Compared to living in a house, vandwelling is tremendously cheaper.
- Mr. M is in his late 50s and lives in a Ford cargo van and splits his time between boondocking on public land and stealth parking in cities. He was a computer programmer for a major corporation for many decades but when the economy collapsed in 2008 they suddenly closed his whole division and sent the work to India. They laid off hundreds of employees including him. He searched for a job and couldn’t find one so he moved into a van and has lived in it for 3 years now. He had a large retirement savings so he sat down and figured out how much he could take out every month and have it last him till he could draw Social Security. That worked out to $400 a month so that is what he has to live on. Whenever he can he works odd jobs and dabbles in the stock market at day-trading. He uses that extra money to upgrade his van. For example he recently installed a very nice, high-end solar system with the money from a very profitable trade. He is a very disciplined person and so actually lives quite well on very, very little money.
Miss. C is in her late 60s and has been living in a high top Ford cargo van for the last 3 years. She lives on her Social Security check which is $630 a month. We have camped together a lot and I can promise she lives quite well on that amount of money. I have never once seen her go without something because of lack of money.- Mr. W is in his early 70s and lives in a 1970s Class C and pulls a 90s Mitsubishi Montero 4×4 as a toad. He has lived in it for over 15 years. He lives on his Social Security check which is $1000 a month. He lives very frugally so he actually only spends half that and saves the other $500. I have never seen him have less than $5000 in cash in his class C. He is the first RVer I ever knew with Satellite TV and was the inspiration for me getting it as well. I learned more about the mobile life from him than from any other person I have known. He is a living example of how incredibly well you can live with practically no money and still build a savings account.
- Miss S is also in her late 60s and lives in her 2006 Chevy Express cargo van for the last 3 years. She lives on her $970 a month Social Security as well. She has thrived on that amount of money! In the last three years she has kayaked all 48 contiguous states and is planning now to kayak Alaska and Hawaii. She has a truly wonderful life and she doesn’t need a lot of money to get it.She gave me permission to use this info and also asked that I put in a link to her blog. It is here: http://swankiewheels.blogspot.com/p/art-work.html
- Mr. S is in his early 50s, lives in a Chevrolet van and draws $1400 a month on SS Disability. He lives comfortably on that and has as good a life as anyone I know.
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RVSue and Crew. The last example I want to look at is RVSue. She is in her 60s and lives full time in a Casita Travel Trailer pulled by a Chevy Van. Sue is a blogger and a very disciplined person. For her blog she has faithfully kept accurate records of all her spending so her readers can know exactly what it costs her to live full-time. I subscribe to her blog and love it, so I strongly encourage all of you to check out her blog, especially her “Money” page where she details her spending: http://rvsueandcrew.com/ . In calendar year 2012 she spent a total $12, 867.91 which averages out to $1072 per month. While she boondocked most of the time, she also stayed in campgrounds part of the time, so she could have reduced it even more. And she traveled extensively which means she burned a lot of gas. She visited Arizona, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and California in 2012. Had she been on a tighter budget, she probably could have reduced her monthly spending by several hundred dollars by boondocking more and traveling less.
Sue lives very comfortably in her little Casita and has all the comforts of home! She traveled extensively last year, and still only averaged $1072 a month in expenses. Two ways she lives frugally are by staying frequently on public land and producing her own solar power.
I have a wonderful friend who takes very long trips in this Prius. She took a 6 month trip all over the country and averaged 45 mpg. By it’s nature it is a huge generator so she had constant power, heat, and air conditioning whenever she wanted. It is an incredible way to travel a lot and live very frugally on next to nothing.
Whether you are happy or not depends on your attitude, not your income. If you are like me, and living in nature makes you happy, it is a truly wonderful life. I honestly don’t believe I could be any happier than I am now. But if you can’t shake the normal “American Dream-Consumerism” thinking, you won’t be happy with any amount of money. You are mentally and emotionally incapable of being content with your life and possessions. On the other hand, if you can change your thinking, you can be equally happy with almost nothing or a great deal. In my next post, I want to tell you a way I have found to change my attitude towards money and things, and hopefully it will work for you as well.
