Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the frequently asked questions. Some have come up time and again so this is our best attempt to answer them while also getting things straight in our heads! Some questions deserve a much more detailed response. For those ones we will slowly add links to blog posts with greater elaboration.
Live
What do you hope to achieve?
We want to inform and inspire. We want to show that its not only possible to live in a deeply sustainable and compassionate way, but that it is highly rewarding and fulfilling to do so. Ultimately we want to see society transform from exhausting, competitive and exploitative to playful, cooperative and compassionate. This may seem like all sunshine and rainbows, but we are certain this is closer to true human nature. We are being the change we want to see in the world.
What do you mean by “one planet living”?
This refers to living a lifestyle that would be sustainable if adopted by everyone in the world. In other words, using no more than our share of resources and producing little enough harm, that we could be supported idefinitely without degrading other living and non-living systems. It ties into the concepts of global footprints and planetary boundaries. Unfortunately the current Australian lifestyle would require about five Earths if adopted by everyone, so the only fair way forward requires degrowth in some form or another.
What are planetary boundaries?
They are the limits to which we can consume and pollute without destabilizing earth’s life support systems. The concept was developed by the Stockholm Resilience Institute in 2009 and has been the subject of detailed investigations and refinement since then. As of 2025 we have breached 7 of the 9 categories, most by a substantial degree, which points to growing certainty about the end of the stable and mild conditions that have supported humans for the past 10,000 years.
What is degrowth?
It is an academic and social movement aimed at the planned reduction of production and consumption as a solution to the multiple environmental and social crises arising from the current economic model. Policy goals include reducing environmental impacts, redistributing income and wealth within and between countries, and encouraging a shift from materialistic and competitive values to a festive and participatory society. In this post I reviewed Less is More by Jason Hickel, which is an excellent introduction to the topic.
What do you do for work?
As at the end of 2025 Jon works a few hours per week as a mechatronic engineer, primarily in factory automation. He is also a qualified high-school teacher, but has not yet taught outside of the training program. Emelie is finishing her last term as a high school teacher. She has been teaching engineering and unmanned aviation to seniors four days per week. We will both likely work in relief / casual teaching for a day or so here and there in the new year to fit around other plans.
Surely you’re too young to retire. How is that possible?
We will be more or less retired at 41, at least that’s the plan. We are certainly lucky to have been born in Australia in the time we were and to have been given the opportunities we have. The main thing that makes this possible though is how modestly we live and have lived most of our lives. We have been very deliberate about keeping our expenses low and minimising interest payments and fees.
Do you have an inheritance or other large passive income?
We received some financial support from Emelie’s parents to contribute to our house deposit, but since then, the money and investments we now hold are thanks to our saving habits and the behaviour of the property and share markets. Our total net worth now allows us to live the lifestyle we have chosen from a modest rate of return and continue to give away a substantial amount each year.
Wouldn’t you like to be able to “live it up”?
We feel like we have a very luxurious lifestyle the way we live now. Part of that is perspective. We like the term frugal hedonism. In contrast we took a holiday in Europe as our reward for paying off our mortgage and survivng 10 years of marriage. But we just coudn’t enjoy the experience while concious of our privilege in being able to make that trip, the unfair burden our travel and spending was putting on our natural systems. We were also conscious of how many extra months we would have to work to recover the costs and how much good our money could have done if given to effective charities rather than airlines and hotel chains.
How do you spend your time?
There are parts of the year where it feels like there is hardly any free time at all. Parents of school-age will know what I’m talking about. Our kids both play soccer and participate in scouts with their associated training, games and camps. Jon enjoys a game of squash and an online zoom discussion about the future once a fortnight. Emelie joins zumba and Brazilian zouk classes every week. We have community meetings and boardgame events once a month. Every second month we join the repair cafe and also host a themed party or festival at home. We help out neighbours, divert food waste and replenish the local hole-in-wall foodbank.
The vast majority of our travel is by bike or train, so it generally takes longer to get to and from activities and shops. The cool of the afternoon is sometimes spent in the veggie garden or scratch cooking. Jon spends a large portion of his time, reading, writing, recording and editing for this website and our YouTube channel. Everyone in the house reads voraciously and we play games together once or twice a week. On Sunday afternoons we cook together, often veganish pizza and rearrange our furniture to watch a movie.
