2017 reflections

What a year!  I can't believe that it's only been six months of Hideout living!  We imagined getting out of debt, owning ourselves and simplifying our lives for a long time before it actually happened.  When I think about how it has all come together I am almost surprised that it's all happened as expected with very minor bumps along the way!  So thankful.

Here are some pictures of our most recent trip to Tempe Town Lake - just one of the fun outings we have enjoyed since being back in Tempe. 

Here are some major events of 2017 that we look back on with pride:

• I graduated with my doctorate from the University of Arizona after 5.5 years
• We sold our primary residence and two of our rental homes in within 90 days of each other
• We purchased the Hideout with cash
• We sold and/or donated most of the stuff in our 4000 sq ft home
• We paid off all debts and put our savings into CD accounts - we have been debt free since June!
• We sold a vehicle
• We sold 85% of our leather-bound Easton Press book collection (still working on selling the rest)
• I began my new career as a university instructor, which I love <3
• Husband resigned from his unsatisfying job of eight years
• Sister has avoided being sent to daycare since then
• Brother will begin homeschooling in January
• We have adhered to our lower budget and continued to save money each month
• We have had a more healthy year in terms of diet and exercise
• We have spent much more time together as a family than we were able to prior to these major changes

Here are our short-term goals (within the next year):

• Get the warranty work done on the Hideout (will talk about this more in a future post)
• Husband will return to ASU as a student to work on finishing a partly completed second bachelor degree in Computer Science
• Brother will start his home school curriculum
• Obtain a solar system for the Hideout
• Travel across the US this summer for 12 weeks and visit as many National Parks as we can
• Improve my diet even more - increase the number of vegan days 
• Save money
• Be less busy and enjoy time with our family
• Continue to sell off stuff in our 5x5 storage and get rid of the storage locker
• Reduce our monthly expenses

Here are some long-term goals (within 2-5 years):

• Finish our off-grid, self-sufficient tiny house on our land
• Find additional income that allows us to be location independent
• Travel to Canada and Mexico and to other destinations in the US

Overall this has been a wonderful year!  I look back and feel joyful for trying new things and embarking on this adventure.  I am thankful for the flexibility my new career affords and that our little family gets to spend so much quality time together.  I look forward to visiting my extended family in Michigan this summer.  We will be able to spend much more time there than in past years when we could only take a week of vacation time.  Life is very good.  Happy New Year!