Minimalism

juni 16, 2021juni 16, 2021Lifestyle, Minimalism

Benefits of minimalism

Minimalism is only keeping the things in your life that add value to you. The term is usually used for stuff. Get rid of clothes you don’t wear, only hang wall art that you enjoy looking at. Do not put down furniture just to fill the space and keep your cupboards in the kitchen as empty as possible so that everything is clear and easily accessible. Minimalism also refers to things that are not materialistic such as friendships, how you organize your time and what projects you work on. If you are a minimalist you think about this very consciously and you only choose those things that you really value and that you find important.

Stark white walls with a hint of pastel

Search minimalism on pinterest and you will see all white with beige and soft colors very empty and tidy houses. Usually with a plant in the corner. Minimalism doesn’t have to be that, of course. The things, people and projects in your life can give life a lot more color than white with a pastel tint. What I want you to think about today are some of the benefits that minimalism brings.

Benefits

By having less stuff, cleaning and keeping tidy is much easier. If your cupboards are full of decorations and knick-knacks, dusting the cupboard is a time-consuming task. If there is nothing or just one thing on it, cleaning will go much faster. This also applies to the wardrobe and kitchen cupboards, where you can find things more easily and keep them neat and organized.
If you have less stuff, you take better care of it. If you have a few extra of something, you may be reckless with your stuff. Do you only have one? Then there is a good chance that you will be more economical with your belongings.
Because you have an overview, you are less tempted to buy more. You can see at a glance that you have enough of something.
You spend less time looking for your stuff. If it is a mess, you are often looking for where you left things. If you have much less stuff, you will notice if something is not in its place and you will find it faster.
Your things get their own ‘home’. Every thing in your house should have a fixed place where that thing lives. Then you always know where it is and that nothing else can stand there either. Cleaning up is much faster if you put things back where they belong without having to make up or clear a place for them first.
You get more free time because less time is spent on clearing, cleaning, repairing, washing and replacing your stuff.
Buying less stuff is good for the environment. To get stuff to your house, raw materials must first be extracted from the environment, it must be made, packed, transported and then you can enjoy the thing. Until you don’t and then it becomes waste. This has to be removed, transported and recycled. Or it has to be transported to the landfill. Less stuff means less environmental impact.
By buying less stuff you have money left over, and you can put that money to work for you by investing it. Your money works for you instead of the other way around. So you are freer. Who would not want that.
Because you have less stuff and use it economically, you can buy better quality stuff when it needs to be replaced.
Because you have less stuff, you don’t need a bigger house or storage. Saves money again! A large house is not only more expensive to rent or purchase. It is also more expensive to maintain, requires more paint, more furniture, more energy, more vacuuming, more dusting, etc. By living less large, you save on all these things.

Freedom

Do you see the connection? All these things will save you more time or more money. Minimalism creates tranquillity. Money buys time and time buys freedom. Because you spend less time searching, tidying up, organizing, cleaning, maintaining and working, you suddenly have much more time for the things that are important to you.

What those things are is very personal. The Minimalists have a weekly podcast on the subject for inspiration. You can think of spending time with yourself, with your loved one, friends and family. You also have more time for hobbies, to learn something you always wanted to learn or to get enough sleep, make healthier meals and exercise, for example. And these last three things make you feel energetic and you have more energy for the things that are important to you. Such as, for example, time with your loved one, friends or family or to learn something new. I only see benefits. The vicious circle is turning in the right direction!
Are you now also motivated to minimize?

Until next time!
Elske

Elske 1

mei 17, 2021mei 18, 2021Investing, Lifestyle, Minimalism, Money

How to get rich with compound interest

I want to help you save 25 euros this week because it can yield 65,000 after 20 years with compound interest! Who would not want that!

einstein — Compound interest is the 8th world wonder.

This week I invite you to do a challenge with me. I want to help you with saving and investing the first 25 euros (or more!) and grow your money tree. Do this every week and you will have saved up a wonderful pot of freedom in 20 years. You deserve it! Join the hashtag #simplechallenge and tag me in your post! @simplewithmoney on instagram.

Compound interest

Earlier I wrote about the 8th wonder of the world as Albert Einstein described it. Whether he really said this or not is unclear. That it’s true is certain! If you understand how compound interest works, then you will benefit from it. If you don’t understand it, you pay for it.

