The Minimalist and the discount trap

This article will analyze how a minimalist avoids the discount trap 😉

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Promotional offers and minimalist

Every day we see advertising with promotional offers that are, at first glance, very interesting.

For example:

In case of purchase of leggings = Discount code for slim jeans
Balance of 30% for customers with a loyalty card for 3 years
Free delivery if the purchase is greater than 40 Swiss francs
20% discount on pajamas if you buy a bra for more than 30 CHF
1 free bracelet if the customer buys a gift card over 50 CHF

You might think the customer is getting a good deal.

But in reality, All these promotions or sales are rarely useful for a minimalist.. For what ? Because promotions influence people to buy products that minimalists don't necessarily need.

The stress of buying

Another thing to understand about promotions is the stress it creates.

In reality, for example, the majority of:

Promo codes on an e-commerce site
Advantage codes in a premium subscription
Promotional offers on the market place
Outlet clearance

In fact, these promotions are temporary discounts. For the customer, a temporary discount means a limited time to purchase.

Unsurprisingly, the end of a promotion means that the customer must hurry to buy in order to “take advantage of exceptional offers”. Thus, this sales process increases stress and competition for the customer.

Therefore, these “exceptional discounts”, with a good dose of marketing, create an urgent need in the customer to consume.

But the minimalist loves zenitude 😊. And that's why he distances himself from reduced prices.

Minimalist Philosophy

➡️ It is important to understand that a minimalist wants as few objects as possible. In order not to clutter it, a minimalist wants to avoid adding new possessions at all costs of no use in their lives¹ .

In reality, even a one-off discount of 90% can be detrimental to the minimalist.

Additionally, there is one point that is often overlooked by those new to minimalism when making new purchases⚠️

➡️ A minimalism also seeks to reduce as much as possible the time spent in a useless way. Because he understood that wasted time is as important as wasted money!

The example of Paula VS Sara

To give an example, let's imagine 2 young women, one called Paula and the other one called Sarah.

I would like to point out that Sara and Paula are imaginary characters. As for imagination, I'll let you fantasize about Paula and Sara as you wish.

However, in this article, I will only talk about their minimalist side.

Paula VS Sara – Their Needs

Let us mention that Paula and Sara are the same age, they both live in Moudon and have the same size in terms of clothes.

👉 There is only one difference. Paula is non-minimalist and Sara is minimalist.

In addition, the two checked their wardrobes and realized that they had the same lack regarding their clothes.

👉 In reality, both want a jacket for the winter because they don't have.

On the other hand, they do not want to spend extravagantly and are planning a budget of 120 CHF maximum.

👉 Note that both have the same need (a jacket) and the same budget.

	Paula	Sarah
Need	1 jacket	1 jacket
Maximum budget	120 CHF	120 CHF

On the other hand, both will react in a different way to their necessity.

Paula

Paula is a non-minimalist and lives in Moudon.

She did a quick search on the Internet. She saw a great and cheap jacket in Lausanne with a 30% discount. Without delay, she took the train and went to the store located in Flon. It is a Lausanne street with lots of fashion boutiques.

Once at the store, she sees her desired jacket at 50% off instead of 30%, the price is 60 CHF. So Paula thinks she can buy other things!

Then, in the same store. She sees that there is a belt at -25% which costs 30 CHF. She leaves the store and sees shoes -20% which cost 50 CHF. Paula buys them without hesitation.

➡️ As a result, the three outfits cost him 150 CHF, with the return train for 30 CHF. That makes a total amount of precisely 180 CHF.

Arriving home Paula hangs her new jacket and belt in her wardrobe.

She tries to add her new shoes to her shoe cabinet. But unfortunately, there is no more room! After a few crooked shoes and a cabinet full to bursting, she managed to fill her cabinet with her new shoes with difficulty.

A few months later...

Paula realizes she has too many clothes. In fact, she realizes that she has used her new belt only once since purchasing it.

As for brand new shoes. Paula realizes that she doesn't really like them at all.. In reality, the fashion had passed and her shoes became vintage for her. Therefore, Paula decides to throw them away.

Sarah

Sara is a minimalist and understands the trap of overconsumption and discounts!

Sara knows that there are better offers in Lausanne but prefers to eat locally in his village of Moudon. Indeed, she saw a good jacket in a small store near her house. The owner is her neighbor. On the store's website, there is no promotion.

Arriving on site, the neighbor makes a gesture to him and gives him a 20 CHF discount on his jacket. As a result, the jacket costs him 100 CHF instead of 120 CHF.

Sara keeps the extra 20 CHF in her savings account for another occasion.

And don't buy anything else!

A few months later...

Sara always has the same jacket. She dressed him all winter and she is still so happy with his jacket.

With the nice warmer days, Sara will keep her jacket in the wardrobe for next winter.

And some readers naughty from this blog will fantasize about Sara in a swimsuit again…

Summary

To conclude, at the outset, The two women had the same need and the same budget to buy a jacket.. However, both spent and wasted time in completely different ways.

Paula wanted to save money but spent 180 CHF and lost 1 hour 20 minutes on public transport.

Sara chose simplicity. She spent 100 CHF and lost 10 minutes on transport (on foot). As a result, her minimalist spirit saved her from the trap of discounts.

Let's analyze this table to summarize the adventures of Paula and Sara for the same need.

	Paula	Sarah
Total time lost in transport	1h20 by train	10 minutes walking
Money spent on transport	30 CHF	0 CHF
Planned budget	120 CHF	120 CHF
Promotion announced	30%	0%
Budget spent	180 CHF	100 CHF

minimalistfrugalist.com – minimalist VS non-minimalist

Do not forget it…

👉 Overall, the minimalist vision tries to anticipate the pros and cons of each situation!

➡️ LThe minimalist thinks about his possessions before buying them. Non-minimalists do the opposite.

👉 With the example I wrote, The main thing is just to buy a jacket to protect yourself from the cold !

All things considered, the rest when we take stock, It’s wasted time and money.

Do you want to better understand this minimalist universe? Click on my page minimalist.

To conclude, what do you think about this article, the minimalist and the discount trap?

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Overall, this blog lives on sharing a frugal and minimalist lifestyle.

For a question of transparency towards the readers. All recommended products are in order to make life cheaper, simpler and to promote the essentials.

Basically, my only income with this blog comes:

Trainings that I realize
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About me

I decided to create this blog to develop and help readers who are looking for a simpler and more economical life.

Compared to before, I was a person who consumed a lot until the day I realized that my consumption made me sadder and poorer 😑

Now I prefer the minimum of my needs to be happy and achieve my financial freedom.

Without realizingI started to focus on saving and investing to depend on a boss for as little time as possible and to speed up my personal projects.

For several years I have felt happy and I have become richer in a way that I would never have imagined given that I have an average salary in Switzerland.

It is for this purpose that I decided to create this blog. In order to share and learn with other people who seek freedom and simplicity 😉

Are you rather minimalist or frugal Jonny?

I am as minimalist as I am frugalist. However, there are situations where I lean more towards an art of life.

To conclude, I think the most important thing is to feel comfortable in your lifestyle 😊

Minimalism and Frugalism

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