Men Buy, Women Shop

I have company.

In my readings and internet searching I’ve come across a couple of other like minded minimalist moms. It’s nice to know I am not alone in this endeavor.

While I have found them I will say they are the minority in this minimalist movement. The big fish in this little pond are mostly men and singletons. There are some exceptions but the female with family perspective has yet to really take hold of this idea of less stuff. I have some guesses why.

Men buy, women shop. That’s the take home from a UPenn study. Check it out for more info on how the sexes differ in their approach and wants from the shopping experience. But the statistic that nailed it for me was: Women spend $4 trillion annually and account for 83% of U.S. consumer spending.

Women are the buyers in the home. Not surprising it would be harder for us to make that transition to less stuff. This is a huge topic that I want to research more. Will have a post on it soon.

Here are three women that are saying no to more stuff:

Minimalist Moms: Faith Janes is a mother of three and battling a large house with many residents in her quest for minimalism. Excellent and easy to implement ideas on living a clutter free life on her blog.

Five months ago my husband, Shawn, and I decided to move our family of five into the same home as my parents, my grandmother, and my two remaining siblings that live at home. We are now a family of ten plus three dogs and two cats. As you might imagine, there is nothing about the beginning of my story that has to do with minimalism. Combining two households into one has been a daunting task.

The Suburban Minimalist: R.S. is a writer and mother of two in New York. I dig her writing style. Here is an excerpt from her Declaration Post:

2. Accept that there are many and various paths to living simply, sustainably, and contentedly. Minimalism is qualitative. It is not always quantitative.

3. Know that there is no single service or product that will magically improve ourselves or our lives. We celebrate that we are each unique, imperfect beings; we are who we are.

4. See thrift as a virtue and generosity as its partner.

These next two blogs are focused on simple living and finance. They don’t advocate just rice and beans until your mortgage is paid off but small change. Some great tips and success stories if you are looking to save or pay off anything.

SingleMomRichMom: this woman is 45 and can retire. No, she didn’t win the lottery. Ten years ago she was in deep debt without any savings and now she can work as much or as little as she wants. Financial and budget transparency are included.

Hopefully my experience can show you that yes, you can make a lot of progress by just sticking to the basics – don’t buy things you don’t have the money for, don’t go into debt no matter what, save some money right off the top.  This is easy stuff and really all that personal finance is about.

But also that things can happen much more quickly than you think they can if you have a goal – in my case financial independence.  And you don’t have to give up the things that you really love that cost some bucks to get there either, because I haven’t.  Just don’t love too many things.

MovetoPortugal: Laura lives in the UK and wants to move her family to Portugal in 2012. Inspiring tips on living simply and she does a monthly set of mini goals.

Whatever age you are, married, single, divorced, a parent, not a parent, it is never too late to change your life.

In 2005 I had £45,000 of consumer debt. £45,000. Now if you didn’t know this already then you probably need to pick yourself up off of the floor right now, but if you did know, then this is not a shock.  Move forward to December 2009 and it was all paid off; not easily, it was hard work, but none the less, it was all gone.

So how did I do it?  Well I wised up about money and quit overspending. I started to say no to the kids; they fought me all the way at first, but I stuck to my guns and said no to nearly everything they wanted, not needed.  I worked hard at my job, a job I hated, and got myself promoted a couple of times.  I sold nearly everything I owned and I learned to live frugally.

Those five years were the best five years of my life up until that point.  Not because I was in debt, but because I was in control of my life for the first time.

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Craigslist/selling update: we’ve made $738 so far from selling things around the home that we don’t use.

• Cloth Diapers – $205
• Baby Items – $115
• Wedding Dress – $150
• Books – $153
• Electronics – $40
• Furniture – $75

We are selling our car this month. It must happen. The insurance is up on the 28th and we don’t want to renew. Please hold me to this, internet friends.

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Have a great weekend and unplug!