Now, after seeking work for 7 months, it appears that I may be offered a job by a former boss. The people are terrific…the job mind-numbingly boring and repetitious.

I am older than you are, Trent, and am rather frustrated that I had broken out, finally, but I can’t stay out. My parents live with me and depend on me literally for the roof over their heads. Poor financial decisions in the past and a business failure haunt me, as these, coupled with the new burden of caring for family tie my hands behind my back.

Were it not for them I would be so ready to find a smaller, more affordable house that would free me up to pursue my dreams and keep me from re-joining the rat race.

My husband and I are not in the same place as far as this goes. I think my frustration level is shared, but he has a more long-term picture in his head, seeking certain things in a retirement that require us to keep the house we are in and pay it off, so that our retirement is free of that financial obligation. It makes sense, but…

Ah well, perhaps I simply need to go back to the drawing board, suck it up and do what needs to be done for now and prepare for an exit a few years down the road. Perhaps then we will be in a better position to be able to pursue dreams.

I find that the distractions of financial matters and the mental and emotional distress all of this causes interferes with my writing process. How have you managed to get past that? I am now in the midst of six books which I am writing simultaneously. I jump from one to the other to the other and back and forth. An idea for one comes and I simply must write it while the fire and inspiration is there, but then an idea for the other one comes and I am off.

It’s rather like being pulled by many children in a household. I need to figure out how to capture the ideas but go back to the single project I am trying to complete.

That will happen. Kids never used to go into group situations so young, it is a fairly new thing, largely due to both parents working. The positives are there, but they are also spun to alleviate parental guilt.

In any case,this ties to your wife’s passions for her occupation… to develop a passion, and to know what yo ant to do in life, you have to become bored. You have to be a kid sitting there alone, and it is then you learn how to entertain yourself. It promotes introspection, and innovation.

If you want to know what your child loves, see what they do in their “bored” time. It’s the biggest clue. A little boredom (not neglect) is a good thing.

The journal entry could easily have been mine, just a few months back. To see how far you have come in less than four years, by living consciously and making the right changes in lifestyles is truly inspirational.

These are the the sort of posts that have made folks like me such ardent followers of your blog!

Thank you.

I LOVE it. I save a lot of money because even buying penny books on Amazon gets expensive. Yes, I do spend $$ on postage, but it’s still cheaper than Amazon.

I guess it helps that when I listed my books to swap, I had over 170 of them – can you spell addiction? I’m a bookworm, just like my mom. As someone requests one and I mail it, I get another credit to use.

The only way I’m related to the site is as a very happy member. There’s no cost to join – just an extra couple cents when you print postage from their site.

I went from buying books sometimes full-price when I was bored to having a box of books to read! My job is 100% travel, so I spend a lot of times in airports and on planes, so I need a lot of reading material.

I think that this is the reason that people like listening to Dave’s story too, the whole “I’ve done stupid with zeros on the end.”

I admire so much that you have crafted a well-written, successful blog. Keep up the great work.

It would be great if you could write a little about health care insurance and frugality in the area of medical expenses. The greatest barrier to leaving my job quagmire is the fear that I will not be able to provide for my health. Otherwise, I’d be self-employed tomorrow.

Great site, great story. I look at your stuff every day.

BUT…I think the attack on “gail” might have been a bit harsh. Unless I missed a part of your story, would it have been possible for both partners in your marriage to do a major transformation at the same time?

Just a thought.

Rock on.