Isn't it impossible to live without fixed costs? Everyone has to pay insurance and taxes, right?
That's right. By living burden-free I mean a broader concept. We all secretly dream of financial freedom, passive income and a life of freedom and without worries. I have made it my life's goal to get as close as possible to this form of freedom and happiness.
I was about 16 years old when I realized that in the Netherlands we are already in a rat race from a very early age, from which it becomes very difficult to get out of it; Once you have an expensive car and a mortgage or a rental home with all the fixed monthly costs, you will have to keep working (and hard too) to pay for it all. This means that there is a continuous pressure of all kinds of burdens on you, financially, but also in you personally, in relationships and work.
When I was given the opportunity to survive for a few days on a deserted island for a TV program in 2015, I didn't have to think about it for long. That idea arose when I lived in a student house and the first season was on TV. I wanted that too! In that student house I had 12 m2 in which I had already built my own 'Tiny House', so to speak.
The house was a monumental building with a very high ceiling. I had a loft with stairs, above which I had placed a double box spring with wardrobe and television. Downstairs I had a self-built desk, refrigerator, oven, wall cabinets, a custom sofa, my own sink with mirror and in a corner a terrarium with my chameleon Milo, everything I needed on 12 m2, just for the toilet, shower and kitchen I had to leave my room. From there I started my first business.
Anyway, living in a small space was just fine for me and that's why I flew to the Philippines in 2015 to live on a deserted island. What an experience that was!
Living on the biological clock, without distractions, going all the way back to basics. In which you will realize what really is the basis you need in your life. Then Maslow's pyramid comes into play;
Physical needs; The physical needs are basic physiological needs that one needs to live. For example oxygen, sleep, food and drink.
Safety and security Safety and security needs refer to needs that ensure physical safety and health, but also needs that focus on social safety such as job security and relationships.
Social contact Social contact is the human need for social contacts with others, such as friendship, love and other contacts that make one feel part of a group.
Appreciation, recognition and self-respect The need for appreciation, recognition and self-respect indicates the need one has to increase their prestige and status within a group.
Self-actualization or self-realization The highest need that one can satisfy according to the pyramid is the need for self-actualization. This is the need one has for personal growth. Needs that belong to this are needs such as creativity, spontaneity, acceptance and solution orientation.
How do these needs translate when you are on a deserted island? The basic necessities of life are clear; you look for clean drinking water, food and shelter to sleep. Secondly, there are needs that you would have in that category in the form of a toilet and a shower, basic hygiene that still ensures better health and the need for people around you that you can count on in an emergency. Number three was a tricky one; I didn't really feel connected to the people I was on that island with, then you really start to realize which social contacts are important in your life.
Number four; We had to carry out various assignments in the group and I am a fanatic about making myself useful in a group. Yet I am not originally a group animal, I prefer to do things independently. This was therefore a challenge for me. Then comes the highest point, number five: When I lay there on the beach that evening and could see the entire Milky Way, I realized how small we are and how little the things I worry about in daily life, actually matter.
That's where the process began within myself to look for what was really important; the basics, food, water, shelter, hygiene, health, gathering the right people around me that you can fall back on, but also with whom you have a nice group dynamic in which you can make yourself useful. Living burden-free has everything to do with the highest goal in point five:
Freeing myself from traumas that hold me back from making progress in life. Learning to let go of what no longer serves me; both in things, in work, and in relationships. The pressure to continue to perform is of course also related to financial burdens, so I looked for ways to build my foundation with as few financial burdens as possible. In short, living tax-free means for me; free yourself from all kinds of burdens that prevent you from realizing your dream, personally, mentally, physically (because stress also does something to your body) and financially.
The book 'Tax Free Living' will be a bundle with all kinds of stories about personal growth, entrepreneurship, finances, travel stories, emigration and much more.
Would you like to contribute to this blog? Contact me! I enjoy sharing various stories and experiences in this journey to a burden-free life.
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