How To Be A Minimalist And Save Money

*This post has been reviewed by an Illinois Registered CPA. However, when making important financial decisions, it's best to speak with your financial advisor.

Last Updated on February 21, 2025

Learn How To Be A Minimalist And Save Money

Are you the type who prefers living with only the necessities? Maybe you think luxury to be too heavy…being surrounded by clutter.

Sounds like you’d sign up in a heartbeat to be a minimalist! Minimalism is a lifestyle that guides you to live purposefully with fewer possessions. It is meant to give you only the necessary items that will help you focus on living your best life, and cut out inefficient things that take away from that goal.

For example, you would save serious time in your day doing the dishes if you had only had a few dishes. That time saved could be used to do something more meaningful to you. That, in a nutshell, is basically the goal of minimalism. Cut out clutter, free your time, free your mind (and maybe fatten your piggy bank, if so inclined!).

To become a minimalist, first, you need to set your own rules for daily living and not allow society to pressure you into doing things that run counter to your principles.

How To Get Organized and Simplify

Next, you need to get organized and make time to:

• Pick a space to focus on
• Clean or clear out that space
• Determine what is necessary and unnecessary within that space
• Organize your stuff into categories
• Create limitations on what you new items you’ll bring into that space

For example, you could make a schedule like this:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Clear your living room	Clear the bedroom	Clear the office	Clear the garden	Clear the garage
Separate and throw away unnecessary items	Separate and throw excessive items	Separate and throw away unnecessary items	Separate and throw away unnecessary things	Separate and throw away unnecessary items
Categorize your remaining items	Categorize your remaining items	Categorize your remaining items	Categorize your remaining items	Categorize your remaining items

There are many reasons why people become minimalists. A few of the reasons are:

1. Stress and anxiety reduction
2. Environment support
3. Free up space to have more experiences
4. Share a legacy to be proud of
5. Save money and time

People think being a minimalist means living in a tiny apartment and not having much money. What’s interesting, though, is that many minimalists actually tend to save more money and have better, more meaningful life experiences.

It often solve the basic problem for those who can’t save money, and it becomes effortless to save more, even if you don’t make more.

What Exactly Is The Minimalist Money Mindset?

The minimalist money mindset is using a minimalist doctrine to spend your money. This often is enough alone to help people stay out of debt and fix their credit score.

Money minimalists see money as something that needs to be organized and spent correctly. They treat their bank account the same as you would treat a tiny house. Less spending equals more happiness, and they get rid of excess, unnecessary purchasing, focusing on not buying anything frivolous.

The goal of minimalism is freedom. They understand that money not spent out of necessity is one step closer to financial freedom and life freedom. Of course, you can still use the money for emergencies, great experiences or highly valued things, or even for your loved ones. But unnecessary items are ruthlessly cut out of their spending.

So How Does This Work?

Money minimalists first start by identifying their expenses. In excruciating detail…

To obtain financial stability and life freedom, you’ve got to earn more money than you spend, save, then put the money to work responsibly. Money minimalists are not focused on income but their desired outcome, and realize the fastest path to their dream is through avoiding unnecessary spending detours.

This group usually divides their income into two categories:

1. Absolutely necessary expenses
2. Everything else

Your necessary expenses list could be a short one and include things like:

• Savings
• Rent
• Bills
• Food
• Clothes

You can use the everything else fund for emergencies and to save more money. At the end of each month, the money you saved gets you a step closer to your goal.

Can You Save Money Being A Minimalist?

If you are wondering if becoming minimalist really saves you money, the answer is yes. Minimalism helps your finances in the following ways:

1. Prioritize your spending. If you focus more on experiences than items, minimalism is the way. When you prioritize your goals, it will lead to better handling of your money.
2. Limit wants. Living as a minimalist means you will start to cut out many purchases that you might have made in the past. You cut back on expenses, increase savings, and get out of debt. You can use the money for early retirement or to travel the world doing good.
3. Less space is needed. If you need to this allows you to save on ever increasing rent costs. With less stuff you might find that you can cut rent or housing costs by going smaller. This frees up cash and also forces you to really consider new purchases carefully.
4. Laser focus on financial goals. Financial minimalism focuses your goals and make them achievable. It also becomes much easier to debt-free since debt often arises from buying too many unnecessary, impulse purchases.
5. Sell unnecessary items. Another advantage you can create is to sell your stuff that has been deemed clutter. You make money, clear your space, and make others happy! A rare win, win, win.
6. Track spending mercilessly. Financial minimalism brings out of control finances under control. Youll gain multiple advantages tracking your spending, continually monitoring your budget, and creating your preferred life.

