I’ve been trying to cut back on things recently and really hone in on this whole minimalism thing but just take a look at that tatty t-shirt in the picture on the right. I have plenty of t-shirts and really don’t need to hold onto this anymore…. The problem is it holds sentimental value. As far as I can see sentimentalism is definitely one of the biggest roadblocks getting in my way on my journey to complete minimalism!

Remember Children Can Burn Too!

Yep “Remember Children Can Burn Too”, that is what it says on the shirt. It’s a shirt that I got about 10 years ago now. My best friend at the time was friends with the guitarist from the now disbanded punk band named 3DB’s down. I grabbed this shirt at one of their shows and from that perspective it holds a good memory with my best friend. My best friend Joe passed away a year or two after that.

The shirt is also partly responsible for my current partner and I having an excuse for a quick meeting in London shortly after we had originally met in Montreal. I had met her whilst on vacation in Montreal, Canada and we got along really well. Anyway I ended up sleeping over at her place one evening and I left my blue shirt there. By chance she was passing through Heathrow airport a few months later and managed to grab a 2 hour lunch with her and got the shirt back…. This helped our early relationship blossom.

What do I lose if I throw the shirt away or give it away?

In reality I lose nothing, the shirt is nearly dead and I normally just wear it around the house now. It would free up space in my cupboard (of course collectively with other stuff I need to get rid off) and I should not miss it but…..

Sentiment isn’t reasonable…..

Rationalism is something often positioned in total opposite to emotion. Being sentimental is an emotional response that is pretty devoid of rationalism, so it’s a completely messed up circle that can’t be explained completely, at least not with rational thought!

What do I “ideally” think…

One of the biggest steps to becoming a minimalist is to reduce your belongings down to the bare essentials. Literally looking at each item and deciding if it has a use in your life. Sentimental items need extra will power to disband of and a true minimalist has often found a way to deal with losing such things or limiting to just a few.

I completely believe a minimal lifestyle for reducing stress, improving finances and giving freedom and mobility. I also think it clears the mind and allows you to focus on important tasks bringing a more full life.

Ideally I believe most sentimental items can be discarded (sold, given away, recycled). If really needed it’s not hard to take a photograph, write a journal entry or somehow document the loss of the item.

What do you think I should do with the Shirt?

Of course the shirt is just one shared item here, I have a few more blocking my way. I am interested in how you deal with such things and what you would do with this specific item as well as general sentimental items.

Help me, what should I do…..

First off sorry I have not been very social in the last week or two. I am off to Sweden tomorrow for two weeks and as always, taking a 2 week break ensures 2 weeks of stress prior. Mostly due to clients suddenly needing jobs completed (I love you all really!) and various other things that just needed to get done.

I was also supposed to be doing the Yakezie carnival this week but due to the last week I have just been too busy . I can’t extend my gratitude enough to Kevin at Invest it Wisely for filling in for me. He did an awesome job and there are some great posts there this week, so check it out: Wisdom Distilled From The Top: A Yakezie Carnival

While I am gone I hope to actually post a few times and I have at least one guest post coming so the blog should be back alive again if all goes well.

Why am I going to Sweden when I have no money?

I don’t have a lot of cash right now and still have not established an emergency fund or any savings. However my partner has been going crazy (harder to be a woman in Egypt) and she just needs a break from Cairo and Egypt…. So she offered to pay for my ticket and I agreed as long as we keep the vacation frugal….. Frugal and Sweden don’t really match up in my mind so it’s going to be interesting.

I’m not totally short of cash though, it’s more cash flow. Shortly after I get back from Sweden the flow will all be coming together as I will be receiving a large bank deposit for my online work and many client jobs will be at the invoicing stage…. I am pretty excited about this as it means I will be filling up my $1k emergency fund and hopefully some extra by the beggining of August.

In some ways I regret going on vacation now but my partner can’t do any other time. Do you think I have made a bad decision?

How I will keep spending low in Sweden

I have to keep spending low whilst away. My last experience of visiting a Scandinavian country was Denmark which is a short bridge away from Sweden. The prices there were ridiculous with beer being around $15 each.

So first off I plan to drink very little alcohol. Also I hear the supermarket prices are reasonable. Luckily we will staying with a friend the whole time, partially in Stockholm and partially in her Summer House in the boonies somewhere! This gives us the opportinity to home cook and take food with us to places to avoid high priced eating out….. To be honest I think this will be our main expense as most museums and art places in Sweden are free (government funded).

