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_{Exploring the minimalist, beautiful questions, and maintenance}

Happy Thursday! Thanks for reading Intentional Dollar — where we look at old money ideas through a new perspective.

What’s inside?

• One idea to experiment with

• Two quotes from others

• Three questions to dig deeper

• Four lines of poetry for the point

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. These weekly posts represent my simple thoughts, a few quotes, and some questions — for educational purposes only.

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_{One idea to experiment with:}

The Minimalist:

How many coffee mugs do you have? T-shirts? Screwdrivers? Blankets? Knives? Pens? Wallets?

Take an inventory this week. If you’re like me, you’ve got a surplus of these things. I get it—different mugs for different seasons, different shirts for different outfits. Variation gives rise to personality and uniqueness. But it also gives rise to decision fatigue and cost.

This morning, I made a pot of coffee. I didn’t think about which beans to use or what I felt like drinking, because we only have one bag. The constraint made the decision for me. No deliberation, just action.

Then I opened the cabinet and—no joke—28 coffee mugs stared back at me. I started to sweat.

It’s just my wife, me, and our four-month-old daughter (the latter not a coffee drinker—yet). My wife’s on an iced coffee kick, so she’s not using any of the hot mugs. That leaves just me. I could make it through the month of February without reusing a single coffee mug.

This didn’t happen overnight. A mug here to remember a trip. One there from an annual winter market. We collect, but we aren’t collectors.

Sure, there’s a case for having enough to entertain. Friends come over, lattes are made, conversations unfold. But at some point, we all accumulate too much. And we overwhelm ourselves with an army of options to choose from.

I’m not making a hard pitch to gather all your extras and dump them on Marketplace. But I am running a small experiment—one I’m inviting you to join.

What would it look like if I used only one coffee mug? I’m not getting rid of the other 27—but I’m going to hide them. I drink coffee every morning (and afternoon, and sometimes late afternoon, and occasionally evening). So I wonder: how much mental energy am I spending just picking a mug?

There’s nothing wrong with collecting—if we do it with intention. Intention means we’re consciously choosing to spend our money and our attention on these things.

But when I start my day by choosing a coffee mug, then an outfit, then shoes to match, I’m already draining mental resources. Resources I could use for higher-order thinking.

How many examples of this kind of decision fatigue can you find in your life?

Try the revocable minimalism experiment this week. Hide your excess and constrain yourself. Just for a week.

And as Kevin Kelly reminds us:
“Take note if you find yourself wondering, ‘Where is my good knife?’ or ‘Where is my good pen?’ That means you have bad ones. Get rid of those.”

_{Two quotes on beautiful questions:}

What are the chances there’s a single beautiful question out there that could change the whole course of your life? What if we forced ourselves to ask dozens of questions daily?

_{Three questions on maintenance:}

1. How can I create maintenance systems so there’s less volatility around the work I must do? 

2. What maintenance am I skipping out on? What if I put recurring calendar notes to perform the maintenance task required?

3. What’s the cost of ignoring the maintenance? 

Which question stuck with you? Questions like these are spotlights for the mind. Reply to this email and let me know which one shined light on a previously dark cave.

_{Four lines of poetry for the point:}

Contact Me:

Content ideas, questions? Reply to this email or reach out to me at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. These weekly posts represent my simple thoughts, a few quotes, and some questions — for educational purposes only.

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