Embrace the changes

Lifestyle changes are never easy, in fact rather difficult to change our daily habits and uncomfortable to change our habits especially when the circumstances are forcing us to do so.

The past months and the changes that they brought into my life were immensely positive, many things have happened to me, changed my life draining job for a new one, for a challenging one, where I feel respected, appreciated and rewarded. Moved to a new country, experiencing a new lifestyle and even though all these positive changes happened to me, it does not mean I am living in a cave and not realising what is happening around the world, high inflation, war, after effects of lockdowns around the globe with supply chain bottlenecks, increasing interest rates to fight off inflation and whatever comes with it, such as the expected recession, more defaults on housing payments and more defaults on household debts and so on.

I wanted to share my thoughts this time about what can we do to embrace the changes in our circumstances, I’d like to focus more on the positives, obviously I know the situation is grieve for most of the people, however by shifting our focus on what we can do instead of what we cannot do, this mindset can help tremendously in a situation like this.

Many people in the world are finding themselves in a situation where they are being forced into a different lifestyle where they must cut out their unnecessary spendings to afford their needs.

Simple living and minimalism is long embracing the concept of living within our means, embracing the concept of being present and being content with whatever we have rather than focusing on what we don’t.

So let’s see what an average person can cut out of their daily lives; junk food (apart of it being bad for your health is also bad for your wallet and no, it is not cheaper than cooking from scratch despite some myths), alcohol, very important if you are in a dire situation avoid it all costs, it can make you sick and deteriorate your health and it can set you back real easy financially as a consequence too, think of the time out of work, medication costs etc. (difficult one for me, this summer is super hot and time to time is good to get a refreshing beer even though I am not in a budget cut, but trying my best to eliminate the consumption to a healthy level and you can do it cheaper, instead of buying it in the pub/bar/disco purchase it at your local store and consume at home or in the park, next to the sea/lake/river with friends), drive less, spend less money on clothes or buy used, I also recommend to have no shopping months, travel to cheaper destinations, move to cheaper areas, use online resources to up your skills and get higher salary, cook from scratch. Cancel subscriptions such as Netflix etc. Repay your debts as quickly as possible as currently seems like the interest rates are going to go higher in the coming months. Avoid taking on consumer debts, start budgeting, pay your bills, rent, insurance, debts first from your salary same day you receive it, also recommending to set up a standing order, set a budget for food and discretionary spending, look for a part time job to get extra income if possible, prioritise according to your current situation and don’t fall for a neighbour’s grass is always greener mindset.

These were just few tips from me to you. The point was not to tell you how to live your life, but if you are forced to cut back on things, after the economy or your personal economic situation is getting better, it is worth to keep some or all of these reductions and live more with less.

Your sincerely

To/Minimal