Today we are going to calculate with interest. “Ewww, numbers, I really don’t like that. So difficult! “

Okay, I get it. Still, I ask you to calculate with me. If you invest in a well-spread indexfund, the average return over 20 years is around 8% per year. If you invest 1 euro now, it is worth about € 4.65 in 20 years with 8% growth per year. That doesn’t sound very impressive.

Invest 100 euros.

If you are going to invest 100 euros now, it will be worth 466 euros in 20 years’ time. That sounds like more fun, but it doesn’t make you rich.

If you invest 100 euros every month this year, that will probably be worth more than € 5500 in 20 years. Sounds better allready. Your investment has then been doubled more than 4.5 times!

I want to challenge you to do this. Deposit 100 euros every month. And if you can do that for a year, just go on and do it for 20 years in a row!

Invest 100 euros every month for the next 20 years gives you a possible return of 65,000 euros!!! You have then deposited 24,000 euros. The profit is therefore € 65,000- € 24,000 = € 41,000. You didn’t have to do anything for that, except put in 100 euros every month. Add another 10 years to this and with an average return of 8% per year you suddenly have doubled, around €159,000 in your investor account! Mindblowing!

Now you know how compound interest works and you can benefit from it for the rest of your life. This works the other way around as well. If you have a mortgage with 8% interest, you pay compound interest on it too! Let that sink in for a moment.

Hardcore investers

For the high flyers, I will put an example below under what happens if you save 500 per month for 20 years. I also realize that for many normal people with normal incomes this is not possible to set aside 500 euros every month. It may succeed in a season in your life, but with a family expansion, divorce, renovation or loss of income / job, it may not be very realistic to set aside 500 every month for 20 years. I encourage you to live frugally and below your means and if you have a nice salary or team up with your partner to cut living costs in half, you can certainly get very far! And of course keep reading this blog 😉 Therefore, here is the calculation to motivate you.

Join me on this challenge! Take a picture of what you saved with the #simplechallenge and tag me @simplewithmoney.

At the end of the week we are going to deposit the 25 euros in an indexfund.

Until next time!

Elske

I am not a Financial advisor nor am I your financial advisor. I am not a trained financial professional. This blog is for entertainment purposes only.

Elske 2

mei 7, 2021mei 7, 2021Investing, Lifestyle, Minimalism, Money

Economic growth is good for the environment

Economic growth is at odds with preserving the environment and limiting climate change. Being green costs a lot of money. Responsible, organic and environmentally friendly products are only for the “rich”. Striving for a better climate is always at the expense of monetary prosperity. I don’t believe in this. It hurts to even type this.

Let’s take a look at things that increase prosperity while being environmentally friendly.

Subsidies

Doing green and growing economically at the same time, for both yourself and the government, can go together. The government is already doing a few things about this. For example, subsidies are paid if you have two or more sustainable measures supplied to your home (in the Netherlands). Because the subsidy makes it cheaper to make your home more sustainable, your return of investment is usually six to eight years. That is the same return of investment as the average index fund investment. This not only stimulates your wallet, but also creates employment.

Invest in ‘green’ investments.

If you are going to invest, you can, for example, invest in companies in sectors that deal with renewable energy. You can also look up the ESG score of a company or index (environmental, social, governance). This score indicates the extent of the impact on the environment and society and whether the company ensures that no conflict of interest is possible. With DeGiro core selection you can filter on this score. You know that you are invested in an index fund with companies that are working hard on this. In the meantime, your portfolio is widespread.

Green banks

You can also take out a green mortgage or switch to a green bank. The money in your savings account and current account is also not used there for, for example, the weapon industry, the tobacco industry and the oil industry. Such a nice feeling! The best-known “green” banks in the Netherlands are Triodos and ASN bank. Here you can also invest green in index funds.

Buy second-hand

You can do a lot yourself on a small scale! This way you can buy second-hand items instead of new ones. By buying secondhand or exchanging things you ensure that things get a second life. Think about it. In fact, your house is just one step between the store and the landfill for most of the stuff in it. By buying as little as possible new, you delay the moment to the landfill as long as possible and contribute much less to the constant production of new goods. This applies to everything from clothing to furniture and toys.

