View Full Version : Is minimalism only for the rich?
I have been a "minimalist" almost all of my life, never having an actual name for it until it became a hot trend a few years ago. I just liked living with less, living simple, living with just what I needed, be able to move around as I please, never really having the money to live any other way. I didn't think I was poor, I thought of myself as clever, because I found a way to live without it costing me a lot. I could spend a little money on adventures.
I recently had a friend over and she commented on my lack of stuff in my home. I told her I just like things simple, minimal. She quickly answered "Minimalism is for rich folks, because they can choose to get rid of stuff and wear their 1 pair of expensive jeans and drive fancy cars and be cool and quirky." I had to disagree. I think anyone, at any level of income, lifestyle, wherever they live can value from a simple/minimal way of life.
I know because I lived below the poverty line for many years but never felt I was poor. It meant having to live in a few scary places but I never worried about my stuff being taken or stolen because well, I didn't have much to begin with. Other than photos and my laptop, and then my pets, you could pretty much take everything else because it's just stuff. I never put emphasis on what I wore, what I drove, who I knew, what job I had. I am more Pollyanna than most but I like it like that. :) Maybe it has to do more with attitude than anything else? I was never intimidated by people who had only the best or frowned down on me because I really wasn't paying attention to them. I was having fun, living life. :)
I grew up just miles from what was considered a the "fancypants" part of CT. I lived on 3 acres out in farm country. The thing was, while others around me told me I was poor and there were indeed differences in lifestyles, just a few miles apart, I never felt that way. When I was older and on my own, I shop in the same stores as farmers or lawyers, bus drivers and bankers, teachers and engineers. I was never phased by who had what or what address you stored it all at. I remember once I was invited to a cocktail party at an estate of someone I worked with. I pulled up and they parked my 1992 Ford Escort for me...in the back of the field of the estate...that was the only time it hit me but I figured, heck I can find my car quick and no dings. :)
Nowadays, I can afford nicer things. For instance, I splurged on my birthday in August on a really nice tote and I love it. It's a well know brand that apparently, a lot of women carry but I bought it because I had one from a thrift store once that lasted 9 years. Quality vs. quantity- I gave away 3 purses and a small tote I had. I am happy with my tote. It brings me great joy and I get great usage out of it.
She noted "well you drive a new Jeep and live in a big house." Yes, I do but I still live simple and 2 years ago I was driving a 14 year old truck living in a 2 bed apartment on the other side of town. I guess my point is I don't think it matters. Minimalism/simple living can be for everyone if we learn to put away the labels, expectations, and judging of others.
It works for me because I love life too much to be trapped by things and ownership. It certainly has worked well for me for the past 22 years of my life.
What do all y'all think? Interested to hear your viewpoints. Thanks.
Minimalism/simple living can be for everyone if we learn to put away the labels, expectations, and judging of others.
It works for me because I love life too much to be trapped by things and ownership. It certainly has worked well for me for the past 22 years of my life.
I agree, GreenMama. I think about my dear MIL. She was not a "Simple Liver," she just lived her life simply. I admired her for how hard she worked, and how, on a Macy clerk salary and a widowed woman in the 60s with two children she was able to pay off her mortgage, provide well for her family, and just call that doing what you do. Now, DH has some memories of his mother's frugal ways that cost him some embarrassment in high school (like when he wanted skinny "Beatle pants" like his friends but his mother wouldn't spend the money, so she had her own mother take in a regular pair of pants, which wound up looking like jodhpurs). But he was well cared for, and there was no embarrassment in that.
I also love your quote about being trapped by things and ownership. So true.
"Minimalism is for rich folks, because they can choose to get rid of stuff and wear their 1 pair of expensive jeans and drive fancy cars and be cool and quirky."
Maybe your friend was thinking about people who may not have money, so they hoard stuff to guard against scarcity in the future. I think that's common. But I think that's more about attitude, not means. If you are fearful for your security you might keep all kinds of things just in case you need them. But there are a lot of people who don't have a lot and are fine with letting go. I could name several people on this forum, for instance.