We will also be going to the last day of the Peace and Love festival though and the ticket for the day was an astounding $120!!! I have not seen a live music festival for years though so I cannot wait and I don’t even know who is playing! I will try hard to keep costs as low as possible on this day by bringing food and water.

What tips do you have for me?

As always I would love to know what tips you have for me to save some cash and if you have ever been to Sweden?

Thanks.

I am living in Egypt and am having to deal with a visit to Sweden in a few days…. Not a cheap place. So I wanted to take a look at the cheapest countries, 2010 to see where my money would have been better spent….

This exercise is not just to make myself feel sick at the prices in Sweden but also important because I am thinking of moving to a new country next year. Moving to another country in retirement or just because your job is portable (online or by phone, or you are on a grant for research or writing as examples) is a great way to save a ton of cash, be inspired and generally live a better life.

You may also be interested in the article we have on the cheapest cities to live, 2010.

Egypt

I already live in Egypt but not at the cheapest that I can. From my travels it seems that I could live almost as comfortably on under half the price (first need to move from the expat area). It’s possible to find good quality hostel/hotel’s down in Luxor for less than $5 per night. You can also eat for next to nothing per day with a meal in a local restaurant available often for less than $1. Internet is about the same price as USA but if you can find a decent cafe or are staying in a hostel you can normally get reasonable free wifi. Some of the coastal towns like Dahab or even more Egyptian places can give you a life of paradise at dirt cheap prices…. I love Egypt for this.

India

Like Egypt India sounds like it is possible to spend a lot of money but in similar respects if you stay off the beaten path things get cheap very quickly with many travelers reporting living for around $3-$5 per day.

Thailand

I don’t think Thailand is the cheapest these days but it can be luxurious. $20-$30 a day can get you around for the most part and luxury is easy to find at much more affordable prices than USA.

Other places

Now these are some of the popular destinations, all full of tourist attractions but for the quiet life you could find many places in South America, including Brazil and Argentina. Sadly Greece just had a collapse but it may be the best time to get in there quick and also Pakistan, China and maybe even New Zealand are other destinations to consider right now. Also remember Iceland went bankrupt and could be an excellent place to look at…

Forbes, cheapest countries in 2009

Forbes published an article featuring some of the cheapest countries in 2009 to see in the recession. According to their list based on dollar growth the 15 cheapest countries were:

• Zambia
• Fiji
• Czech Republic
• Chili
• Romania
• Iceland
• Jamaica
• Norway (I’m not sure about this one!!! I hear it’s darn expensive in all of Northern Europe)
• Russia
• United Kingdom (Definitely NOT!)
• Brazil
• Columbia
• Poland
• Sweden (Errr, I don’t think so!)
• Hungary

I really think Forbes should have looked at a bit more here but much of their list make sense.

Your experience and further discussion for the cheapest countries, 2010?

I want to know what you know or have heard. Leave a comment and let us know of take a hike over to our forum and start discussing it here: Frugal Zeitgeist Forum, Cheapest Countries, 2010.

Thanks for your time and don’t hesitate to ask any questions.

As I am trying to be a minimalist I am struggling with how long to keep financial records. Ideally I would not keep any but it’s not that easy and sadly you have to keep the records for a number for reasons…. Often no1 being dreaded Tax!

I was always told…. “Keep everything for 5 years”, then I heard “It’s ok to just keep everything for 1 year these days”…. But I am not sure how accurate this hearsay is so I went looking.

This awesome article on Ask Yahoo has some good sense answers.

You can get more details from Yahoo’s article but here are the basics that they advised:

Taxes – Keep them ideally for 7 years.
IRA contributions - Keep them forever
Retirement/Savings plan statements – 1 year or forever.
Bank records – One year to forever
Brokerage statements – during the period of ownership
Bills - 1 year or forever
Credit card receipts and statements – 45 days or 7 years if related to your taxes
Paycheck stubs – Until you receive your w2
House records and receipts – At least 6 years or forever.

What about Paperless financial records?

One thing I could not find was information on how long to keep financial records when you are paperless. My bank and most statements are all online now and I think the institutions only keep the records available to you for 3-5 years on average.

