Hello and welcome! What is Untemplater about? To live an “untemplate life” means to shatter the template lifestyle in favor of a truly exciting, unique, and unconventional one. Untemplaters actively seek new ways to improve our lives and make healthier, smarter choices.
Shatter the Template Lifestyle
We are out of the box thinkers, hustlers, personal finance enthusiasts, knowledge addicts, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, business-savvy leaders, travelers, adventure seekers, iconoclasts and bloggers from all over the world. Untemplater.com was founded in October, 2009 and focuses on unique content about unconventional lifestyles and how to get there.
Untemplater’s goal is to build a thriving community for anyone who ever sought more out of life — and our goal is to help you learn how to shatter the template lifestyle so you can find the career path, side hustles, insights, and adventures that make you come alive!
About Sydney – Principal Author, Owner, Freelancer, Multiple Hat Wearer
Thanks for stopping by our About page. I’m looking forward to having you as a regular reader. Now for a little bit about me…
I grew up with parents who constantly fought about money. The positive outcome was that I knew early on how badly financial troubles can cause stress and ruin relationships. I didn’t want to end up constantly worried and unhappy like my parents.
They lived paycheck to paycheck, and racked up a lot of debt, some of which they are still struggling to pay off in their late 60s. I was determined to break this cycle. So I studied hard, graduated from college in only 3.5 years, and worked many 60-70 hour weeks building my career to become financially independent. I’m happy to say I exceeded my expectations.
I worked at a startup for a few years and then eventually fell into several traditional office jobs sitting in front of a computer all day. My first attempt at a creative, untemplate lifestyle failed during my quarter life “crisis.” I wanted to act and be a professional photographer but couldn’t launch.
Even though that failed and I gave up that dream, I knew I still wanted something more out of my life. But, I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to do for many years. I don’t have any regrets about that time in my life, but I felt lost for a long time.
I think everyone goes through at least one period where we just don’t know what we want to do with our lives.
Fortunately, as my career ebbed and flowed, the more I started to tap into my strengths. From there, I realized there were a lot of better things I could do with my time.
Preparing For Plan B
As my eyes started to open to new opportunities, I realized my true loves are writing and helping other people. Although I kept slaving away at my day job, I started to fill my free time with odd jobs and started to blog.
I was determined to build enough savings and revenue streams to escape my day job. Securing an untemplate lifestyle became my focus. I didn’t want the traditional, safe route of Plan A anymore – I was burnt out and unsatisfied with Plan A. I wanted Plan B.
Writing was an incredible outlet for me. I began to connect with other bloggers, freelancers, travel writers, and entrepreneurs. Suddenly there was an endless amount of things to learn and work on. I felt alive for the first time.
So I started a business and became more motivated than ever to grow my bits of side income into full-time entrepreneurship. I made a lot of sacrifices and worked harder than ever juggling many things at once, but all my efforts were finally worth something.
Breaking Free
In 2015, my goal of breaking free came true! I left the office job I held for ten years to pursue an untemplate lifestyle full-time. Now I focus my days on working online in various capacities. I primarily spend my time writing, editing, researching, working on projects and managing websites.
I’m also an addicted organizer and great with spreadsheets. If you’re interested in hiring me or want to learn more about my services, please contact me here.
I strongly believe in the importance of personal finance and developing a foundation of financial security as early as possible. I’m a frugal person and enjoy writing about ways to build wealth. I also think it’s important for women in particular to be proactive in personal finance matters and overcome fears of asking for raises and promotions.
Untemplater is a place where I share both my wins and losses to help others learn from my successes and avoid my mistakes.
Having Fun And Loving Life
When I’m not writing or working on freelancing projects, I’m usually out hiking, spending time with family and friends, or using my precious spare minutes to read.
In my travels, I’ve been to 30 countries and counting, climbed mountains, swam with sharks, got certified in scuba diving, and have taken over 60,000 photographs.
And my adventures are only just beginning. Check out my bucket list to keep track of what I’m up to. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
– Sydney
Tips & Recommendations
Entrepreneurship and self-employment aren’t for everyone, and it’s possible to lead an untemplate lifestyle in many different ways. I encourage everyone to maximize the opportunities and benefits they have while working, save diligently, and methodically build an escape plan by maximizing your time after hours.
Starting an Untemplate lifestyle can feel overwhelming at first, but don’t worry that’s why we’re here! There’s a lot to take into consideration before launching a new career, figuring out how to become self-employed, moving to a foreign country, or starting your own business. Untemplater covers a variety of topics that will get you inspired, teach you new things, and help get your creative juices flowing.
I know what it’s like to be working around the clock with a million things on your to-do list, and I want to save you time and headaches. It can be stressful and scary venturing into the unknown, but I know first hand that it can be done. I really believe in making the most out of life and finding ways to achieve our dreams. You’re never too old to change your life.
Here are a few of my favorite recommendations so you can get started on the life you want!
Start Your Own Website For Only $3.95!
Starting a website doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s actually super easy now with Bluehost, a one stop shop to purchase domain names (URLs) and sign up for affordable, easy to use web hosting. For only $3.95 a month, you can even get your very own domain name for free!
Bluehost also offers free instant setup, free site builder with templates, unlimited email accounts/file transfers/hosting space/domain hosting, and different web hosting plans to meet your needs.
The Best Way To Be Free Is To Take Control Of Your Finances
Empower is a free online money management platform I use that organizes all of your money related accounts in one place. It lets you safely and securely link your checking, savings, retirement, CD, mortgage, credit card, overdraft protection, and investment accounts together in the cloud.
Since I use four different banks, being able to see all of my money in one place makes it SO much easier to manage and analyze my spending, and savings progress. Their offices are also right in my backyard in Silicon Valley and SF.
It costs nothing to join and takes just a minute to sign up. You don’t need to input any credit card info to sign up or maintain an account either.
A few of my favorite features of their website are being able to add offline assets into my account (jewelry, heirlooms, electronics, etc.) and their 401k fee analyzer. If you want to be free and have more flexibility in your lifestyle, take control of your finances now and start paying more attention to your money.
Take Time To Explore
Check out more Untemplater Recommendations, and browse through our popular categories:
Please stick around and join us at Untemplater to learn how you can Work where you want…Live how you want…Be who you want to be! Your thoughts and experiences are welcome in the comment sections of our posts, so please don’t be shy.
If you haven’t already, please sign up for our RSS and Email list and show your support for our rebellion against the status quo on Facebook & Twitter! You can also send inquiries via our Contact page.
Work where you want… Live how you want… Be what you want to be.
Cheers,
Sydney
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