Le Fruggimalist Manifesto

The lazy river is by far the worst attraction at any water park. Slowly meandering on an endless conveyor belt, small cuts from the seams of the raft and sore pink skin are the only things ventured, so consequently very little is gained. The gin-clear waters hold no surprises; nothing lurks in its shallows. A moment occurs during this monotony where you look beyond the concrete edges and wonder what in the hell you are doing here.

"Only dead fish go with the flow." ― Andy Hunt, Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware

This meek looking purgatory is metaphorically where I find myself today. I've been on the frugal/minimal journey for a few years now and thought that I had been doing a pretty good job of it.  My wife and I max out our 401ks and IRAs; I incessantly read Mr. Money Mustache, 20-Something Finance, The Minimalists and any other content on the subject; we live in a modest 1,100 square foot house; we set budgets and are relatively successful in following them. I've known for a while now though that we, namely I, can do better. Our budgets are inflated, our restaurant spend is roughly the same as what we spend on groceries, despite minimal shopping budgets we have shit pouring out of every closet and from under every bed in our house, and we can't seem to squirrel away much more of our income after bills. We are also talking about starting a family this year and having our first child over which looms the $15k per year child care price tag.  

It's time to get serious about this and make a dramatic change so that I can support my dreams of early retirement and of having a loving, well taken care of family.  I've landed on three ideals to guide me along the way: Lean, frugality and minimalism.

Lean...provide perfect value through perfect processes that results in zero waste. In my career I implement lean and other process improvement methodologies to achieve these results for a company, why not do it for me?  I'll be looking for opportunities in my life through experimentation, visual management and a host of other lean tools to reduce waste and increase the value added in my life. The leading question being, "What is value for me?"  I'm not completely sure, but in true lean fashion we won't let that hold things up because perfect shouldn't get in the way of progress. So to start, I'll be defining value as the following: dollars in my pocket - the more the merrier, happiness - something I'll be observing closely about myself to understand what creates the feeling, health - to allow me longevity and capability in achieving happiness, community - "Happiness is only real when shared" (John Krakauer, Into the Wild), and love - intimate appreciation of another.

Frugality...the economical use of resources…or, a nice way of calling yourself cheap. This is where the personal finance themes will come from. Though I am not a financial advisor* it is impossible to achieve what I am trying to without exploring the financial ramifications of choices.

Minimalism...

"Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom." ― What is Minimalism?, The Minimalists

I'll be implementing this tool to purge the consumer instincts from my feeble human shell and hopefully get our closets to a more manageable state.

I've learned that I can talk myself into just about anything without having someone to answer to.  Writing this all down for posterity is my attempt at that accountability.  I'm going to make my life choices an open book and expect that in doing so I'll get the nudges that I need to talk myself out of dumb shit I otherwise would have convinced myself is justified.

Thanks in advance for your questioning, mentoring and abuse along the way.

Waste Less, Spend Less, Use Less
Le Fruggimalist


*Please consult a professional before applying my conclusions. I'll attempt to do due diligence, but cannot be responsible for risks others take in applying my interpretations to their situations.