What would it take for you to say you've had enough and simplify your life?
I have occasional dreams of selling everything and living in an RV by the ocean with minimal luxuries and lots of sun. Part of that day dream leaves out my day to day life and how I survive, but I still want to be there and I don’t care what risks may lay in front of me. Of course the practical side of me tries to plan it all out and figure out the pros and cons but eventually I move back into my regular life and the daydreaming stops.
But, I wonder at what point I will get fed up with it all and say “Enough!” Take off in the car after selling my stuff, and go live on the coast, like in my daydreams?
Right now, I am slowly working towards that goal by lowering my standard of living and living on less. It may not be next year or even in 3 years, but the goal to shoot for is there.
What about you? What would it take for you to say you've had enough and simplify your life?
Let's hear you thoughts and goals.....
My goal, and I don't know if I'll actually DO it because actually reaching a major goal is scary, is to live "off grid" in a cobwood (cordwood construction with cob rather than mortar between the woodbits) house I build myself. I'll have a garden, fruit trees, bees and/or chickens. I plan to have a tiny solar panel to charge a laptop and cellphone because those are the only electronics that I truly enjoy. No internet connection. composting toilet. Roof collection and maybe a spring for water. It's a dream that I may not get to but I work towards it every day by saving $$, looking for land and building the skills I'd need to pull it off.
As for what it will take to get me to do it. I don't know. I have a job where getting fired someday is a foregone conclusion so that may be the tipping point. It makes work easier just knowing I have a plan B and enough savings in the bank to get it started if I decided to chuck it all.
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I think in some respects we've already done that. We live in a 480 sf studio, and I often think about how wonderful it would be to live in a trailer on the ocean. Maybe that's just because even in a single-wide my kitchen cabinet space would double. :)We started simplifying because we have debt, but I think we will definitely stay more like this. I do recognize that it's easier for us that some people I know. My husband's family never had a lot and my mom-in-law can squeeze a buck like no one else I know, and my family had a lot of fiscal ups and downs so we always made use of what we had; folks lived in the same house for 29 years, every tree/plant on the property was edible or medicinal, etc. I think that's actually more of what I dream of, being able to walk out of my place and pick a piece of ripe fruit off a tree like when I was young...simple pleasures you take for granted.
Years ago it happened when I chose to end my marriage and I had only a part-time job and 10 month old baby.
I chose the possibility of us living out of my old van after increasing animosity by my husband and the last straw being an incident in a store where he started slamming groceries out of the cart on the floor because I "didn't organize the cart correctly" and the catfood cans had fallen over in the cart and screaming at me the whole time we were checking and then when taking the cart out to the parking lot and slamming the cart into the van with my scared 10 month old baby in it and he nearly flew out of the cart. I am a mild mannered person, but I smacked my husband really hard on the arm - I was horrified how I had reacted and the person was turning into to try to deal with him and the example we were setting for my crying, scared baby. I vowed no more. I let him keep the house, both Mercedes, all the furniture and anything and everything else he wanted - all I asked for in the divorce was custody of our son.
I had always paid the bills on time so thankfully I was able to qualify for a 1 bedroom apartment in a not so great neighborhood but the apartment itself was nice. I didn't have a bed and bought a $35 couch at rummage sale and slept on it for 5 years. I am thankful to the Lord for the all of the blessings he brought in helping me get through those tough times.
I liked my "things" and they were hard to give up, but a small price to pay for happiness and an emotionally stable life for my son. He is now a happy, healthy, very well grounded 16 year old that I am very proud of for which no material item or social status that I could have by being more financially successful can ever compare to.
My husband and I traveled around the country with our truck and fifth-wheel travel trailer for two years. That was the best 2 years of my life. I would do it again in a heartbeat. We went to 40 states and through Canada and up to Alaska. Loved going to sleep at night hearing the ocean waves.
My goal is to be able to travel the world and take as long as i bloody well wish in each location and being able to just take off at a drop of a hat.
while i have been 'dreaming' of that goal for the past 40 years the past 2-3 is when i finally started thinking maybe i would begin to make plans to make this a reality.
Hubby and i have completely paid off all debt (except for our mtg) and we had loads of credit card debt that we decided one day was enough! So we worked hard for 2 years throwing every penny we could at the debt til it was gone.
Then i began a major 'purge' of household and personal items and began to have enormous garage sales pricing the items to move out the door. And i am still doing this to this day. I continually make my way throughout the house moving items to the garage sale pile for the next big sale. Once it makes it to the pile, it does not come back in the door.
We have pretty much stopped all the shopping we used to do. Now for the past few years 95% of our spending has been for only 'consumables'. We buy very little else.
And we are saving like crazy. So when the day comes when we are ready to say "here we go" we can and not look back...
@ All
I have really been enjoying your daydreams, goals and realities while you share them with us all. Thank you!
You should pay the $30/year for a subscription to the Caretakers Gazette. It's filled with listings of people around the globe looking for someone to park their RV on their land and look after their organic fruit farm. (Or similar things.) I know I'm not ready to cash in that dream yet but it's nice to read it and know that the opportunity for the simple lifestyle is still out there and attainable.
After a major health issue a couple of years ago I looked around our home and decided all we had was "stuff". A lot of "stuff". Since that time my husband and I have been de-cluttering and simplifying our home and our lives. We plan on moving to a smaller town and house in the future if all goes well.