Why Not?

WHY NOT?

I made a list of all the things that were keeping me from truly committing to a new lifestyle. Tracy didn't have a list. He is fearless, and just goes feet first into everything. His idea of life is if it doesn't work out try something else. His idea of money management - "It's just money. I will make more." I often wonder what flavor of Kool-Aid his parents gave him. I like to think we balance each other out. I keep him grounded and he makes me try new things. So, here was my list. It's not very long, but it really made me think.

• Kids and family - Our kids are grown and moved out of the house, our family is close by. Everyone is doing fine and I am sure they will call if something happens. 

• Work - I have worked for the same company for 15 years. I have always thought I would do something different once the kids were raised and on their own. Its time. Don't get me wrong, I like what I do, and I enjoy my work. It's just not what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. Tracy has been self employed for almost 20 years. He has contacts all over the United States. He is like a cockroach, he can scratch out a decent living and survive when it seems the most dismal. Besides, if we have to stop and wash dishes somewhere for a little while, it will be a lot more enjoyable than being stuck in an office with no windows. 

• Retirement - That particular day my company had announced that they were freezing our pension plans. No matter how much longer I worked my pension would be frozen at the end of the year. Big changes to our 401K were announced too. When is enough, enough? If you listen to the experts you never have enough. So, I figured my 401K and pension could just sit until I am of the appropriate retirement age.

• Insurance - Yeah, well don't get me started on these blood suckers. It's a topic for a whole different blog. We can buy it through the insurance exchange for a little more than what we pay through my employer. 

• Bills - There are so many of them that come everyday. They don't pay themselves. I took a good look at what we owed and determined that we could get everything paid off by March. We have been working towards being debt free for a couple of years, but I hadn't realized just how close we were. I looked at out monthly expenses versus the monthly expenses we would have living in an RV. Currently it cost us $1,700 for the bare minimum, no frills, this is just housing and utilities. In an RV our expenses would be $295 for the bare minimum, this is just slot rent for the month. The slot rent includes electric, water, trash, internet, and laundry. Hmmmm.....

Doug and Tracy building fence Crawford, Texas

• Pets - We currently have a dog named Doug, and two cats named Thelma (aka Boss Lady) and Louise (aka Princess Kitty Princess). Doug is a working dog and is used to going to work with Tracy everyday. He loves travel. The cats - not so much, but they are trainable, so I hear.

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