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I have been reading some new sailing blogs recently. These are blogs of cruisers that have just castoff or are about to castoff. All of these blogs talk about Freedom in one form or fashion.
"I'm free. I resigned from work today." OR "I'm free, as today was my last day of work." OR "We're free from dirt dwelling because we moved aboard today." And of course "We're free! We left the dock today."
All this freedom talk got me to thinking more about our specific cruising plan and freedom. While we are not there yet in terms of the steps above, we have accomplished one very important freedom and perhaps one of the most important freedoms for us. At the end of 2011, we became completely DEBT FREE. This is a pretty big freedom and one that basically opens the flood gates to whole new possibilities and freedoms.
How specifically did we do it? Hard work, good jobs, saving, investing, living well below our means, and no kids. Raises were put towards our long range plans vs upgrades to a new house, or granite this and stainless that, or new cars, or designer this and that or more... stuff. We still took vacations, went to concerts, ate out and such but always with a careful eye toward our long range plans. Our drive to become debt free became our secret status symbol if you will. Polite society tells us we shouldn't talk about money or brag. However, we think this is something worth sharing. Maybe others will think about following suit. This doesn't mean you have to cast off to go cruising. To each their own.
So, yeah...."We're FREE."
I have been reading some new sailing blogs recently. These are blogs of cruisers that have just castoff or are about to castoff. All of these blogs talk about Freedom in one form or fashion.
"I'm free. I resigned from work today." OR "I'm free, as today was my last day of work." OR "We're free from dirt dwelling because we moved aboard today." And of course "We're free! We left the dock today."
All this freedom talk got me to thinking more about our specific cruising plan and freedom. While we are not there yet in terms of the steps above, we have accomplished one very important freedom and perhaps one of the most important freedoms for us. At the end of 2011, we became completely DEBT FREE. This is a pretty big freedom and one that basically opens the flood gates to whole new possibilities and freedoms.
How specifically did we do it? Hard work, good jobs, saving, investing, living well below our means, and no kids. Raises were put towards our long range plans vs upgrades to a new house, or granite this and stainless that, or new cars, or designer this and that or more... stuff. We still took vacations, went to concerts, ate out and such but always with a careful eye toward our long range plans. Our drive to become debt free became our secret status symbol if you will. Polite society tells us we shouldn't talk about money or brag. However, we think this is something worth sharing. Maybe others will think about following suit. This doesn't mean you have to cast off to go cruising. To each their own.
So, yeah...."We're FREE."
Excellent! As soon as we sell this f&#*!ng house we will join the ranks as well.
ReplyDeleteCongrats,
Deb
S/V Kintala
www.theretirementproject.blogspot.com
Congratulations! Becoming debt-free is a hugely worthy goal and one that makes a major difference in the choices available to you in your life. We have been debt-free for a number of years, and this has enabled us to do all the things we have done -- traveled to interesting places, retired early, moved out of the country, followed our passions. This freedom is far more valuable to us than all the granite countertops and expensive gadgets in the world! So many people don't know how we did it, but it's all the little decisions that add up over time...living below our means is the main thing, and obviously not having children does make a HUGE difference in how easy it is. We are not rich, but in terms of life experiences and freedom, we are wealthy indeed!
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