Travelon Anti-Theft Cross-Body Bucket Bag Unboxing & Review

By Living Free Forever - Melody & Ric Schafer

Get more details and reviews from others on the Travelon Anti-Theft Cross-Body Bucket Bag by using our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/2Ky09b1 I've seen at least a handful of men using this or similar bags at airports and while traveling in general, so this is not just a "purse" or a bag for women. It's a great unisex travel bag for anyone who has "stuff" to carry.

I ABSOLUTELY love my purse which was my personal bag that I used on our 7 months journey across the USA & Europe and still using as of today. It is such a durable bag and still looks new!

Watch this video I made before our travels to get a close up of this awesome Travelon bag.

Samsonite Carry On Luggage Unboxing & Review

By Living Free Forever - Melody & Ric Schafer

Samsonite Carry On Luggage Unboxing & Review
I did an unboxing and review of the Samsonite Carry On Luggage we purchased to take on our 7 months journey across the United States, Ireland, London and Spain. We stuffed our bags to the max, shoved and threw them into cars, trains, planes, hotels and Airbnbs and they all held up.

This one did end up being mine. I was surprised how much it could hold. I did not use half of what I took with me, so next time we are thinking about sharing a bag or just take one bag each in total for under the seat and that will be it. If I want to buy something on our travels, I can just have it shipped back home so I don't have to worry about shoving it into our bag and getting stressed by being weighed down.

For more details and reviews on Samsonite Wheeled Underseater Large, visit our Amazon affiliate link at http://amzn.to/2oJzUXh There is one just like this but smaller if that interests you. https://amzn.to/2TJJBAT

CARRY-ON BAGS REVIEW - After 7 Months of Travel

By Living Free Forever - Melody Schafer

We are a family of 4 who decided to sell our house along with the kitchen sink to travel full time. We put what belongings we had in a storage container and set out on an adventure of a lifetime together as a family along with our 13 year old chihuahua.

We left Florida and headed west, traveling through heat that we never knew existed in our Nissan Altima S and the carry-on luggage that I discuss in this video. Before purchasing the luggage you see here, I did extensive research reading as many reviews as possible. I share here in this video our own personal experience after traveling all the way out to California from Florida, then up to Ohio before heading overseas to Ireland, London, Spain and then back to the United states.

We really put our luggage to work. We overstuffed them, sat on them, pulling the zippers tight to get all our stuff into them. We threw the luggage in and out of many cars, taxis, trains, and planes, and they all held up beyond what I expected. Even the zippers did not break, which I thought was a certainty. I was able to fit so much more in all these carry-ons than I imagined. Of course, we are light packers and did not want to be lugging any more than we had to. We did not use half of what we carried. Next time we will even travel LIGHTER.

After so many months traveling with only these bags I see how little we need to live a wonderful life and I highly recommend everyone try this for a month. Live out of a carry-on. Life never could be any more simple.

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!

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

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.

Traveling The World & Finances

By Melody Schafer http://LivingFreeForever.com

If you haven't seen yesterday's video, please watch it first at https://youtu.be/gADuiE54_rI so this video will make more sense to you.

In today's video I discuss things I'm needing to think about when traveling the world...such as finances. What credit card is best for a traveler? What bank should I use for my checking/savings account? How much cash should I carry in case the cards or ATMs don't work? Lots to think about. I'd love to hear what you think. Comment below.

Selling Everything To Travel The World

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!

By Meody Schafer http://LivingFreeForever.com 

The first step towards any great dream or goal is to have a plan. We all have our own ways of planning and doing things, so find what works best for you. I personally love having a notebook to write in. Call me old fashion…pen and paper.

Writing out the type of lifestyle you would like to have can be quite the challenge…especially if you think there is no way and no how it can be achieved or if you are not even sure what you want but you know what you are doing is NOT what you dreamed of. Most dreams stay just dreams because the person can’t even imagine writing down such lofty goals. If one can’t even write that dream down on a piece of paper, then how could that dream ever be achieved?

We have nothing to lose by putting pen to paper. Write down the specifics on how you would like to see yourself living? Do you want to live out of a carry-on bag or backpack and travel the world? Would you like to own a cabin in the mountains with a woodstove and some chickens out back? Would you like to go back to college now that your kids are grown to do something you have always wanted to do?

Once you have decided what that dream is, deciding the first steps to achieve it will be the next thing to think about. Thankfully, the internet has made researching any topic possible. Just get started in your research and take those first steps and just see where it leads.

Don’t let anyone tell you that your dream is impossible or to grand…that you can’t do it…or that you should not. This is your life and when it’s all said and done, be sure you have no regrets.

My husband & I, along with our 2 children, believe in LIVING FREE FOREVER. We own our own businesses, homeschool our son while our daughter attends college.  We keep our lives as simple as possible, so we can feel free to do what matters most to us...spending time with our family, traveling & just enjoying life. We will also be discussing emergency or disaster preparedness which we find to be essential to every household's plan.
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http://LivingFreeForever.com