Not strange at all. JPGs work well for me because I like the program they open in and I don't print.

I'm paperless on everything. Since I don't have a printer, I save my invoices and important pages as .JPGs. I actually find not having a printer to be a good thing because when I had one, I used to print out a lot of unnecessary pages, which is just a waste of paper. I don't even need a filing system anymore, which is a huge space saver - minimalism.

Just today, I renewed my car tags and registration online. It sure is nice to be able to do things like that online nowadays. Saves a lot of time.

And for creating a digital signature if you don't have a scanner, I used a paint program.

I telecommute and love it.

The Enter key doesn't work for me. I have an older computer, so maybe that's why. So now I can't make comments. Very frustrating.

Here's what I thought while reading:

1. Treats are a part of regular life if you can afford them and keep a very healthy savings too. For me personally these treats are an incentive to make huge payments to savings. Treats and savings go hand in hand for me, so it works. But my treats relate directly to the life I am creating for the long-term.

No reason to spend money where it's unnecessary. Buy a home espresso machine and save that $4-$6 every day. Go to Starbucks every once in a while instead of every day. I bought my brand new all-in-one espresso and coffeemaker on eBay for less than half of its original selling price picking up a nice machine that also steams milk for only $43 including shipping.

2. You are absolutely right that debt is not a way of life. I have no debt at all and I never will again. What a horrible, expensive and repetitive trap it is. It took me a long time to figure it out and learn not to follow the herd. It is considered so normal to have debt, it's unreal the change in thinking you have to do to break out of it.

Now the the new debt-free me has saved and bought a very nice car outright. I'm saving now and will buy a house and pay for it in full later this year or next. Live in a part of the world that you like, but you can afford. You definitely don't have to have credit card debt. And you don't even have to have car and home debt either. Get smart and live differently from the prevailing accepted practices.

When I was younger, my Mom would always say she never wanted to live in a retirement home. You could tell that was her worst fear when she'd say it.

My grandma, her mother, lived to 106, and she wanted to live in a retirement home by her own choice. She had family who wanted her to move in with them, but she didn't want to.

Everyone is different.

My Mom no longer drives, so she needs someone to do her shopping and my brother and I are here to do that. Her health is fine, so there's no needs there. She loves our company, but I tend to go in and out because my brother is now here full-time. She just needs someone around all the time.

It wasn't an option for her to move in with anyone because she loves her house and her hometown, so it was up to us to move in with her.

My brother sold his house in a faraway town and since I've been somewhat of a traveler, it was no problem to stop by and check in on her, especially before he was here full-time.

She wants to make sure our futures are solid since we've taken time out for her. I finally realized the ideal situation I'm in and now I save up every penny I make. I bought a nice car last autumn and I'm saving up to buy a house and pay for it in full later this year or next.

My Mom has always been a shining example of never being in debt. She's always paid for everything in full, including houses, and although that is considered unusual by today's standards of debt and mortgages, I agree it is the way to live.

My father passed away many years ago in 1990, but he was also a great example of being responsible with money.

That's hilarious about your Dad and Kleenex boxes for knick knacks. My Mom does that too!

That's a great idea - "go vegan or vegetarian a few times a week." A light bulb went off when I read that. Thanks for the inspiration. I was a strict vegetarian for a few years and I've always missed it. Duh, it never occurred to me that I could do both!

I'm curious about how you landed in your line of work. Do you have blog posts about that you could refer me to? If not, perhaps you could make them for the future to satisfy our insatiable curiosities.

-- Victoria

In some ways, I find the minimalist movement comical, or to be more polite, funny, because some of us are just naturally minimalists. It's not something we question or something we have to consciously practice. It's just our natural style.

I feel bad that some people feel pressured to comply to a certain set of standards as voiced by the commentator.

Each individual will have their own interpretation and their own way of expressing their minimalism.

-- Victoria