Less stuff means less maintenance, less spending on your stuff and more left to go for quality. If you have five shirts instead of fourty, you can go for quality shirts that last a long time and which, for example, are made of organic cotton and where the seamstresses who make the shirts have received a decent wage. Another example is choosing a new gadget every time your telephone contract has ended. A new phone every two years is very hip but really not necessary for anything. It is good for your wallet and for the environment to last until it dies. Don’t turn shopping into a hobby, but instead go for a nice walk or picnic. You come home with less stuff and with a nice breath of fresh air and a clear mind.

Car

There is also nothing wrong with a second-hand car. A car that is brand new and super economical is of course fantastic. But the production, transport and pollution that comes with it are not always good for the environment. For example, the pressure on raw materials such as copper and cobalt mining is very high. The innovation of new, efficient and electric cars is certainly important, but do not exchange your car until it is finished. Good for your wallet! How about carpooling to and from work. Saves a lot of gas, less traffic jams if we all do it and finding a parking spot is easier. And it is fun too. Oh and by the way, driving less is of course great. Go by bicycle or public transport more often.

Living smaller

By living smaller, you save space, electricity and you don’t have to heat as much in winter. You don’t have to fill space that you don’t have with things you don’t need. In addition, you do not have to clean and maintain as much. This mainly saves time but also money. I only see benefits.

Green energy company

When making the next yearly switch, pay attention to the energy company you are signing up for. Look up where the electricity comes from at the company where you want to buy your electricity. Is it green electricity or gray? Does it come from your country or are the certificates obtained from abroad? Does the energy company burn biomass? In biomass combustion, trees are cut down and shredded and then burned. This is green energy because new trees can be planted. I myself make sure that I do not buy this form of “green” energy. I think it is important that I do not support these kinds of “green” initiatives. Dutch green electricity is not at all (much) more expensive than gray electricity. Especially if you use little power or have solar panels, it does not matter in terms of costs. It does in terms of sustainability.

Plant based diet

If you are aware of your impact on the environment, you cannot ignore it than the cheap meats and the battery cage eggs. Switching to organic variants is a lot more expensive. The switch to vegetarian or vegetable is even more expensive. At least, that’s what a lot of people think. This is a big misconception! Imagine that half a kilo of organic minced meat, good for four people, quickly exceeds 5 euros. A block of tofu for four people costs about one euro. I always add an onion, some ginger, garlic and soy sauce to flavor it. This still remains well below 5 euros for four people. And a kilo of organic cheese quickly costs 15 euros. How many sandwiches with hummus with slices of tomato and cucumber can you spread with that? No less tasty with a pinch of pepper.

Vegetable garden

This tip is partly good for your wallet. It is certainly good for the environment. Create your own vegetable garden! I understand that not everyone has the time and space for this. But believe me, I really have a post stamp sized garden and you will be surprised what kind of production can be made there. It can be expensive to set up. For example, you need seeds and soil and possibly pots. The benefits for the environment are certainly there. This saves transport, packaging and pesticides if you grow your own fruit and vegetables. If you include your own labor costs it is not so profitable anymore but this hobby will teach you a lot about plants, nature and where your food comes from. Additional advantage: Your own food is much tastier anyway!

Swiss chard is good for the environment — Swiss Chard for the win!

You can keep an eye on my dear diary series for updates on my vegetable garden. There is an update of the garden every month.

Do you have any more examples of things that are good for your wallet and the environment? Please share them!

Until next time!

Elske

Elske 0

april 27, 2021april 27, 2021Lifestyle, Minimalism

Start your minimalism journey today

All we ever want is more, more, more. More gadgets, more clothes, more money, more house, more cars. More. More. More. Not today. Here is a case for minimalism and tranquility.

This is a different post then the usual. And it is at least as important if you want to take control over your finances. If you agree with me and dream of a tranquil world of connection and time for each other as well, read along.

You probably have enough

If you read this, you probably have enough. You have a mobile phone, computer or tablet. You are connected to the internet. Chances are if you have these two things, there is also a roof over your head and enough food on the table. Let’s take some time to appreciate that. If you are satisfied with who you are and where you are and you realize you have every need met, you start to want to consume less.

There is enough stuff, no need to add more. There are enough clothes, no need to add more. There is enough food on the table, no need to add more. There is enough space in the house, no need to move to a bigger place. There simply is enough. Realizing this hopefully makes you want to consume less. Take control of what you want and you will notice there is enough for everything you need. If you desire a life of less stress and hurry, by spending less, you can work less hours. This way there is more room for what you want most. Time to spend with loved ones and experience traquility for example.