I assume the best thing to do here is print out important records and store them in your filing system. Sadly this defeats the purpose so before doing so I think it is best to check with the company and see if they will be available online for an appropriate amount of time.

Alternatively you could actually download PDF files of your statements once a month and store them digitally at no real cost to space. This way they will be able to be stored forever and you will be able to print them on demand.

Please let me know if you have any different information to this or if you feel I have any of the details wrong.

Today we’re posting a guest article from 21st Century Insurance that explains how to shop for car insurance and put some extra money in your pocket. 21st Century is dedicated to providing superior coverage and service, while saving you money on your auto insurance.

These days, we all could use a little extra cash in our pockets. So it’s only smart to look for ways to tighten your budget. One of the easiest ways to do that is to shop for auto insurance. It’s easy…it doesn’t take a lot of time…there’s no obligation…and you can save hundreds of dollars a year! Just follow these steps.

Step #1: Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples.

If you want to accurately compare auto insurance quotes, you need accurate information. So make sure you have the following information available before you start your quote.

* Your Current Insurance Declarations Page

– By matching your current deductibles and auto coverage limits you can be sure you’re getting the same protection.

* Vehicle Information

– Year make model and VIN

– Annual miles and distance to work

– Value of any custom or after-market equipment

– Type of alarm or theft recovery device

* Driver Information (For each household member old enough to drive)

– Drivers name, occupation, gender, number of years licensed, and Driver’s License number.

– Any accidents or violation in the past 3 years including dates, who was at fault, if someone was injured and the claim amount.

Step #2: Make sure you get more than one auto quote.

Car insurance rates vary by hundreds of dollars from one auto insurance company to the next. So if you’re only getting one quote to compare with your current policy, you may be missing out on a better deal. Get at least three quotes to be sure you’re getting a fair price.

Some website aggregates will give you an opportunity to get several quotes from a limited number of companies. But you’re better off doing it yourself. The service you get shopping is a good indicator of what you can expect if you purchase a policy.

Step #3: Don’t just pick the lowest price.

Price is important but it isn’t everything. Find out what you’re getting, what’s covered and what isn’t before you switch your policy.

– Get your quote in writing and confirm the accuracy of each vehicle and driver you are insuring.

– Make sure your deductibles and coverage limits match your current policy.

– Ask about special features, such as Emergency Roadside Assistance.

– Find out if there are additional membership or broker fees.

– Are repairs guaranteed for as long as you own your car?

– What kind of payment options are available?

So you want to know what are the cheapest cities to live, 2010? There is no clear cut answer to that as there are too many factors depending on your needs, how much money you will be earning (money is relative) and exchange rates and such things.

You may also be interested in our article Cheapest Country 2010.

Things are quite strange right now. At the time of writing Greece has just had a huge crash and the Euro is at it’s lowest against the Dollar ever (if I have my facts right?). This in theory makes USA as a whole more expensive or Europe cheaper, depending on how you look at it?

South America is still relatively cheap compared to USA but many worry about safety and you also have growing economies and cheap costs of living across continents such as India and Africa. Depending on your needs there are many cities across the globe that may well meet your budget and required conditions.

Cheapest cities in USA, 2010

Let’s start with USA. Much of USA is going through problems right now due to climbing out of recession. The stock market is threatening to fully recover but keeps having blips (partly due to Europe’s troubles) and some industries such as the automobile industry are crumbling in a lot of ways. So looking at cities you ought to judge how well the job market is for your profession. If you are retired or have an telemarketing / online income then great, the world is your Oyster and you are literally looking for the lowest costs vs things to do and safety.

Consider Cities in Texas – I have never been to Texas but from much of what I have found out and been told it is one of the best States to get a good bang for your buck vs available amenities and relative safety. The weather is a handful at times but the job market is ok compared to some states and the large cities like Houston are great places to settle. For more information on Texas, see my article Cheapest Places to Live: Texas.

Other US States / Cities – Obviously the bright lights of New York are not a good place to start. If you get a big money job only available to you in NY, NY then theoretically it could be the cheapest city for you but this is unlikely for most of us. New York State does have some cheaper cities such as Buffalo but I don’t rate the city much and places like Plattsburgh, NY are dreadful depressing places. Personally I think it’s better to stick to the mid and Southern states but hunt around the mid sized city that still retain a degree of community and maybe even a college. College towns tend to offer a lot of cheap activities, cheap housing is in abundance and they are normally fairly safe…. Again many Texan cities fit this bill but you can find more info in my articles Cheapest State to Live in and Cheapest Places To Live In America.