ApatheticNoMore
10-6-14, 2:46pm
I recently had a friend over and she commented on my lack of stuff in my home. I told her I just like things simple, minimal. She quickly answered "Minimalism is for rich folks, because they can choose to get rid of stuff and wear their 1 pair of expensive jeans and drive fancy cars and be cool and quirky." I had to disagree. I think anyone, at any level of income, lifestyle, wherever they live can value from a simple/minimal way of life.
alright well I suppose one needs to dig down to find any validity in this. I mean it just sounds like stereotyping "everyone I know that's a minimalist is rich, therefore ... it's what rich people do". The validity might be if the things one buys are not just cheap but cheaply made (as so much is these days :~)) then one might need spares because stuff keeps falling apart, the jeans get holes after a few wears, you have several can openers because they keep dying etc.., you keep backup pairs of all the stuff you own, because the stuff is all cheaply made junk.
Also if one is rich one probably doesn't need to impress people as much with one's appearance etc. and so if one goes around wearing rags and it's the same rag every other day it's just whatever, whereas if one is trying to advance in say a corporate environment .... "dress for sucess" perhaps and if one is struggling economically they might have motive to advance whereas although "enough" is not popular anywhere, if one is doing okay financially it's easier to be at enough.
It meant having to live in a few scary places but I never worried about my stuff being taken or stolen because well, I didn't have much to begin with.
as a woman if I was in a scary environment it wouldn't be my stuff I would worry about either. Though I do protect my car in any environment (car theft seems to be rampant and even beaters can get stolen).
Minimalism/simple living can be for everyone if we learn to put away the labels, expectations, and judging of others.
some of the judging may be built in. Oh I'd make a perfectly good hippy, bohemianist of them all, no doubt on which side my tendencies lie. But the world is another matter. It does judge appearances. Ever seen My Fair Lady? Right? :)
Thank you for the wonderful replies.
Catherine- the jodhpurs comments has me rolling!!! :)
Apathetic- I agree, and I have been guilty, of judging people by their appearances. I do try to do my best and as I get older, I am finding it easier not to judge because frankly, I do not care. LOL
I think it came from having lost everything when I was teenager. We had to move into a very small house. The cost of land and taxes was too much for my parents. Now, understand, my parents placed importance on things but there was only so much room in that little house. My bedroom was literally a walk through from the kitchen to back bedrooms. I had to leave behind all my furniture and I only took my clothes, some books, a teddy bear, my mattresses and some pictures/posters. My parents had an auction of a lot of stuff and it was the first time I had become a "minimalist" but I didn't know it. It was so nice to be able to breathe. My parents were what you would call clean hoarders. They also smoked, so everything had a film of yellow tar to it and smelled like an ashtray all the time. I was able to paint my walls a cheery lavender and I loved sleeping on the floor, with my cat curled up on my bed. Life became so much easier for me. I took that experience with me. :)
To get back to the OP, I never saved things for someday because I was poor. I just knew I somehow would make it and be ok. Still am like that. I wonder if that event did not trigger that way of thinking? I did not have much yet I still felt safe.
I will admit that I have a romanticized view of old moneyed types, but that said:
Yes, the rich have simple lives because that is what they covet. They know that money buys them freedom. So they don't accumulate a lot of things because
1) that costs real money, and one must always preserve one's capital
2) besides, buying a lot of "stuff" is too much like the nouveau riche strivers
3) they've already got a houseful off stuff from auld dead relatives, including the house itself--the family stead never leaves the hands of family. They don't buy furniture and dinner ware and silver because there it is, in the house for the past 150 years. They don't buy a new stove because the family Aga is still going strong. Horse and sports gear is kept oiled and clean and it lasts generations if it is cared for properly. Mumsie's old Cadillac has been so well maintained that it continues to run 30 years later. etc. etc.
4) they don't buy new clothes because cashmere pieces are classic and never go out of style. Custom leather shoes last a decade, maybe more.
The difference between the rich and you/I is that they have household help to maintain all of their "stuff" so that it lasts forever. But those household staff serve another important service--they keep the family's privacy intact. They man the front door to screen for visitors, they answer the telephone. So when they aren't doing this, they are cleaning and polishing the "stuff," keeping it orderly and tidy.
I will admit that I have a romanticized view of old moneyed types, but that said:
Yes, the rich have simple lives because that is what they covet. They know that money buys them freedom. So they don't accumulate a lot of things because
1) that costs real money, and one must always preserve one's capital
2) besides, buying a lot of "stuff" is too much like the nouveau riche strivers
3) they've already got a houseful off stuff from auld dead relatives, including the house itself--the family stead never leaves the hands of family. They don't buy furniture and dinner ware and silver because there it is, in the house for the past 150 years. They don't buy a new stove because the family Aga is still going strong. Horse and sports gear is kept oiled and clean and it lasts generations if it is cared for properly. Mumsie's old Cadillac has been so well maintained that it continues to run 30 years later. etc. etc.
