Hello everyone, I am really excited to share with you something that has truly changed my life.

I'm not sure if this happens to most teens or not but as soon as I got out of the house and started living on my own I went absolutely crazy. I needed everything. It was my money after all and I had no one to guide me. I knew nothing about budgeting or how to be smart with money.
But at that time I didn't have any bills either aside from the essentials of a roof over my head, food in my stomach, gas in my car, etc. It's all fun and games until someone tells you about this amazing thing called a credit card. You mean you can spend as much as you want and only have to pay a fraction of the price back every month? Ok, sign me up!

This is where it all went downhill.

 Once I realized the severity of what I've done it was too late. They got me while I was young and uneducated about finances. My mentality for a long time was that I needed stuff.
All kinds of stuff. Because it made me feel happy in the moment.
I wasn't focusing on experiences or what really mattered. My husband thankfully was so
anti-spending money that it helped draw me back a lot. Ok a little. Now four years into our relationship I realize that my way of thinking about money has to change.
This is where Minimalism comes in.
A little while back I found two Youtubers named Rachelaust and Lightbycoco. You could say they more than inspired me to give up my old lifestyle. It was like a wakeup call I couldn't turn back from. I spent a whole week. Yes, a whole week. Tearing my apartment apart and getting rid of anything that did not have a purpose or a place. I still feel like I own too much and I got rid of so much stuff. Stuff I do not miss at all.

 1. Get yourself out of debt

You begin to think of how you spend you money differently. Do you have room for it, does it serve a purpose, are you willing to give up 2 other things to bring this home? You will begin to see the $3 section at Target as a clutter zone waiting to happen.

2. Reduces stress

I don't know about you guys, but when my house is a mess or when I see how much money I spent on a trip to the mall it completely stresses me out. By keeping things simple and organized your stress levels will follow suit.

3. Focus on your relationships

Sometimes we get so caught up in "things" that we forget about the people surrounding us. When you start making plans to just hang out with someone instead of going to the mall or seeing a movie, you might actually learn something new about them.

4. Increase productivity

Having a clean well kempt environment and life will boost your confidence and make you feel more capable of doing even those little tasks.

5. Clean home

I cannot emphasize enough how much happier I have been since we've downsized our home. By owning less our messes are less intimidating when it's time to clean up. Instead of letting our dishes sit over night, we do them right away. Which in turn makes it easier and more inviting at breakfast time. When you own less you pick up less. It just makes sense.

To sum it all up //
Things like this are a major lifestyle change. You are going to have to want it and see why it would improve your life. This also is not for everyone. Some people find that their happy place IS by having things around to comfort them. That is totally ok too. For a long time I felt like I was never going to find myself but here I am doin' it. Find you, Be you, & Breathe you. Your journey is special and unique.
 -Amy