By Jacob Maslow – Branded Content
In today’s have-it-now lifestyle, it’s easy to make impulse buys that we go on to regret later. In fact, there may come a time when you look around your home and aren’t even sure how you accumulated so much. At that point, you need to decide whether you want to continue to live that way or whether it’s time to learn how to live with less and still be happy. In this article, we’ll be breaking down how you can be happy living with less.
Scale Back Spending
The first step to living with less is to seriously curb your spending. Whenever you go out to the store, it’s only natural to buy something you want. However, it’s easy to get caught up in your spending. As a result, you end up buying things that don’t really contribute anything to your life. A great way to scale back your spending is to create a long-term financial goal.
This can be anything ranging from saving up for your child’s college education to owning a real estate property. If you’re looking to get your hands on extra cash to speed up the process, then you do have options. A great way to do is to sell your life insurance policy. You can review a guide that explains what to do with unneeded life insurance policies.
Identify Your Passions
In order for someone to be truly happy with less, they need to know what they’re passionate about. Your passions and interests play a big role when it comes to the financial aspect of your life. You’d be amazed at how much money people can waste simply because they’re unsure of what they want. Knowing what your passions are cannot only lead to a better quality of life, it’s a great way to break your bad spending habits.
Downsize with Intention
From overflowing cabinets to a closet of clothes you never wear, you need to downsize with intention. Take inventory of everything you have. Ask yourself how often you use it, if you really need, and whether you will need it in the future. If the answer is slim to none for any of the questions, consider donating the items to others. Once you realize that you really don’t need duplicates of the same shirt, dress or even set of dishes, it’s easier to give them away.
Cut Down Your Media Usage
You might think that using media, whether it’s the news, social media, or your favorite TV channel, has nothing to do with living with less. However, it has a lot to do with this scenario. What we engage with can take up more mental headspace than it should. In fact, did you know that the average adult spends about half a day on media alone? Listening to music, watching TV, playing games, and talking to our e-friends can be a great source of entertainment. However, they can also eat up a lot of your time you can spend doing something that enriches you.
Photo Courtesy // Jacob Maslow //
