Simple living. Back in 2012, this concept wasn’t even on my radar. Now, this is the type of lifestyle I want most of all.
I’d love to take some time to share our story with you. I like to hear about the journeys other families have embarked on, and so I thought y’all might care to hear mine. It might take a couple of posts to get through it all. I have so many thoughts about this topic!
Related: I Want a Simple Life!
In 2013, we lived in a neighborhood. My oldest was quickly approaching 13, and it had been my prayer for years that by the time she was a teenager we’d live on some land. I was concerned about the influence living in our neighborhood would have on our kiddos. It wasn’t exactly the best environment…one time police stormed our yard while busting up a meth lab across the street!
The problem was that we owed more on our mortgage than our house was worth due to the housing crisis. But 2013 was our year! We bought the home for $150,800 in 2004, and sold it for $115,000 in 2013. We owed $100,000 at that point, so we pocketed a small amount after paying real estate fees. It was worth it, though. We purchased a 3200 square foot home on 12 acres for $250,000.
I was honestly kind of scared to live on land at first. I liked the privacy, but didn’t think anything about growing a garden or owning livestock. But little by little, I started to be drawn to old, rustic things. We lived in an old drafty farmhouse, which I loved to find antiques for.
This old drafty house came with large utility bills and a hefty tax bill. We were making it work financially, but barely. By 2016, I discovered Dave Ramsey, and started to snowball our debts. While trying to become debt free, we started to live more simply by default. I discovered that there was such freedom in not chasing the newest gadgets or clothing styles. It was liberating!
Related: Sacrifice During Our Debt Free Journey
By the Spring of 2017, we decided to spend a bit of our newfound free time dabbling in homesteading. We bought six baby chicks and my husband built a small fenced area for us to garden in. This was short lived however, because my husband accepted a new job five hours away in South Carolina a few months later!
We were dedicated to becoming debt free, and we thought this new job would take us there. This was a huge leap of faith for us. My husband had lived in Georgia his entire life, and I had lived there since I was six years old. But we thought the Lord was leading us to South Carolina, so he accepted the job offer.
House prices were beginning to climb at this point at time. When we visited the area to look for a home, we ended up putting in offer on a home 56 miles from his job in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. At the time, all we cared about was not stretching ourselves too thin financially, and owning land. We were dedicated to living more simply at this point, and thought the 1850 square foot home would do for our family of ten. Plus, it had six acres of land!
As the time approached for us to move, the more anxious I became. Were we making the right choice?
To be continued…
Read the second part of our story, here.
Read the third part of our story here.
Thank you so much for stopping by! Shop for shirts made just for Christian ladies here, our debt free shirts here, and my Etsy shop here.