Wait, you don’t have a TV or streaming?
That’s right. We have never owned a television. We did share a streaming service for a couple of years, but it was only used for our family movie night. It is our view that large scale consumption of mainstream media is a highly destructive practice that eats away at confidence, creates unnecessary comparisons and envy and twists our view of reality. Yes, the internet and social media has become much the same and we are looking for balance in how much exposure we all have to it.
Why do you focus on plant-based foods?
Let me start by saying that I accept that we have evolved to eat a diverse diet, including meat. If our population was small enough that we could hunt for meat & fish or raise animals in a compassionate way that supports their natural behaviours then we would be happy to eat meat, eggs and dairy. Unfortunately there are so many people eating so much animal that more than 80% of land and 90% of the ocean is exploited by humans, primarily for food. And of this the vast majority is for animal agriculture.
When land clearing is accounted for, animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, nutrient pollution and freshwater use, by a large margin. If everyone shifted to a plant-based diet we could reduce agriculturale land use by more than 75% and maintain a chance at bringing all of the other challenges under control.
Do you miss meat?
Yes, at times. But less so with time. I’ll also add that we are not vegan. There is another term “freegan” that is perhaps closer to the mark, though its not always free. We still eat meat that would otherwise be wasted. For example the local butcher puts aside chicken frames each day, the majority of which would be thrown out at the end of the day. We buy these for 50c each every week or two to make stock or soup. This is made in the pressure cooker so we can eat the bones and marrow for calcium and iron. Occasionally the local foodbank has out of date frozen meat. If they can’t get rid of it in time, we have taken some. Last week it was whole chickens for $1.
When hitchhiking I (Jon) also cleaned up after previous diners at a truckstop on one occasion and a pub on another. This felt like the wrong thing to do and I was afraid of being judged. But actually what is wrong with doing this and how did we get to a place where it is perfectly acceptable to throw out unwanted food, but not for someone else to eat it? Another source of meat people might find disturbing is animals killed by road traffic. We have made the most of this otherwise perfectly good meat a number of times. This was also with great hesitancy and fear of judgment. But if fear of judgment keeps us from doing the right thing, its the culture producing that judgment that really needs to be questioned.
Emelie: At first, I really missed meat. I remember sitting in the staffroom at work enviously watching my colleagues eat their steak or chicken. It was difficult to learn how to make plant-based food that was nourishing and satisfying and that the children enjoyed. The transition was an emotionally challenging time for me because making and eating good food is a really important part of my life. The first months seemed like continual failures to produce food that I wanted to eat – it seemed mushy, plain and dissatisfying – and I started to dread cooking and providing meals. It was only after one night of angry journaling about how bad plant-based food was that I realised I needed a different approach to cooking. I had been trying to treat vegan protein sources (tofu, tvp, legumes) as equivalent to meat and they had measured up poorly. Instead, I started treating them as just another essential “vegetable” and started adding more fat, salt, and other texturally interesting foods such as nuts, mushrooms and crunchy vegetables, which made the food much more palatable and enjoyable. This video explains.
Recently I read a book called “Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon” by Dr Rahul Jandial in which he recommends the “mind diet” that is mostly plant based with possibly some fish, and to eat “not too much” to maintain brain health. The knowledge that a lot of meat is detrimental for health, that animal agriculture is so detrimental for the environment and that there is so much animal suffering has led to me to now feel conflicted about eating meat that I know would be wasted. Is that meat going to be helping me or harming me? While the feelings are challenging, I think that this is a healthy place to be – to know that I can eat meat that would be wasted, but to also feel very comfortable to eat a plant-based diet.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to throw it out and buy another one?
Yes. Often. When we consider only the immediate cost in dollar value. But that is the thinking that has created the immense challenge we now face. Instead we need to consider the true cost, which includes the whole chain of extraction, exploitation, destruction and pollution, most of which is not reflected in the price tag. When we repair something we add value to it and often gain more again, in terms of new skills and understanding.
Are you religious?
