How the Pandemic Recession Will Fuel Minimalism & Financial Independence

What strange times we are living through.

While we were all warned about coronavirus, most of us did not fully understand the risk and ramifications of it eventually affecting us...until the day it suddenly hit us. What day was that for you?

For me, it was March 12. The stock market was crashing at an unprecedented rate and notifications for AirBnB cancellations for our vacation rental started buzzing my phone at an alarming rate. Before fully understanding the health risks, I was watching the economy tailspin and seeing our own bank accounts take a hit along with the rest of the globe.

Soon thereafter, my husband was staying home from work and the vacation rental was empty. Almost all income streams dried up like a rainforest suddenly experiencing a drought.

But thank goodness we had been actively chasing “financial independence.” For the past five years we had embraced the philosophies of minimalism and frugalism and changed our consumerist shopping habits. Over the years we had pinched every penny in an effort to (1) get completely out of debt (2) increase our savings rate to over 75% (3) invested those savings in diverse places (long term rental, short term vacation rental, broad market/total stock market ETFs and some bonds). We had an emergency fund as a cushion...and never in a million years would I have guessed this “black swan” event--a global pandemic--would be the eventual emergency.

As it occurred to us that we would need to weather a global recession, possibly of an unprecedented level, I thanked my lucky stars for our practice in minimalism, frugality and sustainability.

Over the past few weeks, with unemployment claims streaming in at record amounts, I’ve wondered whether this will bring more people to seek minimalism, sustainability and frugalism or whether it would have the opposite effect.

Here are my thoughts on how this pandemic may change the world for good:

1. With so many of us quarantined and sheltering in place, people are looking around their homes for longer periods of time. Perhaps they are beginning to feel claustrophobic and anxious from the amount of clutter that has accumulated around them--an awareness that their previously busy lives never gave them time to reflect on. Perhaps they are wondering why on earth they have held onto these items and now, with ample amount of time on their hands, people will begin decluttering and feeling the immediate stress-relieving rewards of a less cluttered space.

2. Similarly, people will begin analyzing the amount of money they have spent on these useless or unloved items and developing a new awareness about their consumerist habits of the past. Perhaps they make a decision to consider items with a more discerning thought process in the future and stop indulging their impulse shopping habits--especially with funds growing tighter in the foreseeable future.

3. People will start to adapt to the slower rhythm of life and be surprised at how much they love this new pace. The hurried busyness and culture of multi-tasking will no longer feel healthy or natural and they decide to continue life in a more intentional way. They will learn to be truly present and sit in gratitude for even the smallest of joys. They will reevaluate what their new “normal” will be. And I doubt many people will want to go back to the exhaustive pace of life we became accustomed to pre-pandemic.

4. While the world will become increasingly more adept at digital conferencing, I think everyone will crave and value human interaction like never before. In the absence of face-to-face socialization and embraces like hugs, I think events and gatherings will become the most highly prized things a human could participate in. Dinner parties will be en vogue, playdates will be celebrated, dances will become popular, and birthdays will be elaborate. Any reason to gather your loved ones will be a top priority and we will cherish these moments much more than we did before. I think work will remain digital, but our personal lives will become more “analog.”

5. Commercial real estate will become less valuable. As stated above, I think companies with brick and mortar offices will realize the cost-saving value of having their employees work from home. While some industries adapted to this over a decade ago, many have held onto their cubicles, valuing the 9 to 5 “facetime” in the office over actual productivity. When this forced test-run shows just how productive (and even happier) their employees are when working from home, they may shutter their offices for good and embrace the entrepreneurial tech-startup way of business.

6. Home offices or backyard studios will become an important part of real estate. Because of this, minimalism may find its way into homes as people seek a way to find a peaceful, non-distracting space to complete their work from home. Currently, I’d wager most home-office spaces are more like a storage room for all the extra clutter that has no home. The office desk sits there with piles of papers that no one is sure what to do with. There’s a random futon crammed in there, as if this junk room could be used as a guest space. A dusty treadmill sits in the center, as if this room could also function as a home gym. I imagine these rooms will be the first to get a makeover, as everyone on the globe tries to find a quiet space to work efficiently. They may turn to minimalism books to figure out how to declutter, organize, and meet the intentions they have set for this room.

7. Similarly, if they are working from home, many people may opt out of nursery school in order to save money (especially when cutting costs during a recession). Though it may make working a little harder, the cost savings will ultimately win in most households. Because of this, people will become more intentional about playrooms. They may figure out that a cluttered child’s room overflowing with toys does the opposite of their original intentions. More toys does not entertain children more. Ironically, having less toys does. I think society will figure this out quickly and start researching how to declutter children’s rooms and simplify to open-ended toys with a Montessori approach. Plus, the less toys there are in the home, the less time is required for constantly picking them up. If parents are working from home, they will not have extra time to spare for constantly cleaning up.

