Yes Virginia, the Grass is Greener ...

More than a month has passed since we cut the tether from our stick house. We have been staying at a very scenic RV park by the lake. We are hanging around the edge of metro Atlanta while my current job continues. Our next big step will be to exit my full time job for other possibilities. Oh yeah, that is a big step for me. I am very comfortable where I currently work. I have been there 7 years and I have plenty of work for the foreseeable future. But, we want to travel across the United States, so I need to find a way to replace that income, at least a fair portion of it.

Now, that anxiety will always be there. But, I have to examine how far we have come in just a few months. We were able to save enough money to buy our RV. We sold all of the things that were holding us back. We transitioned out of our stick house and now we can just step out our front door and be in nature. That is quite a change in a short period.

I realized the other day, as I was talking to a co-worker, how different we are than most people. I mentioned that I went fishing the afternoon before and she stopped me. “Hey wait! Did you say that you went fishing on a Tuesday?” Staying a couple hundred feet from a scenic late does give you that advantage. I then remembered that most people (and formerly us) have to wait until the weekend to enjoy recreational activities. 

 

 The work week is bondage for most. Even most of your weekend is taken up with activities that you were too busy to do while you were working, further cutting into your recreation. No wonder so many people are burnt out. This year has been especially tough on people in Georgia. It has rained most weekends this summer. The weekend plans have been quashed for many. Fishing on Tuesday is a huge mental advantage.

A good place to fish on Tuesday or any day

The lifestyle change and decisions we have made are worth it. For the first time in our lives, we are on the side where the grass is greener. When I get home from work, it is like a mini-weekend, every day. Of course, it would not be as enjoyable without Kat here to partake in it all with me. She handles the little things during the day (laundry, housekeeping, etc.) that make it possible to jump right into enjoyment when I am home. I cannot emphasize enough how important her contributions are.

Free time is more valuable than I could have imagined. In the last month, I have been able to spend quality time with our dogs and work on their training. Zorro no longer requires a leash. We still keep it on him in public places, but it is good to know that if I drop the leash, he will stay close by.  Now, I want to start teaching him to catch a frisbee. Nova nearly has her small dog aggression under control. I have also taken some time to learn some Spanish.

Worth the extra free time

I am sure that this lifestyle is not for everyone. I wish we had embarked on this journey years ago. But we were not in the mindset to even consider such a thing. But now we feel more free than we ever have in our 27 years together.

World War Z - Analogy

***Spoiler Alert***      ***Spoiler Alert***        ***Spoiler Alert***

Kat and I went to see 'World War Z' this weekend.  It is not normally a movie that I would choose to see as I am not big into the zombie genre.  I tend to get wrapped up in the logical fallacies such as:

• The very definition of dead is immobility, therefore ...
• Dead people can't walk
• Dead people can't see or hear
• Dead people especially cannot defy the laws of physics.  (The zombies in this film must have run 40 miles an hour)

But it is fun to sit back and watch infinite bullets in the actors' guns in video game like violence.

But, I did think of at least one analogy from the movie. Now to talk about the analogy, I will have to reveal the zombie solution.  But don't worry, it wasn't like it was full of plot twists or something.

In the movie, the main character, a former UN investigator, notices that the zombies do not attack sick people.  So the solution was to inject himself with a fatal but curable disease.  This "camouflage" effectively allowed him to hide in plain site from the hoard of zombies.

For my comparison, the zombies represent ever encroaching government interference.    In the movie, the zombies were 'targeting' the healthy and ignoring those who were not.  This is much like all governments that target the earners, using the teeth of the IRS and ignore those who do not have income.  The difference is that the government actually drains the life from the earners to redistribute (very inefficiently) to those that choose not to earn.

 Notice that I did not say the government targets the wealthy, because it does not.  The wealthy and well connected are the ones that can hide their income and use the force of law to direct the threat away from themselves.

***What is the difference between zombies and government wealth redistribution?  One is a brain dead mob and ever increasing threat that seeks to devour the life force of the living and the other are fictional un-dead characters in a movie. ***

 In the United States, we pride ourselves with over-achieving and increasing our income as well as have the lavish lifestyles that go along with it.  Unfortunately, this puts you on the radar of the IRS.  It is so engrained in our psyche that before we realize it, we graduate from high school, go to college and amass 50 to 100 thousand dollars in student loan debt.  So we need the big income to pay back that debt and maintain that lifestyle.

