Our name means a lot of different things to us.  

In our quest for a simpler way of living we’re reducing lots of aspects of our lives. We wanted to create this post to give you an idea of what ‘A Way to Less’ means to us and how we are striving to improve our lives throughout this journey. 

When people first think of financial independence, they often think you need MORE. More money, to be able to buy more things, to live a happier life. But throughout our journey so far, we have actually found that most of our happiness is generated through LESS.  

An easy example of this is going out to restaurants. For some, this is a weekly occurrence (or more!). When something is done so often, it can quickly lose that ‘special’ feeling. It may sound obvious that going out to eat less will improve your financial position. What may not be so obvious is that it is actually likely to make you HAPPIER too.  

We only eat out around once per month or two now. Because it is such a treat, we really look forward to each outing and plan it in great detail. When you apply this to various different activities, you soon end up much better off AND happier. A double win! 

So without further delay, here are some examples of what our name means to us. 

A Way to Less……. What?!

A Way to Less……. Stuff – minimalism is important to us. We still have much to improve, but we’re finding that as we reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ we have, a huge weight is lifted. Stuff = stress! 

A Way to Less ……. Cars – this one is simple. People use cars too much.  

A Way to Less……. Waste – the temptations of advertising can often lull us into a false sense of ‘needing’ certain things.  

A Way to Less……. Spending – we are making a real effort to be more frugal and only spend on the things which genuinely bring us happiness. This increasingly means saying no to ‘stuff’ and yes to activities and experiences. 

A Way to Less……. Stress – so many of life’s stresses stem from the fact people rely on a regular pay packet. Working towards financial independence gives us the comfort of having a buffer. We aren’t constantly ‘on the edge’ and have the ability to deal with most things life can throw at us. 

A Way to Less……. Rushing – having full time jobs means life is a constant battle to fit in all of the activities we really want to be doing instead. Achieving financial independence would allow us to work on OUR terms, making more time for our other passions. We’re also considering prolonging the path to financial independence by working less hours. This would allow us to enjoy the journey more, as well as the outcome! 

A Way to Less……. Pressure – working in a full time career also brings inevitable pressure. When you rely on the income, there is a real pressure to perform and be the very best at your job. 

A Way to Less……. Missed Opportunities – again, this comes down to the availability of time. While working full time, we are missing opportunities to do the things we love. As we intend to start a family, this will become even more pertinent. 

A Way to Less……. Social Media – social media is addictive. This is particularly true when you’re tired after a long day at work. You may not have the capacity left to be productive, so instead you aimlessly scroll social media.  

A Way to Less……. Reliance on a Salary – probably the biggest benefit of achieving financial independence is being able to choose if and when you will work. But this also applies if you haven’t achieved FI yet. We’re a long way off, but having grown a small freedom fund gives us the confidence that things will turn out ok.  

A Way to Less……. Consumption – we are constantly trying to be mindful of our consumption and the impact we have on the environment. Over recent history, the human race has had a devastating impact on the planet. Consuming less is probably the most effective way any of us can improve this situation. 

A Way to Less……. Negativity – we are constantly trying to see our world through a positive viewpoint. Remembering and appreciating the things we have rather than wanting more.

Living By These Principles

These are just a sample of the areas we are trying to reduce. Lots of these are interlinked and balancing all of them can be a challenge. As we explain in our posts, we try our best to design our lives in the best way we can, with all of these topics and more in mind.  

Of course, we can’t always make the ‘optimum’ decision, and in fact, there often isn’t one. Life is a constant stream of decisions and each can only be made on the information you have at the time. 

Final Thought 

When we were signing up for our domain name and email address we realised that our name could be confused for ‘Away to Less’. We actually quite like that too! We’re very interested in travel and have a strong desire to work abroad at some point in our lives. If and when we do make this move, we will be significantly reducing our ‘stuff’ and travelling with the bare minimum. This idea of going ‘Away to Less’ really appeals to us.