Damien Olenslager

1. What does living simply mean to you?

Simple living means understanding that time is a non-renewable resource. It means understanding the trade-offs between spending money on stuff or on experiences. Realizing that lasting happiness comes from creativity, creation, and building relationships, not from rampant consumption.

2. Your blog focuses primarily on personal finance and investing – why is it important to you?

I love personal finance because it is such a taboo subject. Everyone knows they should be spending more intelligently and saving for retirement, but hates confronting these facts and taking control. I want to remove the fear and help others become financially secure, so they can focus on living life.

From my research of the investment field, it seems there is no shortage of “experts” who love to complicate the world of investing. They fill the conversation with so many acronyms and so much jargon in order to make the rest of us dependent on their expertise.

My aim is to make simple saving and investing accessible to the average person. That’s why I blog.

3. What steps have you taken to live simply in your day to day life?

I call myself an “aspiring” minimalist because I feel like I’m just at the beginning of my journey. The first few steps were psychological. I had to detox from the culture of consumption.

I learned that spending my money on travel and experiences led to more lasting happiness. Buying stuff made me happy for a little while, but then the novelty wore off and I needed something new.

I am currently in the de-cluttering stage. Now that I have the mindset, I’m working on changing my environment.

4. What’s been the hardest part of your simple journey?

There have been two hard parts so far. It’s been difficult to change my consumption habits. Not because I have to constantly convince myself that minimalism is the enlightened path, but because I’ve been so materialistic for 20+ years. Changing habits takes time.

The second hard part has been the naysayers. We are all social creatures who look for the approval of our peers. The American culture is focused on making money so that we can buy stuff to impress other people. Going against that norm is difficult. Some people I can explain the new mindset to, others I just have to ignore.

5. What advice would you give others who are on the living simple journey?

Yikes, I feel like I’m the one who needs advice! I can only tell you what has worked for me so far: the simple living mindset has to be formed first, and then the actions will follow.

• Get inspired. The online minimalist community is a daily source of inspiration for me. Read their blogs and follow them on twitter.
• Consume mindfully. Take some time to research your purchases and know thoroughly why you are spending your money (which is essentially your time).
• Unplug and enjoy. Take time away from technology to enjoy life. Practice yoga. Write. Talk to someone. Time is a non-renewable resource.

Damien Olenslager recently graduated debt-free from college and now helps small businesses make use of technology. He blogs at bitesizeidea.com about personal finance, investing and wellness from a minimalist perspective. You can find him on Twitter at: @dwolenslager

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