Grabbing LIFE With Nestle & Tombstone’s #GrabSummerFUN!

By On July 2, 2012 · 34 Comments

I’ve already mentioned that we’re going to be homeless but for those of you that don’t know, here goes. We’re embarking on a one year journey of living on $5,000. The goal is to beg, borrow, and barter as much as possible. You can read more about that over at “Bringing Back The Village.”

Realizing that we can live on $5,000/year made us want more. It empowered us to follow our dreams. Instead of being held back by the fear of not having “enough” money (really, there will never be enough!), we’re just going for it. We are selling almost all of our belongings (see the 100 Thing Challenge). We put our house up for sale so that we could look for more land. 

We didn’t anticipate our house selling so fast, but it sold in 2 days so we’re just embracing it. Is it terrifying to have to find a place to live in 25 days? Yes! But, nothing worth doing is easy, right? This quote has popped up several different places for me today and it is so fitting for us right now:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

We’ve expanded our search to include other states and today we put an offer in on a house in Oklahoma, sight unseen. We decided to have a very small get together to tell friends and family that we may be moving out of state. We’re doing that on the 4th of July so this weekend, we went to Walmart to get supplies.

Hubby REALLY wanted these patriotic cookies!

 The Gnome picked out Drumsticks!

I couldn’t decide between Sprinkled! and Simply Dipped (we already ate the whole box of Sprinkled! so it’s a good thing we got two big boxes).

 I thought this “tank” was so cute!

 We had to grab Tombstone pizzas for the party too!

You can see the rest of our shopping trip in my Google+ album here. So, now we have all the makings for a party on Wednesday! It’s time to celebrate us taking life by the horns! How appropriate to celebrate freedom on the 4th of July!

If you enjoy reading about The Gnome & his family, like us on Facebook, add us on Google+, and follow us on twitter! While you’re at it… check out our Networked Blogs box in the right sidebar!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Nestle #CBias #SocialFabric #GrabSummerFun

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  • http://twitter.com/AnEverydayJen Jen

    New to your site so I didn’t know about your new adventure so WOW! That’s sounds fabulous and anxiety provoking at the same time! lol And congrats on only 2 days to sell the house, that is impressive!  I hope your big 4th of July news is surrounded with a great picnic and wonderful memories!

  • annae07

    wow- what a challenge!  that really goes to shoow all the extravagence people (me included!) think they need! your little guy isso cute- love those shades on his head! lol

  • sarah heart

    Thats so awesome you sold the house so flippin fast

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1676114096 Debbie Johnston

    Wow!! that is awesome!! there are houses here in central cali that have been up for sale at least 4 years…good for you :) Wish you and your sweet family the best!!

  • Geri Fink

    I just want you to know I think that your challenge to you and your family is awesome!  I am never that brave.  My mother should have named me “Stability” or “Boring” or something else I am not creative enough to think of….

  • Jeniffer Smith

    So…are you going to eat the cookies too? ;) Hooray for ice cream and cookies and pizza! 

  • Suzy Allen

    Um, now I want a drumstick, really bad. Sigh. Grocery shopping is doen until next weekend, that’s like, the weekend after next. So now I will have to wait 10 whole days until I can have a drumstick. boo.

  • http://twitter.com/LindsaysReviews Lindsay’s Reviews

    We are getting ready to move out of state and I am excited, yet scared as hell!  Good luck telling your family, my poor Mom has cried several times since I told her.  Oh CONGRATS on selling your house, and sooooo dang quickly!  That is awesome, but I am sure scary not having anything set to live yet! :/  Good luck with your search!

  • Kellycluff@live.com

    Nice blog… Trying not to screw up? Oh your gonna some how :) the secret is to just crank out a dozen by the time there grown you’ll be dang near perfect. The other alternative is fast forward tell he’s grown and with your grand kids, by then you’ll just think you were perfect. Jk

  • http://twitter.com/FluffMamaMN Fluffy Sara

    Wow. Sight unseen. We looked at 93 (yes, NINTY-THREE) houses before finding one that fit our needs. You’re brave. 

    But I’m sure you hear that a lot :)

  • Dandi D

    You’re brave! Nice effort and great goal you have!