Over time, the tax burden keeps increasing and you realize that you are working so hard that your life and years have slipped away and there is nothing you can do about it, so you work harder to have that annual vacation.  Then you wake up one day to see that your kids have graduated high school so that they can amass huge amounts of debt and you see the cycle going on and on and on.

So, what do you do?  What happens if you refuse to pay those "voluntary" taxes?  The government seizes your property, that's what happens.  There is no escape as long as you stay in that cycle.

So what is the cure?  The cure is to stop.  Stop being dependent on that large salary.  Get rid of your debt.  Quit your high paying job.  Go live life.  If you do not have an large income, the target is removed from you.  That is what we are doing.  Those that follow this blog know that we sold most of our material possessions (including our house) and bought an RV.  I am in the process of leaving my 40 hour a week IT job to live less lavishly, but more richly as we experience the country one day at a time.

So, the movie has a lesson.  Put on the camouflage.  Stop working so hard for that corner office.  It really isn't that satisfying anyway.  Take the power away from the zombies.  Hide in plain site.

See you on the trail - Kit

Celebrating Independence Day (Galt's Gulch Style)

It is July 4th, the day that we celebrate American "Independence".  For many of us that has become an oxymoron.  With every passing day, American citizens become ever more DEPENDENT on government.  True unemployment is at an all-time high with the real number that matter is that people still participating in the workforce is 58.6%.  Almost 11 million people are now on disability.  23 Million households or 1 in 5 households are on food stamps.  If the number of people on food stamps were a state, they would be the 3rd largest in population, just behind Texas.

Ironically, the 4th of July is a day that Americans celebrate their freedom from tyranny.  It is losing its luster as the freedoms we enjoy continue to erode at an alarming rate.  It was just a couple of weeks ago that the NSA was revealed to be monitoring American citizens' communication of all types.  Free speech has been all but curtailed by political correctness.  Taxation has become incrementally more progressive and the government keeps printing more money to enslave future generations.  So, it would seem that there really isn't much to celebrate anymore.

As I sit, writing this post, I hear fireworks being set off around us.  The explosions are a reminder of the military battles and lives lost to oust the rule of one king 3,000 miles away to be replaced by 3,000 rulers one mile away  (paraphrased from The Patriot).

I know this posting sounds like a downer and some typical conservative whining about what once was and how dismal things are becoming.  But let me change direction a bit.  Now, everything that I stated up until this point is true, but I don't despair.  At least, not any longer.

When I look outside on this July 4, it is pouring rain, here in the South Eastern United States and has been for several days.  The holiday is a wash, quite literally.  There aren't many cook outs happening on this day.  But yet, I am full of optimism.  Kat and I, took a rainy day and made the best of it.  We cooked out under the awning of our RV.  Between storms, we ventured to the shore of the lake and enjoyed the beauty.  Our happiness does not depend on the weather or circumstances around us.  In a similar fashion, when I compare myself to July 4 a year ago, I am personally more free.  I have loosened my chains ... a little.

Since my last posting, we have really made some significant progress.  We are no longer living in the front yard of my stick house.  That house has been sold and I am free from the burden of the related taxes.  We now have one foot in the Gulch.  The plan is still in place to work the remainder of the year, full time at my current job and then reduce to part time, further reducing my tax burden.

What has really changed by getting rid of our normal house?

• Mortgage - gone
• Electric bill - gone
• Water/Sewer bill - gone
• Trash bill - gone

Yes, we are paying a greatly reduced rent to stay in the RV park, but everything is included.  We have netted about $1000 per month reduction in cost from this change.  So, yes, Kat and I do have a lot to celebrate.  It took tons of effort and cutting back to get where we are.  Kat parted with many sentimental items and we got rid of a considerable amount of material goods in the process.  There just wasn't room to carry those things.  But the effort and sacrifice were well worth it.

So, Independence Day means something entirely different to me.  I am not, any longer, worried or upset, by those that have chosen to be dependent.  For the first time in my life, I am actually enjoying every day.  Freedom is a decision.  It is a mindset.

I am looking forward to tomorrow to see how much more free I can be.

I invite you to join the new revolution.  A revolution without blood.  It is time to redefine wealth and enjoy life.

Be free my friends.

