Beyond the Declutter: How Other Minimalists Approach Money

Minimalism often brings to mind images of tidy rooms, capsule wardrobes, and clean white walls. But there’s another, often quieter, dimension to this lifestyle: money. When I began embracing minimalism years ago, I started by decluttering my home. What surprised me most was how naturally those same principles started showing up in my financial life. I stopped chasing every sale, every upgrade, every “just in case” purchase.

But the most transformative insights didn’t come from my own trial and error—they came from listening to other minimalists. Their stories revealed how diverse and personal minimalist finance can be, and yet how consistently it leads to greater clarity, freedom, and intentionality.

For this post, the first in my new series Minimalist Voices: Real People, Real Finances, I sat down with three minimalists from very different walks of life to explore how they approach their money. Their paths may differ, but their principles share a striking common thread.

Meet the Minimalists

Before diving into their approaches, let’s get acquainted with the voices behind these perspectives:

• Sophie — A 29-year-old freelance designer living in a small studio apartment in Berlin. She left her corporate job three years ago to pursue location-independent work and a minimalist lifestyle.

• Marcus and Lina — A couple in their late 30s raising two children in a modest home outside Denver. They began simplifying after feeling burnt out by endless house projects, debt, and overcommitment.

• Evelyn — A 62-year-old retiree living in a quiet coastal town. After a career in education, she embraced minimalism to downsize both her possessions and her financial obligations for a simpler retirement.

Each of them has a distinct context—single and mobile, family-oriented, or retired—yet their financial decisions are all deeply influenced by minimalist values.

Budgeting as Boundaries, Not Restrictions

When most people hear “budget,” they think of spreadsheets, rules, or guilt. But every minimalist I interviewed framed their budgets differently: not as cages, but as boundaries that protect their time, energy, and priorities.

Sophie describes her budget as a “values filter.”

“When you decide what matters financially, you stop chasing everything else. I’m not trying to stretch my budget to fit more in—I’m using it to keep what doesn’t matter out.”

She allocates her income into three broad categories: essentials, freedom, and future. Essentials cover her small rent, food, insurance, and tools she genuinely needs for her work. Freedom includes travel, personal growth, and experiences with friends. Future is her savings and investments. This simple structure means she never has to micromanage dozens of expense lines.

Marcus and Lina use their budget as a conversation tool.

“For us, it’s less about numbers and more about alignment. We check in once a month, talk about what worked, what didn’t, and make sure our spending still reflects what we actually care about,” Marcus shared.

Instead of overcomplicating, they focus on a few key metrics: mortgage payments, savings rate, and family experiences. This has helped them make faster decisions with less emotional friction.

Evelyn views budgeting as a way to preserve her peace in retirement. She maintains a minimalist lifestyle by keeping her expenses predictable and intentionally low, which allows her fixed retirement income to stretch comfortably.

“My budget is simple enough that I can review it in ten minutes over coffee. That’s my idea of financial freedom.”

Less Debt, More Flexibility

Another unifying theme was their rejection of unnecessary debt. None of the interviewees are entirely debt-averse—they’ve all used debt strategically at some point—but they deliberately minimize or eliminate it to maintain freedom of choice.

Sophie lives debt-free, a decision that allows her to take on creative projects without the pressure of high monthly obligations. She intentionally kept her living expenses low after college and prioritized paying off her student loans aggressively before quitting her corporate job.

“I didn’t want my past decisions dictating my future options,” she explained.

Marcus and Lina refinanced their mortgage to shorten its term and made a commitment to avoid consumer debt altogether. They sold their second car, paid off lingering credit card balances, and now live well within their means.

“Our house is our only debt, and we’re ahead on payments. That sense of security affects every other area of our lives,” Lina said.

Evelyn downsized from a large suburban home to a smaller coastal condo. The move not only simplified her possessions but also allowed her to pay off her mortgage entirely.

“I traded space I wasn’t using for peace of mind I deeply value,” she reflected.

Across all three stories, minimizing debt wasn’t about deprivation—it was about increasing flexibility. By lowering fixed costs, they gave themselves more room to breathe.

Values Over Trends

Minimalism often involves questioning cultural defaults. That applies not just to how many shirts you own, but to how you spend your money.

Sophie refuses to follow freelancing income trends that encourage buying every new productivity gadget. Instead, she invests only in tools she uses daily. She also avoids “Instagram lifestyle creep” by disconnecting from aspirational content that fuels comparison.

Marcus and Lina actively teach their kids to question consumer trends. For example, they choose one intentional family trip each year over multiple smaller, more expensive weekend outings that tend to get filled with impulse purchases.

“We ask ourselves: will this matter in a year? If not, we usually pass,” Marcus shared.

Evelyn ignores most financial trends entirely. She sticks to a handful of low-cost index funds for her investments and avoids the temptation to chase “hot tips.” Her spending focuses on maintaining health, meaningful relationships, and peaceful routines.

By filtering out trends, each of these minimalists directs their money toward what genuinely matters to them, not what the market or media declares important.

The Common Thread: Clarity and Freedom

What struck me most while listening to these conversations was how uncomplicated their financial philosophies are. None of them rely on elaborate financial tools, exotic investments, or extreme frugality. Instead, their approaches are grounded in:

• Clear values — They know what matters and what doesn’t.

• Simple systems — They choose budgeting methods that match their lifestyle, not the other way around.

• Long-term thinking — They prioritize flexibility and freedom over trends and short-term gratification.

Minimalism isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula. Sophie’s digital nomad life looks nothing like Evelyn’s quiet retirement. But both are equally intentional. What they share is a mindset shift: from chasing more to embracing enough.

Key Takeaways for Your Own Minimalist Finance Journey

If you’re curious about applying these lessons to your own life, here are a few starting points inspired by my conversations:

1. Define your “enough.”Before tweaking your budget, get clear on what genuinely matters to you. Your financial decisions will become far simpler once you have this compass.

2. Treat your budget like boundaries, not punishment.Design it to protect your priorities, not to micromanage your every move.

3. Reduce fixed costs strategically.Whether that’s paying off debt, downsizing, or simplifying your bills, lowering your baseline expenses buys you flexibility.

4. Ignore financial trends that don’t serve you.Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it aligns with your minimalist values.

5. Start small, stay consistent.Every minimalist I spoke with started with one or two small changes that compounded over time.

Final Thoughts

Minimalism and money are deeply intertwined. When you clear the clutter from your physical and mental space, financial clarity often follows. Listening to other minimalists reminded me that there’s no single right way to approach minimalist finance—but there are shared principles that create space for intentional living.