The essence of being financial independent is a stress free, worry free life.

I dream of a world with less stress and hurry and more calm and connection. How nice it would be if we just had a little bit more time to spend together without multitasking in the meantime. Actually taking our time to listen and be there together.

This is the biggest reason I want to be financially free. If I don’t have to worry about my needs being met, I can be my best self. I can take my day off and just spend it as I want. No need to hustle 7 days a week. No need to stress about paying the bills. I often take a complete afternoon or an afternoon and evening to just chill with a loved one and really take the time to be together. This is so valuable, you can’t put a price tag on it.

Be content with what you have

What if you were satisfied with what you have? Find gratitude in the here and now. I try and practice this every now and then. It gives a lot of tranquility and peace of mind. I am where I should be and that is perfectly fine. It gives me time to actually be here and take a breath. It makes me less stressed and more calm. By no means I am perfect or even good at this, I just practice and am aware of it sometimes.

As I look around me while writing this, the house is a mess. There is cat hair everywhere. Laundry to be folded, mess to be cleaned and food to be prepared. Also I am tired of a long day at work and really want to take a nap. I can label this as ‘not good’ or ‘ I failed’ or ‘this should not be happening’. But all of the mess and tasks I am behind on , it’s OK. I do my best and if I don’t finish doing all today then I’ll do it tomorrow. No need to stress about it. So I label it as it is: OK. Try it, it is relaxing.

Declutter and have less to be even more content

Also by realizing you have enough, try and look at what you have in excess. Declutter your house and car. Get rid of the items that you no longer use and want in the house. If the house is clean and all the stuff in it actually has a place to stay, it is easier and faster to clean and organize. This way, there is more time to spend doing the things you value most.

Minimalism

For me, this being tranquil with the situation is the essence of minimalism. Not decluttering or having as little ‘stuff’ as possible. Not to count your possessions. Be content with what you have and have a more tranquil life with more time for important things. Take control over your life by being deliberate with what you spend your time, resources and money on.

I want you to practice together with me in being content with what you have and try and feel being perfectly fine with everything being not perfect. Try and consume less and make time for the things that are most important to you. Spend time with your family and friends.

If you have the energy, try and declutter a part of the house and give every item a home, its own place to stay. All items that don’t belong in your home anymore should leave the house. Do this as often as needed. In the beginning, this will be often. As you practice this should become easier over time. For me, I’ve been decluttering a couple of years now and every time I do a round of decluttering, it’s faster and there is less to declutter. This feels good and you deserve it too!

Do you want to read more content like this? Leo Babauta, creator of ZenHabits is a huge inspiration for me. I highly recommend reading his blog.

Are you getting on this journey with me?

Till next time,

Elske

Elske 1

april 9, 2021april 8, 2021Lifestyle, Minimalism, Money

Living without money

Is it possible? Can you live in our society today without money? I researched it! To be fair, I didn’t try it out. It is one step too far for me, but we can learn from the principles. Through various websites I read article from writers who live or have lived without money. However, that is by no means easy. We spend money in a number of categories. Below is a list of the possible solutions in each category.

Living

You could of course get by with a tent and a sleeping bag… but you have to be really motivated and hardcore. Cashless living is a lot more difficult if you want a roof over your head. On a blog I found an example of someone who lived without money and who had a house. He paid the rent of nomadic travelers who came to stay with him in while traveling and donated towards the rent. These people often also brought food that they shared.

If you want to live cashless but have a (substantial) starting capital, you can choose to buy a house without a mortgage (or, for example, a tiny house or caravan) and live in it.

Services

If you live in a house and not in a tent or your sleeping bag, then a number of things are important. Electricity and gas, and for me also internet. Carolien Hoogland says in her TedTalk that she has lived without money for a year. She wrote a letter to the energy company requesting to receive “free” power and gas for a year. In return, she researched better marketing around green electricity and shared this with the energy supplier. The energy company agreed, and so they managed not to spend money for a whole year on electricity. With a little creativity, even that is possible! Dare to ask.

Food

A basic necessity of life is food. You can of course grow your own food. After a start-up period of buying seeds (or growing vegetables by cuttings and using seeds from vegetables from the supermarket) and soil and possibly pots, you can then grow your own food and harvest your seeds for the following year. You do need space for this. You can also pass by restaurants and ask for leftover food that would otherwise be thrown away. You could also go dumpster diving (getting food from waste bins at the supermarket) or ask at the market at closing time if there is anything unsaleable that would otherwise be thrown away. If you want to eat for free you can be less picky. You eat what you find or what you get. You can also organize a potluck. Then you invite people to eat with you and everyone brings something.