Kit

More Than a Gentle Reminder

We are 10 days away from our launch date ... the date that we leave our stick built house (the front yard, anyway) and depart on our full time RV adventure.  The last hurdle that we faced was/is the finalizing of our home sale.  As we got close to the end, we got a call from the attorney's office working on the title.  It seems that the Georgia Department of Revenue performed an audit on our 2004 taxes and decided that we had underpaid $150.  That would have been a good piece of information to have, but we, for whatever reason, did not receive notification until we 'discovered' the lien on our property.  Well, with late fees, interest and several other 'collection' fees.  The amount rose to $597.

So, OK.  We take it in stride.  We have a little money saved up.  So, I decide to pay it on line to get it cleared up.  Well ... the 3rd party company that handles the payment processing is unable to process taxes older than a couple years old.  And even if they did, they wanted a very hefty "convenience" fee.  Yes, more fees on top of the fees, penalties and interest.  Nice.

So, the next step was to go, in person, to the Department of Revenue and pay off the lien.  I took the afternoon off from work and arrived about 1:15 PM.  The first thing that I noticed was how beautiful (and expensive) the Department of Revenue building was.  And the lobby was also extravagant.  It was kind of like a tax collection palace.  Yes, I am steaming a bit about how my tax dollars are being spent.

After passing through 2 metal detectors I enter the "customer" service room and stand in line to get a number to stand in line (only government can do that), I finally get to a person ("agent") who is unable to take credit card.  She asks me to walk back across the lobby, through another set of metal detectors to the "other" customer service.  I then stand in line (I am not exaggerating on this) to get a number for another customer service window.

Now I get another "agent" and let him know that I want to pay my lien with a credit card.  He then walks me over to a computer terminal and launches the same 3rd party tool that I found on the web before and ... surprisingly ... he tells me that it can't be done using that method.  Also, I find out that using a credit card will not grant me a clearance letter for 30 days.  I am now 1 1/2 hours into this process.  He says my only option is cash.  So, I go out to an ATM and withdraw $600 (plus fees, of course) then go back to stand in line to get a number to get service.  Still remaining patient, somehow.

Finally, I pay the bill and I am finished right?  No, I just have a receipt.  To get the clearance letter I have to go back to the other "customer service" area to inquire about getting a clearance letter.  Ok, so I stand in line to get another number and wait ... and wait ... and wait.  While I am sitting there, I hear many disgruntled people that are paying unexpected taxes (I guess I am not alone in this issue).  After another 1 1/2 hours of waiting, I do get the letter and have finally finished the ordeal.

I did manage to keep my cool during the process, because I have finally learned that it does not do me any good to complain to the workers.  They are amazingly incompetent, but it only causes me more problems if I make their job harder.   But it is definitely an example of how coercive our governments have become.

Coercion is defined as: The practice of forcing another party to act in an involuntary manner (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force, and describes a set of various different similar types of forceful actions that violate the free will of an individual to induce a desired response. These actions can include, but are not limited to, extortion, blackmail, torture, and threats to induce favors. In law, coercion is codified as a duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in a way contrary to their own interests. Coercion may involve the actual infliction of physical pain/injury or psychological harm in order to enhance the credibility of a threat. The threat of further harm may lead to the cooperation or obedience of the person being coerced.

It also reminds me that the government can always go back and re-assess your prior tax payments (that they agreed to) and decide to take more.  Therefore, re-enforcing the concept that TAXATION IS THEFT.  It is not, even in the least, voluntary.

It has motivated me even more to reduce my taxable income and stop funding this monster.  I no longer have the desire to keep making a modest income so I can pay my tributes to our masters.  Galt's Gulch is calling.

Everyone stay safe out there and keep your head down.

Until next time,

Happy Trails - Kit

How Surprised Are You ... Really?

This last week has been rife with stories about the US government, at the highest level, collecting phone record, texts, emails, etc. from, well, basically everyone.

There are a few items that are, without a doubt, painfully true. 

