Spartan Living – More For Less

Spartan living, living frugal, saving money, eating real food and keeping fit is the easiest way to live. A minimalist lifestyle will save you money, it’ll save you stress and it’ll allow you to be free in more ways than one.

In the western world, whether you are living in United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada or Europe, it’s very likely that you are living as a standard consumer. Most people live from pay check to pay check. They blow their hard earned cash on junk food, useless crap they don’t need and you know what they say, “The stuff you own ends up owning you”. This is why living below your means, living the minimalist way, allows you to do more with less. 

In the ancient Greece, this is exactly how Spartans used to live and thrive. You can live like a Spartan also. All you have to do is ditch all the junk that weighs you down. If you have not used something in more than a year, sell or give it away. This includes your clothes, electronic goods, magazines and anything else that takes up space in your home. Sell it on eBay or give it away.

Go through your wardrobe first, see what you have not worn for the last 1-2 years. There’s a reason why you stopped wearing that shirt or pants, get rid of it.

Time to look at your money. There is no reason to be blowing cash every month if you don’t need to. If you have a cell phone bill that’s $70 every month and you only use your phone a few times a week and rely on Wi-Fi, then slash your phone bill to $20 or less. If your monthly food bill equals to $1000, start learning how to cook and find cheap groceries. Eating out will only make you fat and sick as most of the restaurants add tonnes of sugar, rancid vegetable oils and lots of salt to make their food taste better while cutting back on quality produce.

If you were one of those who financed a car and pay $800 every month, give it back to the leasing company and buy yourself a cheap and reliable Toyota Corolla.   .

If you are paying a lot in rent but don’t need the extra space or the prime location, consider moving to a cheaper accommodation. You certainly don’t need to share a house with 5 other people, but downsizing is always good for the wallet. 

All the monthly bills that keep coming every month will eventually suffocate you if you don’t get on top of your finances. Whether it’s high rental payments, huge mortgage payments, multiple credit cards payments, car payments or an expensive subscription to a cable TV, downsizing and reducing this debt will feel like freedom. Stress is the biggest killer in the modern world, because no matter what you want to buy, there’s always a cost that follows. And if you buy it on credit, you will always have to pay much more down the track.

How to Break Free From the Corporate Slavery

Imagine this: after many years of slaving for his boss, a man wants to work for himself. The major problem is he thinks and feels that he can’t do it because he is in so much credit card debt, he’s got utility bills, rent and other financial commitments that make it almost impossible to quit his slave job. The man puts his head down and continues working his day job, feeling defeated. He puts his nose to the grinder, and remains a worker bee, feeling like he has no hope.

Now, let’s look at things differently and put it into perspective: here we have a man who desperately wants to start his own business. He feels like he was born to do it, he’s really passionate about it. He will push himself to the brink to make sure success comes his way. And at the same time, this man has the exact same financial commitments and  bills to pay just like the other man.

Now this is where it becomes very different. Our Spartan warrior is willing to do whatever it takes and go the extra mile. He gets rid of his expensive car and buys a cheap but reliable Toyota Corolla for cash. He pays off his credit cards in full and never uses them again apart from small buys online (he always pays them off in full within a couple of weeks). He cancels his cable TV and sells his huge LCD screen. He looks around his house at the stuff he hasn’t used in over a year and sells it on eBay. What he couldn’t sell, he gives it away or trashes it. Hoarding things creates stagnation and traps you down. He sells his huge house and moves into a cheap flat where he pays rent. Our man also starts making his own meals which saves him a several hundred dollars a month. 

Our spartan warrior channels all his focus and energy into building his own business. All the latest toys and smart phones don’t cloud his judgement, he doesn’t want the latest iPhone, he knows it’s a waste of money. Initially, all the sacrifices he makes seem hard, but as time goes on, his business is now a success. Within 5 years this man can comfortably retire and passively manage his business being anywhere in the world. His business takes care of itself, and our Spartan warrior is a liberated man. The other man who was not willing to change and was too afraid to quit his job is still working the job he hates. He slaves away 5 days a week and can’t wait until the weekend. He is still buying the same useless consumer items, living an existence that makes him bitter and regretful.  

Don’t get me wrong, I know how hard to leave a steady job knowing you have bills to pay every month which only keep rising and rising. But imagine how much harder it is to be stuck working a job you hate for the next 50 years until you are old and frail? Imagine being stuck in that grey office cubicle being surrounded by people you have no interest in spending 8-9 hours a day, just to get a pay check? That’s misery 101.

Get rid of those unnecessary high bills and downsize. This will make it easy for you to plan and create your ultimate life. 

“The things you own, end up owning you”, a great quote from the film “Fight club“. Don’t be a corporate consumerist slave, be a Spartan Bad Ass who does more with less.

KISS, keep it simple stupid. 

Your friend,

Alex

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