  • Denise Panter

    Wow!  Big changes!  I wish our house would sell like that!!  :)

  • Rachel N

    That is an exciting adventure you are starting!  And boy, those ice creams look really yummy:)

  • http://www.facebook.com/samyra.bell Samyra Bell

    living on 5K sounds unbelievable with the cost of the basics now a days

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1433023941 Stacy Long Lewellyn

    I can not imagine living on 5000 a year. can’t even wrap my brain around it, will enjoy watching your journey. 

  • Amy Powell Asch

    This is truly amazing. I, for one, cannot wait to see how your journey progresses! Good luck!

  • Jenn Brooks

    Good for you guys!! I’m always trying to make our lives simpler by purging stuff and what not. What really amazes me is how to keep the food budget reasonable in that $5000! I’m amazed, and enjoy reading and learning from your posts!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Julie-Anthony-Murphy/45602676 Julie Anthony Murphy

    I love those drumsticks! They are addicting! Not a fan of frozen pizza though!

  • Crystal L

    I think this is a really brave idea.  I know I would have a really hard time with it.

  • Jessica Penix-Connell

    I want to move away to a different state but I havnt had the courage to do so.. all of my family lives here and it would just be so hard. good luck in your journey. I think i am going to look into doing the $5,000 a year challenge. Any tips or pointers?

  • AlannaB

    I think that is awesome! My husband and I discussed becoming as self sufficent as possible by growing all of our own food, live off of solar power, etc. We have a ton of unneccesary expenses that we could easily cut. I look forward to reading your future blogs! :-)

  • Rachel Richardson

    I think that is awesome that you are trying to live off of less! I would love to move out of the in laws house! WE are trying to save up enough money for a down payment on a house (cheap house) with as much land as possible! Hopefully an acre or more, but under $100,000. Don’t really care if the house is crappy, because you can fix it up and make additions if needed. Want to have a garden, fruit trees, and animals (sheep, chickens, pigs, etc).

  • Miraclebaby1104

    I think what you are doing is awesome. I hope you guys are able to find a place in the time frame that you have. Good Luck.

  • Savannah Cooper-Hughes

    You guys are so brave. Also, I ATE THOSE SAME COOKIES! :D

  • http://twitter.com/emptynesterintx GD Bailey

    curious if you have any kind of safety net; ex., parents, government assistance, etc.

    • http://thegnomesmom.com Lori W

      We have savings and income LOL. We are just choosing not to use that income. $5,000/year is a challenge for us, not a necessity. 

  • RickyNStephy

    Wow that amazing! You don’t really realize how much money you waste a month until you have very little to spend. Good luck!

  • http://twitter.com/ReclaimBirth Elizabeth McKeown

    Good luck! It really does sound like it will be a challenge, and I suppose if it were me I would be pretty tempted to dip into my savings or income. 

  • Lisa Welch

    This is so inspiring! You are absolutely correct in saying that there will never be “enough” money. The grass is always greener, and the Joneses always have more!
    No matter where you live, as long as you have your family and your health, then the only important thing is that YOU are happy!
    We have always had to live paycheck to paycheck, and it sucks. The real problem is that we try to give our kids something better than what we had growing up. What we’ve been missing is that they don’t need a bigger house, or a pool, or a field of grass for a back yard.  What they really need is time, love and understanding.
    I really wish you well with your move, I hope that everything works out for you. I will be following your blog for updates.

    • http://thegnomesmom.com Lori W

      “What we’ve been missing is that they don’t need a bigger house, or a pool, or a field of grass for a back yard. What they really need is time, love and understanding.” YES!

  • Cailyn Miller

    This is really interesting!

  • http://www.facebook.com/callisisaac Christina Isaac

    Wow!  You guys are so inspiring.  I can’t wait to see how this all plays out for you guys.  What an adventure!  :)

  • lovebuglucy

    I am very interested to hear about your next year and how you will use your resources and creativity..especially with a young child! Very inspiring!

  • Robyn Gordon

    I will be watching for new posts! As a new mother of 2, I’m still adjusting to things. It’s nice to read about someone who may have a slightly more hectic life than mine!