Minimalism with Money - How to get out of debt quick and easy!
We spend too much money on things we don’t need. Rather it is some splurge item you found on Amazon to the pack of Oreo’s at the grocery store (I am guilty of this). We have all done it! Its not something to be ashamed of, BUT it is something that you should be aware of, something that you should be conscious about. A Huffington Post Servery from 2012 states:
"Half of those surveyed do not set monthly savings goals for themselves, according to the survey. Of those who are spending more than they earn, 36 percent are dipping into savings, 22 percent use a credit card and 8 percent are borrowing money in other ways."
This is crazy! I know people in my own life that will spend up to 80% of their monthly income on stuff that they don’t need, things that they can do without. For those who don't know me. My name is Clarice Quinn Taylor, and I used to be just like you. I am just like you in many ways still. I have issues with my money. The biggest issue I currently have is my $6000 in debt that causes me to have to rethink everything I do.If you are in the same boat as me or fast approaching it, this channel and this video is for you.
So a little background into who I am. I am currently 22 years old with a sitting $6,000 in debt. A few years back I was just out of high school, working at Starbucks part time making about $500 a month and spending way more than that on crap I didn't need. I was buying video games, going out and paying for my friends dinner, spending money on my new to me 1973 Chevy Camaro That I spent over $6,000 of my savings to get and restore. Yes, the smartest thing I could possibly do with my money while I was currently running up my Credit cards paying for this expensive lifestyle was to go and buy an expensive car that cost too much in gas. Long story short I was just like the majority of people with a spending problem. Spending money that I didn't have on things that I didn’t need or really have a use for. Around the same time I got very interested in Video Games and decided to go and buy a brand new $700 Xbox and a brand new custom built gaming computer that cost over $2,000. After all these purchases I still didn't feel complete.
That is the point I am trying to make. These purchases, these items. Belongings. These items I have surrounded myself with did me no good whatsoever. They didn't serve my future. Yes, a cool car and a nice computer is nice but for a now unemployed 20 something girl that has dreams of moving to Los Angeles, Ca these spending habits would not do anything but harm to myself.
So, fast forward to three months ago. I am sitting in Los Angeles, Ca spending over $1000 a month on rent, food, car, etc.. you may be asking yourself, "Clarice, how does this have to with minimalism and money? you’re just telling us that you are terrible with money and cant stop spending." Well here is the huge change that came into my life this past April.
I am sitting on My phone scrolling through Facebook, watching Netflix on my desktop computer and mindlessly watching a YouTube video about cool things to buy on amazon that I hadn't collected already and suddenly something dawned on me.
WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING?! I have been sitting here for the last three hours doing nothing. I moved to La to start a modeling career and do acting! What the actual fuck am I doing with my life. This needs to stop.I took a deep breath and closed my MacBook and set my phone down, and opened a new link to YouTube and typed in the following.
"How to minimize your phone usage"
The first video that showed up was a guild on how to set up your phone like a minimalist and how to start using it less.
This took me down a rabbit hole of minimalism. It started with my phone. I got rid of my fancy colorful wallpaper and chose the black background that had no picture on it. Next step I deleted almost every app I had on my phone INCLUDING FACEBOOK! and then organized it to fit my workflow schedule so I could be more productive.
From here I found a few videos on how to minimize debt, your schedule(So I only do things that I want to do) and everything in your life, including money. I will be making videos on all of these things, but for now. I want to start with this big one thing.
How becoming a minimalist will improve your pocketbook and cause you to spend less on stuff that you don't need and in result help you get out of debt.
This first step is easy:
1.) Start a Budget:
What I suggest is start a budget for yourself, either online or on a sheet of paper. The first month you do this. Don't make any changes to how you usually spend money or anything. You can even take a look at the previous months spending's and write them down and from that you can tally them up and know exactly how much you spend each month. I personally use a app called Mint, it is a budget app on your phone and your computer that helps you manage your budget, go over goals that you want to set for your finances and tracks your spending. I have known about this app for year now but I only recently started using it to its fullest potential! You can even link mint with your bank account, credit cards and savings account to automatically track all of your spending and this will give you a clearer picture of your finical health.
After you do this you will be able to have a overview of your spending and be able to manage your money in a clearer way now that you can see it all.
2.) Take a Hard Look at Your Debt and Find a Way Out.
One thing most people my age and even older don't realize fully is the strain of having massive debt causes on your life, and even your ability to do the things that you want. After setting up my budget with mint and getting everything that I wanted, out in the open I realized that the amount I was spending per month to pay it off was less than the monthly interest on my debt itself. Lucky for me a friend told me about this really helpful company and App called Tally. What this company does is pay off your credit cards every month and clump them into a single payment that you pay to them, and lower your APR on top of that.
So For example, I have three credit cards all at 25% APR, I am paying about $50 on each card and with my interest charge every month I am paying about $20-$25 a month in interest charges EVERY MONTH on each card. SO in short about half of what I am paying is going straight back into my debt with means it will take me about 25% longer to pay it off if I were to just pay off %0 every card a month. Now if I was paying just the minimum amount of $25-$30 a card that is basically like me paying $5 off my debt every month. This is assuming I am not spending anything on credit at the same time.
With this, it is easy to see how personal debt can pile up so quickly. That is why I like Tally so much. They actually have me a APR of 15% and they would pay off my credit cards up to $5,000 and make the monthly payments on my cards so I didn't have to pay each card off and deal with the APR on each. and once all of the cards are paid down you are only left with paying tally one lower easy payment a month. Now that you have a lower payment you have more cash flow to either pay off more debt OR you can stop using your credit cards to buy things and you can fast track your way out of Debt.Lastly, Tally right now will give you $50 just for signing up towards your first card payment when you sign up with my link! You're welcome! <Join Tally>
3.) Cut Ties with Credit Card Debt
- This is probably the hardest step in minimizing your debt and stopping spending on things that you don't need. If you are serious about getting free from debt I want you to right now. Go and get a pair of scissors and cut up all of your cards and throw them away. This way you will no longer be able to use them and you do NOT need the card to make any payments whatsoever. Just do it, thank me later. This step was the quickest, but the hardest part of this whole process.
After I did this it took me about a year to pay off all my debt, loans and cards to become free from debt and become the best version of myself. And after you do this, you can no longer use these cards to spend spend spend and eventually with smart budgeting and using apps like mint and Tally(Like I do) you will be one step closer to finical freedom and finical success.
I will be writing these posts every week to give you a better idea of my journey and to keep giving you tips on how to unlock your own personal finical freedom! It is hard to do this but with my advice and help I know you can get to where I am today and become the best version of yourself.