No. We ascribe to many of the same values espoused across the religions we are familiar with, but maintain a secular worldview. We support many and varied religions and philosophies and encourage practitioners of each faith to seek guidance in their holy books on giving to others and protecting our environment.
Are you antivax?
No. We are pro-science and thus pro vaccination. This doesn’t mean we follow every trend or recommendation without due consideration. But we trust in the consensus when backed by thorough research and field trials. If the risks and likely costs of medical intervention of any nature are lower than non-intervention then we will intervene.
Give
How much do you give to charity?
It has varied from one year to the next, but our goal is to give at least 20% of our combined income, which we easily surpassed in 2024 with a total of about AUD48,000. With our income shrinking as we move out of regular work in 2026 we will move instead to giving 2% of our wealth rather than our income, whichever turns out to be greater.
How can you afford to give so much away?
We live modestly and have always done so, allowing us to build a decent net worth. The returns allow us to live how we like and still give plenty away. We wrote more about our spending and philosophy in a blog post.
Do you ever regret giving money away?
We had some reservations during the start of the COVID lockdowns where there was a fair degree of economic uncertainty. Jon wondered if he would still be employed in 6 months. But after doing some budgeting he realised there were plenty of other ways we could save that wouldn’t really have any impact on my lifestyle or my family’s. It felt even better to give that year, knowing how hard the recipients also had it.
Why are you so public about giving?
Jon: Peter Singer’s reminder that sharing our giving habits can actually help others overcome inertia really stuck with me. I realised that staying quiet was, in its own way, a missed opportunity. So I made it public, not for praise, but because I can handle a bit of eye-rolling if it means someone else decides to give. I’d already been giving for years when I took the Pledge, but signing it was a way to say, “This matters. It works. You can do it too.” If lives are saved because I spoke up, it’s absolutely worth it.
Emelie: Honestly, it is difficult to talk about because it is generally not generally socially accepted to talk about income and expenditure. I have realised that there is value in having these discussions, even though they can be uncomfortable. It was through having a discussion with a Muslim friend about donations that I discovered that my friend gave away 10% of their income and that was normal practice for people of their religion. At the time, I was trying to decide how much to donate, and that conversation cemented my conviction to donate at least 10% of my income each year.
Shouldn’t you be spending extra money on your kids?
Jon: I’m confident in the research that shows children who grow up without a silver platter have better long-term outcomes on all measures, provided they receive the appropriate emotional support. And even with our relatively frugal lifestyle, our kids have vastly more stuff and opportunities than we did as children and more than the majority of children do now. There is still potential challenging discussions ahead, such as deciding how much we should spend “perfecting” Dani’s smile through cosmetic dental work.
Emelie: Our children don’t need more stuff. What they really want, and what benefits them is quality time with people. Our lifestyle affords us the opportunity to share time with them, to facilitate them spending time with their friends and with other members of the community so they can have fun and gain different perspectives. If they need something in the future, we have the means to provide that.
What about your own health expenses in old age?
We have both thought about this at some length and cannot justify spending potentially hundreds of thousands on prolonging our lives or improving our comfort by a handful of years, while a billion people remain in absolute poverty. They are afflicted with every imaginable malady and have no hope of averting it without outside support. We have already lived very full and rewarding lives and would rather a graceful or perhaps messy exit when the time comes.
How long have you been donating regularly to charity?
We started regular giving in early adulthood. At first this was the typical $30/month to one or two charities at a time. It grew to 5% of our income once we commenced professional work. We progressively increased our giving up to last year, with a focus shifting to the most effective charities aligned with our values. We also give smaller amounts sporadically to charities that our friends and family are fund-raising for, to encourage the spirit of giving.
Which charities to you give to?
The largest portion of our money goes to The Life You Can Save Maximum Impact Fund. This allows the people with the greatest understanding of current needs and efficacy to direct the money accordingly. Some of the organisations they support include:
- Malaria Consortium
- Helen Keller International
- GiveDirectly
- SEVA
You can read more about how we chose these charities and what we mean by impact in this blog post. We also support several other charities that we have developed a relationship with over the past 20 odd years.
- Plan International
- Medicine Sans Frontiers
Why do you give to the charities that you do?
