A year since it all began.

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.

Living on less the road to minimalism

Up until recently I have never thought about what I spent my money on. If I wanted it I bought it, if it needed doing I got someone to do it. while on the road to minimalism I have started to think long and hard about my choices in life. Whether they were the right or wrong, they have steered me towards this new lifestyle. So, they can't have been all bad!

There is nothing better than a reality check when you’re going down the wrong path.

I thought that I was only happy when spending money, on things that made people stop and look. Money and spending don't make you happy, it has taken me a long time to figure that out. It offers a distraction from the stresses of life, that are caused from spending money on stuff to distract us from the stresses of life!

We would all love to be rich and famous and never have to worry about money, a lot of us dedicate our lives in the pursuit of either or both. There is always a cost to that success, family, health, spirituality or any mixture of them all. We sell our souls to make money to keep up with our peers, show everyone how well we are doing. We over indulge in food and alcohol and waste enough to feed a host of starving people around the world. We don't give our children the attention they require the real stuff that money does not buy, instead we try to buy their affection with stuff that we teach them to covert. Lastly, we don't connect with our earth and the people that live on it with us. Where has the sense of community gone? We used to help each other instead of trying to get ahead all the time. Our culture is no longer a social caring culture, as it was when we use to work together as small villages. Instead we work long hours, both parents need to work so our children are left on their own more than they should be.

We were manipulated into believing that consumption and luxury are the only things that will make us happy but all it does is distracts us like busy bees collecting pollen for the glorification of one. We work hard to get that little honey when we made 10x the amount we received. Unfortunately, we need that honey, so we work for it and thus we are trapped in the circle. When all we need to do is work less make our own honey enough for what we need and forget the rest.

Beware of the debt trap!

Now I know we can't all just move to the country and live off the land, that's not the answer but we can hybrid our lives live simpler work at things we enjoy raising enough money to live.

Live your life for you and your family. Work enough to provide, don't waste on unnecessary luxury, spend time with your children get them off the internet and game consoles, by engaging with them teach them what you know or better yet learn something together.

You don't need a big house and not every child needs their own room, you don't need a double garage full of meaningless possessions.

My son and I are starting to backpack, and plan do small hikes as we progress I hope to learn with him and teach him valuable survival technics to reduce further his tendencies and need for mainstream life. While engaging with the earth as he will be the next generation to inherit this earth and the damage we all have done.

Living on less 

We can have our proverbial cake and eat it! Be smart with your money replace what's broken never before it breaks. How much money do we waste in a life replacing tv's, mobile phones, furniture and other gadgets that aren't broken. You will never keep up with technology, last year's smart phone is just as useful as this years. Do you really need a tv in every room and 1080p was fine yesterday you don't need 4k. Make tv time family time, remember when there was just one tv in the house I do, and I still remember watching Saturday night tv with my father! Now that he has gone these are the memories I find myself thinking about, never what he bought me.

Simple changes I have made or plan to make in order to reduce my out-goings.

1. Sim only contracts we will save around £40 a month as opposed to a contract with phone. That's £480 a year and with at least two mobile users in our households that’s doubled.
2. The average home owner replaces their household appliances before they break adopt a use till destruction approach, I can’t tell you how many appliances I have in my garage that I don't use but I needed.
3. Don't have Now tv, Amazon, Netflix and cable tv! Pick one you don't need to watch everything, and you will save at least a subscription or two. 
4. Shop around I saved £30 a month by switching broadband telephone and tv £360 a year
5. Don't be ashamed to sell unwanted stuff gumtree is free or try your local car boots not only is it great to get rid of your unwanted items, but you can find stuff you need at great prices plus it gets you talking to people rather than cold transaction online.
6. Don't be too proud to buy second hand it is insanely cheaper than new.
7. Upcycle your unwanted stuff if it looks tatty use YouTube and learn how to make it look good, it does require effort yes but the saving can be huge. The satisfaction of a job well done can have longer lasting psychological benefits that money can’t buy. 
8. Look for deals change banks yearly get cashback and cash offers. This year we raise £370 and 2% cash back on direct debits. 
9. Replace your window washer by doing it yourself saved £96 a year
10. Wash your own car, we have two cars and used to get them valeted alternatively @ £20 a month. We now save £240 a year, plus get a bit of exercise every fortnight
11. Reduce food budget by half through planning a 4-week cycle buying only what is needed. This has cut our shopping bill from £400 to £200 a month that’s £2400 a year with further saving projected

Save your money everyone talks about interest, yes interest on savings is notoriously rubbish. The economy needs this as if we are not spending the economy shrinks and that affects credit! However, if you don't get a loan and save for something that you need, you get a return of 24% that's your saving on interest from a standard loan. Plus, you remain safe you not affected by the swing of the economy because you own what you have not the bank.

A new tactic we have started is to have a money box and every time anyone in the family chooses to save rather than spend, they put the money in the box.  With the money in the box we all agree to spend it on memories like holidays, trips out and any other experience we want to do as a family, this I believe is one of the most important things we do with your kids. Teach them through example how to save for what they want. When we are old all we will have is our memories, when we are gone all they will have is memories of us. Spend your time and money well, focus on making memories as they are priceless! Reduce your need and you will be able to enjoy life!

I would love to hear how you save money, so I can use your technics myself but also share them with my readers feel free to email me or just comment below and remember this is a revolution in the making let’s take our world back reduce our dependencies on big companies use local where possible and consume less.

Thanks for reading