4) they don't buy new clothes because cashmere pieces are classic and never go out of style. Custom leather shoes last a decade, maybe more.
The difference between the rich and you/I is that they have household help to maintain all of their "stuff" so that it lasts forever. But those household staff serve another important service--they keep the family's privacy intact. They man the front door to screen for visitors, they answer the telephone. So when they aren't doing this, they are cleaning and polishing the "stuff," keeping it orderly and tidy.
Interesting, IL. What about the nouveau-riche?
iris lilies
10-7-14, 10:29am
Interesting, IL. What about the nouveau-riche?
Oh geez, I don't know. I don't read novels about them or hang out with them, but I would imagine that conspicuous consumption is a big part of that life.
Are there tv shows about the nouveau-riche? I mean other than about George Jefferson! I suppose those awful Kardashians are in a tv show about same.
SteveinMN
10-7-14, 10:39am
In thinking about this, I've concluded that for me and DW, minimalism has been a way of life for both of us for a very long time. It certainly has been a choice that has been reinforced in the past by periods of (relative) poverty. But it's a choice we've maintained even when times got much better. Neither one of us has ever longed to own a huge car with sofas for seats. We'd rather own a few good classic pieces of clothing (or jewelry or furniture) than huge flashy pieces which quickly wear out their welcome. Though we will never be candidates for tossing our wordly goods into a car and moving on with life, we lack many of the "toys" that many people we know own and/or covet. But that's OK. I'm pretty much retired now; DW will be in four years. And we'll be enjoying a life full of what we want to do while our friends are still working to cover the payments on the Acura and the fancy garage in which it sits.
To some extent, that kind of minimalism does cost money. Certainly the money to buy good-quality examples of what you do buy. We do enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing we have money in the bank for emergencies. But I don't believe minimalism is a choice available only to the rich.
I sorta get where your friend is coming from, but just sorta. There are two basic approaches to simple living: frugalism and minimalism. At the frugalist end of the spectrum (which corresponds more closely to what people think of as poverty), you never throw anything out because you never know when you might find a use for it. Minimalists will get rid of everything they can, and if they find they need something they've gotten rid of, they can just get another one. I expect that's what your friend is thinking.
Bottom line, being a minimalist is easier if you have money. But then, what isn't?
I guess maybe I just never really needed anything that I couldn't buy, within reason. I need jeans, I go buy jeans. I didn't spend money on useless items so I can afford the jeans, does that make sense?
ToomuchStuff
10-7-14, 4:07pm
I guess maybe I just never really needed anything that I couldn't buy, within reason. I need jeans, I go buy jeans. I didn't spend money on useless items so I can afford the jeans, does that make sense?
B-i-l's family, are the type that buy when they find bargains. That leads to hording. I leaned that way after nearly losing everything and becoming homeless. Now I am trying to swing the other way and realize the freedom that comes from having the money on hand for stuff you need, WHEN you need it. Maybe someday I will figure out the middle ground.
iris lily
10-7-14, 10:51pm
Timely article with this core idea:
Money is for freedom, not status.
Article here about "What the Middle Class doesn't Understand about Rich People"
http://www.businessinsider.com/middle-class-doesnt-understand-wealth-2014-10
I completely agree with the idea that the purpose of money is freedom, not status. But I think most of the rest of the article is baloney. I noted with interest in the author's blurb at the end of the story that he interviewed 1,200 millionaires. Assuming that figure is accurate, I think what he heard over and over again was what rich folks like to think about themselves rather than what's actually the case. Chief among these myths (most notably held by your born-on-third-base types, the George W. Bushes and Mitt Romneys of the world) is the belief that wealth is the result of personal virtue rather than luck. Even among self-made millionaires, I often detect a need to deny that the ability to accumulate money has a strong element of luck attached to it. Sure, they may work hard, they may sacrifice, they may take advantage of their smarts, but only because fate has allowed them to do so. People who have truly overcome great obstacles in life against all odds are, in my experience, pretty rare. People like Helen Keller come to mind, or a guy I once saw on TV who was born without arms and learned how to play the guitar with his feet.
