Accidental Minimalist - Fifty year old woman couch surfs her way to financial freedom.

It all started back in 2013. My divorce was finalized and my daughter and her new husband decided to move to Australia. I was heartbroken, but happy for the kids. Before they left my daughter, who was really into living a minimalist lifestyle, helped me get organized and get rid of useless stuff. This was the start of my transformation.

I took this picture of downtown Melbourne from inside the train

Once the kids were settled in Melbourne. I decided to move as well. This move was not a well thought out move. It was an emotional move. I was lonely, burned out on my business and confused about what to do next. So, I sold most everything I owned, packed up a U-hale and headed down south to Reno Nevada to stay with my best friend.

Another picture from inside the train. That building is the Flinders Street Railway Station

That move was a disaster. Yet another lesson in mindfulness. I move into a situation that was not a good fit for me or my friend. So, once again, I sold more of my stuff and narrowed my life down to a suitcase and a laptop bag. This is where it get interesting.

Curtisy of istockphoto.com

So, at this point I have a small amount of money and a ticket to Melbourne Australia. My visa is for three months and I can’t wait to see the kids. The plan is to stay in Melbourne for a bit and then off to India for six months and then another visit to Melbourne and back to India for another six months.

This Goat herder would bring these goats down this busy street near my flat everyday

The goal was to get my permanent residency going, but I was not allowed to live in Australia until the visa process was complete. In the meantime, my son in laws parents have property in India. So, I was able to stay in a nice flat in Pondicherry.

This house was near the beach in a small fishing village just north of Pondicherry

This was very useful because the cost of living was really low and like I mentioned earlier, I did not have a lot of money. As a matter of fact I was broke and $20,000 in debt. I did not possess a credit card, or a decent credit score. I had no assets at all.
At forty eight years old I was the most vulnerable I had ever been as an adult.

After my three months in Melbourne I was off to Pondicherry. It was an amazing experience living in India. My budget was $300 AU a month. That's actually a lot! I just payed for food and anything else I needed.

This quote & the proverb were painted on the wall of a school in my neighborhood

At this point I had detoxed from all the stuff I used to possess and started to realize the amount of money, time and energy I had waisted over the years and how none of it had brought me any lasting joy.

I made this on the PicsArt app

Life has a funny way of being in charge! I did not end up moving to Australia. We put my visa on hold for a few years and I moved back to the states. It was a struggle for a while. From 2014 to 2017 I still had not really answered the one big question “What am I going to do with my life?” This was a really big question for me. I knew what I did not want, but I was afraid to start the next chapter.

Powell Books is a very unique book store in PDX. If you're ever in town, this is a must see

I felt so bad about my situation. I beat myself up for being broke and in debt, and it didn't help that I just kept getting older and did I mention my social security was not going to support me at all? I spent countless hours online looking for my new life. I started and stopped hundreds of projects. It was so important for me to find the best fit and then one day everything changed in a flash! Well, really it was just my perspective that changed.

NEWS FLASH: Fifty year old woman couch surfs her way to financial freedom.

So, I signed up for Credit Karma and began monitoring my debt. Some of my debt fell off and some I paid, but the most important thing I did was, I did not accrue any new debt.

Once I realized I had a clean slate, I really started to think heard about what I want and I realized that things are not so bad, as a matter of fact my life is in a really good place.

1. I’m debt free.
2. My present living expenses are very low ( less than $400 a month).
3. My new business is bringing in CASH! No fees. Yessss...
4. I recently started investing in Cryptocurrency.

That simple list is super important. Why? Because of all the stuff that is NOT on that list! Like a car note, rental lease, insurance or a cable bill or business expenses like etsy fees, adv. on Facebook, PayPal fee and taxes! OK, I pay taxes, haha...

I have a situation where I exchange rent for cooking and housekeeping.
I don’t own a car, but I do use Car2go and Lyft on occasion. I don’t really have that much privacy and that sometimes gets to me, but as a temporary situation, it has served me well.

I taught myself how to day trade and coupled with my costume biz, I am saving lots of money!

What is most rewarding to me right now is the peace of mind I have acquired. Knowing that I am growing my wealth everyday and maintaining a low cost lifestyle at the same time is AWESOME! For the first time in my experience I get excited when it's time to invest and spending money on stuff does not interest me like it once did.

I am moving this summer into my own place and my expenses will go up a bit, but the time I took to build some wealth and map out my plan has created a sustainable lifestyle I love! It was always important for me to feel free as I ad and subtract things from my life. I did not want to paint myself into another financial corner again.

My present plan allows me to:

1. Travel when ever I want, which is good because I go to Melbourne and see the kids.
2. Work from my lap top from anywhere in the world.
3. Create a retirement that has nothing to do with retiring!

So, am I really a minimalist? Probably not! But I have learned how to funnel my time, my money and my creative talents into a life I love. A life filled with rich experiences, not expenses.

Some times when people are allergic to something they eat, the doctor will tell them to go on an "elimination diet". By a process of elimination we will figure out what is ok to consume and what needs to be eliminated from your diet.
That's kinda what I did. I got rid of everything and slowly let things I really need come back into my life.

At fifty two years old I'm really starting to live a life that I can be proud of. My relationship with money has changed so much and is constantly improving. My lifestyle is also constantly improving, but with a different consciousness about it.

Thank you for reading my blog. I am still quite new to Steemit and would really appreciate it if you followed me. An upvoted would be amazing and a repost would make my day!

Thank you...Steem-on