The Rant
 In this day and age of mass consumerism we all seem to think we need more in order to have a happier life. We think that by having the latest gadget or by having more stuff around us that we are happier. I call B.S. on this, happiness does not come from the objects that we own, it comes from within. Myself, I changed to a minimalistic lifestyle a couple of years back and what a difference it has made to my life. I still own way more items than the so-called minimalist, but the items that I have kept I have use for daily/weekly or monthly. I have found that by having less that my stress levels have dropped dramatically and have more time to do other things than just continuously cleaning and picking up. Ok, back to our wants and needs. In our lives, we have very few needs that we have to have in order to survive in this modern society. We require things like: Food Shelter A form of transportation A form of entertainment A social circle (for most, some of us are introverts but that’s for another post) A form of income Some savings for emergencies or retirement (if your income allows you too) The things we don’t require: The newest technological gadget when it comes out The expensive car The oversized home that most of the space is not used 
Of course, some will say that they really need some of these things. If you use your phone for business purposes then it is a tool that you use in order to make an income, then that’s acceptable. If it’s just to check your social media feeds or play games on then it would be considered an want. Yes, you need a vehicle to get back and forth to work, great go and buy one, but do you really need that expensive vehicle, no you need a reliable vehicle that can get you from point A to point B. And yes, you need a place to call home, but do you really need that oversized house in which you use only a portion of the space. By all means purchase a home if you can afford it, it’s an investment, just ensure that you purchase what you can afford. 
Here’s a story from my own experiences. When I retired a couple of years ago from my career I decided to become a mortgage broker, so then I could work my own hours. Business was pretty good and it felt good to help people (especially younger couples just starting out) achieve their dream of home ownership. But all too often I wasn’t able to help clients achieve this because they had allowed their wants to get in the way of their dreams. Too often I’d get clients who had just purchased that big expensive truck or car and is now paying nearly $1000.00 a month for a payment, and of course they now want that big luxurious home because they have great paying jobs. More often than not the banks would decline them or require a larger down payment because their debt ratios were so high, making them a huge risk for the lender. Did they really need that expensive vehicle? Probably not, they were more interested in their wants or status that the vehicle brought them. Basically, now they have to either come up with more money or spend the next few years getting their debt ratio down in order to get the house of their dreams. I guess the moral of this post is that we need to learn to live within our means. We need to focus on our real needs and not the things that we think we need. If you have something that you see in everyday life that just wants you to shake your head or actually shake the person and say enough is enough, then we’d love to hear from you, you can write it anonymously if you’d like, just try to keep it politically correct. We are not here to bash anyone, just trying to get them understand that maybe if life is always negative then it’s time to change some things in your life to make it better. Follow us on: FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/minimalist101/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/realminimalism Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/real_minimalism Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/realminimalism/ We are always looking for guest writers. If you have a story about minimalism or travel that you would like to get out there then please feel free to contact us. Join our mailing list to know when our next post comes out. Thanks, Mark If you didn't get a chance to check out this weeks motivational quotes you can see 10 Quotes To Help You Have More Patience In Your Life by clicking on the picture below.  Previous Posts
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