Nora Dunn

As a Professional Hobo and Writer, with a background as a Certified Financial Planner and Entrepreneur, I've got lots of bases covered - not the least of which are practical money matters.

Visit Nora Dunn's blog

Member for: 39 weeks 1 day
Location: no fixed address
Homepage: Nora's Personal Blog

I have experienced every end of the lifestyle spectrum: From starving artist, to not-so-starving entrepreneur, to really not-so-starving Certified Financial Planner, to coming full circle......my current status, which is that of a Professional Hobo and Writer.

Having worked prominently in the financial services industry for over 10 years (6 of which was spent running my own financial planning practice), I have the dirt on real money matters....not just stats and boring facts and figures that leave you reeling.

And as a Professional Hobo, you can count on my frugal living tips, rest assured that I practice what I preach.

Recent writing credits include Vagabondish, Paragon Travel, Travel Post Monthly, Snap Beaches newspaper, Wcities, and others.

Life Happens while you're busy making plans.

That was exactly what was happening to me when I decided I didn't like it so much. So, I sold the business, the sportscar, the loft, tvs, stereos, and clothes, and took off to see what I was missing while I was so busy working 14 hour days trying to keep up with the Jonses.

Some of my friends say I am "retired", at the tender age of 31. But it's not because I'm financially rich or ever came into tons of money, and can sit around gardening and knitting all day. My definition of retirement is to explore the world in search of the best stories and engaging adventures, volunteer where I can, and arrange my travel to be financially sustainable. I'm structuring the rest of my affairs to make this dream happen now, and not 30 years from now. With a little ingenuity and lots of flexibility, I can cover off the expenses I have quite easily.

Here's the Rub to my Hobo life: As a Financial Planner, I can't just throw away my financial future and spend my way through every penny I have saved in order to live for today. But I also can't spend every day planning and saving for an idealistic picture of what "retirement" should look like knowing that it may never come. Hence my personal adage: Plan For Tomorrow, But Not At The Expense of Living for Today. We all have the ability to strike that balance in our lives....that's what I'm all about.