• Since it is in the national news, it is much worse than is being reported
• Where-ever the government is making the most effort to deny, is probably where the most truth is
• It is George Bush's fault (he does bear some responsibility, but this expanded under the current administration)
• The whistle-blower (messenger) will be vilified instead of the actual crimes
• The normal administration apologists will downplay the issues and blame the "Vast right-wing conspiracy" (probably using different terms, but nonetheless, the same thing)
• If Bill Clinton were president, he would probably bomb some Lybian aspirin factory

I remember reading George Orwell's book, 1984 in High School and was outraged by the idea of the government being so intrusive.  As it turns out, there were 2 types of people that read that book.  The first, like myself and most people did feel a sense of outrage.  Unfortunately, the 2nd group read the book and said, "What a cool idea." and they became politicians.

In reality, our constitution does not include a "Right to Privacy" in the Bill of Rights.  It does include "Freedom of Speech" and the supreme court did, in fact, interpret it that way in the distant past.  The thought was that if your private conversations were monitored, you would be less likely to speak freely for fear of retribution.  But, oh that slippery-slope.  If the original constitution authors could have envisioned future technology, I am sure that they would have made provision for protecting private speech.

 Now for some less sensational facts.

• Ever since the internet went public, email was created, MySpace and Facebook started gathering your personal information and smart phones became part of everyone's life, the government has been keeping tabs on you
• There have been many people informing us of this all along
• You have been in denial of these facts
• Every manufactured crisis has resulted in large encroachments of personal liberties in the name of keeping you more secure
• You are not more secure than before the encroachments
• You can never trust the government to stop collecting data about you or listening to your conversations (no matter who is in office)
• The genie is out of the bottle, he cannot be put back

The truth is that you have had to have your head buried in the sand to not know this was happening.  I don't really blame you.  People like to think that their government is of the people and by the people and there to protect them.  It is more comfortable to have that position, then to accept what is painfully obvious, you are really just an asset that needs to be monitored.

So, what does this really mean?  Am I saying that this is not serious?  Oh yes, it is quite serious.  Unfortunately, it is not new information.  Yesterday, the government was collecting information and spying on you in ways that George Orwell could not even envision.  You had your suspicions, but you were powerless to do anything about it.  Today, the government is collecting information and spying on you and you have confirmation.  But you are still powerless to do anything about it.

Please spare me the feigned outrage.  Your calls for action will fall on deaf ears.  The people in power will not give up their "tools" because you are upset.  That ship has sailed and the genie that got out of the bottle is piloting it (how's that for a mixed metaphor?).

So, what should we do?  Should we just accept that we live in a police state?  Actually, yes.  The safest thing to do is get past the denial stage and act as if your every conversation is being listened to.  The German underground was able to use the Nazi* observations as a weapon against them by providing false information and misdirection.  One thing that sociopathic bullies (or politician, the terms can be used interchangeably) like is for their victims to squirm and resist.  It helps to identify those that need to be silenced.  So, stop resisting and confuse them.  The next thing to do is stop contributing to the economy.  Pay your tributes (taxes, protection money, mob fees, pick the best term that applies) that you cannot avoid paying, but start reducing your tax base.  Pay off your debt, reduce your expenses and find ways to reduce your income.

Now that you have simplified your life, go live life.  Enjoy nature.  Spend time with your family.  Have as much fun as you can as the system collapses.  You may as well, the system will implode with or without your worry and contribution.  Just let it go.  This is the key to happiness.  As everyone else is concerned about their 401K, you can smile knowing that no matter what, you are powerless to control it anyway, so smile and let them think you are crazy.

Meanwhile, Kat and I hope to see you out there on the Path to Galt's Gulch.

Until next time - Kit

*Am I comparing the current administration to the Nazi's?  No, it is more like Stalinist Soviet Union, which turned out to be even more diabolical.

Will There Be Utopia in Chile?

It appears that people are getting fed up with the ever increasing encroachment of the US Government.  So much so, that a group known as the Dollar Vigilante is gathering investors and like minded folk to purchase a significant amount of land in Chile to form Galt's Gulch Chile.  I really do applaud the idea and wish the project well.  But, I do have to add that part of the success (albeit fictional) of the original Galt's Gulch was that it was done without the knowledge of the government.  It was a very secret affair.  This effort has a Facebook page which is a well known CIA and IRS hangout.

I am not sure that even South America is out of the reach of the Imperial Federal Government.  Ever heard of the War on Drugs?  That battle ground has been very irrespective of sovereign borders.