Taxes

In the Netherlands it is very difficult to not pay taxes. That is not surprising. Many essential things are paid from the tax money. We all use services payed by taxes on a daily basis.

Don’t want to pay tax after all? You can have yourself made sovereign, then you are supposedly stateless and you no longer have to pay taxes. You can no longer get a passport and driver’s license, you are not allowed to work and you are not entitled to allowances and benefits. Issues such as receiving care if you do not have health insurance and are not officially a resident of the Netherlands are difficult topics. Not paying tax is therefore very difficult in practice. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it.

Clothes

I think clothing is the least difficult part of this list. Clothing is donated by almost all of us. If people know about your cashless living project, you can ask them to think about you before donating clothes. If you are skilled with the sewing machine, you can make your own clothes if you get something that does not fit properly. The only thing people often wear until it breaks are socks and underwear. Here, too, it must be possible to get your hands on for free. Think of asking for a supply for your birthday.

Transport

The bicycle is free and so is walking. Do you have to be further away? Hitchhiking is not common in the Netherlands, but you can go a long way. Carpooling can also be an option. Do you have to be on time? That may be more difficult. If you live without money and do not have a job that requires you to arrive on time, the need for motorized transport is a lot less.

Others

How about all the other stuff? People donate well-functioning things all the time. Let your network know what you are looking for and chances are you will get what you need. I myself regularly accept things from people who have to get rid of it. I have already received a tumble dryer, bookcase and sofa. Absolutely for free! If you search for free stuff in your area on your version of craigslist, probably it is full of all kinds of other things that people want to get rid of.

And if you need something that normally needs money in return, you may be able to barter or work and get paid-in-kind.

What lessons can we take from living without money and still remain normal.

You live more with the community that exists or that you create around you if you decide to live without money. You depend on people but on the other hand you live more freely than ever. At least, that’s what the people who do it themselves or have done for a while say. If you do this for a while, I think it will change your view of money. You become more creative and settle for less.

As far as I am concerned, what we can get out of this is that not everything always has to cost money. I don’t think I could live without money. I don’t have that ambition either. I do know that I could make do with less. Let’s face it, a lot of things we spend money on are not necessary. All that is really necessary are housing, food and certain services such as electricity, water, gas, internet and some insurance, and even all these points can be disputed and negotiated and saved.

In the Western world we live in such an abundance of luxury that we are no longer used to anything else. It is good to reflect on that from time to time. We pretty much all have everything we need to survive, and most of us have enough to live comfortably or even thrive, grow, and live meaningful lives. What a privilege!

By living more frugally and applying the philosophy of cashless living in different areas of your life, you are good for your wallet. That is good for your future self. If you have money on hand in the future by saving it now, you will be a bit freer and experience less stress. And if you are now used to spending less than you make, you will learn to be satisfied with less and you will not immediately have stress when things go downhill financially for a while.

By living with the things you already have, by exchanging more with each other instead of buying everything new and by being more creative with your resources, you also help our planet. And what really emerges as a benefit is the sense of community. You can rely on each other and you can trust that it will work out. People are more generous than you think!

I’m going to try not to spend money this month on things that aren’t needed. I don’t need clothes (note to self). I’m also working hard to grow a lot of my own food, even though my garden is small. This month I will review all fixed costs and switch to different providers where possible. Only the transport to and from work, I cannot change that much. I cannot carpool, take public transport or work from home due to working in a semi hard to reach place. I do drive 100km/h on the highway. That quickly saves 2 km per liter of petrol compared to 130 km/h. At the end of the month, I will let you know in my dear diary of april how it went. Who knows, maybe I want to keep this up longer!

Let me know if you could live without money in a comment!

Until next time!

Elske

Elske 1

maart 22, 2021maart 24, 2021Lifestyle, Minimalism, Money

But I love my job!

This is for people who love their jobs and could not imagine a life without working.

The FIRE movement (financial independent, retired early) is all about retiring early. People of the FIRE movement are trying to get financially ahead so much that they don’t have the need to work for money ever again. You can do this either by saving up a large amount of money to live of the returns or by lowering your expenses by a lot. Quickest is to do both.

