Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….
In recent weeks, my email inbox has started to receive a few kind messages from different people letting me know that our story is inspiring them in some way. Whether they are living vicariously through our travels, or they are struggling with getting rid of an overload of ‘things’ in their lives, they are reaching out.
The other day I received the following message from Arnold. With permission from Arnold, I am able to post his letter here (copied and pasted as written) with the hopes that others will learn from, or be inspired by his story. He writes:
Hello, I enjoyed reading your story very much. I am currently at a crossroads myself. I am sixty years old and living in the house I inherited from my parents. This is my fifth house but the only one with only a fifty thousand dollar mortgage left. My dad passed five years ago and I moved from Vegas to Connecticut to be a caretaker for my handicapped mother. She passed a year ago. Because caring for my mom was a full time job I have not worked in five years. I do play in a very popular band which plays about 120 gigs a year but don’t earn much money. In fact I am in debt up to my neck. Getting shut off notices from everyone. I have even been driving without car insurance for two weeks. This alone keeps me awake at night. The house like yours needs a great deal of work but I don’t have the resources to make these repairs. It is currently up for sale as is. Some interest but not a lot. If I do sell I might walk away with $100,000.00. Not much but I need to find a way to unplug from getting a bill from someone every time I turn around. And like you I am governed by my stuff. I have three cars. WTF. I am coming around slowly to getting rid of stuff. Hard for me but I know in my heart and more importantly in my head that it is the right thing to do. One thing that I liked about your story is you live in Costa rica. I have heard many great things about this region and would like to learn more. I have no problem living outside the US because everything, EVERYTHING is so expensive. I know I am not framing my thoughts very clearly but just wanted to say hello and hope that your story inspires me. I want to live life and be happy. I don’t want to be burdened with to much responsibility. Been there done that. Raised four kids and had a business that made millions. All gone. lol I just want simple. I want to unplug and detach from the norm or what’s expected of me. In a way I blame my parents generation. They instilled in us that success was measured by how big your house was, how pretty your wife is, and how smart your kids are. Bullshit. All this mentality does is chain you to seeing these things come to fruition. Work the same job for decades to keep it going. Well I’m going to try to find Minimalism now and watch it. Thank you for lisening. Arnold.
My question is this: How many of us feel this way? How many of us are overwhelmed and desperately just want to unplug from it all?
There are a few key points to discuss in Arnolds message, and I will attempt to break them down below.
- “I’m in debt up to my neck.”
- This is a sentiment that rings familiar with so many people across the Western World. Societies push to have the ‘latest and greatest’ gadgets has created an overbearing consumer society. People simply do not have the money to purchase items, but they use their credit cards to do so instead with the hope to pay it off someday. Arnold is certainly not alone in this! In fact, here is a link to the average debt that American Households have, and being a Canadian, I can guarantee that these stats are just as applicable there as well.
Here’s the Typical American’s Debt Load
- This is a sentiment that rings familiar with so many people across the Western World. Societies push to have the ‘latest and greatest’ gadgets has created an overbearing consumer society. People simply do not have the money to purchase items, but they use their credit cards to do so instead with the hope to pay it off someday. Arnold is certainly not alone in this! In fact, here is a link to the average debt that American Households have, and being a Canadian, I can guarantee that these stats are just as applicable there as well.
- “I do play in a popular band……..”
- I have to say…….KUDDOS to Arnold for continuing to do what he loves, despite the overwhelming pressure (likely) to get a job to pay off his debt. If Arnold didn’t do what he loved, he would likely be much further along down the Rabbit Hole of depression. Stress and Anxiety have reached EPIC proportions in the US and beyond. It is CRUCIAL to unplug from your worries of life, by being creative in some way.
- “if I do sell, I might walk away with $100 000. Not much………”
- $100 000 in Canada and the US, definitely is NOT MUCH money. But, after living in Central America for over a year now, I can certainly attest that it is PLENTY for down here. Chris and I housesit as much as we can, or find locals houses to rent in other places where we aren’t housesitting. In Flores, Guatemala, we rented a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a beautiful deck overlooking a lake for $225/month. When we shopped at the market, we would spend about $15-$20 for a week of produce. Eating out was also inexpensive. Even in the nicest restaurants in Flores, our meal cost would top out at $30, for both of us, including a couple drinks each, but we also frequently visited the street food stalls that usually charge no more than $4 for a very fulfilling meal.
- I haven’t kept perfect accurate records of our expenses, but I estimate that the last year of living has cost us about $15 000. Bear in mind that this does include some travelling and staying in Air BnB’s, plus a flight from Costa Rica to Guatemala. This is everything combined. In Arnolds case, if he stayed in one place, and lived like the locals, he could likely get by on $7000-$10 000 per year. Suddenly, with no bills to pay, and all of his debts paid off, Arnold’s $100 000 will go a seriously long way!
- “I am governed by my stuff……”
- This is an all too familiar sentiment for so many people. I myself was completely governed by my stuff. And worse, I didn’t even realize it. Watching the Minimalism documentary, opened my eyes up to the fact that my stuff was controlling my life. I had spent years building up mountains of stuff all around me, yes I too wanted ‘the latest and greatest’ gadgets. My life ran off of credit, house payments, loan payments, car payments……the list goes on and on.