Self-denial, frugality, and hard work are all admirable qualities. But they are just as present--maybe more so--among the poor and middle class as they are among the rich.
I will admit that I have a romanticized view of old moneyed types, but that said:
Yes, the rich have simple lives because that is what they covet. They know that money buys them freedom. So they don't accumulate a lot of things because
1) that costs real money, and one must always preserve one's capital
2) besides, buying a lot of "stuff" is too much like the nouveau riche strivers
3) they've already got a houseful off stuff from auld dead relatives, including the house itself--the family stead never leaves the hands of family. They don't buy furniture and dinner ware and silver because there it is, in the house for the past 150 years. They don't buy a new stove because the family Aga is still going strong. Horse and sports gear is kept oiled and clean and it lasts generations if it is cared for properly. Mumsie's old Cadillac has been so well maintained that it continues to run 30 years later. etc. etc.
4) they don't buy new clothes because cashmere pieces are classic and never go out of style. Custom leather shoes last a decade, maybe more.
The difference between the rich and you/I is that they have household help to maintain all of their "stuff" so that it lasts forever. But those household staff serve another important service--they keep the family's privacy intact. They man the front door to screen for visitors, they answer the telephone. So when they aren't doing this, they are cleaning and polishing the "stuff," keeping it orderly and tidy.I think that there are different kinds of minimalists (as well as different kinds of hoarders too). Like you point out above, the wealthy minimalists, those who buy the $500 shoes, don't often have the need to have multiples of everything because what they have will last forever. At the other end of the spectrum are people like me who own just a few inexpensive won't-last-very-long things but replace them on an as needed basis rather than having multiples of everything. And we generally don't buy anything just because it was on sale or even if very deeply discounted and often turn down freebies of perfectly good things just because we don't like to accumulate anything. Only buy if we absolutely need it....or want it.
The lady who has rental property next door has a shopping addiction and a hoarding addiction. Bad combo. She has tons of stuff - very little of it nice except her terrific kitchen appliances.
While she owns several properties in town, including her own $1.5million house, I recently learned everything is mortgaged to the hilt. She is 50-something and no longer works tho she is physically very fit. She lives off rental income and credit cards. Her properties all need serious repair work. Yikes!
I'm so glad I am moving out of town and won't have to watch what happens.
Sagewoman
10-26-14, 7:23pm
I no longer aspire to being a minimalist. There are several things I do that I absolutely love to do that require "stuff." Gardening is one of them. If you have extensive gardens and want to grow and process your own food, it takes a lot of stuff. I'm not looking to become totally self-sufficent or anything, but I love gardening and that means a lot of canning, freezing, etc. Processing applesauce and tomatoes for instance.
In combination with this, as I age, I have various physical glitches. Here's an example. I made lots of apple sauce and apple butter. I used a foley food mill to get rid of the seeds/cores and ended up with horrible inflammation in my hands (never again). I couldn't grip very well for a number of months after. My hands hurt all the time then. An electric can opener began to make sense, though I didn't get one.
So I bought a gadget that cores the apples. In order to freeze the apple sauce I have a foodsaver with plastic bags. To dehydrate apples, pears, and tomatoes, I have to slice them thin. Bingo, a large hopper food processor that cuts the slices thin. I cannot use a knife to slice things in quantity unless I want months of pain and healing. These are fruits and veggies I grow myself, organic. So, it ends up cheaper. But since all the fruit/veggies come in at once, a single dehydrater won't do it. I've found two at garage sales for under $20. I do use them all during harvest time. Not much spoilage of the pears. There's more than this, of course. Canning takes big stuff. Jars that you don't get rid of after use, for instance.
I also have specialized kitchen and gardening tools that help save my hands, arms, back, and knees. I do exercise, but things wear out as you age. I also have various orthotic devices prescribed to me because I am active physically. I never needed them when I was younger :(. But I'm grateful as long as I keep going. More stuff. I have lots of orthotic devices that I use daily, and as you age you may discover what I mean.
Some things we do takes stuff. I'm a person who likes to build things and DIY in addition to the gardening. The thing is, I'm very happy with it, though not with the clutter in my small space. I need a bigger house if I want to do the things I'm doing. I'm dealing with the clutter and do have a bit of a problem with keeping some things I don't need, though I've also gotten rid of lots of stuff in the past. If I was rich there are a number of things I'd get rid of, because I could buy them again if needed.
