“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” -JFK
I’m very lucky, but most of my luck comes from plain ol’ hard work. There’s no secret powers, juices or potions. (Although I totally wish there were!) If there’s something you want, I hope you know with really hard work and perseverance, you can make it happen. We both can.
Happy Tuesday!
love,
melanie
This month I read Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life. I “read” this book via audiobook. That may have colored my review. In this case, I enjoyed the reader’s voice. It was authoritative, yet personal– like a good chat with a long-time friend.
The first part of this book shared Josh and Ryan’s journey to minimalism. While I found that part relatable and quasi-interesting, I enjoyed the second part of the book much more. The second part of the book describes the five dimensions of living a meaningful life: health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.
I must admit, I have an easy time with the “stuff” aspect of minimalism. I love throwing stuff away. And I love a clean, sparse space. The “stuff” that I hold onto is mostly mental stuff. I get really caught up in the day-to-day junk that doesn’t add value to my life. This book helped me to reflect on what’s truly important and a little more difficult– the mental part of minimalism.
I did enjoy this book. It was a quick, worthwhile read, but I did have a few bones to pick. I think an issue with much of minimalism writing is that it is written by people who once made a great deal of money. The authors do admit they were once in debt, but they also had six figure incomes. Once you start exchanging unimportant large expenses for smaller ones, like a mortgage on a large house for rent in an inexpensive apartment, you’ll be able to cut expenses incredibly quickly. With a six figure income, you’ll get out of debt quickly and you’ll be able to save quickly. For most people, it’s not so easy. I wanted strategies for sustaining minimalism. What do I do when minimalism gets really hard? It often does. How do I contribute to my health, relationships, passion, growth and contribution when I have little time for myself? Not everyone can quit their full-time jobs. I want to hear from those single moms who found minimalism!
Maybe I need to write the answer. Maybe “Minimalism for busy people” will be my next book? 🙂
Have you read Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life? What strategies do you have for sustaining your minimalist lifestyle? Let me know in the comments.
love,
melanie
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“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” -Epitetus
Something to chew on this Tuesday.
love,
melanie
Today’s question is from a young man named Kevin. Kevin wants to know, “Should I buy a move-in ready trailer or should I buy a trailer to renovate?” Take it away, Kevin!
Hey!
So I’m 16 and my family doesn’t have much… I’ve always been into outdoor stuff. I ran across your blog somehow and I absolutely love everything. I now have a dream to live in a trailer like y’all have and live life like that. My main concern for my future is providing for myself and future family. I think this could help with those fears because of a significantly lower cost of living. I had a question about purchasing a trailer. I obviously have lots of time. I graduate this coming school year and plan on going to Clemson for forestry, but I’m planning out my future now to be “more prepared”. Do you think it’s better to find a already nice trailer or to find a cheaper one and fix it up?
-Kevin
August’s pick for the book club is Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life.* It’s by the guys who write TheMinimalist.com so I’m pretty excited about it. I think it’ll be a lighter read than the last book. 🙂 God willing, we’ll be discussing it in just a couple weeks on August 3rd. So download your copy today!
love,
melanie
*Affiliate link
“A failure is not a mistake… the real mistake is to stop trying.”
Lately I’ve had a hard time keeping up with this blog. I love it, but sometimes it can be a real slog. I have a full-time job and a life. I see very little income from this endeavor and it’s easy to give up on it. No one is holding me accountable. It’s just me here. Negative thoughts can get to me from time to time, but I know that it would be a mistake to give up. My goal will always be to share my story of living small in order to help others do the same. It won’t change and I won’t stop trying.
Fist bump emoji and love,
melanie
As always, I “read” this book via audiobook. That may have colored my review. A good book doesn’t make a good audiobook! In this case, I did enjoy the reader’s voice. It wasn’t distracting, but it wasn’t Oscar-worthy either. It was very NPR-neutral, if that makes sense.
