A life vs Alive
The time has come in my life where I feel stuck; I’ve got a good job, a beautiful wife, 2 cute fur babies, and am saving for a house and planning to have a family. All I’ve ever wanted was the classic Kiwi dream, which I’m well on the way to having, so why do I feel so empty? That’s one question I have finally found the answer to. I’ve always wanted to travel, but my experience so far has been a trip to Australia every couple of years, which was nice but not what I’m looking for. I don’t want the classic holiday where you go to a new country and do the same things you would at home, when you come home with a suitcase full of useless ‘I was here’ t-shirts and a key ring. I don’t want stuff, I want experience. I’ve always been a bit afraid of the unknown, or not being able to plan everything, or the thought of something going wrong. When I go away for a weekend I take everything I can think of from clothes, to a torch. I’m the most prepared person out, which is exactly my problem. There’s never going to be a perfect time to buy a house, or have a baby, there are always going to be things that pop up and different things you could spend your money on etc. My plan for 2017 was to buy a house, and then plan for kids. So far I’ve found myself moved back in with my mother. Let me tell you, when you live in a single bedroom with your wife, dog and cat, there’s not a lot of comfort. We went from renting a 3 bedroom house with a double garage and a massive backyard to living in one room and it’s driving us mad! Yes, we really want our own house asap but are we willing to put our own happiness on the line? Is there any point in being miserable just to cut a year or two off of saving? Every year I have a saying; _____ will be my year, I’m going to get fit, buy a car, save for ______. And every year, I don’t achieve any of it, why? I have the wrong priorities. My main priority now is to be happy, to be adventurous and make all the hard work mean something. What am I working so hard for? To pay the bills? What do I have to show for that? What can I honestly show you that I have gained from working 5+ days a week for 10 years? Some bad decisions, and a few years of paying off debt. Now comes the new goal, the new plan, the new challenge; Travel the world for cheap/free. I’ve done some research and it’s not impossible, in fact there are many options such as house sitting, volunteering overseas which offer free accommodation, which means just having to pay for flights. The only issue? Being outside of our comfort zones. Not knowing who we’ll meet, or what we’ll do. Does this scare the crap out of me? Hell yes! But am I willing to put myself out there in order to be happy? Yes! 2017 may not be the year we buy a house, or get a new car, but none of that matters. 2017 is the year we start living!
