Do you want to give your children an extraordinary life filled with adventure?
On October 2017 I reached an Epic life goal. My husband quit his job and our family of 4 embarked on a four month mini-retirement. It started with a 21 day cross country road trip from our home in California to Michigan. Then we traveled to El Salvador for 1 month, followed by a 1 month stay in Ecuador. Completing all our international travel with just 4 backpacks. Finally ending with us relocating to Michigan in January 2018.
My name is Melissa, but here I’m known as the Roamer. Currently I am a 33 32 31 year old mother of 2 and wife of 1. I write here because I have a wild idea. I want to live a wildly unconventional life. My recent mini- retirement has shown me how much I’ve learned about making it possible and I want to share that information with the world. I want to help other families live and follow their wildly unique paths.
To reach this turning point I have used the tools of minimalism and personal finance to create my own journey. To give not just my children, but my spouse and myself the opportunity for adventure through travel. To regain time to be a present parent through the very short years of our children’s lives at home.
Addition isn’t helping, so lets try subtraction.
Who else is listening?
My work has been feature on
- Rockstar Finance
- We saved $72K and were featured Acorn’s Grow magazine
- I’ve been a guest on the Afford Anything podcast.
- Featured on Forbes
At my corporate job it was my responsibility to train 100s of employees to ask new questions. Guiding them to discover the best tools to get the most out of their work day. These skills are just as relevant at home. I’ve helped others see progress in their homes by guiding them to ask new questions.
What you’ll find
Lessons that actually serve you in real life.
A friend and guide who also wants a unique adventurous life, who is learning and listening with you. Check out our $600, 6 day camping trip.
Stories and ideas on minimalism with a family
Someone to talk to openly about money, we have to pay for our goals and dreams somehow. Money is a big tool in designing an adventurous life. I’ll be covering how to do it from a family perspective.
Questions to help you get to the core of what truly matters to you
Questions to help you let go of everything holding you back.
A fellow parent, who enjoys reading about child-rearing philosophies and will share with you
Watching others succeed breaks down the walls of impossibility. If others like you can reach their goals you can too!
How I know what I know
Ten years ago I was a 21 year old university student who got pregnant while completing my degree. When I did finally complete my degree I graduated with $46,000 in debt. I followed the standard path bought a new car and added another $18,000 to my debt. Right out of college I had to support my son and for a bit my mother.
I had to take control of not just my money , but my life.
After having my son I told myself ” for my next kid I will be in a position where I can take work off for their first year.” I wasn’t, but taking a year off from work to spend focus time with my family remained a goal. My constant moving from Michigan to California for school taught me to evaluate my possessions often. It birthed my first stages of minimalism. At my corporate career I learned about waste reduction, to save money, space and time. These lessons spilled into my home. Later I found that the Minimalism movement captured the same ethos.
A goal to pay off all my debt in just five years led me to read on all things money. My husband and I ended up paying off all of our debt, over $100K in just three and a half years.
But you want to know a secret?
Underneath they are all about 1 thing.
Continuous Improvement…Change and growth.
Why do I do this?
My most enjoyable time in my corporate job was teaching others and seeing their faces when the light bulb clicked. Watching people grow and being part of that is really rewarding.
My mission is to share the strategies that have helped me grow from a struggling single mother to a money savvy , adventure planning woman. If you feel like you are starting in a hole you can still make great steps toward the life you want.
And who am I kidding I’m an engineer and finding solutions to issues is what I’m mentally built for..
I don’t know if this is for you, but..
DO You want to have control of your time?
DO You want to live an unconventional life?
DO You want to feel happy and satisfied by your money situation?
If you are looking for a friend to join you on this journey, to inspire and motivate you, to hold you accountable.
Ready to get started?
check out my top post for Money articles, Here