What COVID Taught Me About Living with Less

The COVID-19 pandemic changed many lives.

Almost overnight, the world slowed down.

Hotels closed.

Restaurants became quiet.

Flights were cancelled.

Many people lost their jobs, while others were placed on unpaid leave.

Like millions of people around the world, I found myself wondering what tomorrow would look like.

Looking back today, I realise COVID didn’t simply teach me how to save money.

It taught me how little I actually needed to live well.

Living With Less Isn’t About Being Poor

Before COVID, I never really questioned many of my buying habits.

If something was on sale, I bought it.

If I wanted to try a different shampoo, I bought it.

A different soap?

Into the shopping trolley it went.

Sound familiar?

One day during lockdown, I opened my bathroom cabinet and laughed.

There must have been six or seven bottles of shampoo.

Half-used body washes.

Different facial cleansers.

Bars of soap I had completely forgotten about.

I realised something.

I had been buying new bottles long before I had finished the old ones.

And I know I’m not the only one.

Many of us do exactly the same thing.

COVID forced me to stop.

Not because I suddenly became disciplined.

Simply because I wasn’t going shopping as often anymore.

So I started using what I already had.

Bottle after bottle.

Soap after soap.

And surprisingly…

I didn’t miss buying more.

That lesson stayed with me.

Today, whenever I feel tempted to buy another bottle because it’s on sale, I open my cupboard first.

More often than not, I already have exactly what I need.

It’s Amazing What We Already Own

The same thing happened in my kitchen.

I started looking through cupboards before going grocery shopping.

There were tins of tuna.

Pasta.

Rice.

Flour.

Ingredients that had been sitting there quietly while I continued buying more.

Instead of asking,

“What should I buy?”

I started asking,

“What can I make with what I already have?”

Ironically, some of my favourite recipes were born during that time.

Homemade bread.

Pizza.

Simple meals made from ordinary ingredients.

It wasn’t about deprivation.

It was about creativity.

Don’t Be Embarrassed to Downgrade

Perhaps the biggest lesson COVID taught me had nothing to do with money.

It was about pride.

There have been seasons in my life when I had to downgrade.

I moved into shared accommodation.

I reduced my spending.

I stopped buying things simply because I wanted them.

At the time, it felt like I was moving backwards.

Today, I see it differently.

Sometimes taking one step backwards financially allows you to take two steps forward in life.

There is no shame in choosing peace over appearances.

Declutter Like You’ll Die Tomorrow…

Recently, while thinking about retirement, another thought came to me.

Declutter like you’ll die tomorrow… but prepare your life as though you’ll live another twenty years.

At first, those two ideas seem to contradict each other.

But they don’t.

If tomorrow never comes, I don’t want the people I love to spend weeks sorting through boxes of things I never needed.

If I live another twenty or thirty years, I want enough financial freedom to enjoy them without constantly worrying about money.

Owning less doesn’t mean living less.

It simply means making room for what matters more.

The Best Investment Isn’t Always Something You Buy

COVID also reminded me that some of the most valuable investments cost very little.

Learning to cook.

Learning to bake bread.

Repairing instead of replacing.

Growing herbs on a balcony.

Understanding the difference between needs and wants.

Learning how to budget.

These aren’t just money-saving tips.

They’re life skills.

And once you learn them, nobody can take them away from you.

Looking Back

Today, I’m preparing for retirement.

Ironically, many of the lessons I’m using weren’t learned from retirement books.

They came from one of the most uncertain periods the world has ever experienced.

COVID taught me resilience.

It taught me gratitude.

It taught me to appreciate what I already had before looking for something new.

Most importantly…

It taught me that simplifying my life wasn’t about giving things up.

It was about making space for the life I truly wanted.

💡 Be-Bulb Reflection

Life has a way of teaching us lessons we never asked for.

Sometimes those lessons arrive during the hardest seasons.

If COVID taught me anything, it wasn’t simply how to save money.

It taught me to let go of what I didn’t need so I could hold on more tightly to what truly mattered.

Whether you’re preparing for retirement, recovering from financial hardship, or simply trying to live more intentionally, remember this: