Voluntary Simplicity

I have thought of it a hundred times, maybe a thousand times, I have told my husband about it several times, I have uttered about it to my mom a few times, I have chatted with friends and mentioned to them many times, but it is only now, amidst this trial, that I have finally put my deepest and innermost intention into action.

I have now decided and committed to live a simple life. And I am actually doing it.

My desire to live a simple life initially came up with my intention to save up. I guess all of us would like to save up for various reasons, for me, it is more of future stability, of being able to buy my needs(and wants), of having the resources to travel and enjoy, but the thing is, because of many temptations around us and my lack of discipline, I was not, even up to this point, able to save up, yes, you have read it right, at 30, turning 31 in barely a month, I don't have a savings and the "more sad" reality is I have debts.

Well, to be fair, I "used" to have a few savings and I "used" to be debt-free but things happened, and I don't want to deal into details, I am now at this stage where I have no more savings and I have debts, and I just need to do something before it gets too late.

To my friends (there are only 4 dear friends who read my blog, thank you, pls don't tell this to others;)) who are reading this, don't worry, the situation is not as bad, it is manageable and I am able to pay my debts twice a month through salary deduction, in 6 years, I am totally debt-free. ;) So that part is being taken cared of.

Now, the more challenging part is to start saving up. Well, before I can start saving up, I have to live a simple life first(not that I live lavishly) but I have to take note of how much I earn and list where should the money go, I have this list of monthly expenses, that list is untouchable because of its nature, a big chunk of my salary goes to family support, food, transportation, charity and tithing.

I learned from a few financial literacy seminars/talks that I have attended and investments books that I have read, when budgetting, the very first that you have to consider is the savings(and tithes) and then, after taking out the portion for the savings(and tithes), you will have to live with what's left, and not the other way around. In my case, I am very guilty of this "other way around." Initially and ideally, one can start setting aside 20% for savings (divided into 2, 10% for investment, 10% for emergency fund, this is another topic:)), 10% for tithes and 70% for expenses.

I know the basics, I just need to apply them consciously and deliberately.

As you know, I am still struggling with a very big trial in my life right now, at this point, I am trying my very best to focus on God's promise rather than the problem. Because of this trial, I was able to realize a lot of things and those realizations are helping me to become a better person, I was able to accomplish a lot of "things-to-do" which for years have remained untouched, my faith has deepened (this is an understatement), God's plan for my life is bit by bit being revealed, and the list goes on. Trials, I believe, are blessings-in-disguise. Aside from the many positive things that turned out because of this trial, another good thing that happened to me is I literally lost my appetite for spending/shopping. ;) I'm sure, some of you might be able to relate with me, when I have a problem, I don't have an appetite to eat(I lost a few pounds:)), to go out of the house, to spend/shop, I literally don't have the appetite to do anything, at the onset, I would just like to stay at my room and be alone for days. But after a few days or weeks, I will realize that life has to go on, God has better plans for me, He will make all things beautiful in His time, and I will start "living" again. Well, this is another story, I will go back to my real topic, saving up. Because of my lost appetite for spending/shopping, I have finally decided not to use my credit cards, I left them at home since May, I don't go to malls to shop, I just go there to eat and watch movie with my family and friends. Now it will not be too much of a challenge for me not to spend. Even if I have an extra cash on hand to buy something for myself, I end up going home empty-handed because I just don't have that appetite to buy, I plan and I commit to make it as my "lifelong" lifestyle, this is what I call "Voluntary Simplicity."

I got this term from the book that I bought in May, in preparation(and as an inspiration) for my simple living, I bought this book "Not buying It, My Year Without Shopping" by Judith Levine. It was the last copy so I was able to get it at a discounted price, less 20%. As of this writing, I have read barely half of the book but I have already started not buying bags, shoes, clothes for almost 4months (that's an achievement for me:)) and I intend not to buy these top 3 weaknesses for more months and "not buying it" is not just a book title for me, but my personal way of life.