In which I realize I am a Terrible Employee

I see the end of the road and the end is motivating but the road seems too long. 

Some days/weeks it is hard to find the motivation to keep going but when I think about it I have no other choice but to finish.  I have a massive mortgage to pay down and beyond the basics, I have very little use for money.  I have a job that pays well and that I enjoy well enough for what it is.  If I wasn't buying a rental property, I'd park all my money in the bank anyway. 

Even with a clear goal in mind and a five-hundred mile journey behind me, I have come to realize that while most days my job is fine, it leaves a huge hole in my life.  Time I could be walking, standing, feeling the breeze on my face, writing, gardening, sleeping...pretty much anything besides working.  I don't particularly like/trust/respect my boss(es), and I have several.  A few of them are alright but no one I'd befriend under different circumstances (well, perhaps one, but he is not the one in charge).  The problem is, I just don't care.  I don't want to overachieve and be responsible for fixing a million things, convincing people to change their minds, explaining myself over and over.  I'd rather talk to people who already get it or have the latitude (and altitude?) to show people what I mean rather than arguing in endless circles.  I don't care to work 70+ hours per week, besides for the money and if I didn't need that, I'd tell them to pound sand. 

I want to learn more about primitive living, test my mettle against the Colorado Trail, spend all day at the park.  I want to do a million things that don't pay and if they could earn something, I'm not interested in selling my time/ideas/effort/work for money at the moment. 

I need a break, yes but, I need to find the motivation to get through these next 852 days, break or no break.  The motivation to shorten that time span is there.  I feel like I can only squeeze a few more dollars out of my budget but over the course of 2.5 years only adds up to ~$3000.  Does that really make a difference?  That is half of one normal payment... to gain financial independence two weeks earlier.  Is that really worth it? 

I don't feel deprived by my lifestyle at all.  I'd have the same budget under any circumstances.  The problem is I still (four years later) lack the freedom I desire. 

I even lack the freedom to find another job in a different field.  It would be hard to replace my current salary and I see earning anything less as protracting an undesirable situation. 

Perhaps I will look for another job in this field with higher pay.  If I am selling my life, I may as well go to the highest bidder. 

The Principle Destroyer

It's time for a challenge.  A six-month-long challenge. 
I like to call it the principle destroyer. 
This is a time period where every bloody red cent is thrown at the principle mortgage on my rental property. 
I wax and wane with this thing.  Sometimes I can taste freedom, other times I feel as forlorn as a ship's captain with no food, little water and no land in sight.  70% of the Earth is covered in water you remember, a lot of space for fumbling in the dark.  

This challenge is the homing device, the GPS that will float my boat right blessed land. 
Presently, I commit to enact this plan for the dates listed below and track every cent that filters through my virtual hands.  At the expiration of this challenge, I will assess how it went and how best to continue. 

Here are the numbers: 

Start Date
8. August, 2014

Beginning Principle Balance ...drumroll please...
$173,390

End Date
31. January, 2014

There is never a good time and never a bad time to begin.
It is the process of putting one foot in front of the other that is important.
So, I am starting today.   

...and the three exceptions:

September:
Half Cow $700
October:
Birthday Gift $200
November:
Christmas Gifts and Food $300

When will you start your walk to freedom? 

Our Little Secret

We don't live to work or even work to live.
No.  We work to save.
We are working towards a truly better future, one of financial independence.
Let's call it our little secret.  We think.  We plan.  We have patience and impulse control.

We work and save and wait for the day when we can begin to make the best use of our talents to shape the world around us instead of fitting ourselves into a picture that never looks quite right.
That day is swiftly approaching. 
It feels fantastic, like drinking in the afternoon, finding precise words, watching the sun rise on an early morning run or staying on top of the bike while the wheels keep spinning over that three foot rock.  

This secret is a tool, a gift to ourselves, a challenge, a weapon. 

We spend very little money because we have so much more than we will ever need and we realize that a person's wants are infinite.

Instead we channel this desire into personal development, personal relationships, civic progress, real life skills and athletic achievement.
These are valuables possessed of the owner that cannot be taken away.

Valuables possessed by the owner can be lost or stolen, catch fire, break, fall out of style, become boring or obsolete. 

This is our secret and this is our plan.

To save, to think, to spend wisely.