I could get an 'A' grade for this blog in an English class, but it wouldn't help people the way they need to be helped; so let me bring some reality to this discussion.

At it's core, everything listed in this blog makes good sense, but, as I was typing it out, honestly, nothing rang true to me or at least the process didn't ring true. It comes down to this. If you have to struggle to get to a minimalistic life, it ain 't for you. I was a minimalist before I knew what minimalism was.

Let me tell you how I found out I was a minimalist: I was talking to a manager about the house I had just left behind in another state. I explained, I had a six figure savings account, I was alone in a five bedroom three bath house, and most of the rooms were empty. I had no pictures on the walls, a card table for a kitchen table, and I had such a hard time figuring out a color scheme for the bathroom, that I gave up and just bought brown and blue towels. Upon hearing all that, this manager introduced me to myself, she said, "Oh, so you're a minimalist." I had never heard the word before and had no idea what it meant. She explained it to me and I said, "Yeah, that's exactly how I live my life."

What I'm trying to say to you is this. I hate money. I want money to do what needs to be done for me and my children, and I would love to have more fun in this life which takes money but, other than that, I'm not in love with month. I don't care what kind of car I drive. Yes, it would be nice to have a truck, a get around town car and maybe a nicer car to drive across country, but it's not about the cost of that car or the name of the car. Having more than one un-used room in your house to me, is a complete waste of money and space. Paying high dollar for the same food I can get at a less costly, but still very nice and not cheap restaurant is how I see dining out.

You can't turn yourself into a minimalist, you either are one or you're not. On the other hand, I do believe as you get older you naturally become a form of one in that you need less and want less; the simple things in life start to become the most important. Likely the fact that you know your remaining days are limited has a lot to do with this mental change.

So who should attempt to become a minimalist after reading this blog, no one. The only thing this blog should do is, do for you what that manager did for me, which is to give a definition of what you are if you didn't already know it. And on the other hand, inform you that you are not a minimalist and that minimalism is not something you are capable of.

If you are suffering financially, you can and should pretend to be a minimalist to help you survive your financial situation. That doesn't make you a minimalist, it makes you smart. Do without until you can get your money together and then, to prove you were never really a minimalist, you won't have to talk yourself back into the normal life, you'll naturally start spending again like a good American should, keeping the economy flowing, which is a billboard telling you, you weren't really a minimalist, you were just playing one on TV.

In a time where everybody wants to have a title of what they are, I say stay in the lane as as true capitalistic American, itt works better with American society, trust me on that.