We choose most based on their effectiveness. This is a consideration of how much good they can do for each dollar spent. They are externally audited and rigorously tested. And some charities are 100s of times more effective than others. For example it costs of approximately AUD80 for trachoma surgery to cure someone of blindness in the poorest countries. Compare this to AUD50,000 for training a guide dog in Australia.
Why don’t you give more to local charities?
We believe all people deserve dignity and the same consideration. People don’t choose the circumstances they were born into. If we can help 100 people instead of 1, in our view that is the right thing to do. There is much misery and incredible discrepancy in health outcomes in Australia with indigenous people particularly affected. But there is a vast amount of money being directed to programs here already and it appears to be system change that is needed. The same will apply at a global scale once the most extreme cases of disparity are addressed.
Do you give back to community in any other ways?
Absolutely. Giving is just one piece of the puzzle. We live in a way that reflects our values and doing what we can to inspire others. Some of that is by modeling such as being kind at every opportunity, cycling instead of driving, eating plant-based, sharing tools, fixing instead of replacing, and consuming consciously. We also advocate for sustainability and generosity at work and school, in our community, in letters to government, and of course through this project. We encourage our kids to think critically about fairness, climate, and compassion. And we donate blood as often as possible, volunteer at a Repair Cafe and help out friends, neighbours and strangers. Sometimes that’s fixing things, cooking for them, lending tools or finding new owners for unwanted stuff. Other times it is simply presence.
Move
What is your big travel plan?
We are planning to hitchhike from Australia to Cambodia and back, leaving in 2026. This will involve hitching rides in cars, trucks and sailing boats. Not a lot of vessels leaving Australia take extra people with them, thus we have been learning to sail so we can make for useful crew rather than passengers. The weather is most suitable for sailing towards Asia from May to November and from Asia to Australia in May and November. Thus we will potentially be away anywhere from 4 to 18 months, depending on availability of departing vessels willing to take us.
How does this relate to your goals? Isn’t it a holiday?
It might resemble a holiday in some ways, but there is a greater purpose. In fact there are three. The first is to draw attention to the value and opportunities for slow, low impact travel and inspire more people to try it or at least to fly less. The second is to show the real world benefits from effective giving by introducing our audience to real people that have benefited from our support and inspire people to commit to a lifelong habit of effective giving. The third is to introduce our children to other cultures and connect with other people their age as people rather than as ideas and help them build deep empathy.
Wouldn’t you be better off staying in Australia and earning to give?
Its quite possible this would be the best use of our time. We are taking a gamble. To ensure we have a reasonably good chance at doing more good by staying than going we have set ourselves a target of 1000 followers across all platforms before we commit to the second half of 2026 off. The first half of 2026 is to build that audience.
The logic is that for 1000 followers we might have 100 who are engaged and unique, 10 who are inspired to make significant changes and 1 who will mimic our efforts or exceed them. We reason that between all of those people, their total donations to effective charity and sustainable transformations will at least match what we could accomplish by staying and earning to give.
What are you actually going to do once in Asia?
We are still working out the specifics, but the rough plan is to stay in several different places for a month or so at a time, getting to know just a handful of people and taking part in their lives. This is likely to start with contacts we already have from a previous visit in 2006, but we are hopeful of other opportunities presenting as the time approaches. We have also tentatively arranged to visit the project offices of several of the charities we support were we would hope to interview some of the people directly affected. This is delicate because of privacy and human rights obligations of the charities, and also because we can’t be certain of the timing, due to our chosen mode of travel.
Why don’t you just fly?
The equivalent emissions from one flight exceed all of our other household emissions combined. Atmospheric emissions are already well over the critical threshold. We need to be doing absolutely everything we can to keep the remaining carbon in the ground or risk the demise of most life on earth. Flying is an incredible privilige still only afforded to approximately 20% of the people alive today and about 1.5% of people that ever lived. Long distance travel is a really big deal. Until the mid-twentieth century it took months to travel between continents. It is only possible for us to do it in mere hours because we are using energy captured by millions of years of plantlife.
Are you going to buy a boat?
It is not part of our plan. We plan to hitchhike on other peoples’ boats, who are already planning on making the trip. My recent experience of helping deliver a vessel from Hamilton to Sydney taught me a few things that reinforce this plan.
