Why We Left Our Dream Home to Pursue Financial Freedom With Kids
I. The Spark
I was watching a Netflix documentary after getting the kids to bed called Get Smart With Money when something shifted for me. A family had cut their spending, sold their home, and decided to pursue their FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) number — while their kids were still young.
I’d never even considered early retirement as a family. I thought FIRE was for tech bros or people without kids. But suddenly I wondered: *What if we didn’t wait until our kids were grown to live a slower, freer life?* What if it was possible to live on a 4-5% draw off of our assets?
That moment sent me down a rabbit hole of financial independence with kids. The deeper I went, the clearer it became: our time and money weren’t aligned with our real values — freedom, presence, and joy in these precious years. We had a big mortgage payment and I didn’t see how we could do it right away but the question wouldn’t leave me alone. I kept asking “how could we do it?” what would it take to make it work and ultimately how much did we really need to live- if we changed the way we were living.
—
II. The Tipping Point
Like a lot of families, we were doing “well” on paper. But modern life in the U.S. was getting harder to sustain. The cost of food, housing, and kids’ activities kept climbing. And even with solid incomes, we felt tight — financially and emotionally.
We lived in a renovated four-bedroom house on an acre, just two miles from the beach. It was our “dream home.” Fruit trees. Chickens. Garden beds. And it took everything we had — time, energy, money — to keep it up.
We were raising kids while managing a house we couldn’t fully enjoy, handing them iPads too often just to catch our breath. It was beautiful, but exhausting. And we were starting to realize: *maybe this wasn’t actually the dream*.
—
III. The Dream Behind the Dream
I started picturing something different — a slower lifestyle with kids, centered around time instead of tasks. Prioritizing experiences instead of stuff.
I dreamed of:
* Wandering the farmers market
* Long, meandering barefoot beach walks
* Cooking together (without rushing)
* Quiet afternoons reading on the couch with warm cookies
I wanted fewer errands, more eye contact. More nature, less noise. Strong, healthy bodies and mental space to actually laugh together.
What I really wanted was a lifestyle redesign — a version of life where we weren’t just getting by, but actually enjoying our days.
—
IV. Why Portugal?
We read every “best place to move abroad with kids” article we could find. Portugal kept topping the lists.
It offered:
* An affordable cost of living
* Excellent healthcare
* One of the safest countries for families
* A diet rich in local, unprocessed foods
* Easy access to the rest of Europe (hello, future travel!)
* And let’s be honest… world-class surf
We weren’t just looking for a cheaper life. We were looking for a better quality of life — and Portugal checked every box.
—
V. The Leap
When I first told my husband the idea, he laughed. “I’ll never sell this house,” he said.
I totally got it. It was the home we’d dreamed of raising our family in, we’d worked hard, made sacrifices to make the dream happen. We planted 16 fruit trees, built a custom swing set for our daughter’s 7th birthday and built a coop for our happily clucking chickens.. But slowly, something shifted. The idea of giving up the 9-5 office job in favor of time with the kids, time to surf and time to just be while we were young and fit enough to enjoy it all was too sweet of an idea not to try for.
We said yes.
We sold the house. Hired an estate sale company. Let go of nearly everything— furniture, tools, even Kevin’s beloved 2001 Tacoma. We left with four carry-ons, eight checked bags, and one surfboard.
We said goodbye to art, books, my favorite Le Cruset cast iron pans, and an asparagus patch just hitting its prime.
We didn’t do it lightly. But we did it with full hearts. Because we believed in what we were making space for.
—
VI. What Life Feels Like Now
These days, we wake up slower.
The light here is softer. The air feels gentler. The kids drift into the kitchen in their pajamas. There’s no rush.
We walk to the bakery. Stop at the park. Come home for a simple lunch.
We play more.
We rest more.
We scroll less.
It’s not perfect. But we traded a big house for more presence, freedom, and connection— and we’d do it again.
—
VII. What We’ve Learned — and What You Can Take With You
We’ve learned that:
* Comfort doesn’t always equal contentment
* You can outgrow a dream
* Financial freedom with kids isn’t about millions in the bank — it’s about how you spend your time.
We’ve learned that kids need us more than they need more stuff.
You don’t have to move across the world to start over.
But you *can* ask:
* What does our ideal day as a family look like?
* What are we willing to let go of to get closer to that?
* Could we simplify our life with kids— even just a little?
We’re not experts. We’re just a regular family choosing intention over perfection, and sharing the messy, beautiful process along the way.
—
**Want more?** We’ll be writing about:
* How we calculated our **FIRE number with kids**
* Budgeting for a family move abroad
* Our daily routine in Portugal
* Real numbers, real meals, and real moments
Because *this* is what freedom looks like for us. And if you’re curious, it might be what it looks like for you too.
