Our Freedom Years

Financial independence, early retirement & slow travel

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  • Binge!
  • Popular
    • What’s New
    • Plan for Travel
    • Airbnb Living
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  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Austria
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Romania
      • Serbia
      • Slovakia
      • Spain
      • Ukraine
      • United Kingdom
    • Middle East
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Mexico
    • South America
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
    • Asia
      • Thailand
  • About Us
  • Welcome
  • Binge!
  • Popular
    • What’s New
    • Plan for Travel
    • Airbnb Living
    • Real Costs
    • Travel with Dogs
  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Austria
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Romania
      • Serbia
      • Slovakia
      • Spain
      • Ukraine
      • United Kingdom
    • Middle East
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Mexico
    • South America
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
    • Asia
      • Thailand
  • About Us
  • Canada

    How Much is the Cost Of Living In Toronto?

    July 2, 2020 /

    Upon arriving in Toronto, we had two weeks of quarantine and since then we’ve been sheltering in place. So how did that affect our cost of living this past month?

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 14 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Could Country Living be the Perfect Lifestyle For Us?

    July 4, 2021

    The 5 Worst Airbnbs We’ve Ever Stayed in (and How to Avoid Them) 

    February 27, 2022

    Why We Can’t Wait To Get Back To Europe

    June 27, 2021
  • Italy

    Nomad Life Turned Upside Down When COVID-19 Hit

    June 29, 2020 /

    We were in the midst of enjoying February in beautiful Florence when we first heard rumblings of a virus that was spreading quickly in northern Italy.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 8 Comments

    You May Also Like

    7 European Destinations that Won’t Break the Bank

    January 2, 2022
    How To Budget For A Month In Florence

    How To Budget For A Month In Florence

    May 7, 2020

    Look What $2,500/Month Gets You in Europe

    April 18, 2021
  • Save and Invest

    How To Track Spending and Budget

    June 25, 2020 /

    One of the secrets to building wealth is simply to know where your money is going. We track every dollar we spend and, in the year before we retired, we were able to save 70% of our after-tax income.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 4 Comments

    You May Also Like

    How To Become Financially Independent In Your 40s Or Earlier

    How To Become Financially Independent In Your 40s Or Earlier

    March 18, 2020
    How To Save More Than Half Of Your Income For Early Retirement

    How To Save More Than Half Of Your Income For Early Retirement

    April 30, 2020

    How We Invest in the Stock Market for Financial Independence

    June 18, 2020
  • Save and Invest

    How We Invest in the Stock Market for Financial Independence

    June 18, 2020 /

    We recently provided the briefest of overviews to our investment strategy as part of a look at our risk management approach. No surprise: our video garnered a lot of questions about our exact investment strategy.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 5 Comments

    You May Also Like

    How To Track Spending and Budget

    June 25, 2020

    What Is Fixed Income Investing?

    July 16, 2020
    How To Save More Than Half Of Your Income For Early Retirement

    How To Save More Than Half Of Your Income For Early Retirement

    April 30, 2020
  • Real Costs

    How To Budget For Year Of Slow Travel

    June 11, 2020 /

    It's the number one question we receive from our audience: How much does our life of full-time travel cost?

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 3 Comments

    You May Also Like

    7 European Destinations that Won’t Break the Bank

    January 2, 2022

    A Month of Spanish Food, History and Culture at a Surprising Price

    January 23, 2022

    Wowed by the Low-Cost Lifestyle in Izmir, Turkey

    April 11, 2022
  • Retire Early

    How to Introduce Your Partner To Financial Independence

    June 4, 2020 /

    It could be the best conversation that you ever have with your partner. Or it could be the conversation that launches a thousand fights.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 1 Comment

    You May Also Like

    How To Manage Risk In Early Retirement

    How To Manage Risk In Early Retirement

    May 14, 2020

    Getting Ready To Retire Early And Travel

    December 6, 2020

    Biggest Financial Mistakes When Trying to Retire Early

    September 3, 2020
  • Plan for Travel

    Our Bucket List for Slow Travel

    May 28, 2020 /

    With planes grounded worldwide and borders closed, what better time to share our bucket list for our future travels?

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Do You Have to be a Minimalist to Travel Full Time?

    February 14, 2021

    Medical Coverage Abroad

    July 30, 2020

    The Truth About Life On The Road

    June 20, 2021
  • Retire Early

    Staying Motivated To Retire Early

    May 21, 2020 /

    It’s one thing to decide on the goal of becoming financially independent . It’s quite another to get through the long years of earning, saving and investing to achieve your goal.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Money Worries And Retirement

    July 9, 2020

    Why You Shouldn’t Retire Early

    September 10, 2020

    Getting Ready To Retire Early And Travel

    December 6, 2020
  • How To Manage Risk In Early Retirement
    Real Life in Retirement,  Retire Early

    How To Manage Risk In Early Retirement

    May 14, 2020 /

    We've gone and done the one thing that every retiree fears. We retired just months before a significant market crash with a recession now looming on the horizon.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 5 Comments

    You May Also Like

    What’s It Like To Retire In My 30s?

