Yeah, maybe.
However if you have been following my budget roundups, you will find that I am not that kind of minimalist.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRUGAL, CHEAP & MINIMALIST
Frugal: You know the value of a dollar and you choose between priorities of where to spend said dollar(s)
You spend your money but in a smart manner. If you have to wait for a deal, you will. You may also not spend (a lot) money on areas that seem frivolous like decoration for the home.
Example of Frugal Behaviour:
You love eating great food, so you buy the high-end stuff but you buy it when it goes on sale (and then stock up!!) rather than buying it whenever you feel like eating it.
You actually plan out when to buy these things, and when you do spend your money, you spend it on the best you can afford based on your priorities.
Cheap: You know the value of a dollar and refuse to let any of it go for any reason no matter what
You just don’t want to spend money on anything and if someone else can foot the bill, so much the better.
Example of Cheap Behaviour:
You love to drink beer and go out, but instead of choosing to do it once a month with friends, you find ways to invite yourself out and mooch off your friends’ good kind-hearted, generous natures by promising up and down that you’ll get the next round.
Minimalist: You know the value of a dollar but you don’t care because your main focus is to live with less stuff and really cherish said stuff.
You are unlikely to clutter up your home with “good deals” (frugal), and will try and find a way to not buy it at all (cheap).
You also probably put a premium on it not taking a lot of physical space over what it actually costs as a dollar value (e.g. owning a Kobo Glo with thousands of digital books instead of a huge sprawling library to achieve the same result).
I’d also daresay that you can pack up & move in a very short amount of time. For us, it’s 2 days maximum, and we’re able to be out the door.
Example of Minimalist Behaviour:
You have a huge open space.
In most non-minimalist layouts, you would probably fit a dining room table for 6, a couch, a lounge chair, 2 end tables, a coffee table, 3 lamps, and a rug.
You opt instead for just a dining room table for 6, and a lounge chair and 1 lamp.
Oh, and you may or may not buy the best quality or spend a lot of money.
The key is that you don’t have unnecessary-to-you end or coffee tables for instance, or 3 lamps when one will done.
Basically, the less STUFF you have, the better and if the desktop looks clean and minimal like the Apple setup above, it is a better deal than a PC with wires everywhere and tons of computer parts.
CAN ALL THREE BEHAVIOURS INTERSECT?
Absolutely.
I am, at any given time, all 3 behaviours.
Less on the Cheap side, but nevertheless, I am loathe to spend money on certain things (e.g. parking fees, bank fees) even though it will be more convenient for me to do so.
I am also Frugal by waiting for sales on certain things (tea, food, toilet paper) before buying and stocking up.
…and I am Minimalist because aside from clothing, I tend not to spend much money on buying things like furniture, home decor, or a roomful of toys for Baby Bun.
CAN YOU BE A MINIMALIST EVEN WITH A TON OF STUFF?
It depends.
Do you compensate in other areas, and in general live with less?
I’ll use myself as an example again — someone asked me the other day on Skype if we just moved in because my living room is completely void of stuff and furniture.
We have very little furniture (almost none!), but in sharp contrast, my wardrobe is full, wide and varied. I have 2 closets holding all my clothing, jackets, shoes and boots.
TWO. CLOSETS. FULL. OF. MY. CLOTHES.
(Case in point — my closet)
But I have only 2 , 2 tables, 2 chairs, 1 baby chair, and 2 kitchen racks for furniture in an apartment where most people would have at least a couch, an armchair, end tables, rugs, lamps, etc.
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