Until then I want you to keep this in mind, “If all those people can live happily on that little, so can I!”
From time to time I’ve thought about putting together a list of the URLs that would take you to the different bloggers who basically have said, “as little or as much as you have” to this question.
You did do a good job of saying it!
Your right Rob, everyone wants an exact number but the truth is you just have to play the cards you’ve been dealt. Whatever you have is what you get to spend. if you want this life, you pay the price and earn it with frugal living.
Bob
Here is the one hurdle I can’t get over in my mind. What do you do about mail, paying bills and handling banking. No matter what, each month there is car insurance, medicare supp ins.,car regis, etc that must be paid. I have broached this subject with my son and he said “no problem Pops”, but I feel awkward relying on him.
The internet. Seriously, on-line works for the bills & bank statements.
For the things that have to be done by mail we use a mailing service as our address, there are many out there.
My auto insurance company happily deducts monthly premiums from my bank account. Simply talk to your agent and see what he/she can do for automatic payments.
Right you are Doug. Everything in my life is set up for auto payments. I usually write one check a year and it is to the IRS! Now if I could only get them straightened out.
Bob
Gary, the solution is a Mail Forwarder. That is a person who operates a business who is licensed to receive your mail and then sends it to you. My mail forwarder is in Nevada and her home address is my home address and I am a Nevada Resident. She gets my mail from the Post Office and then tells me I have it and I give her an address to mail it to me. She will even open it and scan it for me or take the auto registration to the DMV and renew it for me. She charges $100 a year and does a wonderful job, find her at http://jbmailroom.com/. There are lots of places with Mail Forwarders but the most popular states are South Dakota, Texas, Florida and Nevada.
I choose Bank of America as my bank because they have branches all over the country. But 99.9% of my banking is done on online or automatically. All I have is a debit card but I have used it everywhere without any issues. Banking is super easy in the computer age, no house required. All my bills go to Pahrump Nevada and my mail forwarder. Again, no big deal. Get more info here:
<a href="http://cheaprvliving.com/Communications.html
“>http://cheaprvliving.com/Communications.html
Bob
Thanks for that potential forwarder, Bob. I can tell I’m gonna have to make the jump in residency sooner or later, and hiking to South Dakota to iron out occasional issues does not appeal.
Doug, I have been extremely happy with my service with jbmailroom.com. I recently found a mail forwarder in Quartzsite, AZ and I love Arizona so much I would think about becoming a Arizona resident. But they have income taxes and so I will stick with Nevada. My van insurance would probably go down so they might offset each other and be about the same cost per year. But, it’s more the hassle of having to file another return more than the money. I think Nevada is a great choice!
Bob
It’s much simpler than it seems. I have my mail go to a mail forwarding service in South Dakota that also handles my vehicle registration. My vehicle ins. I pay once/yr, my medicare supplement is on an auto/pay from my chkg acct. The property taxes and insurance on my rental property are paid annually. That covers the bills that need paying.
The income is even easier. My Social Security is deposited automatically into my checking acct, my rental income is deposited by the mgm’t company into my Paypal acct, and a set figure is swept from my brokerage acct, into my Paypal.
I live almost entirely on my SS…the rest accumulates until the end of the year when I sweep the acc’t back into my brokerage acct.
This allows me to have ready cash should I need it for an emergency, but at the end of the year…I start anew with just a modest amount for an emergency fund.
It all seems like it would be overwhelming but in fact, once you start into it, it’s all pretty simple.
Well, as “Mr. Duh” living in an old mid-sized TT, I’m budgeted for $1,250/month, which is a little hard to validate since this is my first year – not all mods were completed and the trailer had to be finished out on the road. I’m punching past that budget this year due to a needed trip back to the Upper Midwest & return ($2,000 in fuel), and failed tires and wheel bearings all-round on the TT ($1,500). I have to make up that loss/overage next year, and so am looking forward to being even more of a cheapskate! Everything associated with the TT itself is taking 25%, groceries $24%, and everything associated with the tow vehicle 19% – but the latter will ramp up soon as the mega-trip starts in earnest. Next year, just call me the Travel Trailer Nazi – “No diesel for YOU!”