In theory I love minimalism, in practice, if I had a house with nothing in it, all the things I love to do cannot be done. A lot of people just watch tv. Or read or have active social lives or travel. Others like more solitary pursuits and like to do things that are hands on (me). These are mostly practical things. I'm in a decluttering phase again. If I had more money, I'd have a larger house that looked minimalist. But it would still have lots of stuff that I use for the things I do. When I see a Victorio strainer and more canning supplies for free, I get them. It takes up space. But I'll likely use them. Using them is fun! Storing them, ugh!
iris lily
10-26-14, 9:08pm
Sagewoman, I know what you mean. Hobbies and interest usually require equipment! DH is a farm boy and his parents had huge gardens and they butchered animals, and he has much of that equipment here in our urban city plot. His garage and basement space is packed to the gills with tools and food preparation stuff. I hate the sound of that dehydrator going for 24 hours a day day in, day out. But the canning and freezing and jam making operations, I support!
So, what in the world do you do with dehydrated apples? DH dries peaches, apricots (when he can get them) and other fruits. I'm not sure exactly what he does with the small fruits. He eats, plain, the bigger ones when they are dried.
lessisbest
10-27-14, 7:39am
iris lily-
I'll pop in here with and answer to "what in the world do you do with dehydrated apples? question. It sounds like Sagewoman and I are kindred spirits and I identified with her post above.
I dehydrate as many apples as I can get my hands on, usually for free, while there are new crop apples available. I have friends, family, and strangers who allow me free-for-the-picking apples, and I always offer them whatever they want from what I pick. They are dehydrated (I got my apple corer, peeler, slicer last year to relieve me from some of the work, like Sagewoman), and dehydrated apples are used for our #1 snack food. I just took a huge amount of them to our granddaughter at college to snack on, and she was thrilled with them. I also use them for making applesauce, mixed with other fruits for fruit leather, apple pie filling, added to homemade granola and baked goods.
Just browsing back and had to add my two cents, of course: How about this twist: being rich can allow you to become a minimalist, yes, but being a minimalist can make you rich, too. Or at least, it can make your life feel abundant and allow you to have nice things and a less hand-to-mouth-stressful life, which might make you appear rich to others. The place of less stress can be conferred by heritage or marriage or winning the lottery, but it can also be earned. Or, to clamber up on the soapbox, in a society which facilitates stressed out, hand-to-mouth people earning an adequate living, less-stress can be earned.
Sagewoman
10-27-14, 9:57pm
Irislily and LessIsBest, dehydrated apples are great snacks and I like them crunchy, so I make many of them that way. They are healthier than potato chips. One use for them is cereal. I put them in oatmeal with cinnamon. I hear that you can make things like apple crisp from them, but I've never tried. You probably need to cut them thicker and dry them a bit less for that. My brother makes fruit leather, and it's really good you can put nuts and things in it, but just the slices are enough work for me.
Over 100 gallons of apples that I preserved in one way or another last year. Probably around 150 including pears and peaches. Picked them myself, too. That's 30 five-gallon buckets. This year there were pears, but very few apples.
Tip: people are usually glad to have someone pick their apples, but you have to do it properly or you will wreck the parts that grow the apples (spurs) next season. The reason people like this is that if you just leave apples rot on the ground it can promote various diseases. So you have to demonstrate that you are a responsible apple picker and won't do things like shake the trees, which bruises the fruit. Read up on how to do it and let people you want to pick from know the details. There are some places that grow apples that invite people to come and pick them.
Apples last a long time in storage. If you pick them when they are on the green side (greener rather than yellower undertones, though varieties are different) they keep longer. Over time they develop starch and are delicious in apple sauce. Really, the sauce I made in april from some knarly looking apples that lasted the whole winter was extremely delicious. I thank the trees when they give me fruit. I am very grateful. I do put the ones that are too bad to use in a field for the critters (rather than under the tree). I eat apple sauce and dried apples and pears all the time. Never tire of them. Dried peaches are not good. Best to freeze them whole if you have too many to eat, then use them in smoothies. Pretty easy processing, but nothing matches the ripe peach.
