How Much Does it Cost to Feel Truly Alive?

Imagine having the financial freedom to do whatever you wanted to do, go wherever you wanted to go, today. Then imagine the freedom of knowing that no matter what you chose to do, your financial future would not be at risk. Where would you go? What would you do? And more importantly — how would that freedom feel?

As Smart Cookies, we all have different financial goals, but the common bond we all share is that we all want more than anything to have the financial freedom to live a truly fulfilling and rich life. Meet the Kahn family. David, Kathy and their two sons are living their dreams and their richest life by living with complete freedom as they leave this week to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

For years David and Kathy worked from the ground up to become one of Denver's most elite business'  and the core of a well connected, ambitious circle of friends in an upper class Denver neighborhood.  But David and Kathy weren't acquiring wealth for status or for an expansive new home, or a garage full of shiny cars. Their goal was to build enough wealth to leave all they had created and accumulated behind, and to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, one that would bond their family and bring them closer than ever.

This past New Years Eve over a dinner with friends, David and Kathy decided that now was their time — their time to live a life that they had not just dreamed about, but had been working towards for years — a life of ultimate freedom. They made the decision to leave their lives in Denver behind, and move their family to Argentina. Yes... Argentina. If you find that shocking, imagine the looks they got from their friends.

By the time this post is up they will be on their way. We wanted to share their story and their inspiration.

SC: What do you hope you and your family experience from this adventure?

David: For me, this adventure is in part an exercise to get over myself. I've always been such a planner, and in some ways that has served me, but in someways it has closed me off from opportunities. I want this move to be a paradigm shift; I want to be completely open to what this might bring. I know that there are profound things waiting for me and my family and I want to be open to all of them.

Kathy: This move is going to mean shared and intense experience (both good and bad) for our family, and I want those experiences to bond us and make us closer than ever. I want us to focus on family, just being a family, and not be distracted by the "stuff" and the obligations that our lives right now are crowded with. We are both giving up our planning instincts and our giving ourselves permission to dive head first into the uncertainly and discover it.

SC: What is your definition of a rich life?

Kathy: Richness to me, is me being fully present for those experiences in life that being me real joy. If I can truly be in the moment and present for the joy of this adventure, not worrying about financial responsibilities, obligations and a "to-do" list. THAT is my ultimate freedom and that is the richest possible life for me. I don't want to just be on a path, I want to be defining and owning my own journey.

Rich for me, doesn't' mean having stuff, it means having the experience. Well OK, some "stuff," like being able to buy a different flavor of ice cream I've never tried in a country I've never been to. I guess ice cream is "stuff," but again, it's more about the experience!

Even before this adventure, building wealth for me was about having the peace of mind that we had money set aside for when life happened, like an unexpected medical bill, or new car tires. I always wanted the peace of mind, knowing that we would be OK and not have to live paycheck to paycheck if something happened. That peace and security means we've never had financial stress placed on our relationship and our family. I think for David and I that's one of the reasons why our marriage is so strong, and I know that our kids feel that sense of ease and peace and security too. It creates a peaceful softness and warmth in our home.

David: By our definition, we have been living a rich life for a long time, but not a rich life according to our friend's standards of life. I measure our wealth by our ability to ensure that my family is healthy, in terms of physical health, but also in terms of our relationship with each other. That defines living a rich life.

Today being rich means, that we have freedom to make this choice and we can do so with the security of knowing that we are note putting financial future at risk.

SC: What sacrifices did you make, how did you prioritize your money over the past years to make your dreams a reality?

Kathy: I don't view any of the financial choices that we made as sacrifices. We certainly did not live an impoverished life, but as money became more available to us, we chose to live below our means.  When we had the chance to take luxurious family vacations, we chose not to. We thought, why just go visit now, when we can go live their later.

SC: What other creative things did you do to save?

David: We were both raised in lower to middle class families, and when we graduated we knew we had fend for ourselves and create our own financial well being. It became a game for me — trying to save money. For example, if I had to travel for work for an extended period of time and I was given a housing allowance, I would pocket the housing allowance and stay in a friend's basement. In the meantime I would sublet my place while I was away to make even more money. I would also double or triple up on points while I was traveling, booking with a card that gave me points, on an airline that gave me points, that allowed me to stay in a hotel that earned points. I found intense joy in doing more with less. I really did become addicted to the game of saving money.

SC: Was there anything you intentionally did without, so that you could have MORE in the future?

David: Kathy drove a car didn't cost that much, but she decided to fall in love with it. We never purchased anything that couldn't pay off at the end of the month. But again we did use plastic to earn the points.

We also made a conscious choice to not necessarily choose careers that we were "passionate" about, but ones that would bring in enough income and afford us the benefits necessary so that we could live and embrace our passions now. In fact, for a while Kathy's career became something she grew to like less and less, but she stuck it out, because she knew what the payoff would be at the end. I'm not sure how I feel about the idea that you have to work in a career that you would consider your passion. Consider your life's passion, your family's passion and do what you have to do, to make living that passion a reality.

SC: What were your friends doing with their money at this point?

David: As our income rose, so did that of our friends. We watched as almost everyone around us bought nicer homes, nicer cars, more TVs, more jewelery, and we took pride and found joy in embracing a different path. And now our decision to live well below our means is paying great dividends in the freedom we know have, that many of our friends will never experience.

SC: What did you do to help your money grow even more?

David: Our financial strategy wasn't all about making decisions to go without, the freedom we enjoy now is also a result of the strategy we employed to help our money grow. There really wasn't any fancy formula, we just stuck diligently to a plan to create longterm stable wealth. One of the first financial books I read was The Wealthy Barber and I learned that by dollar cost averaging, paying yourself first and by taking advantage of compound interest, I could set my family up for long term security. So that is what I did.

SC: What has preparing for this rip to Argentina taught you about money and wealth?

Kathy: How little you need to truly be happy. Even the process of going through our possessions, getting rid of all of the "stuff" that weighed us down in our home, I feel like our lives have been put in such a beautiful perspective. We feel lighter and freer already.

For our family, living with less stuff obviously saves us money because we aren't constantly in "buying mode," but is also gives us freedom and clarity to focus and enjoy the experiences that will really bring us closer together.

SC: How do you feel as you get ready to embark on this adventure?

David and Kathy: We feel incredibly alive!

We will keep you posted on David and Kathy's adventure in Argentina. Thank you so much to the both of them, for sharing their story with us and for inspiring us with their boldness, and passion. Hasta Luego!

Photo by iStock.