You Don't Have to Be Rich
Dear Friend,
The number one response that I get from the general public about my family’s lifestyle is, “How do you do that financially?”
Finances are always the big question.
Many people assume that they can’t do this unless they are rich, or that this lifestyle is just too difficult to pursue when you have kids.
My family proves everyday that these assumptions are NOT true.
First, we had a small business that we pared back and redesigned so that we could manage it from the road.
Second, we discovered all the stuff that we really didn’t need to buy.
Third, I am working on future income sources that aren’t tied to any particular place.
Fourth, we went out on a limb (in a bad economy, no less) and borrowed money to buy our RV, which was being sold at half price. We just decided that it was now or never, and we said, “Now!”
Fifth, we unschool our kids, so we aren’t tied to any physical school, and they can really take advantage of the experiences of our travels.
That’s pretty much it.
If you want your family to live this kind of life, then it has to be a central priority of your life. You have to take charge and become your family’s leader.
You must re-configure your lifestyle to fit the way you want to live. That takes a bit of time, but not as long as you might imagine. And, because you are doing it for you and your family, it is a labor of love.
For us, that is Creative Family Lifestyle Design. For your family, it will probably be a little different. But then, that is what the term “creative” refers to. You have to get creative and design your own, unique family lifestyle. A lifestyle designed to fit your family like a glove. (but not O.J.’s glove ;-))
And don’t think for a moment that you will have to lower your lifestyle standards.
You’re not going to live in a dump or eat dog food. If you design your new lifestyle well, you may actually improve the quality of your everyday life. You can eat better, more nutritious food. And if you choose to travel or take up shop in a new country, you may find yourself being waited on, hand-and-foot, by appreciative servants.
Now, that’s got to beat working all day just so you can come home and clean your house.
You do not have to be rich to enjoy a lifestyle like mine. Just creative. And determined.
Are you ready?
All the best,
Hugh
Happiness and satisfaction is just around the corner, we just need to look for it and adapt to it. 🙂
Happiness and satisfaction is just around the corner, we just need to look for it and adapt to it. 🙂
hugh, you might enjoy having at look at these blogs, they both rv and unschool. http://www.walkslowlylivewildly.com and http://www.happyjanssens.com, both by the same person, walk slowly is about life in general, comments on unschooling going on right now due to a segment an good morning america a couple of days ago and happy janssens is about their travels. http://www.childplay.wordpress.com, they unschooled first and have now headed to CA in an rv, also commenting on the good morning america piece. have fun. on another note, i really liked surfwise also. too bad the dad was such a tyrant, woulda really been awesome. i also hate that most of the kids somewhat thought their lives were “less than” cuz of their lack of education instead of seeing how that radicalness contributed to their success and uniqueness in life, i saw no failures in them at all. im about halfway thru your blogging, enjoying watching you evolve.
hugh, you might enjoy having at look at these blogs, they both rv and unschool. http://www.walkslowlylivewildly.com and http://www.happyjanssens.com, both by the same person, walk slowly is about life in general, comments on unschooling going on right now due to a segment an good morning america a couple of days ago and happy janssens is about their travels. http://www.childplay.wordpress.com, they unschooled first and have now headed to CA in an rv, also commenting on the good morning america piece. have fun. on another note, i really liked surfwise also. too bad the dad was such a tyrant, woulda really been awesome. i also hate that most of the kids somewhat thought their lives were “less than” cuz of their lack of education instead of seeing how that radicalness contributed to their success and uniqueness in life, i saw no failures in them at all. im about halfway thru your blogging, enjoying watching you evolve.
Thanks Walter! I think our job is to remind people of just that. I think that very few people really believe it in their hearts, and it’s our job to help them to accept this simple truth.
Thanks Walter! I think our job is to remind people of just that. I think that very few people really believe it in their hearts, and it’s our job to help them to accept this simple truth.
Thank you Beverly!
I don’t consider the dad in the Surfwise movie to be a true unschooler. He just didn’t send his kids to school. But he lorded over them worse than any school likely would’ve.
I think the spirit of unschooling is to give your kids enough space to explore the world their way, while intentionally providing opportunities for them to expose themselves to all sorts of experiences and knowledge. It’s about growing in freedom, really.
The Pascowitz (sp?) family had no freedom as far as I could see. If you were a kid who happened to want to surf, then all was fine. If not, you were in surfing prison.
Believe it or not, I got that movie out just last night to show my oldest (the language is a bit racy for anyone younger). He didn’t see any unschooling in it. I agree.
The term unschooling can be misleading, and I think it may do more harm than good.
My goal is to put my kids in the best possible situation for their healthy, natural growth. I am rejecting the idea that parents must control so many aspects of kids lives. If your kid is already in rebellion, it is hard to go this path. But if not, it is easy. I don’t want my kids to have a reason to rebel.