- Even sailing boats use a lot of fuel – entering and exiting marinas and anchorages, operating refrigeration, generators and water makers and motoring whenever the wind isn’t suitable
- Boats are very heavy and take a lot of resources. Even if we own it temporarily we are contributing to resource depletion and pollution. Think tonnes of lead, rare timber, unrecyclable fibreglass, other composites and coatings.
- Boats are very polluting. The antifouling coating on the hull leaches into the water to kill anything that might try to attach to the hull. This needs to be reapplied every few years. Any oil, fuel or refrigerant leak goes straight into the marine environment. All sewage goes straight into the ocean, except in marinas or busy anchorages.
- Things break. Often. Being on a boat reminded me of living in our remote off grid property that we had for a while. There is always something to fix and usually more than one thing.
- Boats are expensive. Repairs, insurance, marina fees and routine maintenance. That money could be saving lives.
All that said, I am not entirely opposed to sailing. If people make their boat their home and their transport, and thus are not consuming resources building, maintaining and using another fixed dwelling, and not driving or flying, they may have a substantially lower total impact than a typical western lifestyle. Motorboats on the other hand…
Why do you hitchhike rather than take the train?
Long distance diesel trains operate somewhat like a commercial service. If there is more demand there will be more services. More services means more emissions, although if full or nearly so, the emissions per passenger is somewhat lower than for private vehicles, which potentially means lower net emissions. If there is enough demand, it may justify high-speed electric rail that would displace short flights, which would mean less emissions. All of those things rely on “ifs”. One thing that is certain is the cars and trucks I wave down have already committed to making this trip and they’re unlikely to do more driving because of hitchhikers.
It is also a great opportunity to interact with other wonderful humans. It automatically selects for nice or lonely people. Either way I have something to offer and something to gain in sharing company with them. I can also go far more places and, in some cases much quicker, than by train.
Why don’t you count the emissions from the vehicles you hitchhike in?
I did actually count a very small portion of the emissions. This was to represent the extra load my weight adds to rolling resistance and hill climbs and also the energy involved in accelerating after slowing to pick me up and drop me off. I did not allow anyone to go out of their way to drop me off, so the rest of their journey was exactly as if I had not been with them. You could say the empty seat was really wasted if not taken up by a passenger. These sorts of unrecognised wastes, producing in this case a near 50% reduction in emissions per person, are some of the lowest hanging fruit for reduced impact.
Isn’t it hypocritical to rely on fossil fuel vehicles when hitchhiking?
Haha, yes, a little. We live in a time of immense prosperity and waste. This can only last for so long and in the meantime we do what we can to make the most from that waste, in many cases producing less harm than any other option. When there are no longer empty seats traveling the routes we want to travel, we will reconsider. Perhaps it will mean not travelling that route or distance, or perhaps another form of transport will provide a better option, such as cycling, electrified rail, sailing vessels or airships.
How do the emissions of different forms of transport actually compare?
There is a huge difference the per-person emissions for the various modes we compared. Here is a quick video Jon put together comparing the modes for travel from Airlie to Sydney. A flight would produce over 1100kg CO2-e, while hitchhiking would be less than 5kg.
These figures do not factor in the emissions and other impacts associated with the manufacture of the vehicles and their infrastructure. This adds a substantial overhead for all privately owned vehicles and a less significant, though still notable overhead for mass transport.
Do you own a car?
For now. We have a 2006 VW Polo turbo diesel. It is among the most efficient ICE passenger vehicle. We generally only use it for ride sharing. That is we take other people in it to events they and we were planning to go to. That keeps their car off the road and saves us having to ride or train. Given how much it still costs us just to own it and the resources tied up just sitting around, we are contemplating selling it and using a pay per use service such as Uber for the occasions it is our turn to drive others. There is some odd social ettiquete to navigate here.
Why do you sleep rough when travelling?
Humans evolved outside. The weather on the east coast of Australia is mild for much of the year and there are no signficant land based predators to fear. I remain afraid of people. Not for my physical safety, but of upsetting them and having to juggle their emotional response with my own sense of righteousness. Knowing I can sleep just about anywhere gives me a vast amount of freedom. I do not need to make detailed plans or bookings. Or worry about running out of money or time. I also believe that the whole idea of having to pay for somewhere to sleep, whether that is our own homes, or hotels, is quite absurd. Property is predominantly concentrated in the hands of those whose ancestors were lucky and/or aggressive enough to be gifted or have taken it from others.
