Hello! We are Adam and Elizabeth Ann Powell, and this is our story.

June 2010 – October 2014: Surface Warfare Officers, US Navy

We met onboard our first ship in San Diego, California. Two and a half years later, we fell in love.

In Spring of 2013, I (Elizabeth Ann) moved to Norfolk, Virginia for my second tour, and we did the long distance thing.

Adam proposed in December of 2013, and we spent 2014 preparing for our wedding, our transition from the Navy, and the beginning of new careers in North Dakota.

November 1^st 2014: Wedding Day

Simply, the wedding of our dreams.

November 2 – 21, 2014: Honeymoon

Simply, the honeymoon of our dreams. We spent three weeks gallivanting the streets of Paris and London.

January 6, 2015: Day 1 in North Dakota

We invested in wool and boots and packed for our new jobs in Watford City, North Dakota. The winter was not welcoming, but we were excited for the opportunity to work in the oil and gas industry, to learn more about corporate business, and to grow with a new company.

Three months later, the bomb dropped. You know the story about low oil prices forcing oil and gas companies to downsize.

Three months after entering into a dream about becoming an integral member of a thriving new company, we became a statistic and were very suddenly let go. Less than 24 hours later, we had shipped off all of our belongings and were on a plane home.

Newly married and newly civilian, we went from the most secure jobs in the world to the least secure environment, and now we are asking the question, What’s next?

That is our story, and this is our blog. We find ourselves in a unique position to not just rewrite our future, but have no other option than to follow through.

We spend our days in and out of coffee shops, in and out of books, and in and out of ideas.

This blog is about our mistakes, our unintentional fortune, and how we plan to reinvent our lives on our own terms.

We want to cover a broad range of topics including personal finance, debt, marriage, relationships, travel, exploration, real estate and how to live with less and feel more alive.

We intend to be brutally honest about ourselves and our struggles and in doing so, hope that you learn from our story and find the inspiration to start Living Unencumbered.

-Adam and Elizabeth Ann

For more information about us, check out our previous blog here!