Recently, I have been reducing my cost of living, especially food costs. I like frugality that progresses my physical health. Although it requires creativity, it is fun.
I now live healthily on about 1/8 of the average monthly income of a normal person (excluding expenses for taxes, insurance, and pension). Perhaps that efficiency is the prime reason I can live comfortably on passive income alone, even though my passive income is not much.
Today, I will talk about one of my experiences with cutting the cost of living. Perhaps we have to make some waste when we try to create efficiency.
A problem to reduce the cost of living
Sometimes, we want to reduce our cost of living, especially when we want to live freely. If we can live healthily with less spending, we can cut down on disgusting work and increase our happy time, such as living naturally or creating something fun.
However, when we reduce the cost of living, we sometimes face one problem that could prevent us from taking action: making another waste. Although we prepared something for the future, we find it unnecessary. We have to dispose of it, even though we have never used it.
For example, we might have bought expensive dresses in the past. We prepared them for social events in the future. However, we realize it is unnecessary because we want a secluded life. In that situation, we have to get rid of them.
Perhaps that process is inevitable for us. We have to make some waste to create efficiency. Today, I will explain why through my recent experience.
Two approaches to wealth creation
There may be two types of people with their wealth-creating style, as follows:
- People who are good at earning a monthly income but are poor at reducing spending.
- People who are poor at earning a monthly income but are good at reducing expenditure and increasing assets.
Reducing expenditures and increasing assets are the same thing. In other words, those who prefer frugality have investment talent. Being frugal is one of the forms of investing.
I am the latter. I feel happy when I find more affordable things that I can use because they will be my assets. On the other hand, creating monthly incomes or working for them stresses me.
Perhaps this blog’s readers tend to be the same as me.
An example of my improvement
When we try to reduce the cost of living, we sometimes face making a big waste of our past preparations. Perhaps this is inevitable to create a more efficient life. Let me talk about my case.
By the way, I have had a weak liver since birth, but I had not been aware of it for a long time. I didn’t know why my physical state was so bad. However, I finally realized that several years ago and began improving my liver health.
I went through many trials and errors with my lifestyle, including my eating style.
Interestingly, in my case, the more frugal and simple diet I ate, the healthier my liver became. Perhaps that is because my body and liver are suited to survival.
I adopted many liver-healthy habits. Drinking a small amount of medicinal liquor every 3 or 4 days is one of them. Although drinking alcohol every day damages our lives, a small amount, such as a half-shot of hard liquor, in several days often makes our liver healthier. Of course, it is my case. It depends on individual nature.
I created the medicinal liquor myself: kumquat-infused liquor. I used kumquat fruits that I have in my garden. They are suited for medicinal liquor.
Probiotic vinegar that substitutes for medicinal liquor
However, recently, I accidentally discovered that I could substitute probiotic vinegar for medicinal liquor.
Vinegar and alcoholic drinks are almost the same. Both of them are created by fermentation.
When the foods with sugar, such as grains or fruits, are fermented, the bacteria produce alcohol. That makes alcoholic drinks. For example, if we ferment wheat, we can make beer. Grapes turn into wines.
We can make vinegar from them. Alcohol, when combined with oxygen in the air, becomes vinegar. That is why the wine turns sour and vinegary if we leave it for a few days after opening.
I discovered that probiotic vinegar with live bacteria works well for me as a substitute for medicinal alcohol. Although I still don’t know the logic, I was in the same state as when I got drunk, even though it had no alcohol. Perhaps that was because our liver processes live bacteria and alcohol similarly, but it could be wrong.
Reducing costs with regrets
I was delighted because I could reduce my cost of liquor. I can create them only with sugar, some fruits or vegetables, and bacteria I have. Almost free! In addition, probiotic vinegar looks as healthy as a medicinal liquor because it helps my gut.
However, at the same time, I noticed that I created a lot of medicinal liquors this winter, and there is still a lot left. In addition, I bought a lot of liquor for infusion last month because it was the seasonal cheapest time in my area.
It means I have to dispose of them. My long-term preparation was wasted. Of course, I could consume them over a long period, but I want to drink probiotic vinegar because it looks healthier and more natural.
I decided to dispose of those liquors, although I regretted having prepared so much. However, this may be inevitable when we reduce the cost of living. We can be depressed and move on.
Conclusion
Perhaps we have to make some waste to create efficiency.
That awareness might allow us to make decisions to reduce our cost of living.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