You really don’t want to stop working? Do you love your job and really don’t feel the need to be financially free? I still think you should consider getting financially free. The feeling of going to work because you want to versus because you need to is a world of a difference. Besides that, who knows how great your work is in 20 or 30 or 40 years from now. How will you feel physically, mentally and emotionally in many years from now? What will the company you work for look like in that amount of years, or will it even exist? Will your job be taken by robots and machines? Will a normal workweek be 4 days a week or 7? Saving for a rainy day, even if you love your job is never a bad idea.

I want you to think today about the feeling of wanting to work instead of needing to work. Really feel it, how do you feel? Is your job still as awesome? Do you want to go there and spend your precious time at work while you could be doing everything you want instead? Is it worth it to wake up by your alarm before you are actually done sleeping? How about commuting in a traffic jam?

If you still love your job: Congratulations! I salute you and I envy you. I have never loved a job that much that it felt like the most enjoyable thing I could imagine doing 40 hours a week. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there is something wrong with working and having a job. It is just that the freedom of getting to work instead of having to work makes all the difference. And besides. The freedom you get from working for example 3 days a week instead of 5 already makes a lot of difference. And you can pursue your dreams in the time freed. Or not, and live a leisurely and content life just at a slower pace than the rushed busy people around you.

I don’t think anybody on their deathbed has ever said: ‘Well, I wish I had spent more time working and less time with my kids, that would have been great’. Or: ‘I was thinking about buying that 73th pair of jeans that looked exactly like the 72 perfectly fine pairs already in my stuffed closet and I didn’t buy it. That is the biggest regret I have’.

Having money/investments/passive income will give you the freedom to be flexible. If you have debt you are basically a slave to the lender, and you will feel like you are never really ‘done’ working or feel flexible to work a little less when other things become more important.

The more money stays in your pocket (works for you in passive income!) the more freedom you will experience. And the feeling of working because you can and want to gives so much peace of mind.

Are you planning on retiring early? And have you ever heard of the FIRE movement before?

Let me know in the comments!

Till next time,

Elske

I am not a Financial advisor nor am I YOUR financial advisor. I am not a trained financial professional. This blog is for entertainment purposes only.

Elske 0

februari 8, 2021februari 14, 2021Lifestyle, Minimalism, Money

I want it and I want it NOW!

For me a goal in life is financial freedom. To achieve it, I save money and invest it. This way the money can make money and I get more and more financially free every month. One thing that is keeping me from saving is spending on stuff I don’t need, use and love.

Here is a guide I use to stop myself from (over)spending. Maybe you find value in it as well.

Get to know why you want to stop spending on stuff you don’t need.

Get clear on why you want to save money. For me this is a couple of reasons. I already have all the stuff I need to live a good life. More stuff will cause more clutter, needing me to take more time cleaning, organizing, and maintaining the tranquil home that I desire. Second I have savings goals. I want to save money to retire early and I want to be flexible in the amount of hours/days per week that I work. This way I don’t need to work fulltime but can do with a little less to keep me mentally sane and focus on –for example- writing this blog. The flexibility is a really big one for me.

You don’t just not buy something, that takes a lot of self-discipline. You choose between buying something you don’t need or to save up for your big goal. The choice becomes so much easier if you have the end-goal in mind. Visualize your own end goal, make it super specific. It sometimes still is hard to not spend money, but it will get easier over time. Also sometimes this will still fail and you will buy something you don’t need. I do it too. Don’t be mad at yourself. Sometimes the self-discipline is just not strong enough, and that’s okay.

Stop advertisements from entering your home.

We live in an overly advertised world and get bombarded with stuff on sale that we don’t need. There are ways to make the advertisements come to you in a more moderate way. Here in the Netherlands, once or twice per week we get a big bundle of advertisement leaflets actually on paper in the mail. There is a really good way to not get them. Place a ‘nee-nee’ sticker on your mailbox. They prevent all unaddressed mail from coming in. It saves a lot of paper too! Save the trees yay! They are available at your Township.

For addressed advertisements you can unsubscribe at Postfilter in the Netherlands.

They will unsubscribe any post from certain categories that you choose and filter them out for 5 years. Find out how to stop advertisements from entering your home where you live.