What about Europe?

Europe is such a vast space but much of it shares the Euro (Greece may drop it) and it’s not too far off being equal to the Dollar right now making many places affordable for anyone who can telecommute or works online. You may have Visa things to sort out (can’t help too much here!) but you may even be able to land a local job as many countries in Europe have large English Speaking Industries and Multi-National companies.

Berlin – I have personally been looking at Berlin as a possible place to live. It’s a city full of arts and culture but many people cite it as one of the most affordable cities of this caliber in the whole of Europe. Reports say you can live on around $1000 per month (per person) but have a fairly full life.

Let’s talk about Egypt, as I am here….

I live in Cairo and it’s a big dusty, polluted city with everything to offer. Very cheap living is possible here and there are quite a few jobs in International companies available but…. If I was completely free here in Egypt maybe I would not live in Cairo (My partner is attending University in Cairo).

Alexandria – A few hours North of Cairo by train lies Alexandria. It’s at the tip of the Nile Delta on the Mediterranean and is a favorite Tourist destination for Cairennes. The pollution is far less and I am told some very nice and affordable apartments are to be had. Top class sea food restaurants, amazing historical sites and modern wonders like the Great Library make this a pleasant place to be. There are also plenty of bars, restaurants of all sorts and things to do. Egypt isn’t for everyone but it is darn affordable!

The rest of Africa, India and beyond

You can find affordable cities in every region of the world. I hear Auckland in New Zealand is pretty reasonable ($1000 per month should see you good) and obviously many places in India, China and African countries give Western amenities, plenty of history and culture to be marveled at on a budget!

Help us improve the info here…..

There is no better advice than first hand advice so please please contribute to this articles discussion either by commenting below or visiting our forum and giving your 2 cents…. “Cheapest Cities to Live, 2010”

Thanks for reading!

I try to be as frugal (but sensible) as possible in general. When I first started I had this way of life I would just buy the cheapest item possible and although in the short term this saved money, cheap things often last less time so long term can cost more. So I learned that lesson fast and now a mixture of quality and price dominate my purchase decisions.

Considering these things may make you a good frugalist, especially as you become really good at seeking out cheap items with good quality but cheaper items often come at a higher price to the human(s) producing them on the other end. This is the case with more expensive items too but it’s more evident with the cheap items often due to the country of origin.

Do you consider the story behind the object?

Just take a look at the label in the shirt you are wearing…. Right now, find it and take a look!

My shirt says 100% Linen, Made in India….. What is the story behind this shirt?

Well my part of the story is that I purchased this shirt from Gap in the UK about 10 years ago now. It’s a blue cotton shirt that it still doing really well. It’s faded but I like that and it makes me feel like the weathered old expat that I am in this sandy city. I love this shirt but someone may have suffered so that I could purchase this at an affordable price. I believe I paid about 20GBP, which is not the cheapest but much cheaper than going to a taylor and getting a shirt made where I could trace the whole story back to the cotton.

I know this shirt was made by Gap and according to Knowmore.org Gap have had a number of Human Rights violations and fair trade violations with one of the most recent ones being in 2007:

“In October 2007, Indian authorities raided factories in New Dehli that produce clothing for The Gap. They found children as young as 10 who were sold to the factories by their families, sewing garments for The Gap’s children’s apparel line. The Gap says the clothes produced at these factories will not be sold in the U.S. and it has ended its contract with the factories. Though The Gap does employ monitors to oversee its factories, there are only 90 monitors for 2,000 factories. Source: ABC7 News, Oct. 29, 2007“

Knowing that this shirt could have easily been made by an exploited 10 year old puts a big invisible stain over one of my favorite shirts…. This stain won’t come out in the wash sadly!

Now with clothes in general any item in any price range from Houte Couture items to $2 bargain shirts could have all been created in these terrible conditions. However there are some ethical companies and they are more likely to be in the mid-high price range but for moral reasons, in my eyes at least, it may be worth us thinking about purchasing from them a little more.