Doug, I wanted to include you in the list but I felt awkward asking about your income. I’m going to post about how to spend less and one of the tips is just sitting in one place and not driving. I think you are the king of that!! How long has it been since you drove your truck now, 2-3 weeks? I think you took this cheap RV living thing to heart!!
Bob
Oh, no need to feel awkward about income, as there isn’t any. I’m trying to parse out savings to last until I can pull SS and a mini-pension. If I don’t keep to the budget in the long run, bad things happen in the home stretch.
I’ll reach the 3-week mark in 3 more days, and although my current water usage looks like it’ll make 3.5 weeks, I’m considering unhitching to service the Tankmin in town at 3.0. I’ll be combining half-a-dozen other things in the same trip. The real weak link prompting the trip? Clean underwear! For some reason, nobody wants to let me borrow theirs! What’s up with THAT?
Doug, I’ll let you borrow some of mine!! BUT, mine are all dirty so you will have to wash them before you return them. Should I bring some down to your camp?
Bob
Odd question – is it true that you should run an auto engine at least once a week in order to keep the oil from settling?
Thanks,
Naomi
That’s not an odd question at all Naomi. First, understand I am no expert at all!! So this is just my opinion. I think the idea is right, but the details are wrong. Gas engines should be run periodically or you can be creating problems from just sitting. But I don’t think it’s as often as weekly. I doubt it is even monthly but just to be safe and sure the battery stays full, I would run it once a month. That is the recommendation for RV generators which don’t get used much to run them at least once a month. But I don’t think many of us drive that little. The gas is actually a pretty big concern if you drive that little. Gas goes bad and does harm to the engine eventually. If there is a chance that gas will be in there for more than two months, I would add a product called Stabil which protects the gas from breakdown.
Bob
Uhhh, no thanks there, Bob. I’ll just switch over to Depenz.
Naomi, that’s a yes and no. Oil doesn’t “settle” so much as drain excessively from where it really needs to be present during the next start-up. It is good to start a vehicle up once a week, but not if you aren’t going to use it and get it even close to operating temperature. It just multiplies the number of cold starts it has to endure. No errand? I’d personally let it sit – just an opinion. Then again, in the humid Midwest, I’m better off driving a short trip no matter what, or my brake calipers will rust and stick, overheating and wearing the brakes. Expensive!
Doug, and here I thought we were friends! Interesting about the oil draining idea. That is a very, very big deal in Alaska because of the extreme cold. As oil gets colder it gets thicker so at -70 it is VERY thick, like honey. So when you fire up the engine the oil has to warm up before it will circulate freely through the engine. The common solution is to switch to sythetics which do not thicken nearly as much. The other is oil pan or dipstick heaters to keep the oil fluid. With Diesel engines in extreme cold, you simply never turn them off. I took a team to Soldotna one winter for 5 days to a basketball tournament and never once shut off the engine. I never slept better than I did on top of that rumbling diesel!
On another trip I took a team to Tok Alaska where it was an honest -70 with 0 wind and very, very thick ice fog (the moisture in the air freezes and just hangs there as ice crystals). Never shut that engine down either but a hydraulic hose blew and I couldn’t shift it into forward gear. I had to back it from the school to a garage where they warmed it up and replaced the hose. I did not sleep well on the floor of the basketball court with the kids!! They wouldn’t let us drive home at that extreme a temperature. They knew any mechanical failure and we would all die in that kind of cold waiting for help. We finally had a heat wave and it warmed up to -35 below and they let us go home.