- After living for over a year with only what I can carry around with me, I can tell you with 100% authority that WE DO NOT NEED ALL THAT STUFF! Sure you might need a few things here and there to make your life comfortable. But in Arnolds case, he has 3 cars! What does one person need 3 cars for?! When we sold our cars back in Canada, we vowed never to own a money pit like that again! It is one of the largest expenses that we have in the North! Insurance, gas, car payments, maintenance…….it all adds up to being so much money! Then when you go to sell it, it is worth basically nothing.
- In the last year we have ridden on buses, tuk tuks, taxis and any other means of public transport. When we can, we walk! We haven’t walked as much in the last year as we have for most of our lives, I’m sure. When walking isn’t an option, riding public transport is always affordable. The people down here rely on these services because many of them certainly can’t afford a vehicle. They are well used, and cheap! There is no need for vehicles in any place that we have lived so far. Sure, having a car would have made our lives a little easier in some spots, but we didn’t NEED one. That is the difference. Up north we buy things (whether we can afford them or not) because we WANT them, not because we NEED them. It’s important to create this distinction for yourself and figure out what it is that you only NEED. Get rid of the rest! Click here for my blog post about How to sell all of your things to travel full time. Even if travelling isn’t your end game, it will give you insights into how to tackle selling at least some of your possessions.
- “Had a business that made Millions. All gone. I just want simple.”
- It is with sadness that I hear this. Arnold obviously had a productive life back in his younger years. Made lots of money, bought lots of stuff. But where has that gotten him? Here he is at the end of it all, saddled with debt, an overwhelming amount of stuff, and trying to figure out how to get himself out of it all. How many people have worked so hard their whole lives, just to get to this same place?
- Well, I’m here to tell you that NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE, it is NOT TOO LATE! At 60 years old, Arnold hopefully has much time ahead of him. But you know what? None of us know just how much time that we have. It is so important to take the steps to make you happy NOW! Life is short, and we really need to make it count! I can not STRESS this point enough!
- After realizing that I had too much stuff, and also realizing that I constantly was trying to figure out ways that I could do more travelling, I FINALLY came to the conclusion that my stuff was getting in the way of it all. If I wasn’t burdened with all the stuff, all the bills, all the RESPONSIBILITY, I could unplug from it all, and head out into the world to travel freely. This realization was the single most important lightening bolt moment that I have ever had. But the thing is, I acted on it! I didn’t just sit there and feel sorry for myself. I got busy! I started selling things! In a small amount of time, things snowballed and we kept at it. And in 9 short months, we were heading off on a totally different adventure in life.
- “In a way I blame my parents generation.”
- Yes, I can understand this sentiment. Society has structured our lives in such a way that in order to succeed at life, we need to go to college, get a job, find a husband or wife, have kids, work our butts off, then retire. I agree with Arnold, it is all BULLSHIT. But you know what? We can change the dialogue any time that we choose to. WE can decide that we don’t want to live that way, and that alone is where our power is.
- Having lived in Central America for the last 13 months, has taught me that there is much more to life than all of this. Granted, nobody here can figure out why we don’t want kids…..but that’s a totally different story. But no, here they know how to enjoy life. If they need to work, they go out and find work. If a restaurant owner is tired from partying the night before, they simply don’t open the next day. If a group of men are sitting around on a porch on a Wednesday afternoon drinking, nobody questions it. Nobody gets mad at the restaurant owner, they just go somewhere else. Nobody wonders why the men aren’t working, it’s none of their business.
- There is no pressure to be as busy as you can be. There is no pressure to work yourself into exhaustion. There is no pressure to ‘get a real job’. People in this culture ENJOY their lives. They live for the day, they live for the moment. They don’t worry about some far off distant place called ‘retirement’. If they feel like going fishing for a day to feed their family, instead of working to buy groceries, then they will do that instead. The community spirit is strong, and neighbours support neighbours. They work together to help each other if they need it, and everybody has SOMETHING to share with others, despite seeming like they have nothing at all. It is a beautiful thing!
I know that Arnolds story is not unique. I know that MILLIONS of people are feeling just like he is, in many parts of the world. Trying to fit into societies standards has been a great undoing of the western worlds culture. Until we realize that, individually, we need to live life to the fullest, be our happiest, and do what we love, the world will continue to dump its expectations on us, and we will continue to be over worked, over tired, and over run with anxiety and depression.
Buying stuff WILL NOT make us happier. Having the latest and greatest gadgets WILL NOT make us happier. Working our asses off and saving up for ‘retirement’ WILL NOT make us happier! So don’t let it happen!
It is time that we all, individually, started living life to be happy. Find something that fills your soul and try not to worry about the money. If you put your best out into the world, you will be rewarded in some way. Things will fall into place all around you, and you will be surprised by what life has to offer. Be a role model for your friends! Show them how life can really be lived! Show them how they too can be happy and stress free!
Thank you Arnold, for writing me to let me know where you are at in your process. And for all of you others out there, that are feeling the same way as Arnold, please don’t hesitate to share YOUR story with me. I really do care about helping you to become a better version of yourself! You can do it! I know you can, and I am cheering you on 100%!
Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!
Xoxoxo Happy Travels!
Current Location: Livingston, Guatemala
Travelling Plans: We are housesitting here until the beginning of January 2019.
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Just Some Wandering 