LIFE IS CANVAS
and I achieved financial independence at 33 and early retirement at 36. Now we’re raising our 2 kids in Colorado & abroad. Through this site and our related projects, our mission is to encourage others in their pursuit of personal and financial freedom.Latest Articles
What I Wish I Could Have Said on PBS NewsHour
We had the honor of participating in a story on PBS NewsHour with Mr. Money Mustache. Also featured were Mark & Sina Ebersole and Michelle Jackson, all of whom Michael met through his time at the MMM Headquarters. Click to watch our PBS NewsHour segment Over the...
Northwest Road Trip Recap: Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, and Back!
Last summer, we bought an old RV for $12,000 so we could take a month long road trip to the Pacific Northwest. This summer, we sold that RV for $14,000. I’ll share more details about the RV itself next week, but the trip was a big one for us so we wanted to recap that...
FinCon 2018 Recap, or How Carl Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Busch Beer
I returned home this week from FinCon 2018, the grand finale of my busiest month in recent years. Even though I’m eager to get back to my wonderful everyday family man life, I gave myself permission to take a mental health break for my first day and a half back home....
The Uncommon Dream Family
About Us
Ellen and I met at a language school in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 2004, married in 2007, and had our 2 children in 2014 and 2016. Along the way, we’ve worked hard to live on less while still honoring our desire to travel and lead fulfilling lives.For us, this has included returning to Mexico for a year, retiring early in 2016, and spending our first two winters with our children living in Cuenca, Ecuador.
In January of 2019, we’ll set out to slow travel through Central and South America for 15-18 months before returning to northern Colorado in time for our son to start elementary school.
The purpose of this site is to share some ideas and resources that we believe could support others looking to chart their own uncommon course through life.
We’ll also chronicle our slow travel adventures as a family, hoping it may serve as an inspiration and useful reference for others while being a satisfying record for us to reflect on years from now ourselves.
More From Uncommon Dream
Get our Financial Freedom Spreadsheet
Subscribe here to be among the first to receive the spreadsheet I developed to chart our course to financial independence. I’m working now to migrate it from Numbers to Excel and Google Sheets so it’ll work great for anyone. I’ll email it to everyone on this list once it’s ready.
NoCo Mustachians
Passing through Northern Colorado? My friends Carl from 1500Days.com, Kevin from MonetaryMusings.com, Yaicha, Kalen, and I run an active financial independence group with a few hundred local members. We meet regularly in Fort Collins, at the MMM HQ in Longmont, and throughout Northern Colorado. Check our calendar to see if you can attend one of our upcoming events.
FI Clubs
No Colorado travel plans any time soon? No worries. My friend Sean Merron from the 2 Frugal Dudes podcast and I created FI Clubs to help you find or organize a club of your own. Read Introducing FI Clubs for some backstory, or click the button below to check it out for yourself. It’s free to organizers and members alike!As Seen On
