Live Big by Living Small
The Adventures of Hal and Kasey Clark
Join Hal and Kasey Clark on the road as they, “Live big by living small.”
Hal and Kasey rolled down the Pacific Coast Highway in their Lance camper on a multiyear road trip. Exiting the Highway 101 at Santa Barbara, they hopped onto their bikes and cruised the “California Riviera” on a tour that included a visit to Hofmann Architecture. “We just wanted to ogle at your sweet Airstreams!” said Kasey. “We’d love to trade in our camper for one of yours, but we’ll have to be patient.”
In December of 2013, this Colorado couple decided to enter the world of blogging about their “trips, hikes, bike rides, camping, adventures, travels, training, daily life, and anything else.” Their goal? To convince others how simple and fun it is to: “live big by living small.”
Their blog shares personal stories and photos of their adventures and travels, athletic training and nutrition advice, along with tips on how to balance work and play.
Fortunately, their blog comes with a warning: “THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! This lifestyle works for us because we embrace it.” That’s an important concept for any freedom-loving adventure-seeker to realize, because there are tradeoffs and old habits that need to be unlearned.
The beautiful part of their blog is they don’t offer a 5-step secret solution to finding financial freedom on easy street, because there isn’t one. Their lives simply offer real life evidence and genuine examples how this lifestyle is being achieved.
Check out these excerpts on how they are, “Beating the system.”
Yeah, we said it — we beat the system. We know some of you are in similar situations and we applaud you for standing up against all the bullshit the typical lifestyle offers. In contrast, we would like to offer you a way out. Or perhaps an idea or two to take to the fiscal home-front to improve your financial freedom, or in most cases, lack thereof.
We travel, run, ride, climb, and eat lunch at the Costco sample carts on weekday afternoons, while the majority of people are working the nine to five gig. We sometimes pass whole days walking to the movie theatre ten miles away, guilt free. We spend time with our families, and in most cases, we travel to see them several times a year. We live our lives planning the next outing or adventure. You could do the same-just insert your activities instead of ours. We are constantly having fun without the worry of not paying our bills and without the questions of what we are going to do if we lose our jobs.
The point is to live a great life without financial stress. This means working a job that you love, or maybe just like, and not becoming a victim to your belongings by being a robot at a job you hate because you need to drive a $50,000 vehicle. We like sweet cars too, but not at the risk of having to work for three extra years to own it.
How can you have everything? Well, we will start with the biggest expense and narrow the money spending down from there, one post at a time. A mortgage… we might as well, right? 30 years sound about right? Five percent isn’t that bad? Do yourself a favor and spend the next half-hour with a mortgage calculator and write down exactly the amount of cash you’re giving away and post it on your fridge. You will be disgusted and want to fix it. If not, it’s no big deal. If your stomach turns and you realize you’ve got to change this, then great. It is doable! WOO HOO!
Hofmann Architecture applauds the Clarks, and thousands of others like them, who have committed to living an extraordinary life.
Happy trails!
Kasey and Hal Clark, pictured at right, on a fantastic urban fall adventure in Washington D.C. (November of 2014)
Sorry, but this is a terrible way to live life. We should all strive to leave the world in a better place.
I get the need to use fewer resources, and possess fewer things. But to teach your kids to not have a job so you can roam around Costco’s free sample foods all day and walk to the movies just is not good parenting.
I understand taking one year off or working hard and then in retirement living like this; but to not be contributing to society and claiming that you’ve *figured it out* is just plain irresponsible.
And the tantalizing bit of evidence that this lifestyle won’t work, even for them, is this:
“We’d love to trade in our camper for one of yours, but we’ll have to be patient.”
We are all wired to want to succeed and achieve more than others. Wandering aimlessly with no earnings just isn’t fulfilling.
Go and get a job, contribute to the economy… then you can afford a Hofarc Airstream!
Mr. Clark is currently a full-time career firefighter/paramedic, so I think that counts as “contributing to the economy and society…”
Their adventures happen on his days off and his vacation time.
Hopefully you see them as responsible citizens now, and not wayward vagabonds…
Judgement is better left to God, Surge. Just as we are all unique individuals there are many different ways to contribute to society. You narrow-mindedness lacks humanity and grace.
Honestly, Surge, how can you find the time to complain that they were being irresponsible, and to “get a job”.
I happen to live with lots of debt, but I am downsizing and simplifying. So am I being irresponsible or very responsible in doing so?
We start off life with nothing and we will end it with nothing. Carrying all that material weight and stress along the way, is not really a badge of honor. Nobody is going to put on a headstone “R.I.P. Here lies so and so, he carried a massive amount of debt and worried about it every day of his miserable adult life!”
Surge may think that I am missing the point, the real point is that the Clark”s are trying to fulfill their dream and doing what they can to pursue their happiness (an unalienable right that is in our own Constitution).
Will the Clark’s change what they do as they follow their path? I’m sure they will. But if they follow their commitment towards their original intentions while being non-violent, then I believe they would have contributed to our society and lived a more fulfilling and happy life than they would have otherwise, and who are we to deny them?