Less Allows More

Clarity comes when you remove the noise.

Who hasn’t heard the term “less is more”? I mean, you’ve most certainly seen the adage plastered on candles or wall art of some kind, or you’ve heard it from your parents or grandparents, at school or just moving through life in general.

Though the term has been kicking around since the mid 1930s, I personally never scrutinized it beyond: sure, less can be beautiful. Sometimes more can be too much. Boom! Wisdom realized. 

That is, until recently…

Less Can Be Painful

One of the most difficult things I’ve found about having a budget is that I can’t just buy things I mindlessly would have otherwise. Society silently screams at us constantly to buy that thing you don’t really need and (let’s be honest) you don’t really want (most of the time). When you don’t mindlessly wander through life purchasing lord knows what with your money, when you make the decision to become aware of what you spend, your brain can play tricks on you. Sometimes not giving in to familiar patterned behaviour can almost feel painful. 

Yeah, that’s right. I just used the word painful to describe NOT spending money. All of my liberal arts university professors are silently shaking their heads at me. 

What I mean by this is that it takes a lot of willpower to change. And yes, change can feel uncomfortable and painful.

You have to put time, energy and effort into how you operate in the world, and how you operate with less. To be that aware and dedicated to changing your behaviour is not for the faint of heart. It can suck, and be really hard. Like really f*cking hard. But that challenge, the struggle of embracing “less” ultimately transforms your thinking. Or at least that’s what I’ve found so far along this kooky journey.

Oddly, Your World Can Expand With Less

The thing is, with less, you have to have an expansive mindset. You have to think of different ways of doing things and solving problems, and this automatically brings more into your life. Before with “more” money you may simply go and do that thing or purchase that item, but with “less” you have to find workarounds. You have to *gasp* (do the thing that strikes fear in the hearts of gen zers everywhere) talk to people. You have to seek out alternatives. You have to get creative. This automatically brings more, new, interesting and diverse experiences into your life.

A good example of this was my recent trip to Toronto. I traveled to the city this past weekend via the GO Train and bus to visit friends. In my previous life I would have driven myself in my car. However, now being carless, I needed to find an alternative. 

After a great night with my pals, I was at the station waiting for my return train when I noticed a hoard of bike riders congregating on the platform. They were a jovial bunch, their bikes deck out with panniers and their faces full of smiles as more bikers arrived to join the group. 

I was silently observing them when my brain whispered, “...talk to them…” No, no brain, don’t be crazy, they seem the adventuring sort, why would they talk to me? “...Because you are also the adventuring sort. Jill, you have a bike.” I completely blanked that I have a bike, I ride bikes! I can talk to them! And so I did. I met Rachel, a very lovely human. I told her that I have a bike myself. We got to chatting and she told me all about this annual ride a local bike shop helps to organize. She invited me on next year's trip. I thanked her for the invite, and wished her well as we parted ways.

I don’t know if I’ll take Rachel up on her offer, but this simple conversation could very well generate more adventures and more connections, which is pretty wild when you think of it. And it provides an anecdotal example of how embracing less may in fact may expand my world a bit.

Focus On What You Love

Along with these kinds of new and world expanding experiences, I’ve also started to develop a strange superpower: focus. 

You see, the person I was before starting this challenge didn’t confidently know what she enjoyed doing. Mind you, I would do a lot of things. I would spend a lot of money on hobbies I didn’t quite love or I’d say yes to events and things because I could. Sure, I more or less enjoyed the experiences, but was I super passionate about many of these things? No. But these opportunities to spend money came along often, so along I went. 

Now, oh boy, things are certainly different. Now I have to be really intentional about what I spend my money on. And as a result, I need to be really intentional about how I want to spend my time, and who I want to give my time to. Because when it comes down to it, buying things, experiences, or products is really about how you spend your time. And this realization has forced me to ask myself some tough questions. 

I have to ask myself if what I’m saying yes to is really what I want to do. It has forced me to get clearer about the things that are really important to me. 

Do I really want to spend time with this person doing that activity? Will this experience or subscription or membership make my life better? Will it add value? Does it align with the way I ultimately want to live my life? 

I’ve had to get really clear about what I love and enjoy doing. I’ve had to focus in on the interests and passions that bring joy into my life. I don’t have the money or time to waste on things that don’t quite feel like they work for me. And as someone who has struggled with finding her place in the world or things that truly make my heart sing, this whole savings goal is really forcing me to confront and also discover different parts of myself. Which is pretty wild to say the least.

Removing The Noise

But that’s the really fantastic thing - by assessing and figuring out what you really love, by giving yourself the space to reflect on your goals and what you ultimately want, your decisions become that much clearer. Not to mention, your life becomes (or at least is starting to become) a little simpler.

With more intentional choices, more awareness, and more clarity, I’ve found there’s less noise in my brain and more space. Rather than my brain focusing on what I'll spend next or that new meaningless purchase that will give me a shot of dopamine, there is more space in my mind to imagine, dream, connect with friends, or build cool things (like a blog).

To me, the phrase “less is more” certainly has its wisdom and place. However, reflecting on it, I think the more accurate phrase for me is “less allows more.” Less gives the necessary time and opportunity for more - more hobbies that you truly love, more activities that light you up, more expanding relationships, and more life. 

Though not spending money can be challenging (and really f*cking hard) it also allows pretty neat things to flow into your life.

Remember, we’ve totally got this!

---

Over the past many weeks of creating content and templates, I realize that to help sustain this passion project I would be grateful for your support!

For those with a dollar to spare, I’ve set up a Buy Me A Coffee account for folks to contribute to here and there. For those frugally focused, I would be incredibly grateful if you were to share my work with your networks and folks you think would enjoy my journey (via email, social media, or homing pigeon).

A special thank you to those who contributed to my Buy Me A Coffee or shared a post! Your support means the world to me - truly.

Whether you're able to contribute or not, I’m so glad you’ve joined me on this journey!

Thanks for reading A Frugal Year! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.