For me, there are two sides to the equation of minimizing: 1) getting off the consumer gerbil wheel and 2) getting rid of the accumulated stuff you bought while you were still running madly on the gerbil wheel.
I have the first part nailed and, I have to admit, it’s been fairly effortless. That’s mostly because I’ve never really enjoyed shopping. Fifteen or twenty years ago, I did my version of the mall rat thing, but when I think back, it seems to have been mostly because – well – that’s what people do. And of course, I’d see something I wanted and I wouldn’t really have the money, but I’d rationalize the purchase anyway. And then, often as not, put it on my credit card.
Dumb.
The other danger of mall-wandering, is that all this “hard work” makes you hungry. (Of course!) In reality, that’s mostly about boredom but in any event, the food courts are another major component of the mall-ratting time- and money-suck. In fact, I can think of nothing that is more boring and a bigger waste of time, except perhaps for watching reality shows. (It is impossible to describe how much I do not care who gets kicked off the island. I just don’t get it. Why should I care?)
Mall-ratting was something to do, sure, but it served no purpose other than to make my feet hurt. I also started to develop an awareness that this nonsensical use of my free time was costing me money I really couldn’t afford. I felt like I should start to be more careful. More frugal. Or something.
But how?
Enter the Tightwad Gazette series, by self-described “Frugal Zealot”, Amy Dacyczyn. I remember buying the first book, and was immediately hooked. I went back for volumes II and III. (They’re now available in a single volume.) I still have them, dog-eared and battered, and yes I still take them out from time to time and read them. If you are unfamiliar with Amy and her story, here’s a video clip to give you an idea of what she’s about.
While I didn’t become an overnight frugalista , these books gave me “permission” to really stop shopping. (It wasn’t that hard to give up, given that I never really enjoyed it in the first place.) Here was an example of a woman with different priorities – a large family and a classic New England farmhouse with an attached barn – who decided that having those things meant more to her than all the shiny baubles in any mall. With only a $30,000 annual income to work with, she and her husband substituted smarts for money, while managing to save prodigiously at the same time.
At first glance, Amy Dacyczyn’s life – a big house and six kids – wouldn’t seem to fit the current thinking of minimalism. But as Chris Guillebeau says, “…simplicity has nothing to do with how many socks you own; it lies in being clear about your intentions and motivations.”
And that’s the point. Amy Dacyczyn made her choices and rejected the whole consumerist “shop ’til you drop” lifestyle in order to have what she really wanted. We can do the same.
So what do you really want?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I remember reading one of those Tightwad books as a kid and getting fed up with the amount of work she put into saving money. Calculating whether cloth napkins save you more than paper napkins? It reminded me of my mom’s willingness to sacrifice what seemed like endless time to save a little bit of money. But I guess it’s a question of whether you have more time or money on hand. If you can’t easily trade time for money through a well-paying job, then it’s fine to save money in a time-consuming way. I try to carefully weigh which is worth more when I make decisions about whether to work more, whether to skip class, and whether to go with great inconvenience or great expense when I have to choose.
Anyway, I like your perspective on Amy, about how she was able to have what she wanted and approach life in a different way. I think that’s an important lesson that I totally missed when I was ten or so and thought her methods seemed awfully boring.
Yes, I also marveled at Amy’s capacity for calculations but what I took away from it was her point that after you’ve taken the time to do that, you then own that piece of knowledge. Which is true. Invest the time once and that’s it – you know which choice to make. I had less success with her price book though. Oh well.
The video is particularly impressive when you see that beautiful antique house – and then you understand how so many small efforts can really add up over time. Amy is still the Champion all-time frugalista IMO.