Comments on: The Power of Duality: Combining a High-Income Job with Minimalism

By: Ms ZiYou

Ms ZiYou — Mon, 07 May 2018 17:20:51 +0000

Love this approach – I think a high income and minimalise work perfectly together, and are the recipe to reach financial independence quickly.

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 14:14:58 +0000

In reply to Kate. Couldn't agree more, Kate. For most people who earn a high-income, they have a tendency to inflate their lifestyle and spend more. But it's the people who can embrace simple living who can save a ridiculous amount of their income and gain financial freedom. It's not a flashy approach but it works. Thanks for the feedback and best of luck to you and your husband on your financial journey :)

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 14:10:03 +0000

In reply to Steveark.

Spending OPM definitely comes with the temptation to overspend, but it’s definitely a perk. You bring up a great point that the “normal” range of spending when using OPM is typically much higher than average for a frugal person.

Thanks for always sharing your money stories, Steveark 🙂

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 14:06:02 +0000

In reply to SMM.

I’m right there with you on the no-clothing spending. It took me a while to figure out that I actually don’t like shopping and I already have more clothes than I wear…cheers to waking up and seeing what spending makes sense for you 🙂

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 14:03:21 +0000

In reply to Kim. I appreciate the kind words, Kim :) And congrats on such an incredible savings rate. It's such a nice surprise to realize how easy saving can be once you realize you just don't need to buy much stuff to maximize happiness. Best of luck on your financial journey with your family :)

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 14:01:40 +0000

In reply to Turning Point Money.

Automatically placing bonuses in investment accounts is a fantastic habit to cultivate. It prevents lifestyle inflation with minimal effort. Congrats on successfully tripling your income in a relatively short period of time – a high income makes saving that much easier 🙂

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 14:00:00 +0000

In reply to Mrs. Picky Pincher. I think the most important thing to focus on is making sure that whatever you do own is bringing you value. It's possible to own a lot of stuff and not look like a "minimalist" but if you truly gain value out of your belongings, that's all that matters. I just think that for most people, they would be surprised at how little they actually need to own to maximize happiness.

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 09:10:15 +0000

Great post Zach and that’s something what my husband and I are trying to practice. Like you said, sometimes it’s not a function of how much you earn, but it’s more of how much you save. By practicing minimalism, it increases the bandwidth that you can save and helps to achieve financial independence earlier.

By: Steveark

Steveark — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 19:19:40 +0000

I was always pretty frugal at home even though I was a high earner and a fast mover in my industry. My expense account ran about $40k per year when I was working and I didn’t mind at all getting new and expensive smart phones and PC’s whenever I wanted one and when I traveled, which was often I stayed in nice hotels and ate quite well. They even gave me a new car and free gas. All of that and more was perfectly legal and paid for with OPM (other people’s money). The norm for expense accounts was set by the “normal” people in the company and therefore was extravagant to the same degree that they overspent in their personal lives. While my expenses were on the low side I felt no pressure to conform my work expenses to my frugal home expenses. How do minimalists see spending when you are spending OPM? To me it was a perk, like a free all you can eat buffet as long as my behavior was within the normal range, which of course felt crazily excessive to me.

By: SMM

SMM — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 18:09:01 +0000

Power of duality – I LIKE it! I’m taking infant steps to this minimalism concept with little milestones. For example, I refuse to buy any more clothing for the rest of the year; let’s see how it goes 🙂
I like your tweet and will re tweet it; powerful words.