how much minimalists buy - may report of a minimalist family

What do minimalists spend money on? June report

6 October 2019 / , / Homemaking, Minimalism, Money

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Welcome to the minimalist shopping series. Below, as every month, I present monthly expenses of our family of 4 apart from bills for our apartment, Internet, two prepaid phones, fuel, grocery shopping and private purchases of my Husband (which are not many).

What do we buy, what do we need as people who are quite good at saving money and simply not crazy about new clothes, weird cosmetics, home decor, and other products of the artificially run market?

disposable things

diapers – only one package this month! Our younger Son needs them only for the night and for naps, we put him diapers also for longer journeys by car, just in case

ear sticks – once a year even we run out of such disposable body care items. We do not use ear sticks every day, and I wrote more broadly about the ecological approach to ear hygiene in the text: Minimalist toiletries: The only 14 cosmetics + tools you need in your bathroom

washing powder for white clothes – my husband wanted it, because he has a few white shirts; for me, washing soda is all I need

2 rolls of toilet paper – I had some at home but finally our store had my favorite so I bought it: rolls the least packed in plastic and very efficient. Gray, thick rolls, not packed in a separate plastic

toothpaste for Boys without fluoride – in this text, you’ll read why I avoid fluoride in toothpaste

balloons – there was a birthday in our family this month; and why I count balloons as consumable? You probably know: they go broken quickly

new items

a pair of sandals for me – the previous ones were not perfect and I tore one of their stripes apart, while playing football with Boys, my mistake; since this event I am taking sports shoes to the pitch; I learned a few years ago that torn shoes, glued with glue, break again so fast, that instead of repairing cheap shoes, I bought new ones

autumn/spring shoes for me – the previous pair was already a bit broken and did not look good, and when I was buying sandals I could have these shoes for half price – so I bought them; at the moment, unfortunately, I do not believe in good-quality shoes, I do not find such, so I just buy any shoes and plan that they will serve me for one or two seasons

bike for our Older Son – on his previous, 12 “bike, he learned to ride on two wheels (I taught him, and what method I used, I describe in this text), so for his birthday he got a bigger bike, 20″ on which he is doing great

a lighter – we did not have one, and we were planning to have a barbecue, so there you are, a lighter on the list

paper plates – as above

coal – also for the barbecue

fire starter – for barbecue

We have all the barbecue items for a long, long time, i.e. for next barbecues, we will only buy food.

no-things

juices, coffee and cakes in a cafe on Children’s Day – you buy cakes for kids, then kids notice that there is a chalkboard in the cafe, and the two pieces of cake are no longer an attraction, they are yours 😉 ; see also how we spent one of the previous Children’s Days, organizing for our Boys a simple, experience gift ; and here is why and how we limit gifts for our two Boys

parking and tickets to a beach – if you’re interested what minimalist parents pack for a beach day with kids, check this article

gym pass for group classes – I enjoy going there (sometimes by bike!) once a week to sweat and build a strong, beautiful, healthy body

Audible subscription – if you don’t know it yet, you can check it during a 30-day free trial period, when you get 2 audiobooks of your choice

Previous monthly shopping reports:

January 2018 | February 2018 | March 2018 | March 2019 | May 2019

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