Living Free Forever takes a holistic approach to life in achieving freedom to follow dreams, passions and goals, no matter what they may be. Balancing all aspects of one’s life is important to achieving the lifestyle we all hope to achieve. Health, spirituality, money, life long learning, relationships and more are all important in finding balance.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Get Rid Of ALL Your Stuff BEFORE Moving!!!
By Melody Schafer - YouTube Vlogger Subscribe http://LivingFreeForever.com
No matter if you plan on studying abroad, traveling the world, or just moving to another state....downsizing should be one of your first steps. Decluttering and getting rid of most of your stuff will make your life so much easier for the next stage you have planned in your life.
The more you travel or the more you move, the more you will see that all that STUFF is just getting in your way and not as important as you once thought it was. You either have to pack it, store it and also have to PAY to have it moved and/or stored. It's just not worth having STUFF.
I can see why minimalism or becoming a minimalist is becoming so trendy these days. Younger people see how their parents are bogged down but STUFF and are afraid to travel or move because it is just too much work to even think about because what will they do with all their belongings? Many younger people are thinking ahead and want to live "light" so they can have more freedom to do what they want, such as travel.
This video gives you a little insight on my thoughts on this topic. Free yourself! Declutter! Downsize! Minimalize!
Labels:
declutter,
downsize,
downsizing,
freedom,
minimalist,
minimalize,
move,
moving,
moving out of state,
moving to another state,
nomad,
study abroad,
STUFF,
travel,
Travel the world,
traveling,
traveling the world
Monday, November 28, 2016
HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! Planning Stages
By Melody Schafer http://LivingFreeForever.com
Ric & I are YouTube vloggers, own our own business, homeschool our son while our daughter attends college.
We believe in following our dreams and goals. We enjoyed living in the country in Ohio for 10 years then we decided to downsize and move to Florida for a little sunshine. We have now been here in Southwest Florida in Sarasota County for 7 years and ready for our next adventure. We have absolutely LOVED Florida and we may be back one day.
What is this next adventure? Downsize MORE! and travel the world carrying only one carry-on each. Where we will end up? We are not exactly sure. We do have family in Spain so that will be one of our destinations. We are going with the flow or "Swaying With The Palm Trees" as my father used to say.
We believe in living life to the fullest and when our time is up in this world we don't want any regrets.
Watch this video for full details of our plans. We will be vlogging our planning stages along with our travels. We would love to have you join us on our journey on YouTube Channel at http://LivingFreeForever.com
Labels:
downsize,
downsizing,
family,
family travel,
homeschool,
journey,
minimalism,
minimalist,
nomad,
nomadic lifestyle,
plan,
planning,
road trip,
study abroad,
travel,
Travel the world,
traveling,
traveling the world
What To Look For When Buying Land
By Melody Schafer http://LivingFreeForever.com
What to look for when buying land
1. How much are taxes with just land? How much will taxes be after you build the house you are planning on building?
2. How many acres do you need to build a house?
3. How big or small of a house can you build?
4. If you want to build a workshop first...does city code allow you to do that? If so, can you have a bathroom, shower, toilet so you can live in it while you are building house?
5. Can you target practice? 4 wheel? Hunt? How much land do you need to do any of these things you would like to do?
6. What can and can't you do on that land? Can you sell things like produce from your garden? Woodworking? Xmas trees? Commericial/residential?
7. Think ahead in case you want to change your mind as to what you want to do on that property. You may think at first you may only want it for residential but later wish you could sell something off the land and work from home.
8. Can you park your RV? Can you camp out on your land if you don't have a house on it?
9. Can you build a tiny house? What size? Get all the details and codes.
10. Can you build bon fires?
11. Can you have city water and well water? Or do you have to cap off your well water if you tie into the city water?
12. Can you have dogs? Chickens? Other type of animals?
13. Is this a gated piece of property? Monthly cost?
14. Other rules you didn't think about?
15. Does it have sewer, gas & city water? If not, if it comes down your street is it mandatory for you to plug in? If so? Cost?
16. What is being built nearby? Will the cost of your property increase? Decrease?
17. Is there fracking? Will they be going under your land?
18. Can you dig for oil? Gas? and sell it?
19. Can you collect rain water if out west?
20. Ask lots of questions BEFORE you buy.
Owner financing?
Farmer's Credit Bureau loans?
21. Is there a lien on the property?
22. Talk to neighbors or locals in the area at the bar, grocery store of what they know about area and about the land you may want to buy.
23, What is the closest emergency roome? Hospital? Doctors?
24. Demographics? Statistics? Crime?
There are so many more questions you can ask before buying land. Grab your notebook and start taking notes. The more you research, the better off you will be. Good luck with your hunt for land!
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
The People We Meet In Our Lives
By Melody Schafer http://LivingFreeForever.com
When I was 15 years old I took a trip with my family to Spain to
visit relatives. I found myself on the Rock of Gibraltar resting after a long
walk, having a conversation with a woman in her late 20s who was from an
eastern European country…I don’t remember which. She stopped speaking in the
middle of what I thought was such a lovely time, talking about the beauty that
surrounded us.
She leaned forward and almost in a whisper asked
me what I thought about my president. I thought that was a strange thing to ask
me, being I was just a kid and no one was around to listen. I felt like my
answer would be a secret revealed to her.
Keep in mind this was before the Internet and
cable TV, so unfortunately, I didn’t have an answer for her…other than a blank
stare. She caught me off guard. My biggest worry at the time was making sure I
got all my homework done since we were visiting during the school year and I
was missing school.
I wasn’t really aware of what was going on in
the world and did not understand anything about politics. I consider myself an
easy going person who does not like conflict. I always try to do what I believe
to be good and right. I love people no matter who they are or where they are
from, unless of course they are trying to physically hurt me. I always
considered myself to be an open-minded and accepting individual.
I did not realize some people outside the United
States thought the President of The United States of America represented the
thoughts of all people in my country and that whatever policies were in place
or whatever the government was doing, represented all people here in the United
States.
So I was honest and told her I did not know
what I thought about the president. He was not even a thought to me at that
age. She asked more questions and was shocked by my answers and told me she
apologized for thinking ill of all Americans. She thought all Americans thought
the same way. I don’t even remember what the questions were after all these
years, but that conversation made a HUGE impact on that woman and on myself. I believe she learned not to judge a group of
people by one person in that group and I learned that there was a world of
people out there who had different opinions other than my own.
Later that week, we took a ferry across the Mediterranean
Sea to visit Morocco for the day. On that boat ride, I met several young people
from different countries. Thankfully, we were able to communicate using
English, Spanish and some hand gestures trying to explain what we were trying
to say. It appeared we all had preconceived notions what people from the other
country were like. We all learned that we could all get along, even if the
leaders of our countries did not. We were not each other’s enemies. We had a
wonderful time together and learned a bit about each other.
This is when I really understood the power of
travel and how important it can be in an education beyond books. Meeting people
in person, face to face, can change your life and how you perceive it. A total
stranger can be the catalyst of something you do in the future that may be the
most important thing you do in your life. You just never know.
We meet people in our lives who are in it for a short time or for
a long time. Sometimes the experiences we have with the people we meet
can be good and sometimes not so good. Either way, we learn from our experience
with these people.
Everything
and everyone in our lives happens for a reason. We may not always know what
that reason is, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is we can grow and
change for the better because of the people we meet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)