About The Tribe of Simple Fly Life

The tribe of Simple Fly Life is full of beautiful souls.  Some are passionate about personal change.  Others are passionate about supporting the movement of Simple Fly Life and seeing Amity move forward.  Every single person is valuable and needed.  

The tribe members who have decluttered their homes and finances have found relief from stress and overwhelm that comes with excess.  They know the way to freedom, because Amity taught them the process to declutter anything without getting overwhelmed and stuck, and they have become aware of the trap of overspending.  These people are living their best life with less.  

Some tribe members bought Amity’s book and found their freedom.  One tribe member turned her life around in five years time.  Others went through Amity’s coaching and started a cascade of change in their homes and families.  Every story is unique, but a common thread occurs among all - the tribe is finding freedom.  

You, too, can have freedom.  You are welcome in the tribe of Simple Fly Life.  Come join Amity and the beautiful people of the tribe who are living in freedom with less.  We would love to have you!

In 2009 or early 2010, I was very typical.  My house was filled with knickknacks that were supported by weekly shopping trips.  It was not uncommon to spend hours on the weekend with retail therapy adventures in the local outlets.    We had debt for our house and we didn’t have a very robust savings plan.  When our HVAC system gave up the ghost we had to finance a new one.  I had more than one credit card in my name at times and I was drifting through life looking for the next thing to medicate me from reality.  

One night my husband and I were at Borders bookstore and I was browsing through the self-help section (because I did have an idea that something was desperately wrong with the way I was living) and I saw a book.  The book didn’t have an aura or halo around it; but, I was locked in on the title:  Secrets of Simplicity.  It was authored by Mary Carlomagno.    Needless to say, the book went home with me.  My mind was blown. 

However, I didn’t throw everything away and take a no-shopping vow.  It was slow.  It started with giving up lattes for a week.  Then, I decided to start cleaning out my house twice a year, every year.    When I started cleaning out, sometimes I would fill half of my dining room up with castoff items.  As time went on, I found less and less to part with out of my possessions.    

Over time, I began to get control over my shopping habit.  The weekly pilgrimages to Pier 1 and TJ Maxx slackened and finally became a thing of the past.    Frugality entered the picture one evening in 2013 when my husband and I were sitting on our futon, relaxing.  We turned and looked at each other and almost in unison said, “We have GOT to stop eating out.”  That was the day that God turned us on to frugal living, and it just got bigger and better from that night.  

My husband came to me one day with a brave new idea:  pay off the house early.  At first I was reluctant to agree - I wanted a large cash nest egg.  He was adamant though, and as it turned out, very wise and perceptive, and so we began double payments on our mortgage.  I didn’t get excited about seeing extra money being thrown at our house payment until about the time the principle equalled the interest.  Then I began to have a barbaric, guttural feel in my voice when I would say “WE’RE PAYING DOWN THE HOUSE!!!” 

In the last year of our mortgage, we paid over $41,000.00 in principal to demolish our debt.  When we saw the finish line, we threw everything we had at it.  Inheritances. investments. We postponed house repairs and new clothes, and in June of 2015, we paid off that sucker.  

We didn’t realize it at the time, but we had just given ourselves the biggest pay raise we will ever get. We saw our wealth in one investment account grow over 10 times in two-and-a-half years from what we started with at Day One of being debt free.  It was amazing.  It continues to be amazing.  We re-built our emergency fund in record time.  We invested regularly into our 401k’s and private investments and saw healthy growth in everything.  Because we were living well below our means, it was not uncommon for us to save 50% of our income in a month’s time.  

In April of 2015, we reached The Essential.  The Essential is the perfect level of stuff.  We certainly don’t need a bigger house, and we could downsize further from our 1100-square-foot castle, if we so needed.  

When I realized the power of these two lifestyles, I wanted to share with you and others.  My husband and I have been able to work differently; live differently; pursue dreams we have had; and more, because we have been debt-free.  We have left jobs that did not suit us and have taken luxurious vacations together.  We have really lived.