I do draw definite lines – any decision that has potentially long-term consequences is mine, not theirs.
I didn’t come to this path out of some political philosophy. It just seems to work! To tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter to me why it works. Only that it does for my family.
And unschooling doesn’t mean lazy parenting, either. I am so sick of hearing this from people who have no clue. If I was lazy, I’d be putting my kids on that free yellow school bus that rolls by every morning and enjoying government-paid free daycare while I popped bon-bons all day.
I am with my kids all the time. Most people who unschool are. We are very much a part of our kids everyday lives. It’s a lot of work, because that is the nature of parenting. But it is much more relaxed than trying to micro-manage the experiences they face each day. Instead, I am there to explain those experiences, and occasionally I point out the life lesson that they are learning when they are going through a turmoil. Sometimes they want to hear that and sometimes they don’t. 🙂
I am determined that my kids will learn how to be independent, to make decisive decisions in their lives, to know who they really are and to discover and pursue a life path meant for them alone. I want my kids to feel strong and to know that they can handle themselves, including with self defense.
These are really basic human skills that many adults today do not have. If I have to choose between calculus and those life skills, then I choose those life skills.
Thank you again. And I am excited about checking out those links! I’m forwarding them to my wife right now too! 🙂
Hugh
Thank you Beverly!
I don’t consider the dad in the Surfwise movie to be a true unschooler. He just didn’t send his kids to school. But he lorded over them worse than any school likely would’ve.
I think the spirit of unschooling is to give your kids enough space to explore the world their way, while intentionally providing opportunities for them to expose themselves to all sorts of experiences and knowledge. It’s about growing in freedom, really.
The Pascowitz (sp?) family had no freedom as far as I could see. If you were a kid who happened to want to surf, then all was fine. If not, you were in surfing prison.
Believe it or not, I got that movie out just last night to show my oldest (the language is a bit racy for anyone younger). He didn’t see any unschooling in it. I agree.
The term unschooling can be misleading, and I think it may do more harm than good.
My goal is to put my kids in the best possible situation for their healthy, natural growth. I am rejecting the idea that parents must control so many aspects of kids lives. If your kid is already in rebellion, it is hard to go this path. But if not, it is easy. I don’t want my kids to have a reason to rebel.
I do draw definite lines – any decision that has potentially long-term consequences is mine, not theirs.
I didn’t come to this path out of some political philosophy. It just seems to work! To tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter to me why it works. Only that it does for my family.
And unschooling doesn’t mean lazy parenting, either. I am so sick of hearing this from people who have no clue. If I was lazy, I’d be putting my kids on that free yellow school bus that rolls by every morning and enjoying government-paid free daycare while I popped bon-bons all day.
I am with my kids all the time. Most people who unschool are. We are very much a part of our kids everyday lives. It’s a lot of work, because that is the nature of parenting. But it is much more relaxed than trying to micro-manage the experiences they face each day. Instead, I am there to explain those experiences, and occasionally I point out the life lesson that they are learning when they are going through a turmoil. Sometimes they want to hear that and sometimes they don’t. 🙂
I am determined that my kids will learn how to be independent, to make decisive decisions in their lives, to know who they really are and to discover and pursue a life path meant for them alone. I want my kids to feel strong and to know that they can handle themselves, including with self defense.
These are really basic human skills that many adults today do not have. If I have to choose between calculus and those life skills, then I choose those life skills.
Thank you again. And I am excited about checking out those links! I’m forwarding them to my wife right now too! 🙂
Hugh
exactly agree that if you want the easy route, put em on the school bus. lol. ive had many people ask me if i like homeschooling and the truth is not necessarily sometimes, like you said, it would be way easier to stick them on the bus, but i do LOVE my kids. back to pascowitz?, i think the kids were very educated, read voraciously, listened to opera and learned to play instruments and traveled extensively and i think the dad offered them a wonderful opportunity, but the way he came across, unyeilding and tyrannically, he failed to teach them what he was trying to, to me it was unschooling without any choices. by the way ive unschooled my children plus dabbled in ALL the other forms of schooling also, for about 25 years now.
exactly agree that if you want the easy route, put em on the school bus. lol. ive had many people ask me if i like homeschooling and the truth is not necessarily sometimes, like you said, it would be way easier to stick them on the bus, but i do LOVE my kids. back to pascowitz?, i think the kids were very educated, read voraciously, listened to opera and learned to play instruments and traveled extensively and i think the dad offered them a wonderful opportunity, but the way he came across, unyeilding and tyrannically, he failed to teach them what he was trying to, to me it was unschooling without any choices. by the way ive unschooled my children plus dabbled in ALL the other forms of schooling also, for about 25 years now.