The Minimalist Thread

[srkmish]

I may not get many responses here. But im interested to see who will join in an "indian" minimalist thread. Lately, i have become very inspired by the strategies mentioned in Early Retirement Extreme: — a combination of simple living, anticonsumerism, DIY ethics, self-reliance, and applied capitalism . While the strategies mentioned are for retiring early, it encompasses much more
(i) Drastically cutting down your frivolous expenses
(ii) Escaping the vicious cycle of consumer upgrading
(iii) Understanding that happiness does not depend on owning things
(iv) Doing things yourself that you would otherwise hire 3rd party to do i.e. Carpentry, fixing things.
(v) Investing wisely all ur money so that you could retire early

I believe minimalism and extremism are closely linked. Here is how i have cut down all my expenses

1. I no longer eat at expensive restaurants. I consider this absolute waste of hard earned money. Also, no CCD, no Dominoes.
2. Not using AC anymore, i sleep under the cooler and it has been great
3. Not upgrading PC, Mobile etc and not buying any other gadgets. I really get bored after a month after owning any device
4. Investing in PPFs, Insurance schemes. I am a novice as of now. But i will get better at this.

Things i plan to do to further reduce expenses
1. Cycle to Office and back
2. Sell off all unused stuff. There is a rule, which says, if you havent used any product for more than 6 months, you are better off selling it/donating it.
3. Learn to "fix" things myself. This might be a tough road for me as frankly i have never attempted this kind of thing i.e fixing leaks/carpentry/electricity problems.

Please chime in if you are interested. I am curious to know how do other minimalists/extremists reduce their expenses.

 

[RBX]

Plant a garden and water the plants each morning and evening, you won't require even a cooler. Last summer I couldn't live without AC, this time I'm so far good with just fan.

 

[anirbandd]

coolers are BAD for health.

google for more..

but good thread. subscribed. i am interested too.

 

[Faun]

Do I need to plant a tree right in front of my bed ?

 

[anirbandd]

nope.. on your head.

 

[srkmish]

yeah , in places with lots of trees, its naturally very cool. however i live in an apartment. if i dont use cooler, ill keep getting up every 2 hours out of the inability to sleep in the heat. in bhubaneswar, summers are intolerable

 

[anirbandd]

Do I need to plant a tree right in front of my bed ?

nope.. on your head.

And it rhymes too.

 

[Flash]

Do I need to plant a tree right in front of my bed ?

nope.. on your head.

so that you will be dead.

- - - Updated - - -

3. Learn to "fix" things myself. This might be a tough road for me as frankly i have never attempted this kind of thing i.e fixing leaks/carpentry/electricity problems.

I do this as much as i can, wherever i think i can. Most of the time, i will try to recycle the old, and buy things only when the old is dead.

 

[Vyom]

Great thread. Minimalistic living is something people eventually turns to, when they finally understand that they have enough of the shenanigans of consumerism.

I think choosing where to spend money is something that every teenager/younger generation take granted now a days. Eating at Dominos and CCD have risen from just on occasions to like a daily affair and worse so when they do it just so as to look "cool". While I think globalization is bringing with it some amazing progress to our country, I also think its the generation of ours and younger that needs to draw a line. Trend of making easy money (through working at call centers , not that its as easy mind you) and then spending it frivolously on things that is far from "need" than "want" is something most of the young minds are plagued with.

Personally I never spent a dime on things I "want" till I started earning my own dough. I come from a lower middle class family, where we used to face scarcity of all kinds. Our house is built in parts as and when my dad could accumulate money to built something. Broken things used to remain broken until we could accumulate money to fix it. Fortunately my dad is an electrical engineer, and he doesn't lack tinkering around. So most of the stuff from home wiring, to laying basic water pipelines, fixing Television sets (CRT ones), and cleaning engine of our scooter to fixing kitchen appliances were done by himself, while I used to be his assistant in bringing the tools he needed. I have rarely seen any specialized fixit guy being called for fixing any stuff listed above.

Franky I used to hate being with my dad when he was repairing things. He used to loose his cool easily. I would struggle to bring to him the exact tools he require from what I see as a treasure of tools kept in the store room. But now that I think about it, my dad was only trying to save some money, so that I can study in a primary school and keep up with the extravagant fees, prices of clothes and books.

Maybe the reason why I choose to study "Software" Engineering was because of the struggle I used to see my dad having with trying to fix all those hardware all by himself, becoming the one man army of all the Dr. Fixit guys out there, and slowly resenting the hands and face getting dirty by the dirt and grease it attracted. But I do use to understand the money it used to save to us in the long run and that's why never use to complain about it to my dad.

I even made a list of the things I could never afford but badly "wished" for when I was in school, like my own PC. I used to draw layout of keyboards in a diary and try to memorize the placements of alphabets since I didn't have my own PC. Sometimes, I used to work on a Pentium 3 PC at my Mausi's house. But it didn't have internet access. So I used to make a list of links and write long emails in notepad so that I save time when I used to access Internet at a local cyber cafe each Sunday for not more than an hour. It was in my college that my father was able to buy for me a Pen 4 PC in 2005, Internet connection 3 yrs after that, and recently I upgraded to a Core i5 PC after more than 7 yrs. Even after these many years, I still can't say I am satisfied by our living standards. But that is a different story.

