As I approach my 37th birthday I'm reminded that it is a year since this all began. It has been an exciting yet stressful year with loads of discoveries both about myself and life in general. I'm glad the worst is behind me now and the future is looking brighter every month I stay on course.
I have gone from focused on money to focused on what I actually want from my life to be. I have realised that the less I need things, the more I crave independence from the system. I have spent a lot of time formulating a plan to get away from it, although by it's designed parameters I will never be entirely free. My main focuses are to pay off all debt and reduce my dependencies on outside sources for my utilities and food.
I have loved spending more time with my children and enjoy giving them more attention than I did before, well within the confines of enjoying kids games, tv and conversation. No matter what minimalism has done for me it doesn't change Peppa pig is still boring. My oldest son is now 8 and I look forward to starting to enjoy the outdoors with him, even though it is not what he wants my best memories of my childhood are the little adventures my dad took me on.
I have enjoyed learning about the effects of over-consumption and what is actually wrong with the world. I am focused on making as many changes as I can to reduce my families impact. This is not always easy when your partner is not ready to give up her mainstream life, but we get there in the end! The more I step back and watch the more I get frustrated with myself as for years I did not see what I was doing to the world.
In summary from the last year
1: The day my life changed; this was the beginning after the failure of my business and almost going bankrupt. Whilst contemplating the cowards way out "suicide" I found Minimalism and this journey began. I have a lot to be grateful for after the failure of my business as I have changed for the better and my life has a new purpose that I'm just beginning to understand.
2: First steps towards a minimalist life; Living on less the road to minimalism; Cutting out the clutter; Minimalism is my guide to life; Minimalism a simpler better life; it has been a crazy journey going from hoarding stuff and buying the latest and greatest to say look at me, to getting rid of everything I did not need. There were times, in the beginning, I wanted to get the best possible price and I placed a value on these items. However, after persevering I started to enjoy the space I gained over the financial gain and made the decision to load it all into the car and took everything to the charity shop which felt great. My wardrobe is still on 33 items and now I have not bought a single item of clothing since I began, although I will probably need new socks soon, hey fathers day is coming up.
3: Things parents should teach their children; Teaching our children the joy of owning less; I gained a new perspective to how I plan to raise my children before I was going to push them into careers that earnt the most money. So they could be classed as conventionally successful, but now I will teach them to live to buy only what they need, do what they want and never get caught up in trying to keep up with the Joneses. Additionally, if they stay at home they can have a better life and not have to work as hard. Which before I would have classed as lazy but now I understand you only live once, and if you live for what you believe in and work at your passions then life will be far more rewarding.
4: How I control my spending; Money stop wasting it; Financial planning for minimalists; I have taken a long hard look at money and where it goes and on what. I have created a system that allows us to verify every month where our money goes, this allows us to reduce spending in areas of gluttony and stop spending on unnecessary things. Planning is now a major part of my financial management, as I plan to be debt free by 42. Debt is a form of control ever though where our money goes our pensions and houses our assets they all disappear when we die because we are the workers in a system designed to keep everyone down.
5: Planning food for a minimalist family; Keto / Paleo environmentally friendly diet; Nutrition and food sourcing are new to me and an area I plan to grow further in the second year of this journey. I feel at the beginning of this journey, I was more focused on saving money but now as I complete the first year it is all about where my food comes from how far it has travelled what is its CO2 footprints has it been genetically modified and controlled by a major corporation etc.
Looking to the next year I will continue to streamline my finances and payoff debt. Focus on health and nutrition as there are aspects my family is dealing with. Like weight management, digestive issues, autism and dyslexia. These are things that have gone on with out the right care and attention so this year they are the priorities. Environment is another issue that will continue to get more focus, our families carbon foot print and waste will be reduced further. Lastly our ambitions for the future how we plan to navigate life, incorporating work and leisure and get the elusive work-life-balance.
I'm looking forward to the second year and hope the journey continues to reward us further.
