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029 | The Aspiring Minimalist vs the Reluctant Frugalist

In today’s podcast we go through a discussion of the mindset differences between a ‘reluctant frugalist’ like Jonathan and an aspiring minimalist like Brad.

Podcast Episode Summary

  • The reluctant frugalist (Jonathan) vs. the mindset of the aspiring minimalist (Brad)
  • How both these mindsets are valid and strong approaches to the concept of Financial Independence
  • How do you talk to your spouse or significant other about financial independence?
  • Voicemail from Royce about how he can get his wife on board with FI?
  • You need to have a conversation with your significant other about what you want out of life and where you want to go as a team
  • The pursuit of FI can bring you closer together as it can make you wealthier and happier
  • Jonathan’s story about FI and his wife plus a story of the ‘addictive nature’ of buying stuff
  • How Jonathan changed his entire life with the pursuit of FI
  • FI as the ultimate life hack
  • You need to see the other person’s motivation and incentives when trying to persuade them
  • Being near or at FI transforms your relationships with your family and friends
  • How Brad aspires to be a minimalist and live in a hotel
  • Excerpt from Physician on Fire’s article: Minimalism vs. Frugality
  • Frugality and the scarcity mindset
  • How people outside the FI community have to deal with a cash flow scarcity mentality
  • The differences between a minimalist and a frugal person
  • How free your brain becomes when you remove the clutter from your rooms and your life
  • How Brad’s daughters are different by nature regarding minimalism and clutter
  • Would you throw out all the items in your house that you haven’t used for some set period of time? 90 days?  1 year?
  • The sharing economy has changed the value of ownership
  • Jonathan’s board game obsession and the value he gets from buying things
  • What a week in Jonathan’s FI future life looks like
  • A minimalist buys one item that fulfills multiple purposes, but is quite expensive and high quality
  • Brand names: Is there any value?
  • Can you actually find a break-even point on certain purchases?
  • The wardrobe differences between minimalists and frugal people
  • How your brain operates better when you don’t make as many decisions and avoid ‘decision fatigue’
  • A minimalist doesn’t want a lawn/yard whereas a frugal person enjoys doing it themselves
Links from the show:
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