Clothing is an obvious target and although many of us consider it mildly when purchasing there are other aspects of our life that are never thought about. Think about pretty much EVERY item in the $1 store. Most of it comes from cheap factories in countries like China where regulation over factories is very low. It may be worth considering an American made (although great conditions are not always guaranteed here either!) Tupperware item at a higher cost for moral reasons.

How can higher priced moral purchases actually save you cash?

I still make immoral purchases, I must make that clear! Sometimes I do choose price over morals and often I just don’t consider the purchase enough…. I am a learner.

However I am slowly getting more knowledge and more considerate and I actually believe my informed ethical purchases often save me cash.

• Companies that try hard to make ethical and moral conditions for their workers often work hard to produce higher quality items. These items will likely outlast any cheap alternative!
• Researching purchases often leads to owning less stuff. Impulse purchases that probably never get used are sitting in everyone’s kitchen cupboard, wardrobe, garage…. Someone may have suffered for something you never use!
• The more we as consumers make the ethical choice the more the big companies will be forced to create better conditions. For example Fair Trade coffee (although not a perfect system) is now available at a price that is affordable to most. Many years ago this was just for the rich! Financial Samurai talked about the power of bloggers in his recent post “Personal Finance Bloggers Cause US Retail Sales To Plunge” and I believe this concept goes for all things. Let’s purchase well and write about it too!

But these poor factory workers need their jobs!!!!

I’ve talked about this briefly before. The reasoning of some people not to change their purchasing decisions is based on the idea that by not buying up a ton of cheap crap you will eventually cause the bad factories to close and these people with bad jobs will end up with no job at all!

I have been thinking about this a lot and here is my (current, but ever changing) take on it.

This blog is mainly aimed at USA (and UK) readers so I am trying to at least change one person’s thoughts a miniscule amount. Even if USA stops buying all the crap from China there are plenty of other countries to keep buying the crap in the short term…. However it may make the room for a few well meaning factories to open, even in China, India, Taiwan, where ever!) and help to create better conditions at least for products in USA.

Things may cost more money but hopefully more things will be home produced too cutting down on transport costs and strengthening the home economy.

What do you think, what have I missed?

This is very much a ramble post! I believe frugality comes with great responsibility and if you are rich it adds even more responsibility to our fellow man (I know I sound like one of those darn socialists people are so scared of!!!)

I want to know what your opinion on the matter is (for or against) and what you have been doing to make informed purchases. I know many of you chose organic and local now when possible so please let me know more about it.

Thanks a million for reading, you guys rock

Continue the discussion by leaving a comment or posting on the Frugal Zeitgeist Forum “Ideas and Thoughts for Making Ethical Purchases“

So now the USA have beat England (see the New York Post Image in this post) I am sure the whole of USA will finally be woken up to Football (yes I know you call it Soccer!!) and will be watching the World Cup. Like watching American Football or Hockey the games can get a little intense and such things as money kind of fall by the way side as you end up in a pit of parties, alcohol and junk foods watching game by game….. For many soccer football fans this is a way of life but for us normal folks it only happens during major tournaments.

For me it’s important that I don’t let the highs and lows of the World Cup break my frugal budget by too much. I will be going to more house parties and bar evenings than usual but I will be keeping a big eye on my wallet and will try and not get too drunk (unless England win!!!) through the process.

In this post I am going to talk about the situations you may find yourself in following the World Cup and how you can stay frugal.

Watching football games in the bar

This is the most common place to watch your team steam on to victory or fail to deliver. Either situation can incur a ton of unthoughtful drinking during the game and after (either through joy or depression).

• Set an amount of pints/bottles and stick to it
• Drink a glass of water in between each alcoholic drink to spread your allocated amount
• Be the designated driver and don’t drink, some bars even offer free soft drinks for this these days
• Take cash and no debit/credit cards with you
• Eat very well at home before you leave to save on bar snacks and drunken junk food binges after
• Tell your friends you are on a budget so they don’t talk you into spending more
• If anyone owes you drinks, call in the favors!!

Hosting the match at home

If you have a good television, comfortable couches and a few interested friends then why not host some of the matches at home? Just be careful not to be too good of a host.

• Make it a potluck so everyone is asked to bring food and drink
• Tell people to bring their own alcohol
• Make frugal choices for party food, homemade pasta, curries or chilli always work
• Resist the urge to order pizza, just make it at home if really needed!

