How to Simplify Your Life to Spend Less

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Did you know there’s actually a psychological connection between the stuff you already have and your spending? Yeah and cutting down on the excess can allow you to make better spending decisions. So today I’ve got 10 tips on how to simplify your life to spend less.

Research has shown that clutter directly affects your capacity to think clearly. And if there’s one thing you need to think clearly for its to spend less money. The clearer your brain the better your spending and the more easily you can stick to your budget.

How to Simplify Your Life to Save Money

I truly believe, the simpler your life the more affordable and rich it is. These aren’t rules for simple living but they will help you achieve a simplicity that’s both affordable and fulfilling.

1. Declutter your home

The less physical clutter you have in your home, the more clearly you’ll be able to think overall. Think about it, are you going to make better spending and investment decisions in a neutral space with clean lines and calming energy or a cluttered mess of a space bursting at the seems?

Additionally, when your house is less cluttered you’re less likely to buy home decor. Weird right? But when you draw a line in the sand and say “my home is done being decorated” then you don’t need “just one more [fill in the blank]’ to complete it.

2. Less social media

Fewer social media ads are an easy argument to limit your screen time but another benefit of simplifying your online presence is to see less of what your friends are doing.

One of the hardest things for me while we were paying off debt was watching my friends do cool things that weren’t in my budget or buy houses and cars I was patiently waiting for. So limit the profiles you actively use and the amount of time on them and you’ll save a lot of money.

3. Get out of debt

Getting out of debt isn’t just mathematically beneficial, it’s a mental and emotional weight lifted. My debt was a huge burden for me. I knew it was costing me money but the huge number was actually more overwhelming than the small amounts of interest accruing everyday.

Becoming debt free was the best decision I’ve ever made. Now instead of dwelling on a dozen student loans, I can focus my energy on investing for retirement!

4. Learn to say no

I’m the type of person who says “no” first. This has come from years of watching my people pleasing friends and family say “yes” to everything and just to end up complaining about everything.

And it’s these stressed and tired people pleasers who spend money on people who don’t really need it, then overspend on themselves because they don’t have time to cook at home or because they “deserve it.” You have every right to say no! No one is going to protect your time but you.

5. Focus on one thing

I might be good at saying “no” to others but I’m horrible at saying “no” to myself! I’ve found that when I try to work on a dozen projects at once I end up in the same spot as my people-pleasing friends.

The most efficient way to tackle a lot of projects is to focus on one thing at a time. It prevents overwhelm, burnout, and wasting money on projects that you’ll inevitably never get to.

6. Automate everything

There’s no prize in heaven for “The Person Who Did The Most Things.” If something can be automated, it should be. Heck, even if you enjoy doing it manually, you need to automate it and either do extra for fun or (better yet) find something else to enjoy.

This includes automating the payment of all your bills, retirement contributions, and savings. This even applies to your life. Automate computer backups, meal planning (Eat at Home is great for this) and common tasks in your home.

7. Use fewer budget categories

When I was working on getting my spending under control I used to have several dozen budget categories. It was difficult to keep track of them but at the time I was only focused on that that aspect of my self-development.

Now I have just a few budget categories. I still seperate out bills that change from month to month because then EveryDollar can do the math for me but when it comes to my discretionary expenses I have Restaurants, Groceries, and Fun. That’s it! Any expenses that’s not specifically planned goes into one of those categories. It makes keeping track of everything a lot easier.

8. Consolidate bank accounts

I’m all for having multiple bank accounts but you don’t need seven. I like having four. One is for regular checking and paying bills, one for our emergency fund, and one for sinking funds. The last one is for side business expenses and income making it technically optional but I think everyone should have some kind of side business so to me it’s vital.

9. Use one card

My husband and I travel hack so at any given time we could have three credit cards each. But we each carry only one card at a time and most of the expenses go on mine. We lock all the unused cards and keep them at home and cancel them before the annual fee is charged.

Even with travel hacking we try to have as few credit cards as possible so we don’t worry about people stealing our identities. And we’re still able to take free trips around the country and to my favorite all-inclusive resort in Mexico!

10. Plan a simple menu

If cooking is not your passion, don’t plan this picture perfect meal plan, buy all the groceries, then let them all go to waste while you order Taco Bell out of sheer intimidation of your meal plan.

Make your meal plan sweet and simple with affordable ingredients and you’ll find you’re more likely to follow through with it.