I was watching a Netflix documentary after getting the kids to bed called Get Smart With Money when something shifted for me. A family had cut their spending, sold their home, and decided to pursue their FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) number — while their kids were still young.
I’d never even considered early retirement as a family. I thought FIRE was for tech bros or people without kids. But suddenly I wondered: *What if we didn’t wait until our kids were grown to live a slower, freer life?* What if it was possible to live on a 4-5% draw off of our assets?
That moment sent me down a rabbit hole of financial independence with kids. The deeper I went, the clearer it became: our time and money weren’t aligned with our real values — freedom, presence, and joy in these precious years. We had a big mortgage payment and I didn’t see how we could do it right away but the question wouldn’t leave me alone. I kept asking “how could we do it?” what would it take to make it work and ultimately how much did we really need to live- if we changed the way we were living.
—
II. The Tipping Point
Like a lot of families, we were doing “well” on paper. But modern life in the U.S. was getting harder to sustain. The cost of food, housing, and kids’ activities kept climbing. And even with solid incomes, we felt tight — financially and emotionally.
We lived in a renovated four-bedroom house on an acre, just two miles from the beach. It was our “dream home.” Fruit trees. Chickens. Garden beds. And it took everything we had — time, energy, money — to keep it up.
We were raising kids while managing a house we couldn’t fully enjoy, handing them iPads too often just to catch our breath. It was beautiful, but exhausting. And we were starting to realize: *maybe this wasn’t actually the dream*.
—
III. The Dream Behind the Dream
I started picturing something different — a slower lifestyle with kids, centered around time instead of tasks. Prioritizing experiences instead of stuff.
I dreamed of:
* Wandering the farmers market
* Long, meandering barefoot beach walks
* Cooking together (without rushing)
* Quiet afternoons reading on the couch with warm cookies
I wanted fewer errands, more eye contact. More nature, less noise. Strong, healthy bodies and mental space to actually laugh together.
What I really wanted was a lifestyle redesign — a version of life where we weren’t just getting by, but actually enjoying our days.
—
IV. Why Portugal?
We read every “best place to move abroad with kids” article we could find. Portugal kept topping the lists.
It offered:
* An affordable cost of living
* Excellent healthcare
* One of the safest countries for families
* A diet rich in local, unprocessed foods
* Easy access to the rest of Europe (hello, future travel!)
* And let’s be honest… world-class surf
We weren’t just looking for a cheaper life. We were looking for a better quality of life — and Portugal checked every box.
—
V. The Leap
When I first told my husband the idea, he laughed. “I’ll never sell this house,” he said.
I totally got it. It was the home we’d dreamed of raising our family in, we’d worked hard, made sacrifices to make the dream happen. We planted 16 fruit trees, built a custom swing set for our daughter’s 7th birthday and built a coop for our happily clucking chickens.. But slowly, something shifted. The idea of giving up the 9-5 office job in favor of time with the kids, time to surf and time to just be while we were young and fit enough to enjoy it all was too sweet of an idea not to try for.
We said yes.
We sold the house. Hired an estate sale company. Let go of nearly everything— furniture, tools, even Kevin’s beloved 2001 Tacoma. We left with four carry-ons, eight checked bags, and one surfboard.
We said goodbye to art, books, my favorite Le Cruset cast iron pans, and an asparagus patch just hitting its prime.
We didn’t do it lightly. But we did it with full hearts. Because we believed in what we were making space for.
—
VI. What Life Feels Like Now
These days, we wake up slower.
The light here is softer. The air feels gentler. The kids drift into the kitchen in their pajamas. There’s no rush.
We walk to the bakery. Stop at the park. Come home for a simple lunch.
We play more.
We rest more.
We scroll less.
It’s not perfect. But we traded a big house for more presence, freedom, and connection— and we’d do it again.
—
VII. What We’ve Learned — and What You Can Take With You
We’ve learned that:
* Comfort doesn’t always equal contentment
* You can outgrow a dream
* Financial freedom with kids isn’t about millions in the bank — it’s about how you spend your time.
We’ve learned that kids need us more than they need more stuff.
You don’t have to move across the world to start over.
But you *can* ask:
* What does our ideal day as a family look like?
* What are we willing to let go of to get closer to that?
* Could we simplify our life with kids— even just a little?
We’re not experts. We’re just a regular family choosing intention over perfection, and sharing the messy, beautiful process along the way.
—
**Want more?** We’ll be writing about:
* How we calculated our **FIRE number with kids**
* Budgeting for a family move abroad
* Our daily routine in Portugal
* Real numbers, real meals, and real moments
Because *this* is what freedom looks like for us. And if you’re curious, it might be what it looks like for you too.
