Preparing for Take Off!

 

Q: How are we making this happen?

We have both had the opportunity to take part in a deferred salary program our school boards offer. I have been taking 20% off of my pay for the last 4 years, and Will has taken 25% off of his pay for the last 3 years. We will receive the portion that was taken off as regular payments throughout this next year to help us cover expenses as we go, and allow us to return to the jobs we love after the 14 months of adventure are over. We feel extremely fortunate not to feel like we need to escape anything. We are not travelling to, “get away from it all”. Without trying to sound cliché, I have to say that we love our life- we live in a breathtakingly beautiful place; are surrounded by kind, loving, supportive people; and we have fulfilling, meaningful jobs. For all of those friends who ‘unfollow’ the people with incessant filled-with-gratitude posts on Facebook, please don’t quit reading!. We know we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to take this time to travel, and we just want to make the most of it.

We listed our house privately in March, and were fortunate enough to sell it to the first people who came through! We had lived in our home for 6 ½ years, which had given us just enough time to accumulate quite a bit of stuff. We did a few big sorts (thanks for the inspiration, Marie Kondo!) and were able to clear out a fair bit. We also had a big garage sale, which took care of a number of other items. We packed up the remaining items (thanks for the help, Allie!) and moved them to a storage unit (thanks for the help, Mitch!) by May 31. For the month of June, we’ve had the luxury of housesitting in the house we first stayed in when we moved to BC nine years ago! With access to tons of trails and a lake, we feel like we’ve already started our vacation (minus the whole wrapping-up-the-school-year bit!). Most recently, we’ve posted our car and truck for sale, and the buyers were great about letting us keep them until we are right ready to leave the province. Lucky? Absolutely. Grateful? You bet. Goodbye mortgage and insurance payments, hello freedom!