I found Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much* a few years ago while perusing a book store on vacation, but I just got a chance to listen to it. And although the psychology of scarcity was fascinating, I had a hard time finishing this one. If I’m being honest, I’ve had a hard time getting motivated by anything lately. I don’t think it was just the book, but I did keep waiting and waiting and waiting for the authors to make some conclusions. The conclusions or ways to outsmart scarcity didn’t come until the bitter end– literally the last 10 minutes of the book. That was incredibly irritating, but I did learn a few things.
The authors, both academics, had a very academic way of approaching scarcity, but explained the psychology in terms easy enough for the lay-man to understand. Basically, the premise is this: We all have a limited amount of “bandwidth” or the ability to make decisions. People who are poor, dieters and people who are busy all have limited bandwidth. Limited bandwidth is bad because it causes people to “tunnel.” When people tunnel, they can’t see all of the options available to them. They then make poor decisions. The poor decisions aren’t necessarily their fault, but instead, a problem of bandwidth. So how do we give dieters, busy people and poor people more bandwidth? Well, dieters can be put on an easier diet– like the Atkins diet that only counts carbs instead of counting calories. Busy people need to take a “sabbath.” One day a week to do no work. And poor people, well, that one is harder. Different things will work for different situations. For example, instead of being given S.N.A.P. benefits at once a month, the benefits could be broken up weekly.
Although this book took me a long time to get through, knowing the psychology behind scarcity will help me to make some positive changes in my life. I tend to be an all-or-nothing gal and I know that if I give myself “slack” in my budget, in my time, and in my life, I’ll be much more successful. I know that I need to have a day (or days!) during the week to do nothing. Right now I don’t have that and it wears on me. I also need to give myself a little slack in my budget. When I feel deprived, I end up spending more.
Overall, I think Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much* was fascinating, but could be skimmed instead of read in it’s entirety.
Have you ever read this book? What did you think about it? Got any suggestions for the next book club book? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
love,
melanie
*Affiliate links 🙂
As someone who is goal-oriented it can be hard to remember that the end goal is not always the goal. As people, our final destinations are the same, but our journeys are different. And the journey is what counts.
Let me know how you’re making it count in the comments.
love,
melanie
Hey ya’ll, I’m a bit behind on the Book Club this month. What else is new? #storyofmylife. Anyway, we’ll be discussing Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much* on Friday.
If you have any suggestions for August’s Book Club pick, leave ’em in the comments!
love (and Happy Monday! ugh!),
melanie
*Affiliate link.
I often talk about living small, but I don’t think I’ve ever defined it. I know many people talk about tiny living and the tiny house movement, but I don’t think that phrase is all-encompassing. It also seems that no one can agree on what constitutes “tiny.” I’ve seen measurements as small as 90 square feet up to 1,000 square feet. Living small, to me, is much less about the measurements and more about the lifestyle. Here’s what living small means to me:
Living below your means
Living small is first and foremost about living below your means. It’s looking at your budget and consciously renting or buying less than you can afford. It’s knowing that by sacrificing some physical room you open up other financial possibilities for yourself. It’s about more freedom.
Living with less stuff
Logistically, by living in a smaller house, you’ll have to live with less stuff. It’s physics or something! But it’s also about being aware of the things that you own. It’s knowing that things are just that… things. It’s knowing that the important things in life aren’t really things. The important things are people, experiences and happiness.
Make do and mend
Living small is also about making do with what you have. People who live small aren’t tempted by the biggest, shiniest new toy. They see potential in their old toys. They have a D.I.Y. attitude, and an entrepreneurial spirit. They know that they can put in the hard work and it will pay off.
Prioritizing your life
Living small is making intentional choices about what is important in your life. People who live small know that if they don’t prioritize their life, someone will prioritize it for them. By making a big, flashy house a priority, you intentionally or unintentionally give up some of your other priorities.
Living more life
People who live small know that by sacrificing space and things, they make more room in their life for life. With less mortgage payments, they can take that vacation they’ve always dreamed of. With less house maintenance, they can spend more time on beloved hobbies. And with more money they can work less and spend more time with family and friends.
Do you agree with my definition of “living small?” Do you live a small life? Would you like to share your house and story? Shoot me an email to be featured in a future blog post!
love,
melanie