Bob
I hate to say it and am frankly embarrassed to mention this but the biggest waste of money is going to be your vices… Weather it be smokes or drink they do cut into the budget… By my self my food budget is $200.00 a month, but i have taken on Zeke so that pushes it up to between $250.00 and $300.00 as Zeke is a spoiled guy with toys, bones, treats and food(s)… For gas I limit my self to 1 tank of gas plus $50.00 a month period including travel from site to site… I also save at least $100.00/mo for the future issues that will come up… I have full insurance at $50.00/mo, Internet @ 10 gigs for $80.00/MO, and a revolving PayPal account at $30.00/MO… So for about $550.00 a month I could live on pretty good less my vices or savings, but you must save/put away money for it is 100% chance that some thing will come up, it is inevitable…
The first year is the hardest for you learn that the good you got on a cheap what ever is not working out, you will need solar for power or generator, you will find things on the van needs fixing, and most of all you will find things you need you never thought of till the time arises… But with me as all of the rest who make it to the day when you have this all figured out, you will then find the enjoyment of a stress free life, nothing is free or with out toil, but this life is within the grasp of all those hearty enough to take that first step…
Steve N Zeke…
Steve, those are all good tips from someone who is living the life! We all throw money away on something just for the fun of it. It can be better food, clothes, entertainment or more travel, or even vices as you call them. They are not things that are not totally necessary for life, they are just for a better life. Nothing wrong with any of that!! What good is that money going to do you in the grave? I live this way to be happy, not prove a point. And my vices make me happy so I don’t apologize for them.
Bob
You hit the nail on the head Bob. It’s about changing your perspective, not making more money. It’s liberating being in my twenties and knowing I won’t have to slave the rest of my life away for some place to lay my head at night. I know I’ll be just fine financially while at the same time enjoying each and every day of my life. I’ll never again drag myself to an unforfilling job I hate. I’ll still work, but only jobs I love. I’ll white water raft and work on guns and love every day of it, even if I could make more with the skills I have.
Cyrus, a turning point in my life came when I realized my reason for being here was to be happy and contribute wherever I could to other peoples happiness. It sounds like you are headed that way yourself. My hope for you is that every day should be happier than the one before.
Bob
Excellent post with solid info that should help a lot of people. There is no substitute for real-life case studies.
Kim, thanks for your kind words, and you are so right, there is no substitute for experience. When you live this far out of the box theories don’t work, you have to live it. I’m just fortunate to have so many great people around who share their lives with me.
Bob
This is timely for me. I’m still here in my house figuring things out. I’m 61 and almost broke. I’ve been living the past two years on my meager retirement savings. The plan is to sell the house and use that money to buy and set up a van and to live on until I apply for Social Security at 66. I have a buyer for the house at slightly less than my target. That had me doing all sorts of cost projections and arithmetic. The numbers above fit with my projections, so I’m less apprehensive.
Do it and never look back! You’ll find life becomes 1000 times richer!
Glad it’s helpful Al. Knowledge is one of the best cures for fear so the more facts you have the more confident you can be. It sounds like you have a great plan that should work really well!!
Bob
Why wait until you’re 66 for Social Security?
On a list some years back there was a thread about SS & when to take it. One story sticks in my mind even today.
The gentleman talked of his wife’s plan of working until she could claim the maximum benefit, they had their plans laid out and 2 months before that day she passed away.
We all have different reasons for doing what we do & different dreams but don’t forget that life is short, sometimes too short.
The amount of SS I would get if I were to apply next year would probably work okay for current prices, but who knows about future prices or large unexpected expenses, right?
Al, that is a good way to look at it. If you are able to wait for another 5 years then that is a good way to look at it. I really could not keep working at that souless job another 5 years. Living on less was a sacrifice I gladly made, but I can understand that your priorities are different from mine.
Bob
My soulless job left me. Well, I was self-employed, and clients figured they could get entry-level people to do the same job for less, so… Besides, as much as I loved my line of work for the first 30 years, the past five haven’t been rewarding at all.
There is no right or wrong way to do things Rob, but I agree with you totally. I took early retirement at 52 even though I lost 30% of my pension. I have never for one second regretted it!! I retired in 2006 and this June I finally would be eligible for 100% retirement. But I wouldn’t trade the last 6 years for anything. I just couldn’t stand the misery anymore.