The fact of the matter is that while I was crying over my not being uber rich, I am thankful for my past that it taught me the value of money. While I was sad since I didn't have my own PC in my school, there are people in worse condition than I am. As said profoundly by someone, "If you have a family that loves you, A few good friends, Food on the table , And a roof over your head, You are richer than you think..!!"

The line between "necessity" and "desires" depends on the person and that's why it have to be drawn by the person themselves. Its not about how much money you can afford but how much money you need to be "happy".

Sorry if this post became philosophical, but the points discussed in first post reminded me of my past, of the value of money that my dad know and taught me and it made me carry away a bit. It also warned me of my recent behaviors, I think I am guilty of over-spending a little recently!

 

[srkmish]

Great Post Vyom. Enjoyed reading your life story. I too am guilty of being hard on my father for not giving me all the comics/games etc i wanted in childhood. Also guilty of spending unabashedly in college. Ironically, if i hadnt started buying tablets/phones/psp/cameras after i started earning, i would never have realized the futility of owning things. As you said, eventually, i'm turning to minimalism

Absolutely agree with you regarding the part where eating at expensive joints/watching movies at multiplex seems commonplace nowadays. Not only is it sheer waste of money, also the food is junk and bad for health.

 

[$hadow]

Need to subscribe this thread.

 

[Faun]

Instead of buying so many books, get a kindle paperwhite. One step closer to minimalism.

 

[Hrishi]

Don't buy Apples!!!!

 

[anirbandd]

Great thread. Minimalistic living is something people eventually turns to, when they finally understand that they have enough of the shenanigans of consumerism.

I think choosing where to spend money is something that every teenager/younger generation take granted now a days. Eating at Dominos and CCD have risen from just on occasions to like a daily affair and worse so when they do it just so as to look "cool". While I think globalization is bringing with it some amazing progress to our country, I also think its the generation of ours and younger that needs to draw a line. Trend of making easy money (through working at call centers , not that its as easy mind you) and then spending it frivolously on things that is far from "need" than "want" is something most of the young minds are plagued with.

Personally I never spent a dime on things I "want" till I started earning my own dough. I come from a lower middle class family, where we used to face scarcity of all kinds. Our house is built in parts as and when my dad could accumulate money to built something. Broken things used to remain broken until we could accumulate money to fix it. Fortunately my dad is an electrical engineer, and he doesn't lack tinkering around. So most of the stuff from home wiring, to laying basic water pipelines, fixing Television sets (CRT ones), and cleaning engine of our scooter to fixing kitchen appliances were done by himself, while I used to be his assistant in bringing the tools he needed. I have rarely seen any specialized fixit guy being called for fixing any stuff listed above.

Franky I used to hate being with my dad when he was repairing things. He used to loose his cool easily. I would struggle to bring to him the exact tools he require from what I see as a treasure of tools kept in the store room. But now that I think about it, my dad was only trying to save some money, so that I can study in a primary school and keep up with the extravagant fees, prices of clothes and books.

Maybe the reason why I choose to study "Software" Engineering was because of the struggle I used to see my dad having with trying to fix all those hardware all by himself, becoming the one man army of all the Dr. Fixit guys out there, and slowly resenting the hands and face getting dirty by the dirt and grease it attracted. But I do use to understand the money it used to save to us in the long run and that's why never use to complain about it to my dad.

I even made a list of the things I could never afford but badly "wished" for when I was in school, like my own PC. I used to draw layout of keyboards in a diary and try to memorize the placements of alphabets since I didn't have my own PC. Sometimes, I used to work on a Pentium 3 PC at my Mausi's house. But it didn't have internet access. So I used to make a list of links and write long emails in notepad so that I save time when I used to access Internet at a local cyber cafe each Sunday for not more than an hour. It was in my college that my father was able to buy for me a Pen 4 PC in 2005, Internet connection 3 yrs after that, and recently I upgraded to a Core i5 PC after more than 7 yrs. Even after these many years, I still can't say I am satisfied by our living standards. But that is a different story.

The fact of the matter is that while I was crying over my not being uber rich, I am thankful for my past that it taught me the value of money. While I was sad since I didn't have my own PC in my school, there are people in worse condition than I am. As said profoundly by someone, "If you have a family that loves you, A few good friends, Food on the table , And a roof over your head, You are richer than you think..!!"

The line between "necessity" and "desires" depends on the person and that's why it have to be drawn by the person themselves. Its not about how much money you can afford but how much money you need to be "happy".

Sorry if this post became philosophical, but the points discussed in first post reminded me of my past, of the value of money that my dad know and taught me and it made me carry away a bit. It also warned me of my recent behaviors, I think I am guilty of over-spending a little recently!

Almost same here.

Now I'm working. And i can afford a few of my wants. Like the Royal Enfield. and a few PS3 games occasionally. Heck.. I even repaired my broke PS3 last week. hyeah:

 

[RBX]

One thing everyone should avoid is smoking, and drinking alcohol. I realized how much it is a waste of money (and health), when I was a kid and this has helped me save a lot of my pocket money.

