The Van Life movement is one that has continued to gain in popularity especially in the last decade as it has become a social media phenomenon. This lifestyle boasts the ability to retrofit large vans into living spaces to allow for minimalistic belongings and the basic necessities. There are a lot of different resources available to this community such as apps for places to park or camp, vehicle locating services, as well as builders who can spec out the vehicle you are looking to outfit. If you are considering this lifestyle, there is a lot to look at from the upfront cost, how normal conveniences of life would change, how you may provide a living, as well as the ongoing costs related to the van life. All of which we are looking to cover as an overview for this lifestyle.

The Financial Independence Retire Early movement otherwise known as FIRE, has gained in popularity as people have become more and more disenchanted with the rat race. Originally promoted in a book called Your Money or Your Life, further popularized by bloggers like Mr. Money Mustache, this movement has attracted people from all walks of life. Focusing on reducing spending and maximizing saving in order to be able to have a safe withdrawal rate to live off of, therefore, allowing people to fire themselves from their 9-5 and exchange it for their ideal lifestyle.

The Financial Independence Retire Early movement otherwise known as FIRE, has gained in popularity as people have become more and more disenchanted with the rat race. Originally promoted in a book called Your Money or Your Life, further popularized by bloggers like Mr. Money Mustache, this movement has attracted people from all walks of life. Focusing on reducing spending and maximizing saving in order to be able to have a safe withdrawal rate to live off of, therefore, allowing people to fire themselves from their 9-5 and exchange it for their ideal lifestyle.

Financial Minimalism is a very new term that many are having a difficult time defining. Looking at this through the lens of both the defense and offense of your personal finances will help you to look at your financial picture first versus focusing on the belongings that you have. Looking at specific voices who have referred to this term, will help you determine whether you adhere to either methodologies.

Sometimes we don’t realize how much control we actually have over the lifestyles we live and the influences we allow. We often don’t think about how we want to live, versus how we may currently live and therefore, this can prevent us from building out the steps to get there and figuring out what then needs to change. We often carry limiting thoughts around our capabilities due to what we see possible today and don’t actually look at our own capabilities through a proper lens. It is so easy to be influenced by people or advertising that pulls us into sacrificing the life we actually want to live. Evaluating all of this against whether these decisions push you toward or lead you away from what you ultimately want will ensure you are intentionally choosing the lifestyle you’re aiming for.

Boundaries are absolutely necessary in life. No matter what area you look at, boundaries or parameters will need to be set to succeed. There is truly freedom within boundaries. Figuring out what you have built in your life that is worth protecting through placing boundaries on is key. Looking at the 7 F’s will help to ensure that you are setting boundaries in each aspect of life.

In a society where we are over-committed, it is really difficult to set boundaries between work and homelife. It is easy to align our identities with what we do instead of our identity being rooted in who we are and choosing what we do based upon that. Using the threshold or landmark approach will ensure that you are transitioning well between work and life. Being fully-present is increasingly difficult, so these approaches will ensure that you are focused on the person, task, or project right in front of you.

We may be organized from a standpoint of our schedules, rhythms, routines, and the like while being disorganized in how to best store documents. Looking at this from a standpoint of how to utilize a three-prong approach to dealing with paperwork will ensure that you know when to store documents, how, and for how long. Applying this approach of audit, automate, and augment to the process will ensure that this habit is formed. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with the process of storing documents properly, so looking at how you can store documents in order to clear up mind-space and therefore, create Margin.

It can be really difficult to know how much to spend on projects in your space, especially in a time when the cost of labor and materials is inflated. Assuming you own your home, you will want to first find out what your home is currently worth. Not only looking at its current value, but also what it will be worth post-renovation or update. Figuring out which projects add the most value to you in comparison to which will add the most-value to the next owner will be especially important. Before starting a project, setting a realistic budget, timeline, and focusing on low-cost, high impact areas you will want to base this on the length of time you plan to stay in the space. Following these simple steps will ensure that you do not over improve a space or make it too specific to your taste.

Early morning routine’s are especially important for high achievers, those who want to put a dent in the earth, who want to accomplish a great deal before most wake up. Having this rhythm or lack thereof can truly shape your reality. Looking at how you can get into a good rhythm to automate what may seem trivial, the first thing in the day causes you to have a sense of accomplishment going into your day. Going through 10-steps that I follow everyday, will help you begin the process by adding at least one to start. This will help you build the routine, then you can add to it as you are ready to. This won’t happen overnight, but you will be thankful you took the time to center yourself each day.