Perhaps this will be a valuable experiment, even if it fails.  The idea is to spread the seeds of liberty and eventually get it to take root.  If no-one ever makes the attempt, no-one will ever succeed.  The challenge will be to keep the cancer of collectivism out of the fledgling society.  As we have seen, a magic document is not a talisman to keep it away.  Liberty is a constant struggle in which no-one can ever be satisfied.  Complacency is the enemy.  The moment that people are satisfied with their current freedoms is very moment that the slide into collectivism (entropy) begins.

So, what does this mean for my path to the gulch?  It is unchanged.  There have to be many branches reaching out for liberty as many of the branches will be pruned by the current system when discovered.  Just like any other free market solution, innovation is key.  I have no plans to get my bullhorn out and draw attention to myself (to me that is a recipe for disaster).  Instead, I will unilaterally withdraw and gradually, at that.  If I inspire others to follow, that is fantastic.  The most important thing is to live life to the fullest.  Dead or imprisoned freedom fighters never have fun and martyrdom just isn't my style.

Times, they are interesting.  In a way, it is rather entertaining to see how the state dances and dodges around its scandals.  Of course, it really doesn't matter.  If the current batch of psychopaths gets tossed out, there are hundreds more waiting in the wings who will be better at covering their tracks (not more ethical).

Now to address the title of this posting "Will there be utopia in Chile?".  The answer to that is a Resounding NO!!!  There is no such thing as utopia, there is only continuous improvement or entropy.  But setting up a community with that goal in mind is definitely worthwhile and honourable.

Until next time, happy trails,

Kit

Into the Galt Mobile

We picked up our Dutchmen Travel Trailer yesterday (Saturday).  We have not wasted any time.  We have already begun moving in.

Galt Mobile Kitchen Featuring Zorro

After all of the downsizing and minimizing that we have done, we still have much to get rid of.  But as you can see, things are coming together nicely.  Of course, I could never do it without the beautiful Shauna Lee's creative and organizational skills.  The picture above is of our kitchen from the dining room table.

Technically, we have begun our travels, even if it is only travelling to our front yard.  The amazing thing is that we are REALLY doing this thing.  Up until now, it was just a dream.  It all seamed like a good idea, but actually getting to this point is something different all together.

I think that most of our friends really didn't believe that we would do it either.  I mean a lot of people say things, but don't ever come through.  Now that we have published the photos of our trailer, we are getting a mixed reaction.  Some just cannot accept that we can do this.  I guess it is just unimaginable for some people to part with the things that it took years to accumulate.  I get it.  A year ago, I may have thought the same myself.  Other friends are excited and, quite frankly, jealous.  I am in the unique position of having a partner that is as committed to travelling and minimilization as I am.

Needless to say, we are both exhausted from setting up the trailer and moving items (along with organization of those items).  So, I am going to cut this a bit short.  But we are even more excited than ever.

Happy Trails,

Kit

Tricking out my Chromebook

If you remember, a few months ago, I posted about my Acer C7 Chromebook.   I am still in love with it.  Although, I have modified it a bit to meet my desktop software needs.  Now this may seem a little geeky to many of you, but bear with me.  None of what I have done was at all difficult and there are YouTube videos to walk you through the process.

One of the things that I like about this particular Chromebook is that it has a 330 GB hard drive.  The Samsung version has a 16 GB solid state drive, which would be fine for a pure Chromebook usage, but I wanted to be able to do a little more.

Like I mentioned before, the Chrome OS is nice for web related activities and the Google Drive does give you plenty of storage and allows you to read/edit and even create Microsoft documents.  But the one limitation that I found, at is was big to me, you can only create/edit the spreadsheet application when connected to the internet.  I use spreadsheets all of the time, so it was a bit frustrating when I ride the bus to work and want to work on my budget or organize my ideas.

So, if I wanted to run full versions of a spreadsheet when offline or some other nice-to-have applications, I would need some sort of operating system that could handle that.  But remember, this was all about SAVING MONEY.  I was not about to pay money for Windows or any operating system.

I did find an answer.  I had, on the sidelines, considered Linux and particularly the Ubuntu distribution as it was most like the desktop operating systems that I and most people are used to.

 Now, I know what you are thinking.  "There is NO WAY am I about to take on installing an operating system on my laptop.  I mean, what if SOMETHING GOES WRONG?"  I don't blame you a bit.  But remember, this whole laptop is less than $200 and with a couple of clicks, you can restore your Chrome OS and since you are linked to the cloud with Google Drive, all of your data is backed up and the risk is nearly inconsequential.

