Simple Living Tips That Actually Work

I spent my first morning of 2026 making sure everything in my life was arranged as it should be.

I tracked my finances, cleared my email inbox, organized my files on my computer, and prepared myself to do one of the things I love most… see how cheap I could get stuff for.

Not useless stuff I don’t need.

Essentials.

If you’ve never haggled down the price on life’s essentials, you’re really missing out.

I’m talking your phone plan, internet plan, mortgage rate, electricity prices.

The stuff that doesn’t really go on sale… which makes it so much better when you get the price down.

After a five-minute live chat with my internet provider (and just three messages later), I managed to get $10 off my internet plan for the next nine months (yep, $90).

Now you’re probably thinking, what type of loser even has time for that?

Me.

I have time for that.

I have time to make $90 in five minutes.

And I have time for that because I have organized my life in a way where I’m so acutely aware of the things I have in said life, that I can maintain them, appreciate them, save on them, and feel good about them.

That, to me, is a simple life.

Redefining What A Simple Life Is

I don’t think a simple life is necessarily about owning less stuff, I think it’s about getting to a point where you’re aware of your stuff – both your internal stuff (thoughts & doings), and your external stuff (the stuff that collects dust).

I don’t want this to be another get rid of all your stuff type article, so I’m going to clear out the external stuff before we go further.

Us humans love to attach a label to everything we do.

But the great part about being an adult is having the free will, and the self-confidence, to use our own judgment and stand by our decisions.

The free will and self-confidence to have a set of beliefs without having to subscribe to a certain political party.

And the free will and self-confidence to live a simple and wholesome life without throwing everything you own away and staring at a wall whilst you eat.

I don’t own much stuff because stuff doesn’t make me happy.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep your two-thousand-piece Snoopy collection that’s worth $50,000 and takes up a whole room (send me pics if you have this).

That collection is probably very beautiful and makes you feel at peace when you look at it.

That’s pretty cool – and you don’t need permission from anyone to keep it.

Some people, like myself, find peace in owning very little.

And some people, possibly like yourself, find peace surrounding themselves with memories, collections and a little bit of chaos.

Neither is right, and neither is more enlightened than the other.

All this to say, a simple life goes far beyond one’s possessions.

Yes, it’s a mindset, but it’s also a level of self-confidence that you obtain when you realize you’re okay with your space and the things in it.

Once you become okay with your ‘things’, then I think a simple life becomes much more determined by what goes on in your mind, and the decisions you make daily.

Again, what works for you will be very different from what works for others, but here are some tips that make me a little bit more sane and relaxed each day:

1. Spend money to avoid advertising

Advertisements work against you in two ways.

They take away space and clarity from your life by filling the room with someone’s annoying voice or an obnoxious in-your-face image.

And they make you aware of an apparent hole in your life that would magically be filled if you bought a crappy product you didn’t know existed two minutes ago.

Advertisements steal your clarity and your money.

So at least if I spend some money to avoid them, I can maintain my clarity.

This means paying to subscribe to a few things that I use very regularly so I never have to hear or see an ad when I use them.

This also means using free measures (ad blockers) to avoid most ads I see online (this is legal and easy to do, just google it).

Going to extra effort to avoid advertisements is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental space.

2. Learn to cook simple foods really well

I eat (basically) the same thing every day.

I’ve been eating the same things for so long that I’ve learnt to cook these things exactly how I like them.

No matter what’s going on in my life, I know I can have a healthy meal that I genuinely enjoy within five or ten minutes.

Eating meals with fewer, simpler ingredients will change your life – both health-wise, and for the time and mental effort it will save you.

When something is simple and enjoyable to make, you’re going to be far less likely to buy expensive takeout that you don’t even really want anyway.

Over time, you can turn cooking into less of a chore and more into something that’s simply part of a routine.

3. Be able to list your bills and subscriptions by heart

Last week I saw an advertisement (ugh) promoting a service that helps people find all the subscriptions they’re still paying for.

This physically hurt me to see.

You need to be on top of the things you’re paying money for.

The money you earn by sacrificing your precious time and energy doing things you don’t want to be doing.

I could list all my bills and the subscriptions I pay for within 15 seconds, and I don’t think this should be a particularly impressive thing to be able to do.

I believe the pinnacle of a simple life is a life in control, or at least aware, of the coming and going of one’s money.

Like it or not, money defines what most of us do each day.

If we aren’t in control of where this money is going, then we aren’t fully in control of our time or the choices we make, even if we think we are.

It’s hard to live a simple life of our choosing when we undervalue and surrender control of our money.

If there is one thing you take from this article, let it be this.

4. Be the annoying person always on Do Not Disturb

My fiends hate it.

My parents don’t understand it.

And I love it.

I can never quite believe it when I’m with someone and I see their phone lighting up every five minutes.

One, because I realize they’re far more popular and have way more friends than me.

But two, because that would make me go mad.

In no world do you have to be available for anyone at any time.

When you hit that Do No Disturb button, it brings a level of peace to your life like no other.

Pretty much the only notification I get each day is the notification from Do Not Disturb turning on or off automatically.

I reply slow, and my life is so much better because of it.

Try it.

5. Stop “working on yourself” for a while

“It is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that. Or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”

Matt Haig – The Comfort Book

One of the best ways to ensure your life is never simple is to fall into the self-improvement trap of always believing you should be more.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to strive to do more and be better, but when this is the constant focal point of your life, you never really give yourself a chance to just… live.

That was me, and I think I was so scared to get out of this self-improvement loop because I didn’t like the life I was facing when I stopped.

But looking back, I think that’s because I never gave myself the time or space to just live in that life for a bit.

To be okay with not optimizing my life in every possible aspect and just living an imperfect, flawed, kind of boring, monotonous life.

Well, I guess that in itself is the definition of a simple life.

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About the Author: Jack Waters is a former journalist turned creative thinker and writer, on a mission to become better every day and live a more fulfilling life.