The favorite dried fruit that I share with others are dried pears. These are amazing and just like candy. You have to pick the pears before ripening and cut them before they get too soft. Pears are best ripened off the tree unlike most other fruits. If you let them ripen on the tree they are too grainy. Ok, this is turning into a food post. I didn't mean to hijack the thread. But I love fruits and veggies, many of which I grow and preserve. It takes a lot of equipment especially if you have difficulties with arthritis/tendonitis, etc. I really don't like having all that equipment around but love the process and the results. It is hard to decide to get rid of hand corers that I can't use (because of my hands). Perhaps I need to look at that. But you rarely have too many canning jars at canning time. All the equipment is BIG, too.
iris lilies
10-27-14, 10:54pm
Irislily and LessIsBest, dehydrated apples are great snacks and I like them crunchy, so I make many of them that way. They are healthier than potato chips. One use for them is cereal. I put them in oatmeal with cinnamon. I hear that you can make things like apple crisp from them, but I've never tried. You probably need to cut them thicker and dry them a bit less for that. My brother makes fruit leather, and it's really good you can put nuts and things in it, but just the slices are enough work for me.
Sound interesting, not sure I would exert that effort but maybe I will try it when I retire.
I think I mentioned this on another hread, but DH has been making apple cider for Sundays and has made more than a dozen gallons. It's tons of work.We have several apple trees in our urban yard, of many varieties. Our tiny old Granny Smith tree is finally giving fruit after years of nothing. I think we might get 10+ apples from her! haha, not much, bit it is a dwarf tree that takes up little space.
Interesting, rich people buy one pair of very expensive slacks rather than 5 cheap pairs. Maybe because they have a washer and dryer or they can afford dry cleaning or have a maid to wash their clothes or maybe because the job they work doesn't get the pants dirty or ripped. Or maybe they inherited wealth and don't have to work at all.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/10/frugality/504428/
This piece in the Atlantic explores a lot of the issues discussed here.
No, it is not.
To be a minimalist, you don't have to sell your hundreds of D&G bags, quit your 100k$ job and become a digital nomad sleeping today in an Airbnb Appartment in Singapore and next month in a tent in southern Mongolia, owning just 20 things and living out of a bagpack.
Minimalism is about concentration on the important things. The ones that you need and the ones that bring joy in your life. And to leave all the rest behind. So it is not about how much you had before you startet a minimalistic life, it is about what you have and need as a minimalist.
Of course this is easier with a financial cushion, but if you don't have a lot of money, minimalism is even better for you. When I started, I did not have much money and my decluttering was more about selling what was possible to get some money. Even when I had only little money, I did quite a few frustration purchases. This is over since I live more minimalistic. No frustration purchases, no "must haves", no bargains just because they are cheap, you simply need less and buy less. Saved me quite a bit of money, so I had less financial trouble with the same income. I even could buy some better quality that lasts longer for things, that are really important for me.
On the other hand, minimalism is not only about money and stuff. It is about your relationships, your food, your health and how you spend your time. Nothing to to with rich or poor.
Hi TxZen! Good to be back and read another great thread by you! You mentioned an August Bday , mine is Aug 6. Anyway I totally dig what you mean by others just having interesting reactions and comments. I used to get mine from my own mom. She was a shopacholic, but after her cancer in her late 50's she got that figured out real quick, keeping up with the Joneses isnt everything. Now we are more on the same level. She was a victim of the "American Dream" in her mind she came for a better life to America, which meant shopping, shopping and more shopping. I missed the boat on that. I missed my grandparents, playing in the meadows and my childhood friends. Almost like to sound of Music imagine that. The hills are alive.......but then being minimalist you streamline your home and visually that may give the impression of being rich? My home is much more classy in its quality of things (but they are second hand!)Some people just cant figure that one out.
PastTense
11-21-16, 8:41pm
I sorta get where your friend is coming from, but just sorta. There are two basic approaches to simple living: frugalism and minimalism. At the frugalist end of the spectrum (which corresponds more closely to what people think of as poverty), you never throw anything out because you never know when you might find a use for it. Minimalists will get rid of everything they can, and if they find they need something they've gotten rid of, they can just get another one. I expect that's what your friend is thinking.
Bottom line, being a minimalist is easier if you have money. But then, what isn't?
I think this is a lot of it. Note you don't need a variety of kitchen tools and an assortment of food when you eat out all the time. You don't need a collection of hammers, saws, drills, nails, etc if you hire someone to do all your home repairs for you.
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