My recommendation would be to watch some You Tube videos of what Ubuntu 12.04 or 12.10 can do.  It is pretty awesome.  Then go to this video to watch the installation instructions.  A big shout out to "Johnny the Geek" for this.  Now, there are a couple of commands that you have to type, but not much and you are guided keystroke by keystroke as you go along.  After you are done, you have a machine that boots up as a Ubuntu (actually Crubuntu as it is especially designed for the Chrome book).

So what do you get with Ubuntu?  For one, you get a very simple interface (kind of a blend between Windows and Apple)  But it unique.  In fact The Apple OS is just another type of Linux itself.  Ubuntu comes pre-loaded with Libre Office which is very compatible with  MS Office.  So, you have Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Presentation and Database software (did I mention that it is all FREE?)

Another incredible feature of the Chromebook Ubuntu combination, it is true 64 bit, with means that it can handle up to 16 GB of ram.  (Just a note, the Windows 8 home edition will only work with 4 GB of ram).  So, I ordered 8 GB of ram on line (about $60) and installed it in about 2 seconds.  This (along with the original 2 GB installed pushed my Chromebook up to 10 GB of ram making it a screaming machine that is WAY faster and more powerful than any Windows 8 laptop.

One important thing that Ubuntu comes with is a free cloud service called Ubuntu One for backing up your files.  I highly recommend doing this.  I was tinkering with setups on my operating system and did lose it.  But since I had everything backed up, I had the OS and all of the data restored within one hour.

So, if you are looking for an awesome free alternative operating system, I highly recommend this.  I am hoping that more people will try this and put pressure on the big guys (Microsoft and Apple) to stop charging for operating systems.

One last thing, because of the tight and secure structure of Linux, you DO NOT need anti-virus software.  That saves about $50/year per PC (for Norton)

I have not tried the other flavors Linux (such as Mint, Red Hat or Debian).  Mint is much like Ubuntu and has a very simple interface.  There are too many to really go into here, but they all have their own raving fans.  I just picked the one that was easiest for me to access, install and use.

Enough of the geekdom.  I promise to talk more about traveling next time, because we have reached another milestone in our journey and am excited to talk about it.

Happy Trails,

Kit

Tightening the Belt (Minimalism 201)

OK, We are set to pickup up our travel trailer on Saturday.  We are so very excited and I am sure that we will want to start organizing it as soon as it is in our driveway.  But, first we are dealing with some financial stress.  We decided, up front, that we would pay cash for this particular item.  We saved up for 9+ months and came up with $8,000.

We went shopping with that much available. Of course, we started actually shopping in the spring - the beginning of the camping season.  So, most of the great deals that we had spotted in the winter had slipped away.  So, we shopped all over Atlanta last weekend and finally decided on a very nice 2001 Dutchmen, 29 foot, single-slide trailer.  We bought it from a dealer, so taxes and title fees were added on top.  (In Georgia, new laws even make it more painful when buying from private owners though).  As a result, our $8,000 was $800 short.

So we are, once again scraping, cashing in loose change, looking under couch cushions and eating canned soup in order to have enough money to pick up the trailer on Saturday.  Well, it looks like we have managed to come up with enough enough to pay off the balance, and I still have one working kidney.  (Just kidding, it doesn't work that well).  OK, I have both of my kidneys, but we will need to continue scraping for the next couple of weeks.

All-in-all, I am glad that we decided to purchase the unit from a dealer.  They have a very nice facility and really know their product.  I feel much more comfortable about their maintenance crew over the promises of a private person that does not need repeat business and may be unloading a bunch of problems on us.  One nice feature of the dealer is that they do an RV orientation class (very important for us newbies) and will demonstrate that all of the systems work within parameters.  Also included in the price is an installed brake controller and anti-sway system.

Now our goal is to be on the road (in an RV park) by June 15.  This gives us about 4 weeks to:

• Sell, donate or throw away any items deemed as non-essential
• Thoroughly clean the house and yard of our current residence
• Get caught up financially

Fortunately I am still working full time and will continue to do so for the remainder of 2013 (At least).