Bob
I am amazed at all the people that think they can’t or won’t stand a life with less stuff. Today, I was at a party on a lavish cruising yacht. Easily 1600 sqft of living space. When I mentioned to most of the others there that I live on a boat with about 1/8th the space, their jaws dropped. I know a lot of these people and most hate their jobs. I just kept my mouth shut and said,” yeah, it’s not for everyone.”
That reminds me of comments I got from potential buyers of my house. Things like. “The bedrooms are too small.” How much room do people need to change clothes and sleep? Oh well.
And yet I used to think just like that Al. Now my comment is just the opposite, “It is just too big!” I love living in a tiny space!! Everything is close by and it feels so cozy and comfy. It’s how I want to live.
Bob
There is another web blogger called mr. Money Mustache who posted about his expenses with his famili. he does not use a car and bicycles everywhere. his familiy retired early while in thier 30s I think and he has maybe $25,000 a year in a lifestyle. That includes medical insurance (sky high deductable). He and family seems happy with his life.
Offroad, it is all a matter of priorities. If freedom and actual living is your highest priority, then there is a way to have it–if you are willing to make the sacrifices it requires. Apparently he and his family were willing to make them. I know I was.
Bob
I have found it easier to manage what we have than make more. Also, we have come to the point of not being so frugal as the end is coming clearer than before. Why struggle?
Mashall you nailed it on the head, there are two ways to financial security: 1) Earn more 2) Spend less. Of course the way to wealth is to do both, but for me it is much easier to simply spend less. It just seems obvious: spending less is passive and easy but earning more is active and hard work. And “work” is the worst of all possible 4-letter obscenities!
Bob
You are so right Bob; whatever amount of money you have, you can adjust accordingly.
I once lived on $90,000 a year when married with both of us working. We did more complaining and wasting than being grateful and conserving.
FOR ME, the experiences and the people I meet when I get on the road, are the most important. I’ve lived on practically nothing many times in the past several years so I know I can live in a van quite well.
Today, on my way home from a birthday lunch, I looked at the exact conversion van I want. Tomorrow, even though I don’t have the money for it, the dealer has offered to put a tag on it & let me take it for a ride. When I told him what I intend to do, he sighed and said: “I wish I were you.”
The previous owner had a 12 volt fridge in the van & had removed the middle seats. The dealer told me about a few other things he had done to the van for “extended trips” and each was exactly what I intend to do for full time living.
As for waiting to collect full SS, I’m not going to. A lot can happen in the 4 years you wait – besides dying.
Thanks for another wonderful post!
Suzann thank you for your enthusiasm and insights. It is easily worth as much as my post! If only we had the wisdom when we were young that we have now, right! I’m sure you would treat that $90,000 a year very differently. When you get the perfect van for you and get on the road, be sure and come camp with me, I would love to meet you!
Bob
Thanks Bob for all your posts and equipment reviews. Today I looked at two other vans: one high top 93 Ford Econoline @ $2500 with 130K miles – and a 95 Chevy Shorty (no high top) for $2500 w/114K miles. My ex-boyfriend liked the Ford as did I – until I looked closer at the Chevy! The Chevy interior was much nicer, had flexsteel seats & bench and a roof carrier. While there, a couple who previously owed two Chevy Shorties of the same year, raved about the van’s mpg & seat quality. IN addition, he had driven one $513K miles before “the whole thing was ready for retirement.” We’re now considering each selling our older cars & each having our own van. Should know within a week. Though I still have no income, having a van will be awesome! I have a son who could build or install a high top so the Shorty will get strong consideration.
Suzann, sorry to be so late answering, you have probably already done something by now. When a post gets this many comments I have to be very careful or I miss some. I just found yours. Both vans sound great. Will you both be in one van or is it likely you will be in two vans. Either way my inclination would be to the high top longer van. When you live n the tiny space of the van, every little bit of room and comfort becomes very, very important!!
Unless your ex-boyfriend was a mechanic himself, I would take them both to a mechanic and let him make the decision. Tell him you have very little money for repairs and need the van to last you for many years and based on that which should you buy? If one is much better buy it, if they are about equal I personally would buy the high top longer van for the room and comfort.