How do I get great deals if I run out of toilet paper or toothpaste? Well, first I don’t run out of toilet paper, I have a complete attic full, you know, just in case ;). But when I need something I go look for the discount online. Don’t fall in this checking every week for new stuff on sale. Only check when you run out of something and actually need it again. All the promotions are to be found online these days and this way I will not get all the unsolicited advertising at my door every week.

Be a cord-cutter.

Another great tip to decrease the amount of advertisement is to cut the cable. Just cancel your cable subscription all together. I did it about 4 years ago and haven’t missed it ever since. I pay way, way less for my Netflix account then I would commercials infused cable. Then I share to even further cut the costs and I get unlimited access to entertainment without commercials. Love it!

Then a couple of weeks ago one of the cats broke the tv, and I didn’t have it replaced. Now I watch TV on my laptop. That is a bit extreme, I have to agree 😉

Guilty as charged.

Delete social media.

Ok this is a little extreme, I know. But bear with me here. A big one but way harder for many, delete social media. This is hard for many because it is so engrained in our lives. Cut down drastically will help as well but deleting all together is great. If this feels like too much unfollow a lot of people and companies and you will get bored of your Facebook or Instagram because there is no more news every minute. I unfollowed basically everyone on Facebook and it got boring quickly. So I deleted it all together. Also I don’t have Instagram, Tiktok or whatever the cool kids use these days. I do spend a lot of time (more then I like to admit) on Youtube, which on my phone does have commercials. On the computer I use an ad blocker which is great. Highly recommend.

Unsubscribe everything.

Have you ever bought something from a web shop? Changes are you did. I know I did! All the shops here are closed except for the supermarket and drugstores. What can you do… Anyway, when you order something, they always hook you up with a newsletter. This contains all the stuff they know you like because you bought it before. Below the newsletter there is a tiny sentence that says ‘Unsubscribe from this newsletter’. Do it for all incoming newsletters that want to sell you stuff.

You will get less distracted and a much more spacious inbox as a bonus.

The thing with discount websites.

Comparison sites are great if you want to check if your internet subscription or your electricity bill can go down. Highly recommend. But websites such as pepper.com (the discount one, not the dating platform) just list everything with an exceptionally low price. This goes for electronic devices, clothes, free stuff to try, cheap toilet paper and what not. Here in the Netherlands but also in about 15 other countries there is an active community on the website. I tried it for about one month and it was great. There are so many good deals there, you can get everything you ever wanted and more for a great deal. The thing is, I bought all this stuff I suddenly needed because it was a good deal. Not because I needed it. It made me greedy, I want it and I want it now. The fear of a product going up in price just made me buy on impulse. I bought more that month than the previous 4 combined… when I realized I deleted the app all together and didn’t visit the website anymore. It is too tempting guys! I am only human!

All these things combined makes I don’t get as much commercials bombarded at me as the average Joe. Because I don’t see them, I’m not as tempted to buy all the things just because they are a great deal.

Do you have more tips on how to stop overspending? I like to hear from you, please share!

Till next time,

Elske

I am not a Financial advisor nor am I YOUR financial advisor. I am not a trained financial professional. This blog is for entertainment purposes only.

Elske 0

januari 22, 2021februari 14, 2021Minimalism

What does minimalism have to do with money?

Well, minimalism doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with money. But in my opinion money -and by that I mean having control over your own money- does have everything to do with minimalism. Minimalism to me means you only have/do what you need or that amplifies your experience of life. That 89^th pair of shoes really does nothing more for your level of happiness. That house with 12 bedrooms really doesn’t do anything better than the one that just has enough bedrooms. Sometimes less is more. The right amount of shoes or bedrooms for a great life experience is different for everybody, but you get the concept right?

The less clutter in your house, the less you have to organize, maintain, clean, store and replace the items, causing you to have more free time to do whatever you want! You have more time to raise your kids, exercise, eat/cook healthy meals, create a side hustle, or just spend time on your hobbies.

Don’t declutter your pets! They bring way too much joy!

So I will go through my house and declutter all the things I didn’t use in the past couple of months nor will in the upcoming months, because it gives me space and saves me in cleaning and organizing.

Stuff that is still good I will sell or donate, rest goes to recycle or trash. Are you joining?

Remember, organizing the stuff that you don’t use and need, is just delaying its way to the trash. Your house is not a storage unit!

Happy decluttering!

Elske

I am not a Financial advisor nor am I YOUR financial advisor. I am not a trained financial professional. This blog is for entertainment purposes only.

Elske 1