
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sorry for the lapse!

Monday, March 23, 2009
Challenges
Well although the caravan has provided a fantastic insight into living with less, I must admit it can be difficult sometimes when you are working 12-hour days and leaving when it's dark and returning in the dark. Sometimes you just want a familiar environment to come home to when you're tired and exhausted. It certainly has given me more motivation to continue with our quest for the 4-hr work week, as we are currently a long way from that yet!
Having said that, Mr Smith and I spent our first weekend together at the Caravan Park and with no housework or tidying up to do, it allowed me to truly relax, go for a swim at the beach, read my book and watch the goings on at the park.
Bring on work efficiency and time reclamation!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Cashing up!

We will buy something in the back half of the year when the first home buyers grant disappears. My preferred option is in Freshwater Beach in Sydney - we can stay there for a bit and then move out and positively gear it. As part of our 4 hour work week challenge, this will become one of our passive income streams.
Until then we will continue house sitting which I am really beginning to enjoy. It takes a little organisation to begin with but once you are set up it rolls very well. Onward and upwards!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Aloha!

Well we've just booked a trip to Hawaii for 2 weeks with Jetstar for $1300 return for 2 x adults (incl. taxes!). The beauty of being transient is knowing that your accommodation is essentially your rent/mortgage for 2 weeks.
The caravan is going well and we survived a significant rain storm. It will definitely give me an appreciation for smaller spaces, which we'll need when purchasing our properties at the end of this year.
I have also realised that I don't need to live with as much stuff as once had. My wardrobe has been halved again with the majority of my clothes/shoes now in storage. It challenges your creativity with outfits but makes decision making that much easier!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Outsourcing and caravan parks

Monday, February 23, 2009
Outourcing, outsourcing, outsourcing

Will keep you posted on how I go - If it works it could change my life at work!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Muse creations aplenty!

I have started work on one muse in the coffee industry. Once the site is up and running, I will reveal what it involves. After briefing my designer via Elance http://www.elance.com/, she has come back with some fantastic logo concepts and we have almost chosen the final version. Her Elance profile is under ohSnap. The next step will be briefing in the website which I will also do via Elance or Guru.
Mr Smith and I have also come up with another idea around house-sitting. We have had frustrations with trying to find suitable places to house sit and have resorted to friends. This has made us realise there is a gap in the market which we can fill. I have again briefed the same designer (she is highly creative, quick and efficient) and looking forward to seeing her concepts.
Mr Smith is also using her for his muse logo which has just been finalised!
The ultimate aim by the end of this year is to have 3 online businesses up and running so that we can have multiple streams of income and apply E Myth principles http://www.emyth.com/ to them to ensure we have an efficient organisation that frees up time for us to focus on fulfilling our lifestyle dreamlines! E Myth by Michael Gerber is a fantastic how to book for small businesses to run your business more efficiently by working on your business rather than in your business!
Not only are we going to have more flexible income streams but also I'm learning how to set up a business from scratch and adopting skills along the way i.e. web design briefing
Lots of fun to be had!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Planning

Monday, February 2, 2009
Muse creation has begun!

Well after putting out a project brief for our coffee muse we received multiple responses from both Elance (for the logo design) and Guru (for the web design). I (Mrs Smith) set up a spreadsheet to go through all the bids and compare what I was going to get for my money. Although we want to do it cost effectively, I don't want to skimp on quality. Some of the bids provided rate packages, which is the easiest to work with. Others required you to send more details in to get a quote back.
One obstacle I found is that most of the bids are in US dollars which of course for Australians is not great at the moment! Thus I think I will end up going for a local firm Magic Dust http://www.magicdust.com.au/. Not only are they local but they also provide a very competitive package for both logo and web design. I was impressed by their quality of work as well and they are highly experienced in building ecommerce sites. What more could I ask for!
Next I have to put together a creative design brief for both the logo and website. Who knows we might be up and running sooner than we think!
Saving begins

Moving to Bondi this weekend

Friday, January 30, 2009
My muse

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
May has just been filled!
A muse has been born!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
High drama

Monday, January 19, 2009
Not bad for our first place!

Saturday, January 17, 2009
Stuck in the office on Sunday

Long day....
It didn't help that we had too much red wine last night. We must learn some restaint in our new life :) Off to bed, more details tomorrow zzzzz
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Location Independent Living

Surfing up a storm

Well Mrs Smith booked us into the North Narrabeen caravan park yesterday and I can't wait. We don't move in until the end of March but I am excited. I will be living opposite one of Sydney's best waves with a goal of surfing every day possible.
I think I have tricked her but she seems ok with it! Bring it on :)
Living in a Caravan Park!


Here is a pic of our future home...
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Cleaning out my cupboard - 6 days until our first move

Next we went to Howards Storage World and got vacumn packs for our bedding and winter clothes - it is all coming together. Mrs Smith's sister came and took a DVD player, a VHS player and an old shelf stereo so there is not much left to sell on eBay. I have an old LG Flatron TV I need to sell but will get to that.
Finally, my parents arrived today from Victoria. They have arrived all gung-ho to pack up our house. They are staying until Friday. It will be great to have them here, not only for their help but also so we can drink all our good wine before it goes into storage!
Getting excited now!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Plan in place!

Thursday, January 8, 2009
Friday afternoon day dreaming
Plan pack up for things to go into storage in order
a) Long term - things to put at the back as we can do without them
b) Medium term - things we might need access to
c) Short term - things we will need so they must be accessible
Next what to sell on eBay - I can think of a TV, Mower and a few other things - need to be ruthless but also need Mrs Smith's permission :) It is all in the name of elimination.
See Step II in The 4-Hour Workweek
Well we have started!

We went to Kennards Storage and booked our space. We are moving our whole house into it. We are moving to Newport with Mrs Smith's sister and her bloke. We have our boxes and we start packing. We are continuing the elimination process - we are offloading all our unwanted stuff. Some to friends, some on eBay and some to the Salvos.
Getting excited and nervous at thre same time....
So, what is the 4-hour work week?
