The Hiking Path We Are Traveling

In the last couple of months, there has been a not-so- subtle shift in mine and Bryan's perspectives.

1. Our attitudes about time and making money have changed.

2. Our definition and ideas about achievement have changed (partly a natural extension of number one).



It would be impossible to determine to what degree each of our influencing factors have impacted us. Here's a rough sketch of the equation that led us to where we are now:

A culmination of years of reading and discussing books like Your Money or Your Life, Getting a Life, How to Want What You Have, The Simple Living Guide etc, blogs like Soulemama and most recently, blogs like Mr. Money Mustache and FIMBY.

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Having a like-minded best friend as a partner

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Bryan steadily moving toward a job that allows him increased flexibility and freedom and the ability to be home A LOT!!!!

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The slower, sweeter lifestyle homeschooling has created

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Recognizing, I mean really recognizing, that right now, is as good as it will ever be. (It's taken a while for the concrete to dry on this one)

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The maturity and wisdom that comes with living for 35 years (i.e. learning the hard way).

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Having the sense to know what we need to thrive as individuals and the time to make those things happen (i.e. exercising, being outdoors, time for introspection, and living for a bigger purpose).

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A strong desire to live the belief that Relationships are all that truly matter.

I believe this perspective change is a permanent one--my partner and I can occasionally have dramatic, annoying swings in our passionate determination, and I'm going to confidently make that claim despite that--here in writing.

So exactly how does this perspective change anything?

The most obvious changes are that of Bryan being home more...of Bryan being less stressed about money, Amy being less stressed because Bryan is home more and less stressed about money. That leads to this new dream of being together more....working, living, and adventuring as a natural way of life.

For the sake of brevity in this post, I'm going to stick to the financial from here on out, and give perspective shift #2 a post all of its own.



So, what does it take to financially maintain this change in perspective?1. Track everything we buy.

2. Question pretty much everything we purchase. Surprisingly, it isn't nearly as annoying or limiting as I initially thought it would be. It feels, instead, rather freeing (that deserves a post of its own too). #1 on this list also makes the questioning component happen automatically.

3. Being much more conscious of how our consumption and waste impacts the earth and future generations. (for more info on the psychological aspect of this, hit the link and scroll down Brave New Life's blog to #3 Sustainability. Love his summary of the Law of the Iroquois) Result: a little more saved $. This includes everything from fixing things rather than buying new, turning the lights out, to unplugging the coffee pot when not in use.

4. Cooking more from scratch. Not only is it cheaper and healthier, it has other positive consequences such as more frequent suppers at the table and fun family clean-up afterwards.

5. Doing more for ourselves (i.e. repairing things ourselves and questioning our tendency to outsource because it's faster/more convenient)

6. Switching to high deductible insurance policies and dropping some insurances.

7. Contemplating bigger, more difficult changes such as selling our home. While this one likely won't happen anytime soon, we recognize that the costs of living here could be significantly reduced with a more energy efficient and conveniently located home. At this point, none of us have any desire to move to town. We love our little spot in the country.  The point is, though, we are willing to question even difficult changes.  So we shall see where this leads...

8. Working towards the goal of financial independence.

That's it. :) And for a much more concise version of the WHYs and WHATs this philosophy do a search for the Businessman and The Fisherman.