Bob
Agreed that attitude is the key. I am happier than ever also even though my Mom calls me homeless. My sister says she just doesn’t know about me. They are both the most insecure people I have ever known. My Mom has to see a psychologist monthly, and my sister is 43 yrs old and has to call my Mom twice daily for security. I’m not exaggerating. She calls in the morning, and after dinner, and sometimes a third time. If my Mom cuts her short from her 30 minute conversations my sister complains. They’re jealous of me and I broke out of the pack and made a great career in the Airline business which will bring me $800/mo in a few years. Thanks for the great post Bob.
Martin, I think you hit the nail on the head, many people are secretly jealous of us so they respond negatively rather than admit to themselves how unhappy they are. But you are reaping the rewards of your labour and risk-taking, so you deserve all the happiness you get.
Bob
I have been lurking on this site for some time and decided it would fit my son’s lifestyle to a T. So I told him about this website and about van dwellers yahoo group. There is silence and slowly he then related he had been living in the Town and Country Van we had given him in 2010 for the last 2 years!!
He had been afraid to tell me as I had had a very bad experience with my baby brother who had ended up homeless and on the streets….the difference was my brother was alcoholic and mentally ill…my son is employed and chose this lifestyle to speed up payment of student loans. He is following his dream of being a martial arts instructor and is within a year of reaching that dream. I am so proud of him!!
Happiness is not getting what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got.
Bravo CAE, very well said!!!
Bob
I know one needs to expect the unexpected, and this may be an unpopular opinion… oh well here goes…
Its more than about saving money its about making a limit on how much you want to save up like that fellow that had 5K in cash. You have to have fun with what is saved as well. I played so hard in Yuma this winter it wore me out. But I have great memories and hope to do the same again next year! I would say save up to vehicle replacement and then go have fun…take that tour…buy that kayak…enjoy do what you want you enjoy and be happy : )
Lynnzie, thank you for pointing that out!! I should have said that clearly. That is actually what I had in mind when I said he was the first RVer I knew who had Satellite TV. He decided the same thing you did, he couldn’t take it with him so he was going to enjoy it while he was here. That is one of the many lessons he taught me and I should have plainly said it. He was also extremely generous. He had breakfast every Sunday at a local mom and pop restaurant and every time he tipped the waitress $20. He got good service!! Homer loved him more than me, he always had treats on hand to give to him. The first mini-gathering I ever had was in camp with Wayne (the next year it became the RTR). There were 13 vandwellers there and Wayne made several big dinners for everybody.
You’ll notice that I am not in the list of peoples budgets. That’s because my income has increased and so my spending has increased with it. I’m here to have a good life, not win prizes for having the least stuff or least fun. Probably next Sunday I will do a post kind-of covering this topic.
Really, thanks for pointing that out. I get focused on the main idea of the post and forget to leave out the balancing ideas so you are always welcome to remind us. I’m looking forward to seeing you again this winter, if not before!
Bob
Bob,
I was amazed at the amount of Can Do, helpful, resourceful souls that attended the last RTR. It was a community of everyone helping everyone else above and beyond what I could imagine. People building beds, sinks, storage, installing solar, caulking RV’s for other people, and so much more. I even got the serpentine belt replaced in my van. One fellow explained how my solar controller should work, another helped me work out a problem on my laptop. This all besides the intense 2 weeks of helpful RTR topics that were covered. I would highly recommend anyone who has never gone out on their own, never owned a RV, or camped or maybe they have but want to know more…to spend 2 weeks at the RTR getting all the information they need to get out and have the confidence to change their life.
Will you see me next winter? Dang right you will and maybe at the summer social get together. I am now in love with the gypsy life…I really learned how to laugh and have fun…I am forever changed. Thanks for helping me to gain the confidence to go out and explore the world on my own and creating a way for me to learn how to do that. TTFN
Lynnzie, reading that brings such a warm glow to my heart!! And you are so right, the generosity of the people at the RTR was indescribable! Everyone freely gave of themselves. There is such a camaraderie of like-minded people that I always find when vandwellers and RVers get together.
