Do Less by Rachel Jonat Page A

multitasking through household chores you can’t put off. This works for the small and the big. Make a game of it. Challenge yourself to pack your lunch all week and put the money you save into an account marked for something special. When you finally hit your savings goal, you’ll get more value from the purchase than what it actually cost. The work you put into waiting and building anticipation for the end result actually increases the enjoyment and value of it.
Practice Abundance
    What if there was infinite money in your bank account? What if you never had to worry about a bill or mortgage payment or baseball fees or what that new furnace is going to cost? One trick to changing your mindset about money is to practice abundance. It sounds counterintuitive, but it doesn’t mean spending every penny you have or pretending your annual salary has doubled. Instead, practicing abundance means freeing yourself of worries of scarcity. Here are three ways to practice abundance:
Give your time freely. If someone you know needs help, offer assistance without any worry about it negatively impacting your own needs or commitments.
Share your possessions freely. Give your stash of baby gear that you are saving for a potential future child away to people who can use it today. Loan your second car to a friend who can’t afford to get hers fixed.
Don’t worry about future needs. This doesn’t mean not preparing for retirement or not planning who’s going to pick the kids up from swimming tomorrow. It means that those problems you imagine in the future—the ones that could or could not happen, like losing your great job or urgent and expensive home repairs—shouldn’t weigh heavily in your thoughts today. Do your best with the information at hand and the things that have actually happened or are on this week’s calendar. If that “what if” scenario does happen, you can deal with it then. Don’t bother worrying about it now.
    When you practice abundance, you not only create more calm and less stress in your life, but you also practice the law of attraction. If you want good things to happen in your life, start by doing good things for others. If you think and act as if there is an abundance in this world, there will be.
Simple Money Tools
    Being in control of your finances and spending doesn’t need to be overly complicated or time-consuming. The goal with minimalism is to have to Do Less, not more. Complicated money-management systems often create more work and stress. The intention with minimalist money tools is to give you a clear picture of your spending and help you achieve your goals. Those goals could be spending less on transportation and more on health or reducing your monthly fixed costs so you can work less. You make the goals and then use these tools to help achieve them.
Budgets Are for Everyone
    Budgeting can be fun. Really, it can. Whether you’re a big earner or make an average wage, budgeting will allow you more freedom with your finances and help you meet your goals. It doesn’t have to be complicated or boring. A lot of people feel budgets are meant to limit spending and that budgeting is really just another word for deprivation and saying no a lot. On the contrary, budgets can actually help you say yes more and also help you see that you are richer than you think.
    So let go of your preconceived notions about budgets and also let go of any failed budgeting attempts you’ve made in the past. This time will be different. This time, you’ll start with the minimalist approach: You already have all, and more, than you need.
Simplify Your Bills
    Now that you’ve let go of keeping up with the Joneses and made note of how you spend money on your needs and wants, it’s time to go minimalist with your bills. This is where the fun starts and where you start creating room in your budget for things like working less, saving more, and spending on things