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There’s a reason that people say that when they retire, they’ll spend the rest of their days drinking co*cktails out of coconuts on a beach in Thailand.
Or that they’re going to spend their time fishing or catching up on all the books they’ve missed while real life got in the way.
It’s because life can be exhausting. Which is often because we’re all working our butts off and running around trying desperately to get to the point where we can afford not to work anymore.
Not only is that stressful as hell, but it’s no way to live your life. It’s also not the best way to get your finances in order.
So what if I told you that you could make a few changes that would not only simplify your life but would also work towards improving your financial situation?
Less stress plus more money? Read on to find out how!
I think it’s pretty safe to say that many of us have the problem of a lot of extra crap. And those of you with an overflowing garage or an attic you can’t even go into understand when I say: all that crap can cause a ton of stress.
It’s also not a mind-blowing revelation to point out that all that crap cost a pile of money to get in the first place. Money that you spent to often just have this stuff just gathering dust.
Some of that stuff may also need to be repaired from time to time. Bye bye, more money.
But to be honest, that’s not even the worst of it. Just the feeling of looking into your garage and not even knowing where to start…talk about stress.
A good spring clean certainly takes a bit of effort. But if you do it in small sections, it’s far more manageable.
Better yet, you can actually see your progress.
After all, you don’t climb a mountain by aiming for the top. You climb it by having smaller goals of stops to reach along the way.
Similarly, looking at a whole garage when you’ve only cleaned out a small corner can make the task seem impossible.
But if you aim to tidy up that corner by lunchtime one day and you actually do it? Boom, amazing job, you’re on your way.
So make sure you set small goals when tackling a major tidying task like this.
For example, you may want to tell yourself that you’ll go through the first pile of boxes next to the door this weekend. Next weekend you’ll do the second stack. And so on and so forth.
That way, not only will you have the mental win of actually chipping away at all that stuff, but you’re far more likely to get to the end!
But how does this help your finances?
Firstly, once you see how amazing and stress-reducing it is to have a tidy garage/attic/kitchen cupboards, you’re going to be far less motivated to fill them up with crap again. So that way, you’re already saving money on an ongoing basis!
Secondly, did you know you can make money from getting rid of your old stuff?
I don’t mean just selling it on eBay or Craigslist. There are actual websites targeted at buying specific things you own from you that can earn you some seriously great extra cash.
Things like old phones, computers, CDs, DVDs and books can all be taken off your hands for a bit of money in just a few clicks.
FIND OUT MORE:HOW TO MAKE SERIOUS CASH CLEANING OUT YOUR OLD STUFF
So you’ve got rid of your extra stuff. Great!
Now what are you going to do with what you’ve held on to?
Leaving it sitting around, gathering dust or falling over when accidentally bumped by someone can be just as stress-inducing as the pile of stuff you used to have.
But if it’s tidied up so that it’s neat but still accessible, your home will feel a lot calmer.
For example, my kitchen cupboards used to be overflowing with all sorts of things.
One day, as a blender or something fell on to my head again, I’d had enough.
So I bought some Lock & Lock containers – and now my cupboards are the things of dreams.
Here’s some of my storage space, for example:
It’s nothing special, I know. But I can’t tell you how great it is being able to grab a container, put whatever it is I need to store in there and boom, my cupboard’s still tidy.
The fact that they all stack together is just icing on the cake.
No mess, no stress.
But how does this help your finances?
See the pile on the left in that picture? They’re my “eat lunch at work” containers.
It’s common advice for those working to save more money that bringing lunch to work instead of buying it every day can save you literally thousands of dollars a year.
(It’s also generally way healthier!)
For a long time, I would use old takeaway containers to bring mine to the office. But it was always a pain – they’d often leak, especially if the lunch I’d made had a lot of liquid.
And as they weren’t airtight, sometimes the food wouldn’t be as fresh once lunch rolled around or it would taste funny if there was something else questionable in the fridge at work.
They also wouldn’t stack properly with one another in my fridge at home, which was super demotivating for meal prepping in advance. After all, if it meant that I couldn’t fit anything else in my fridge – or even that I couldn’t fit all of the pre-prepared meals together – then why bother doing it.
However, once I bought these containers, I found bringing my lunch to work a breeze.
No more spills or weird tastes. And easy stacking means I’m always going to be able to prepare everything I want in advance without having to worry where it’s going to fit.
All of this together means that I’m far more likely to bring my lunch to work and to even prepare dinners in advance.
The thousands of dollars I’ve saved in the last year alone more than make this worthwhile.
And not having blenders fall on my head is pretty good too!
Sure, you say. I’ll just sell my house and move somewhere smaller. Super easy advice, thanks.
I know, I know. Moving sucks.
But hear me out!
Did you know that, in the US, the average size of a new single-family home is now 2,600 square feet? This is up from around 1,000 square feet in 1950 – when families were larger than today!
Clearly, our houses are getting bigger.
But so are our stress levels and our debt levels. These aren’t unrelated.