 

[Faun]

Also, get a cup of tea instead of soda.

 

[logout20]

Great thread. Minimalistic living is something people eventually turns to, when they finally understand that they have enough of the shenanigans of consumerism.

I think choosing where to spend money is something that every teenager/younger generation take granted now a days. Eating at Dominos and CCD have risen from just on occasions to like a daily affair and worse so when they do it just so as to look "cool". While I think globalization is bringing with it some amazing progress to our country, I also think its the generation of ours and younger that needs to draw a line. Trend of making easy money (through working at call centers , not that its as easy mind you) and then spending it frivolously on things that is far from "need" than "want" is something most of the young minds are plagued with.

Personally I never spent a dime on things I "want" till I started earning my own dough. I come from a lower middle class family, where we used to face scarcity of all kinds. Our house is built in parts as and when my dad could accumulate money to built something. Broken things used to remain broken until we could accumulate money to fix it. Fortunately my dad is an electrical engineer, and he doesn't lack tinkering around. So most of the stuff from home wiring, to laying basic water pipelines, fixing Television sets (CRT ones), and cleaning engine of our scooter to fixing kitchen appliances were done by himself, while I used to be his assistant in bringing the tools he needed. I have rarely seen any specialized fixit guy being called for fixing any stuff listed above.

Franky I used to hate being with my dad when he was repairing things. He used to loose his cool easily. I would struggle to bring to him the exact tools he require from what I see as a treasure of tools kept in the store room. .But now that I think about it, my dad was only trying to save some money, so that I can study in a primary school and keep up with the extravagant fees, prices of clothes and books

Maybe the reason why I choose to study "Software" Engineering was because of the struggle I used to see my dad having with trying to fix all those hardware all by himself, becoming the one man army of all the Dr. Fixit guys out there, and slowly resenting the hands and face getting dirty by the dirt and grease it attracted. But I do use to understand the money it used to save to us in the long run and that's why never use to complain about it to my dad.

I even made a list of the things I could never afford but badly "wished" for when I was in school, like my own PC. I used to draw layout of keyboards in a diary and try to memorize the placements of alphabets since I didn't have my own PC. Sometimes, I used to work on a Pentium 3 PC at my Mausi's house. But it didn't have internet access. So I used to make a list of links and write long emails in notepad so that I save time when I used to access Internet at a local cyber cafe each Sunday for not more than an hour. It was in my college that my father was able to buy for me a Pen 4 PC in 2005, Internet connection 3 yrs after that, and recently I upgraded to a Core i5 PC after more than 7 yrs. Even after these many years, I still can't say I am satisfied by our living standards. But that is a different story.

The fact of the matter is that while I was crying over my not being uber rich, I am thankful for my past that it taught me the value of money. While I was sad since I didn't have my own PC in my school, there are people in worse condition than I am. As said profoundly by someone, "If you have a family that loves you, A few good friends, Food on the table , And a roof over your head, You are richer than you think..!!"

The line between "necessity" and "desires" depends on the person and that's why it have to be drawn by the person themselves. Its not about how much money you can afford but how much money you need to be "happy".

Sorry if this post became philosophical, but the points discussed in first post reminded me of my past, of the value of money that my dad know and taught me and it made me carry away a bit. It also warned me of my recent behaviors, I think I am guilty of over-spending a little recently!

rula diya bhai....

 

[Gen.Libeb]

Please chime in if you are interested. I am curious to know how do other minimalists/extremists reduce their expenses.

Did you like Fight Club (the movie) ?

Is extremism the opposite of minimalism ? If not, sorry, wrong post.

I am a somewhat opposite of you. But I don't think I am going into extremism.Lets see

I hate home made food, I mostly eat out . Almost every weekend at Malls (not at very expensive restaurants though) and this includes Pizza Hut, Domino, CCD & Starbucks.
If its hot, I turn on the AC, & not just that I see it as anyways I spend on weekends so why save on little things (Only applies when things are within my reach).
I'm not interested in mobile, but PC.. yeah definitely, its among my top priorities. If there's something i need, I'll get it. I guess people don't mind spending a lot on what interests them.

I think happiness is overrated.

 

[anirbandd]

Did you like Fight Club (the movie) ?

Is extremism the opposite of minimalism ? If not, sorry, wrong post.

I am a somewhat opposite of you. But I don't think I am going into extremism.Lets see

I hate home made food, I mostly eat out . Almost every weekend at Malls (not at very expensive restaurants though) and this includes Pizza Hut, Domino, CCD & Starbucks.
If its hot, I turn on the AC, & not just that I see it as anyways I spend on weekends so why save on little things (Only applies when things are within my reach).
I'm not interested in mobile, but PC.. yeah definitely, its among my top priorities. If there's something i need want, I'll get it. I guess people don't mind spending a lot on what interests them.

I think happiness is overrated.

corrected.

- - - Updated - - -

yeah.. thats the opposite of minimalistic.

but hey, if you spend in something you love, one can hardly agree argue.

 

[Faun]

I can hardly disagree.