Most people are yet to understand that embracing a minimalist lifestyle doesn't mean one is poor or stingy, rather to us, it means making less feels like more.
I once had an altercation with a “friend” because of my choice of lifestyle. She stays not too far from me. Though, at first we never really “vibed” beforehand until we were paired for a common event which made us start speaking afterwards.
It happened that a festive period was approaching and I, like some people, do like to make my shoppings earlier to avoid traders inflating the price of things when the festival gets closer even when they themselves got them at a much cheaper rate.
My sister whom I always shop with traveled and thereby wasn't available at the time I wanted to go shopping for things I would be needing, so I mentioned it to my friend(let's call her Yemisi) and it turned out that she also buys her things earlier.
So we picked a date to go to the market and we left home very early. I knew that going to a big market like that, if one is not disciplined, you will end up spending all the money on you. Both the cash at hand and the one in the bank. So I had a list of things I needed with possible prices. I knew there might be a slight difference in the prices so I held a little extra cash just in case.
We got to the market and this lady wanted to buy anything and everything. She was just buying some things at ridiculous prices, even the same things in different colors as she claimed she loves doing “to match” ( This is when one loves dressing in a way that all the colors are the same, from dresses to shoes, to handbags, head ties etc) .
She tried getting me to buy some things she bought but I insisted on sticking to my prepared list.
“Rukkie, you are too stingy, afterall you work and earn a salary” she chided, giving me the side eye, since I ignored everything she had thrown .my way.
I just smiled and decided to ignore her, hoping she would let it go but it seems she wasn't letting me go easily.
“Spend this money, when you die, people who didn't save it would end up spending it for you”.
Her statement hurt but I kept on ignoring her until she dragged me towards a shop where female accessories are being sold. I tried wriggling my hands but she kept on persisting, even the shop owner was already thrusting some ornaments towards my way.
“Auntie, this one will fit you, it complements your colour”, the woman said as I tried moving away.
“Rukkie, buy this one now”, Yemisi insisted that it became irritating. I left her at the woman's shop and moved forward looking for where to get the remaining things on my list.
She rushed forward trying to grab my attention to another thing. I didn't even check whether she meant it for herself or for me when I shouted.
“Madam, is it your money? Is it your possessions? Of what concerns is yours what I chose to buy and not buy? I snapped, raising my voice at all in the process. Though I regretted shouting at her as I always shy away from any form of confrontations with people, her persistence became so irritating.
She kept her cool after that and seriously I was grateful for the peace and quiet, well except for the noise of vehicles and people coming and going around us which didn't make it quiet anyways 😃😃😃.
I could see she was angry at my outburst but I couldn't care less at the time. Though we still shopped together as she followed me to places I needed to go and I in turn followed her to get things she “wanted”, which was a lot plus some unnecessary but maybe it felt that way to me.
me checking out a watch
I also bought a few things that caught my eye which were not on my list but that was after getting everything on it.
The ride home was a silent one even after I apologized for raising my voice at her. Our new friendship became cold afterwards as she withdrew from me. We weren't close anyways, just an “upcoming friendship” which became clear wouldn't work. We wave at each other whenever we see around till I move away.
My Key takeaway
I noticed some people thrive on showing off. They are willing to buy expensive things just so others will know they can afford it whether it affects their purse or not.
As a minimalist, try not to allow anyone to pressure you into becoming a maximalist. Enjoy the simplicity that comes with being minimalist and never let it go.
Thank you for reading.
All Images used are mine.