The mental strain of having to work and work and work just to afford these mammoth houses that we arguably don’t need is slowly killing us.
(Not to mention the extra effort required to keep it all clean and maintained.)
So making the decision to downsize can be a life saver.
While it can take some initial effort, the long term payoff in having less space and less expenses to worry about is more than worth it for your stress levels.
It may also mean that you can move to a smaller place closer to where you work. Your shorter commute will not only be a stress reducer in itself, but it will give you even more time to do what you want.
Whether you spend the time simply chilling out, working out (for free!) or maybe even starting a side hustle to supplement your current income (or even one day replace it – by, say, creating a blog!), you’ll easily see your stress levels reduce through simplifying your life in this way.
But how does this help your finances?
Where do we start!
If you’re renting, you’ll be paying less rent. If you own your home, your mortgage repayments will be lower.
In addition, your expenses will be far less – after all, it costs a lot less to heat or cool a smaller house. Not to mention the reduced expenses for having to furnish and maintain a much smaller space.
That money saved can either go towards paying off your debts – a massive stress reduction in itself (see below!) – or can be invested to start making your money work for you.
And these are both only some of the best ways to improve your financial situation and speed up your journey towards financial freedom.
In The Millionaire Next Door, the authors use clear data to show that most millionaires don’t live in huge houses and drive flashy cars. In fact, those are the people most likely to be up to their eyeballs in debt.
Instead, most millionaires simply follow the basic principles of personal finance: spend less than you earn and make your money work for you.
This includes living in reasonably-sized houses to minimise their living expenses.
The most famous example of this is Warren Buffet. The man who’s worth $84.8 billion (yes, with a B), making him the third wealthiest person in the entire world, lives in a house that’s today worth $652,619.He bought the house for $31,500 in 1958 or about $250,000 in today’s dollars.
When asked why he doesn’t move, he simply replied: “I’m happy there. I’d move if I thought I’d be happier someplace else.”
And isn’t that what’s most important in the end?
RELATED:THE ONE PRINCIPLE THAT WILL GUARANTEE YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE
Dealing with bills can be super stressful.
There’s trying to remember when they’re all due and making absolutely sure you don’t miss a payment.
And you can’t forget to make sure that you have enough money in each account to pay for them.
All of these things really over-complicate your day to day life, especially when you absolutely have 1,000 more important things to think about.
Luckily, this is something that’s super easy to simplify.
In half an hour, you can set up your bills to essentially manage themselves.
By following the steps in this article to automate your finances, you’ll massively simplify your financial life.
No more stressing about when a particular bill is due. No more trying to keep track of the different transfers in and out of your accounts.
It’s all done for you! Leaving you far more time to destress.
But how does this help your finances?
Well, the main financial benefit is that you can say goodbye to any late fees for the rest of your life. Overdraft fees will also be a thing of the past
This can easily save you thousands of dollars over the course of your life, depending on how diligent (or, ahem, not) you’ve been in the past at paying things on time.
Your credit score will also thank you. Paying credit cards on time will give your score a great boost, which can have a range of great effects on your financial position.
(Not sure of your credit score? Check it for free at Credit Sesame.)
All in all, this is a super straightforward way to simplify your life – and easily improve your finances in the process!
FIND OUT MORE:HOW TO AUTOMATE YOUR FINANCES AND SAVE MONEY IN THREE EASY STEPS
Our lives are all going a mile a minute. Whether it’s work obligations, family commitments or attempts to maintain some semblance of a family life, we seem to spend so much time madly running around yet never getting anywhere.
Fear Of Missing Out or “FOMO” is a very real thing!
So consider simply saying “no” to some things. Whether it’s because you don’t have time or don’t want to spend the money or simply because you’d rather stay at home, learning how to say “no” is incredibly freeing.
It can be tough at first. After all, we’re all trained that we should agree to everything to avoid missing out on something amazing.
But sometimes, that “something amazing” can be found while doing your own thing.
And if that act of saying “no” to some things makes you happier and healthier, then that’s pretty amazing all on its own.
But how does this help your finances?
Because you’ll soon realise that you don’t have to agree to everything in order to maintain positive relationships and a good life – and agreeing to everything costs money.
Do you have a friend who always wants to go out to the fanciest bars? Try saying no and suggest a movie and wine night at your place one evening instead.
Or instead of agreeing to go to a restaurant to meet friends for dinner when you want to save some money, suggest a BBQ in a park.
Getting pressure to enroll the kids in soccer, ballet AND violin lessons? Say no and ask them which one thing they would like to try this semester. Both their and your exhaustion levels will thank you for it.
All of these extra activities that you end up agreeing to can cost a ton to both your bank account and your mental health.
So if learning to say “no” can help both of those things, then it’s definitely something to try!
How are you simplifying your life this year? And has it helped save you money?
Money Bee
As a teenager, I asked for personal finance books for Christmas. While misguided haircuts came and went, I never managed to shake off this particular obsession. Now in my early 30s, my interests have broadened to include travelling, pretending that I don't have a caffeine addiction, and retiring well before my 40th birthday.