Going to watch the match at a friends house

I love watching football at a friend’s house. I normally meet some new peoples, have a few drinks, pig out of some nice food and generally it is the most frugal way to socially watch a game.

• Bring your own drinks and keep them close, drunk people can intentionally or unintentionally take yours but whatever it ends up costing you!
• Make a large bowl of pasta or cheap party food to bring rather than grabbing pre-made or pizza
• Resist the urge to hit the bar after with other guests (this is often very hard!!)
• Don’t bring any alcohol, just bring some soft drinks and do not drink!

Watching the game alone at home

You may not have anybody who is interested in watching the games with you so you will be stuck at home to watch it. I have found myself ordering out and drinking way more beer than I normally would through the intensity of a game. My best advice is to simply not drink and pre-cook lots of food at home!

Supporting your team through merchandise and other things!

One thing business love about the World Cup is the ability to use the collective emotions of the people to sell stuff to use that we do not need! I am not in USA right now but even in Egypt (who are not even in the cup this year) every establishment has a world cup themed item to sell you. I imagine USA is riding high on this right now!

• Do not buy the team shirt! These shirts are expensive and you should get a much better deal on a polo shirt or team training shirt if you really need to show your teams colors!
• Avoid tacky car ornaments and other cheap plastic crap…. Really will you be happy with the purchase once the cup is over?
• Do not bet on your team! Betting in a cup is even more emotionally charged than normal and I don’t recommend wasting money on a bet any day of the week. I’m not against a low cost office sweep stake for fun but just ovoid going to the betting office for each match. The money is far better going to your savings and earning long term.

Just keep your head straight and enjoy the ride, the Football World Cup is a magical time but doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

I would love to know what you are doing to watch the games and who you are supporting and following…… Come on England .

In my recent post “Does A Minimalist Lifestyle Breed Laziness?” it was brought up in the comments that minimalism can also be a form of activism. I agree with this somewhat and some of my minimal choices are due to the eco-friendly aspects or the point of not using products from a certain company.

How is minimalism activism?

The basics of minimalism is generally using and having as little as possible. Often along with this mindset you end up going much more natural, ideally growing your own food, using natural products and getting away from mass consumerism.

The detachment from mass consumerism is the important element here. Every time you drink (tap) water as opposed to a Coca Cola you are giving less money to the Coca Cola corporation.

Every time you eat a vegetable from your own garden or a local source you are giving less money to corporations such as Dole and Monsanto.

Every time you buy a second hand shirt or take a hand me down as opposed to a new one you are possibly stopping one less shirt from being made in a sweat shop style factory.

These are all small things but actions can add up. Save a penny a day and you will have over $3 at the end of the year….. If a movement to save pennies took steam millions and millions of dollars would be saved each year…. This is the way for all actions.

As a minimalist you have the opportunity to boycott things from corporations and people you do not ethically support. The act of learning a minimalist lifestyle will also ensure you learn to live a good life without them too.

Why would you oppose the capitalist system with minimalism?

I am sure many of you readers are pro-capitalist. I am personally stuck in a world in between. I love the ideals of pure socialism but understand that it will never work. Capitalism works in many ways but far too many people suffer. I love my apple mac, I even love Coca Cola (but try hard to stay away from it) and understand that capitalism is the only reason the green movement has managed to get such a wide audience these days! Even minimalism is being taken advantage of by capitalist regimes!

For us to have our cheap shirts, cola, burgers and even our expensive items people on the other end often suffer in grueling low paid work and unfair systems. if you want to go extreme you could say we all have blood on our hands! Sometimes we even suffer ourselves. Monsanto and friends are filling our food with hormones, tying farmers into deals that will never allow them to produce goods free of monsanto again and generally taking over our food industry all with the approval of the free trade capital system…. We are harmed by this even if we detach from the system…. The bad hormones and chemicals that make fruit cheap will make their way to us via water and other ways in the end.

….. What about the other side of the fence?

It’s important to look at all aspects. If we was to all somehow stop buying Dole bananas then it could be said that the poor souls who farm them in South America would suddenly be out of a job. They need that job to survive even though it barely gives them enough to live and they suffer atrocious human rights abuses. This is just one example but the point is if we all left the system and started fending for ourselves many people could also suffer…. Our own economies would likely collapse too to some degree.

I stand more firmly on the side of disliking what the corporations do so even though these thoughts weigh in I tend to steer on the belief that it’s good to let the corporations come falling down and let small business and local initiative rise from the ashes…. A dream that may never be realised!!

