OUR DREAM FAILED FORWARD
A year ago, I had never heard of Mr. Money Mustache or the FI community, nor listened to or read any Dave Ramsey. I had not heard of minimalism as a life concept, nor realized that there are thousands of people who live minimally. My husband and I were getting ready to become empty nesters and had many conversations about downsizing and traveling. I imagine those conversations are typical for empty-nesters-to-be, especially 44-years young empty nesters!
In our first attempt to downsize, I found a new job on the Western slope of Colorado. We loved what the area had to offer–warmer climate, endless hiking, biking, time on the river, wineries and breweries, my sister, and lower housing costs. And only four hours away by car from Conifer, our lifelong home.
SO, we took the first baby step out of our comfort zone…
My new position was in Palisade, a lovely small mountainous community full of vineyards and peach trees (pictured below in autumn). I highly recommend visiting! We envisioned riding our cruiser bikes to the market and living in a small, Victorian house in town. We could’ve sold our home in Conifer and paid CASH for a home on the Western slope with the equity we’d earn from selling our home. WHAT A DREAM!
My husband, Jeremy, was unable to make the move, and soon the reality of living separate hit hard. Definitely not what we envisioned, not one bit! We struggled through challenges, and ultimately decided for me to move back home, giving up our attempt to move to the Western Slope. The Western slope was not where we were meant to be.
We recognized this was a TOTAL FAIL FORWARD!
OPENING MY MIND
SO, how does this connect to Mr. Money Mustache, FI, Dave Ramsey, and minimalism? Well, driving eight hours back and forth every weekend made for a LOT of podcasting! At that time, I was just getting started with my health coaching business and my mentor suggested I listen to two podcast episodes that might help me grow my business mindset (thank you, Jennifer)!
Want to be inspired??? Start with these two Choose FI podcasts hosted by Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa at https://www.choosefi.com/.
Episode 033, Design Your Future, featuring Dominick Quartuccio https://www.choosefi.com/033-design-future/
Episode 37, Playing with Fire featuring Scott Riekens https://www.choosefi.com/037-playing-fire-documentary-scott-rieckens/.
I WAS IN!
At that moment, I was dialed into podcasts and absorbing every bit of it! One podcast would open a door to another, minimalism for example, and many great blog writers as well. It was impossible for me to have a conversation with someone and not make reference to one of the recent podcasts I had heard. Jeremy, back in Conifer, was less than excited about my new interest, but dutifully entertained one or two.
THESE FOLKS WERE SPEAKING TO THINGS THAT WE HAD BEEN DREAMING ABOUT!!!
For me, “leaving the nest” so to speak, gave me a little sample of living minimally and somewhere new. My vision was much clearer. I lived what we were looking for–something simple, adventurous, novel, and affordable. As such, Jeremy fully trusted my intuition and hopped on board too! Our conventional way of thinking and living quickly became unconventional. Getting off the hamster wheel as Brad and Jonathan frequently say!
IT WAS…time to embark on something new!