the one hand we have the connotation of hyper frugality where we should all be content just living on the bare essentials and then on the other hand we have the assumption that making more money has to do with materialism, extravagances and wastefulness. However I believe that in a way financial minimalism can really encompass both. Sometimes finding ways to make more money is the best solution. For example, if you find that by cutting back, you are then able to save up for the life you really want. 

And at this point, diverting your attention towards increasing your income becomes a much better ROI than simply just cutting back for the sake of it. With this, your potential is really unlimited in terms of how much money you can make, so making more money while keeping your lifestyle the exact same will fast-track your journey towards financial independence and help you build up a portfolio that will cover whatever you want to spend. 

Article written by Adam Eleiko, Editor-in-Chief of SaleSource.

Subscribe to our newsletter

If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.

• #finance
• #savings
• #
• #frugality

Published on: 2nd March 2020