So, how did we save money over the last 9 months?  Here was our strategy:

1. Cut utility costs
• Cable - gone (we now use Roku)  $120 per month saved
• Reduced wireless plan to minimum (we never came close to using our minutes) $120 per month saved
• Turned off the home phone (we have cell phones) $30/ month saved
• When Shauna Lee's cell phone contract expires, we will share a smartphone.  I picked up a free no contract phone that gets better coverage (works better as a phone)  That plan is $30/month  (Still implementing, no savings yet)
2. Cut food cost
• Reduced eating out to once per week 
• We share an entree when we eat out
• Drink water almost exclusively (drinks are a high percentage of eating out cost)
• Cut down on meat consumption (Over time, we completely gave up meat).  Meat cost was at least $50 per week.  We were also able to sell a chest freezer since we no longer needed meat storage.
• This item will be an entire upcoming topic
3. Ride the bus to work
• This alone saved about $3,000 over the 9 months.  It also gave me a higher trade-in value on my  car when I traded it in.
• This also gave me 2 hours a day to read, write and research the RV lifestyle and, oh yeah, got some good naps in
4. Discontinued Gym and other little used memberships
• The world is now my gym.  Weather has improved, so I can resume walking and jogging outdoors ($100/month savings)
• The dogs love the walks and runs, too.
5. Multiple garage sales (We sold stuff that I would have never dreamed of.  People got great deals, because we were motivated).  Over $1,000 brought in and we still have a few more big ticket items that we will sell when we are ready to move in the trailer (our bed being one of them).

We also faced a lot of unusual obstacles along the way that drained some of our money, but, overall, I am happy with how much we saved.  So, just a little longer, then we can begin to realize our dreams.  The journey has already begun.  Remember, there is no actual destination.  We are finally on the Threshold of Galt's Gulch and we have much yet to learn.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings.  Until next time ...

Happy Trails.

Kit

Implementing the Tug

As promised, I am posting a couple of pictures of the pickup we purchased  a couple of weeks ago to tug our new home around.  It should have plenty of power, without being too costly.  It is a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500, equipped with a 5.7 Liter V8 Hemi Magnum engine.  It is the only item that we will finance.  We did not have the cash to invest in both a RV and a Truck.  So, we used our cash for the RV, as it will not be so costly to repair or replace.  The truck on the other hand needs to be reliable transportation.   Thus, it made sense to me to finance it.  We will work on paying it off early to reduce our total output, however.

Until next time, Happy Trails!!!

Kit

Taking the Plunge

Yesterday, we moved much closer to the beginning of our journey.  We put down a deposit on a Dutchmen Travel Trailer.  After the systems check and any repairs needed, we will pick it up in 2 weeks.  We are really doing this thing!!!  We have so much to do.  We have downsized considerably, but ... we have a lot more to get rid of (via garage sale, giving to family or to charity).

So, that puts us 6 weeks away from moving out of our house.  That is both exciting and scary.  To be honest, we are not quite going without a safety net.  I will be keeping my 40 hour/week IT job on site, for now.  The goal is to save several thousand dollars to act as a cushion for times between regular work.  This will mean a regular commute to work (from wherever we are staying).  But we will ease into this full time RV dream.  As soon as we are stable enough to cut the cord, we will.  In a best case scenario, I will be able to find remote IT work that I can do 20 hours per week on a fairly flexible schedule.  My current customer has not been known for allowing such arrangements, but I have been there for quite a while and have built up a very good reputation.

If that does not pan out with my current customer, my contractor has mentioned several part-time, remote opportunities.  Will play it by ear.  The current timeline would have me working full time right up until Christmas 2013 (when the kids and grand kids visit from Seattle).  When they depart for home, we will cut the cord and head to Florida for the Winter/Spring season.  Then in April/May 2014, start heading west, hopefully landing in Washington state around August 2014.

I have posted the pics below of the Travel Trailer.  We are very pleased.  I will post pics of our truck next time.  Until then, Happy Trails.

Minimalist Replacements

Sometimes, it can't be helped. Items that you need wear out or break at inopportune times. This week, my desktop PC died. It had managed to survive a lightning strike about a year ago. But, finally, the power supply stopped working. Now, I do have my work laptop, but it really isn't mine. So, if I still want to continue writing and researching, I would need some sort of replacement device. But, I will be damned if I am going to put out $700 to $1,000 for a new laptop. So what is the solution? Well, I decided to go with the Acer Chromebook C7. I bought one brand new for $200. So far, it has worked out fairly well. I can use Google Docs/Drive to create/edit documents. (I wish the Sheet application worked offline, but that functionality isn't far off). I have been able to find plenty of apps available to keep me busy.