    November 22, 2020

    You Don’t Need a Job to Have a Fulfilling Life

    January 23, 2021

    Travel During COVID, Money, & Nomad Life Q&A

    March 21, 2021
  • How Expensive Is Fethiye?
    Real Costs,  Turkey

    How Expensive Is Fethiye?

    May 9, 2020 /

    From Istanbul we headed further south to the Turquoise Coast for sunshine, hiking and taking tea with the locals along the Mediterranean coastline.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 12 Comments

    You May Also Like

    This is Why We Keep Coming Back to Turkey

    March 13, 2022

    How Much for a Month in Albania’s Biggest City?

    October 31, 2021

    How Much it Really Costs to Travel Full Time

    May 9, 2022
 Older Posts
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ourfreedomyears

Stephanie & Gillian
🌎 Traveled the world with our dogs
❤️ Now making a home in Ontario
⬇️ Watch our latest video

A final glimpse of our time in Georgia — medieval A final glimpse of our time in Georgia — medieval villages in Svaneti, misty mountain views, and a whirlwind wander through Kutaisi. 

Don’t miss the full adventure on YouTube, including our unforgettable stay at @baias_wine — complete with warm Georgian hospitality, a feast of traditional dishes, and more wine than we could drink in a month. 

Just click on the link in our profile to watch now.
There were plenty of misadventures to go round, bu There were plenty of misadventures to go round, but we still managed to have an incredible time on our first trip to the country of Georgia. Watch the full-length video by clicking on the link in our profile.
It's part two of our trip to Georgia, and this is It's part two of our trip to Georgia, and this is where all our carefully-made plans started to fall apart. 

The misadventures began when our easy 45-minute flight to the mountains was replaced with a 10-hour odyssey by train and mini-van. However, despite all ups and downs of the trip, we still managed to enjoy the highlights of western Georgia, including the medieval villages of the Svaneti region and a ridiculously huge feast at a winery.  

You can catch the full adventure in a new video going live this Sunday. See you then!
The final round of shots from our time in Tbilisi. The final round of shots from our time in Tbilisi. We just couldn't get enough of all those atmospheric mansions and apartment buildings as we wandered the neighbourhoods. 

If you haven't seen our video yet, it's a whirlwind sampler of Tbilisi highlights from our first day on the ground. You can check it out by clicking on the link in our profile.
It's our first full day in Tbilisi, and we're brin It's our first full day in Tbilisi, and we're bringing you along for the ride. Check out the full video on YouTube -- just click on the link in our profile to watch now.
We're back from our trip to the country of Georgia We're back from our trip to the country of Georgia, and what an adventure it was. This trip was exciting and interesting but also demanding in all kinds of unexpected ways. 

We're excited to share the entire journey with you, starting with a new video this Sunday. We're bringing you along for our first day in Tbilisi, including powering through some of the major sights, tucking into classic Georgian dishes, and a look at a truly spectacular Airbnb. 

See you then!
The final batch of photos from our beautiful 10-da The final batch of photos from our beautiful 10-day hike along the Cotswolds Way. This is a hike we'd recommend for anyone who wants to start off with a hearty English breakfast and then spend the day passing through some truly lovely countryside. The adorable lambs and spring blossoms are just a bonus. 

#cotswoldway #cotswolds
We spent 10 glorious days hiking along the Cotswol We spent 10 glorious days hiking along the Cotswolds Way in England.  To watch the full video, click on the link in our profile. 

#cotswoldway  #cotswolds
We’re back from our 10-day springtime hike in Engl We’re back from our 10-day springtime hike in England, and here’s the good news: Contrary to expectations, it did not rain every single day of the hike. 

Here’s the even better news: the Cotswolds is an absolutely beautiful corner of England, filled with quaint villages, rolling hills, and frolicking lambs (honestly, they really do frolic). It truly is a storybook landscape.

And the best news of all: You can see it all for yourself in our latest YouTube video. That’s right, after a very lengthy hiatus from YouTube, we finally have a new video to share with you. 

We knew going into the Cotswold Way that it would be particularly scenic and made sure to bring along our video equipment. The end product is a fun round up of the highs and lows of the Cotswold Way (including the costs, of course). And it’s coming your way this Sunday.
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