So how can we use minimalism to protest and does it matter anyway?

I think protest is important, even if you are silently doing it and you feel your small voice will not make a difference, it will make a difference to your life, your mental being and people around you. If enough people are also doing it then slowly the influence will spread.

I don’t acquire objects mainly because I hate things going to the landfill, why even recycle when we can just reuse? I also dislike the conditions many objects are made in.

I have stopped buying from many companies when I can help it such as Coca Cola, Nestle and other careless corporations. I try and buy from smaller more trustworthy local sources and believe that fueling the local economy helps you maintain activism and minimalism as well as putting more money in people’s pockets and not in corporate bank accounts.

“Knowmore.org is an excellent site to help you gauge the ethical status of a particular company”

By using less items in general it helps me focus on good things in life and I hope eventually it will free time for me to actually help organizations and charitable causes that I care about.

So yes I think minimalism is a suitable form of protest, now what do you think?

Last week I finally gave in to a long term desire and purchased a shiny new, but basic, classical guitar.

I look at my guitar and I see it needs playing, while my wallet gently weeps….

The back story and decision to purchase….

I have owned guitars in the past, at one point I had 3, a steel stringed acoustic, a electric Fender Stratocaster and a cheap encore electric bass, despite this I have always been an awful guitar player. I didn’t practice enough and when it came to my time to leave the UK I sold them off (actually the acoustic never sold so it lives, in England).

My life is much more simplified now and I actually think I have more time so the desire for a non-computer based hobby has been nagging at me. Picking up the guitar again felt like a good idea but it’s extremely expensive to have my guitar shipped over.

So I started looking around a few music shops, gauging price here, quality and working out what I needed. As I have not picked up the axe for over 3 years I felt Beginner suited my just fine.

I found a very well priced beginner classical guitar (the cheapest kind of guitar) in a small locally owned music shop near my home but it took me at least 4 months of umming and arring until I finally made the purchase.

Why so long? Did I make a good purchase?

I wasn’t absolutely sure that I would be staying in Cairo for the next year due to waiting on news of a scholarship for my partner’s studies. She got the scholarship about a month ago and it cemented that we would be in Cairo for another year.

I am so anal about aquiring now objects these days that that was a big factor. I also am a heavy questioner of any object purchase and even now I am edgy that I made the right purchase.

For a second in the store I almost lost it and purchased the expensive looking Yamaha classical, luckily I kept with the adequate beginner model…

The guitar cost 300 Egyptian Pounds and I had to get an electric tuner which was an additional 90 Egyptian Pounds. In USA $ that works out approx $69 at time of writing… The question I had to cover is related to usage.

Could I really justify $70 of lost money that could go to debt or savings? Will I even use the guitar? Is it possible it will save me money?

I *think* the answers to all those questions is yes. I have been using the guitar daily for the last week and have learned 2 songs. I seem to be picking things up quicker than before and I am really enjoying the relaxation time. My hope is that I will choose guitar playing over popping out to a cafe, a meal or even a beer enough times to save more than the $70 purchase.

Being responsible for my purchase…

I never used to be like this. Many years ago I would have just grabbed a guitar if I wanted one. I may even have used my overdraft, knowing that wages were coming in a few days. Being so anal over every purchase actually gives me a good standing now and responsibility to prove to myself that I will be using the purchase. Hopefully This means I may will actually learn more than just 5 simple songs this time…. Who knows I may even record a song and post on this blog one say like Sam from Financial Samurai did here: Where Did All The Time Go?

Are there any other bloggers/readers who have put music online for us to hear? If so let me know, I would love to hear it

Why did I tell you all this? – I want to know what you think….

I thought it would be interesting to let you know the mindset I apply when making a purchase and I hope it spurs you to leave a comment below and let me know how you deal with purchases, if you think I am OTT, what purchases you have recently made and anything else you want to say.

….. What songs have I learned?

I know you only read down this far as you are burning to know what songs I have learned so far

Well the first is a pretty easy one by one of my favorite bands ever. I love almost every song they have ever produced!

Where is My Mind by The Pixies.

The next isn’t quite learned yet, my timing is off, but it’s Johnny Cash’s excellent version of Nine Inch Nails Hurt. This song is depressingly brilliant.