No, it cannot run programs like Photoshop or Microsoft Office, but those are really money holes anyway. Shauna still has a traditional Windows 8 (don't get me started on Windows 8) laptop. She has her photo editing software and the capability to download traditional software, if needed. I suspect that I may need a different laptop to perform Business Intelligence tasks one day, but usually my vendor would provide that anyway.

So $200 compared to $700 does seem to fit in with my minimalist mindset. So, we will see how this experiment goes. I really like the fact that the OS will self update as needed, so I won't need to worry about getting the latest overpriced OS when Microsoft is looking for more revenue.

One thing that I thought was funny. I showed a co-worker my Chromebook and she said that she could not wait until her current laptop died.

Another co-worker thought it would be a perfect first computer for his 7 year old son. I would agree. It does have a Linux OS under the hood, so it really can do more than it is configuration is setup for.


On another front, we spent more money to reduce cost. We acquired a ROKU HD for $53 dollars and cancelled our cable and telephone service. So, all we have now (from AT&T) is high speed internet. Obviously, the cable companies are really feeling the pinch. They offered 3 free months of cable. But, we declined. We just are not watching standard broadcast TV anymore. In fact, as I write this, I am listening to Pandora on my Roku/TV. Shauna and I have found plenty of free entertainment and some subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime that are very portable. So, overall, we have saved about $100/month by making this cut. This is but another step in reducing our monthly expenses to the absolute minimum, without sacrificing quality of life.



In a future post, I will talk about reducing food costs dramatically.

Until next time ...

Mimimalism 101

Without a doubt, there is a silent trend toward minimalism. There are various reasons for this ranging from needing to cut back expenses in a jobless economic "recovery" to feeling a need to conserve and be green. However, I think the best reason is to achieve freedom and independence. I have found that my collection of possessions (most tucked away in a closet or in a spare bedroom) are not bringing me satisfaction. In fact, they mostly just take up space. When I think about how much square footage I am wasting to store all the stuff that I "might need one day", it drives me crazy. So ... it has to go. We have to go through the grueling task of separating the "must haves" from the "don't needs". Then we have to devise a way to jettison the "don't needs".

Step 1: Perform separation

Step 2: Classify separated items as worthless junk or items we can sell

Step 3: Have some yard sales and get people to buy our junk, I mean items that they "might need later".

Wow, this is a painful process, but what liberation we will feels when this phase is complete. But it is going to take a while. We are waiting on the weather to settle down so we can start selling.

More on this later.

Taking The Gulch on the Road

Taking The Gulch on the Road

So, we have made the decision to severely downsize and move our remaining possessions and dogs into an RV. Oh yes, this will present some real challenges. I also realize that not everyone could or would want to pursue this path. Here is a list of considerations:

1. Is your measure of success based on owning a big house?
2. Is watching TV really important to you? How much would you miss your favorite TV Shows?
3. Do you require lots of space and alone time?
4. Are you comfortable not having a traditional house?
5. Are you able to get out of your normal comfort level?
6. How important is comfort to you? Do you feel confined in your current environment?
7. Have you ever spent days and hours with your spouse continuously?
8. Are you willing to conserve money, electricity and water (severely)?
9. Are you willing to take risks on how you will make ends meet?
10. Is your spouse/partner 100% on board with the idea?

What are the potential benefits? Here is a list that I have begun:

1. Living costs will be drastically reduced.
2. I will wake up every morning in a place of exploration.
3. Reducing Living expenses allows me to work less hours.
4. I get to be with my wife all day long.
5. I can walk/run with the dogs anytime I want.
6. I do not have a big house to maintain.
7. If I get tired of the beach, I can go to the mountains. If I get tired of the mountains, I can go to a swamp. ...
8. No more daily commute to work.
9. I will live life anew each day.
10. And so much more ...

Ambitious Goal

We have set a goal to be "on the road" by Summer 2013. As it is now the last couple of weeks of winter, we have much to do. We are saving money as quickly as possible to purchase the RV (with cash) and we have A LOT to get rid of. We look forward,with great excitement, to this next chapter.