How To Budget Money As A Minimalist

Being a minimalist requires a reasonable budget. When establishing your essential needs, you need to know what you will do with the rest of your money. For that, you can use budgeting methods that have been proven to work. Those methods are:

• 50-30-20 method
  
• Half payment method
  
• Digital budgeting envelope system
  

For example, you could use the 50-30-20 method by spending 50% of your budget on needs. Then, you can spend 30% of your money on wants, like allowing yourself some new travel experiences. The rest of it, 20%, could go into savings.

Start by identifying your values and priorities. Knowing your values and how you want to meet your goals is essential to achieving financial freedom. It is always better to have this stuff written down so you can organize your life and use that written record to stay on track.

One big secret to financial freedom is to automate your payments to anything that’s predictable in your life. Use your bank to automate every monthly bill you have. When that money is taken from your account, you can organize your money better. Then automate saving. Next, when the time comes, automate investing.

This is how you create the financial freedom you want. You also save a lot of time doing things that a computer program could do just as well.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How much does it cost to live as a minimalist?

According to a couple who started on a minimalist journey, they managed to spend $10,629 in their first year. They did that by cutting anything that was not necessary and only stuck to their needs. With that, they spend around $900 per month. It was enough to cover every essential need and save money. That is the pretty incredible. Most major US cities won’t allow you to live comfortably on that but it can inspire each of us to do better.

What are the best books for becoming a minimalist?

There are many books out there that you can buy to educate yourself on this lifestyle. Being a minimalist requires understanding and good planning before your start. You should know the benefits and drawbacks, different tips, and more. Also, these books teach you how to start on the journey of how to save money:

• The Unspeakable Joy Of Less
• Lightly
• Minimalism
• The Japanese Art Of Minimalism
• The One Thing

How do you spend money as a minimalist?

You must be wondering how to spend money if you are at the very start of the minimalist journey. Making a budget is essential. It is best if you establish what you will spend on and how much money to save. When making the budget, remember to cut unnecessary costs and stick to the essential ones. Make room for what you value most, and do not forget to include savings.

How can I become minimalist without being wasteful?

To be a minimalist without waste, you must decide what things you need. When you do that, proceed with getting rid of all items that are unnecessary. Focus on keeping the necessary, useful, and practical things. Saving what does not serve you only takes up space in closets and rooms.

How can I become minimalist in 30 days?

If you are unsure how to start being a minimalist, begin with the 30-day challenge. It consists of 30 tasks per month that will help you organize your life and live as a minimalist. Make your schedule and tasks according to your needs and stick to it. After 30 days, you should feel the benefits of being a minimalist. With that, you will also notice you start saving money.

What are the benefits of minimalism?

Minimalism has become quite popular recently. That is because people value time more than money, making them choose the minimalist lifestyle. Minimalism has a lot of pros, but it also has some cons. Check them out in the table below:

Benefits of minimalism	Cons of minimalism
Helps you save money	It can be hard to get started
Helps you save resources	It could be a strange lifestyle for many people, so there is a risk of not being accepted by society
Helps slow down global warming	Struggling to let go of the old lifestyle, or maybe missing the mess and some of your things
Focus on inner values (having only the necessary could result in having a more tidy home and that could relax and improve your mental health)	Hard for bigger families since there are many people who have their own things
Less space and stress	Social isolation because not everyone is understanding or accepting of your new lifestyle
Less financial pressure	Mental problems because if you feel isolated, it may lead to loneliness or depression
Easier to move	Being criticized

What is the minimalist 20/20 rule?

This minimalist rule helps you decide when to get rid of things if you are in doubt. According to the 20/20 rule, you need to think about this to make your decision:

1. If you can replace the item for less than $20, you can let it go.
2. If you can replace the item in less than 20 minutes, you can also let it go.

Sources:

100 best minimalism books of all time. BookAuthority. (n.d.). Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://bookauthority.org/books/best-minimalism-books

Elle Penner M.P.H., R. D. (2022, March 17). 30-day minimalism challenge. Modern Minimalism. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://modernminimalism.com/30-day-minimalism-challenge/

How minimalism and sustainability go hand in hand. EcoMENA. (2022, June 13). Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.ecomena.org/minimalism-and-sustainability/

Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus. (2019, August 7). Getting rid of just-in-case items: 20 dollars, 20 minutes. The Minimalists. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.theminimalists.com/jic/

Lisa, A. (2021, July 26). What is the minimalist money mindset? GOBankingRates. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/financial-planning/what-is-the-minimalist-money-mindset/

Tina WilliamsonWriter and creator of Mindfulmazing Read full profile, & Williamson, T. (2020, November 27). 8 benefits of a minimalist lifestyle that get you to live with less. Lifehack. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/top-8-benefits-living-minimalist-lifestyle.html