Have you done this sort of thing before?
We volunteered in Vietnam for two months in 2006 before travelling for another 8 months through South East Asia, predominantly by bicycle and train. Jon also cycled with his father from Brisbane to Broome by bicycle in 2008, covering 6,500km unsupported and raising $6000 for Plan. We have both been engaged in charitable giving, sustainable living, advocacy and various activism projects our entire adult lives.
Reflect
What do you care most about?
Fairness is the singular value that most other concerns boil down to. This is why we care for protecting our planet and using no more than our share. It is why we are driven to give what we can to those who have the least and why we encourage others to do so. It is why we look to the most disadvantaged and marginalised and try to include them in our considerations. The causes that reflect this most closely are those supporting the poorest children in the world, especially girls. And degrowth for the majority of the worlds population, especially the wealthiest 10%, which includes us and likely includes you dear reader. We are disproportionately responsible for consumption and emmissions, and thus empowered to make the greatest difference.
What is the connection between sustainability and charitable giving?
The greatest opportunities and the greatest responsibility for change lies with the wealthiest 10% of global population. The actions of our forebears and our lives to date have caused the vast majority of environmental and social harms through colonialisation, extraction, exploitation, globalisation and protectionism. We have in our bank accounts the means to continue causing more harm and widening the gap, or to reduce the harm and share in some of the bounty we have extracted from the rest of the world well below the true cost. Money saved by one person cutting cars, cows, coal and crap from our lives can be directed to completely transforming the lives of dozens of people at the other end of the wealth scale.
What are your visions for the future?
Jon: I see a future where success, whether for an individual, a company, or a nation, is measured by the welfare it creates, the lives it uplifts, the resilience it fosters. Where technology serves us instead of enslaving us. Where we embrace personal sufficiency and celebrate public luxury: clean air, thriving ecosystems, good health, shared creativity, meaningful work, and strong communities.
I see an awakening. A rising of purpose beyond profit. A shift in what we value, teach, and reward. Where aggressive and divisive rhetoric is met not with outrage, but with calm, united indifference, or even warmth and compassion. Where conflict becomes an opportunity for deeper understanding and appreciation of the other party.
I see humankind reuniting with the living world. Restoring our place within nature rather than above it. And I imagine us, many generations from now, thriving together with enough wisdom, kindness, and solidarity to face whatever geological or interstellar challenges come our way. Not just surviving, but rising. Together. Not as separate tribes or competing interests, but as one species, on one fragile, beautiful planet.
What are you most inspired by?
Jon: I’m most inspired by the people I’ve met who have dealt with the most devastating trials you could imagine and have emerged with a positive outlook on the world and continue to strive to help others. I met and wrote about several people fitting this description while hitchhiking this year and another while sleeping rough in Airlie. The books The Most Good You Can Do by Peter Singer and Less is More by Jason Hickel were also very motivating. I only recently discovered US activist Robin Greenfield, but have a lot of respect for the work he is doing and the integrity he has shown. You can see more of the books, blogs and channels that inform and motivate us on our resources page. Or follow the stories of people we have interviewed.
What do your kids think about your plans?
Mixed. Adam and Dani are very different to each other. Dani does not want to be away from her friends. They both understand privilege at some theoretical level.
Why all the focus on instincts?
The instincts blog series is intended to help understand the origins of our automatic behaviours. Knowledge is power and the hope is that a greater understanding will allow us to adjust and adapt our behaviours towards a kinder and healthier future by nurturing particular instincts and tuning out others that have become destructive in our globalised community.
Aren’t you worried about taking your kids out of school?
Jon was a little concerned so looked into the possible negative impacts. He wrote about his research here. Emelie was confident from the start that they would gain experiences more valuable than school, but was a bit worried about how being away from their friends might affect them. She spoke with her childhood friend about the friends experience living for a year in Indonesia as a child and was pleased to learn it was overall a positive one.