“Extravagances keep people harnessed to the working world simply to support an expensive lifestyle.”  ~ Bob Clyatt 

Americans like ownership, possession and complete control. We see this in the desire to have a second home in a vacation spot. For some it may make sense. We had friends who spent the summer on a lake in Minnesota. They had the time and money to make it work. I had neither. I too wanted a vacation home. Here was my conclusion. 

A second home meant much more annual expense and work. There was, of course, the purchase price. There were also taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, and a home that would likely sit empty much of the year with me responsible for it. I realized I wanted access to a nice home, NOT ownership. We now regularly rent vacation homes through the website “VRBO” and others like it and have been pleased with our results. We’ve been to Estes Park, Colorado, for $800 a week. I found a month at Park City, Vermont for under $2,000. I currently have a friend living in a 3-bedroom condo on the coast of Spain, with an ocean view, for less than $1,000 A MONTH. 

The point is, often we can get what we want by stretching our boundaries and thinking a little differently. This translates into an earlier exit from the time stressed working world, and entry into a more satisfying lifestyle.

“We work in order to have leisure.”  ~ Aristotle