The DH and I have been talking more and more about what we could do to make my little dream of living on a piece of land a reality. We are considering everything from trailer homesteading to log cabin kits to straw bale geodesic domes and all kinds of other things. All our ideas are focused on ways we could achieve this without a mortgage or 150k in savings.

I know its nutty, but I find myself thinking that if only we could find a way to eliminate the money we pour into rent each month, we could afford to live on considerably less and be able to achieve financial independence a lot earlier. Reducing our monthly expenses would free us up to spend more time focused on whats important in life like family. Like our daughter.

Obviously there are costs associated with home ownership. We are not naive to that. The difference would be that any maintenance and improvements done to our own property would be an investment rather than a temporary solution to a long term need.

In the past when I have talked about this idea with people they have shot me down and pointed out all the flaws and expenses associated with such a plan. It kinda left me feeling like it would always be a pipe dream but in the last few weeks I have found bloggers, forums and books dedicated to the very topic of living without a mortgage and becoming financially independent. Its really neat to lurk on those sites and start building ideas. Its neat to not hear that Im crazy and it can never happen.

I dont know. It still might never happen for me. But a girl can dream.