Living On Less:

In March of 2016, Lou and I decided that we wanted to try out living on $3 a day and chronicle the whole journey in a project called Living on Less. We wanted to get a handle on our spending so that we could save up for the next chapter of our lives - moving into a van and traveling Europe. We realized that the lower we could get our monthly burn, the more time we could focus on creating for you and less time on commercial work.

We also wanted to bust the myth that we hear all the time - I'd love to go vegan, but it's too expensive! Obviously, if you're getting fancy superfood powders, dining at trendy restaurants, or buying pre-made green juice every day, your food bill will definitely go up. But the reality is that rice and beans is one of the cheapest, healthiest meals on the planet and is a staple of the majority of the world's population. Living a healthy, vegan lifestyle, can be affordable and easy, and we really hope that our free eBook (link below) helps people make this connection.

There were two key resources that we utilized during Living on Less - Early Retirement Extreme, by Jacob Lund Fisker and Mr. Money Mustache, a blog by Pete Adeney. (I cannot overstate how influential and instrumental Jacob Lund Fisker’s book has been in our journey; if you only read one book this year, read Early Retirement Extreme). During this month-long challenge, we learned how to cut out unnecessary spending, dramatically reduce our grocery bill, all while still finding a way to enjoy the little things in life like quality time with friends.  

Living on $3 a day was definitely a challenge, but with the right preparation and realistic expectations about what life looks like on this budget, anyone can do it!