My goal for this year is to be frugal and stop being a slave to money.

I’ve set a savings goal of $7,000, and I plan to use this money to invest in my talents in 2025. To achieve this goal, I’ve made a specific plan and examined my heart.

1. Stop buying clothes

In 2024, I decided not to buy any clothes. When I went through my closet, I realized that even though I donate unworn clothes every year or sell them at second-hand markets, I still have a lot of them. So I decided to not buy clothes this year and use what I have. I found out that I was spending 10-20% of my monthly income on clothes and shoes, and I felt like it was a waste of money – it would be smarter to save that money for that trip to Europe I wanted to go on. I also realized from recent YouTube videos that a lot of environmental pollution is involved in producing clothes. I want to be recognized as a capable worker who develops and loves myself rather than being stylish with no money

2. Use public transport

I try to walk or use public transport for short distances. I’ve been walking or using public transport to get to and from work and to meet up with friends. This gives me a good workout and saves me money on petrol. Public transport also allows me to read books I normally don’t have time to read. This is the book I usually read when I’m on the train. It’s an interesting book about how small changes can add up and become habits and change the course of your life.

3. Examine my inner world around money

When you set a goal and you want to reach it, you get temptations. It’s not easy, and I’m sure you can relate. To save a little bit of money, you have to spend less. For me, those temptations include

(1) I want to wear expensive designer clothes and be the envy of everyone around me.

(2) I want to travel and stay in fancy hotels.

(3) I want to spend money on things without paying attention to the price tag.

These thoughts are a combination of my experiences since I was young and my thoughts at the time, one by one, have created the values I have today. I don’t beat myself up, I don’t blame myself, because I’ve done that a lot and it hasn’t helped me change. Instead, I journal and meditate every day. Writing about what I’m thinking calms me down and helps me understand myself.

Through my meditation, I learned that the thoughts and behaviors in (1), (2), and (3) came from my mind: feelings of inferiority, unwillingness to work, insensitivity, and laziness.

When I let go of the inferiority that comes from comparing myself to others through meditation, and the vanity that comes from hating the life of sweating and diligence and wanting success without effort, my thoughts and behavior change a little bit every day. This is what makes it interesting and life-giving.

My life was the same every day, a life without goals. Every day I started from 0. Now, I’m not afraid of failure because if I add one small posotive change today, it’s a better life than yesterday. I owe this attitude and the power to take action to meditation. If you have a goal you want to achieve, I recommend meditation to help you find the true yourself.