Those 2 weeks are a lot of work for me but reading this made every second of it more than worth it. Thank you!
Bob
I spent 10 months living in a class C RV as part of a year-long sabbatical from my job. I had a high burn rate on cash, but that was essentially because I viewed the trip as two things: A) a long vacation giving me the opportunity to see lots of different parts of the country and B) a short-term commitment that offered the chance to see if a long-term RV lifestyle was right for me.
Before leaving on the sabbatical, I negotiated a bit of freelance work which netted me about $1500 per month, and that went to gas and grocery and entertainment and campgrounds (I needed AC for my dog and cat and me on those 90+ days last summer even as far north as Montana). I started the trip with about $10K in the bank for emergencies and covering shortfalls in the food/entertainment category. And the repairs were many, grrr. If I were more mechanically savvy, perhaps this wouldn’t have been an issue, although there were a number of unavoidable repairs (tires, brakes, and such) as well…
Please note these numbers are off the top of my head. I haven’t yet done a full reconcile on the total costs of my trip, but I plan to.
What did I learn? That I loved the lifestyle. I had the money to spend, so I did spend it, but I planned that going in. I wouldn’t do another trip like that without plenty in the bank for repairs/emergencies plus a much newer rig. I would ensure that I had some sort of steady freelance agreement that would bring in funds since I’m nowhere near old enough for SSI and am fortunate enough not to be on disability. I would also approach the lifestyle differently, ie, not as a vacation. But I suspect when I finally make the jump out of my current living situation (rented), I will not be on a short schedule trying to cram everything into a brief bit of time.
For now, I’m in a savings-rebuilding phase, so I have plenty of time to contemplate the best approach for me, and to learn tips from everyone out there living the lifestyle.
Bob, thanks for the informative blog!
Jen, your right, there is a big difference between an extended vacation and a lifestyle change. I looked at my cruise as a trip of a lifetime so I did things I wouldn’t have done otherwise. You only live once, right! So it is to be expected you spent lots of money on that trip–especially since you had it!
Next time you will have a totally different mind-set so it will be all-new. I’m sure you will find a path that works great for you! I’m always here if there is anything i can do to help!
Bob
And please forgive all those marks in my contractions in the above post! Some weird coding issue, I guess.
Thanks Bob for a thoughtful discussion on Budget. It humbles me to see how happen some are on so little of that green stuff we attach so much significance to.
I will read Parts 2 and 3 now on Budget.
Take care, new friend,
Walking Bob
Walking Bob, I am humbled also by some peoples frugal lives! You will notice I am not on the list–because I am not nearly as frugal as they are! But I am getting much better as I follow their example. They are my teachers,
Bob
I meant to say, “how HAPPY some are on so little …”
Thank you for this article. I have been following RVSue for almost a year and it’s been great knowing her budget for it gave me hope. This article has given me even more hope since you list people who are doing it on even less than Sue because my income will definitely be less.
My SS now is 760 a month but will go up to 900+ a month next year when my ex-husband hits 62. Because of being unemployed, not being able to find a job in my field, and unemployment running out, I didn’t have the choice of waiting until 66. And it’s all a crap shoot anyway. Both my parents and my in-laws waiting for their dreams to start at retirement and in both cases one of them was gone by then.
When I sell my house, I should have enough for a motor home of some kind and still have a bit of a nest egg. I’m off to read your post about fear and getting over it! I’ve been dealing with lessening the fear part of it for awhile now and feel myself very close to making the final decision.
Thank you for your posts.
Donna, as odd as it may sound, many women thrive in the mobile life, sometimes better than the men do. I haven’t figured out why yet, but there are honestly a lot of women boondockers who are just tremendously happy doing it. I think women may be more resilient than men and able to bend and flow with life.
When you make the decision, I hope you will consider coming out and spending some time with our camp and make lots of new like-minded friends and help you get your “sea-legs”.
Bob