Hello, dear readers!
Today I decided to write a post about frugal living as a freelance writer. The reason why I wanted to write this is because creatives today- whether writers, artists, or musicians- find themselves in a time in which creativity is not rewarded as it should be. This isn’t fair, because culture is nonexistent without the arts.
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I think that we often confuse frugality/thriftiness with extreme asceticism or making compromises. I don’t think it has to be that way. Yet again, for the majority of us, we can’t just splurge whether we want to. So, here are my tips for living a creative, frugal life, without resentment or frustration.
See the difference between Timeless and Hyped
This counts for everything. As a freelancing creative, you can’t follow the trend. Especially if you’re an old soul like myself, and find yourself continually disappointed by modern culture and its trends. Recently, I bought a popular book. It cost me a pretty penny which I, in hindsight, would rather have saved. The book, alas, did not cast a spell on me like Pride and Prejudice. It irritated me and made me mourn the money I spent on it.
Fellow creatives, do not go with the flow. The risk of spending your money on a cultural sensation is too big. Just because everyone (everyone on social media, most likely…) likes XYZ does not mean that you, automatically, will like XYZ. Save up your money and time for a coffee date, another book, or, just keep it in your wallet. And if you do want to buy something cultural: choose something timeless. The classics rarely disappoint.
What do you really need? Save up for comfort and health
Prioritise health, comfort, and safety over everything else. It is better to buy high-quality shoes that will keep your feet toasty when it’s cold outside than to buy something that is fun, but useless. It’s better to buy a proper toothbrush than to buy a glittering pair of expensive earrings. It’s better to buy a small, portable heater than to splurge on cute bath-bombs- which will be gone in a few minutes after you chuck them in the water.
Creativity depends on comfort. You can’t write your novel when your feet are freezing. You can’t play the flute as well as you could if you feel a cavity forming in your molars. Even if it means splurging a bit, invest in your health and comfort because you will be able to function better.
And this applies to food as well. I don’t buy a lot of sweet-treats, cakes, candies, and snacks, because they cost much and they’re detrimental to my health- and to yours, too. Invest in quality food that will amp up your health instead of splurging on snacks that will bring you down.
Stop longing for the high-street brands: work on a minimalist mindset
Today, I wanted to put on some soft jazz music on YouTube and was confronted with a Louis Vuitton advertisement. Billboards around my city advertise for expensive perfume, glitzy bags, and high-street fashion. This is not healthy. When we are drawn to high-street brands, we will invest money in them…or buy imitations. Personally, I avoid looking at huge brands because I believe it is a distraction from my work. If you do like brands, look for artisan, good quality, local ones that benefit you as much as they benefit the owners.
Networking!
Yes, I am aware that this sounds Machiavellian, but as creatives, we need to be smart. Back in Machiavelli’s day, it was normal for talented artists to be patronised by the wealthy. Alas, this system is no longer in place today. Companies and people who are wealthy- Amazon, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Netflix- do not sponsor artists, even though one might believe that the whole purpose of being wealthy is to help others.
Try to sell your work, or, like me, if you’re a writer, try to get paid for your writing. You might not attract a Medici, but you may attract a kind soul who gives you four euros every month. And that means the world.
Start a Patreon, a Buy Me a Coffee, a Substack. You never know who might take a liking to your work.
Invest in education, not entertainment
If possible, do the above. Even fiction books serve as education. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice made me laugh out loud in public, and it helped relax me whilst I was in the middle of Masters’ applications. At the same time, I learned a lot.
I don’t think that money is ever wasted on education. Call me a cultural snob, an elitist, whatever, but I honestly think that buying The Godfather and educating yourself on a classic film trilogy is better than having an expensive Netflix subscription that leeches money away from you.
The past years, I’ve chosen education over entertainment- attending lectures, tutorials, buying informative books- and honestly, I’m glad I did.
All that knowledge can be turned into money later on, even if the pursuit of knowledge is not for money per se.
Minimise ‘fun-buys’
The past year, I spent my money on what was necessary, not on what was ‘nice’. And you’ll feel a lot less guilty with this kind of mindset.
Keep a minimalist mindset
I believe that minimalism is quite good for one’s finances. A lot of money goes into accumulating clutter. Do we really need to buy an extra vase? Do we really need to fill up our desk with memorabilia, knitted objects, prints?
I’ve learnt to embrace space: ma. In traditional Japanese art, ‘ma’ is the concept of emptiness, a pause in time, free space. In our consumerist era, it is tempting to believe that free areas need to be filled. However, I believe that this isn’t a good mindset. Empty spaces don’t need to be filled.
Bulletin boards needed to have cute prints, my desk needed to have dried flowers and a cute, type-writer style keyboard. But when I thought about the cost of all these things, I realised that it was simply too much. It also dawned upon me that an empty space- ma- works wonders for creativity as it does for finances.
My desk is quite minimalist. I don’t have dozens of prints, and one of the few prints I do have is a tiny, illustrated piece of paper that used to belong to my mother (upcycling, anyone?).
Clutter stares at me, leering at me as I try to focus on my notebook or computer. Clutter encourages clutter: if you have A, you will develop a hankering for B.
The empty space- ma- gives me a form of mental and visual relaxation. My mind can dwell on the ma, and by staring into the ‘void’, the void fills itself.
Try to ignore the consumerist urge to fill up and ‘decorate’ everything around you. Gaze into ma and see how it relaxes your mind- and your purse.
That’s it for today! I have compiled a list of sources about frugality, minimalism, and decluttering. Hope you enjoyed this post!
Maryse
Japanese Ma by Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Inspiration and Decluttering by Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Japanese Minimalism by Paula Kuitenbrouwer
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