8. Gardening is already proving to be a hot topic, even in the earliest days of the recession. With budgets getting tighter, people are digging up their backyards to plant seeds for vegetable and herb gardens in the hopes to lessen the amount of trips needed to visit the grocery store. One, they need to save money. Two, they need to lessen the exposure and risk of contracting the coronavirus. Three, people are worried about stores staying in stock, as people continue to panic buy and imports of certain items have slowed or stopped. An interest in developing a green thumb will only continue, and people will discover how gratifying growing their own food is as it fits perfectly in their new minimalist, intentional, slow pace of life.

9. There will be a spike in “sustainable minimalism” and “zero waste” literature. Again, because of tight budgets and a desire to reduce visits to stores, people will start examining the amount of single-use items in their home. The first of these items was toilet paper, as the entire world suddenly seemed to run out at once. Immediately, an interest in cloth wipes and bidets became a hot topic. I think a domino effect will happen in many households, as they discover they can swap paper towels for dish rags, disposable diapers for cloth diapers, wipes for cloth wipes, Ziploc bags for reusable silicone bags, garbage bags for wet bags, plastic cling wrap for beeswax cloth, plastic straws for steel straws, plastic bags for cloth tote bags. Like our grandparents did in the Great Depression, we will also see creativity in reuse and recycling at home. We will learn that we can save things in old jelly jars and reuse tin foil more than once. Plastic containers make perfectly good ‘tupperware’ and tins and boxes have an infinite amount of reuse options. Our planet may become a better place as we create less plastic and fill up landfills at a slower pace. Compost piles will be a popular conversation piece.

10. Personal finance will become a hotter topic as people reevaluate their own budgets and finances. Once the panic is over and we see a little more stability--even if still trying to climb out of a recession--people will seek financial literacy and try to understand how they can avoid a financial hit like this again. With the possibility of this virus being an annual occurrence (such as the flu), I think people will start taking actions very quickly to safeguard their accounts and brace for another round of turmoil. Many people currently in the “FI” culture (“financial independence” or “FIRE Movement” (Financial Independence, Retire Early)) are people who came out of the 2008 recession with the grit and determination to never experience a hit like that again. A large majority of these “FI” folks are going to survive this recession quite easily and some will even thrive during it, watching their money grow by leaps and bounds. A second generation of “FI” folks will be born out of this recession as they seek knowledge on how to dig themselves out of this hole and find financial stability again. If anything, Dave Ramsey will certainly see a huge spike in new followers, as people begin to take his baby steps for climbing out of debt--the first step necessary for achieving “financial independence.”

11. As we experience deaths of loved ones and see our media feeds saturated with heart-wrenching stories of wonderful people losing the battle with Covid-19, we will all start asking deeper questions. What is most important in life? Am I focusing my energy on what matters? Am I living a life of meaning? Am I present enough with my family? I believe we will see society making big shifts as people explore these questions and realign their lives with their values. Personal growth books and conferences will see an uptick in sales and attendees as people seek answers and long-term changes.

I think we will see an immense amount of growth in the worlds of minimalism and financial independence. The two go hand-in-hand in many ways. Often, when someone pairs down their belongings, they begin to evaluate their spending and their values. When they find joy outside of consumerism and realize they are now saving money, they usually stumble upon ways to begin growing that money. When they see the magic of the compound effect, they realize how quickly they can achieve freedom--financially, time-wise, and mentally. It seems logical to me that we will see this domino effect or ripple effect throughout the globe.

On the other hand, I think there will be others who could easily be swayed the opposite direction. If they cannot sit in the silence of quarantine and find peace in it, but instead fight the isolation with irritation, they may find their money--even if they don’t have much-- burning a hole in their pocket. Of course, we will all need to begin spending on some level to get the economy rolling again. But I think some people will feel so pent up after weeks or months of sitting at home, that they lose all self control once the lockdowns are lifted. They will satisfy a month’s worth of shopping itches at once and fill their homes with impulse purchases. This may spiral into worst debt, higher anxiety, and a longer amount of time on “the hamster wheel” of working to pay for their things.

We cannot force the philosophy of minimalism on anyone. We cannot force the discipline and strategies of financial independence on anyone. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” Some people may repel these ideas as they have found themselves plunged into a scarcity mindset. But my hope is that by sharing my personal journey and the benefits I’ve experienced, some folks will take the first steps of embracing a slower, simpler way of life and reflecting on all of the good that can come from it.

What do you think? What are some other ways this pandemic-induced recession may alter our world forever?

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If you would like to read more in the future, please sign up for my email list! I have two books slated to publish in the coming year. “Have Yourself a Minimalist Christmas” (Slow Down, Save Money, and Enjoy a More Intentional, Simple, and Stress-Free Holiday) will be released September 2020. Soon thereafter will be a book about the four philosophies that have contributed to our financial independence journey.

I look forward to staying in touch with you and discussing these topics!

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(Top Photo: That time we stayed on a tiny island off the coast of Panama with two kids, one backpack, and no diapers (just a swimsuit bottom). No electricity, no ice, no windows. We drank from coconuts we chopped open and ate shrimp caught that day. A minimalist state such as this is the happiest and most rewarding to me. "Normal life "is not quite as extreme, but experiencing life without the usual items and knowing just how little you actually need to be comfortable and happy is an incredible exercise for editing out all that is unnecessary in our society.)