Cheap RV Living
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Do these words stir a fire deep within you, awakening a spirit of wanderlust and travel?
Maybe you were a gypsy, vagabond or hobo in a past life, but you think you could never
afford to live the life of freedom you long for now? Maybe you want to drop out of society
but don't know how. We have good news for you, you can, and we are here to show you
how! The key is eliminating the single highest expense most of us have, our housing. We will
do that by moving into our vehicle (see the Page How to Make A Camper Van) and
"boondocking." By that I mean living in your vehicle without paying for a camp site. Go to the
boondocking page for a full explanation.
Let me prove to you right off the bat that you can live the free life. Here is a budget to live
and travel full time. One column is for a $500 a month and the other is for a $1,000 a
month for one person.
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Of course, at $500 per month this is a sparse life, but I am just showing you that
it can be done. In fact when I posted the $1,000 per month budget on a yahoo
group called VanDwellers, (everyone wanting to live this life should join
VanDwellers!! click here) the majority of the responses were that they were
living on much less. Several people mentioned specifically living on $500 since
that was what they received in their disability check, so I know for a fact that it
can, and is, being done right now (read Jim Jaillet's article on Fulltimimg in an
RV where he shows how he lives easily on less than $1,000 per month.) That still
leaves us with the question, where will the money come from? Let me show you
some simple strategies for living the cheap RV lifestyle.
1) Move Into Your Vehicle and Save your Rent/House Payment
You are probably working at a job right now and paying for an apartment or
house. The first thing you do is decide what type of vehicle you want to live in and
purchase it. Then you have a garage sale and sell as much of your excess stuff as
you can, and give the rest away. Then you move into your vehicle (to learn how to
convert a van: click here). Now this is very important, you open a savings
account and the money you used to pay for your apartment or house and all
utilities goes into the savings account instead. The hardest part is that it will soon
turn into a lot of money and you will be tempted to spend it. Don't do it! Leave it
there unless it is a total emergency. If you are currently paying $600 a month
for rent and utilities, then at the end of the year you will have saved $7,200.
Now you can travel for the next 7-14 months without working. Or if you work
intermittently, you can extend that even further.
2) Alternate Work and Travel
(See Living in a VW Vanagon for a perfect example of this)
So, we take our $7200 and leave on our new life of freedom until we need more
money. Then, we choose a place we want to be for awhile, stop there, and get a
job paying as much as we can, but at least $7 per hour . For that month we take
home about $1000. We spend half of that to live on, and now have $500 in
savings. Actually, we should have more since we won't be driving much (some of
us will ride our bike, scooter or motorcycle which we are carrying on a bike rack
or trailer). So we can take that $500 and are off again. Or we can spend several
months at one place and then travel several months. Maybe you like to ski so you
spend three months at a ski resort working and skiing on the weekends. Then you
have the next three months off to do whatever and go wherever you want. When
you need to work again, you drive up to Glacier National Park and get a job there
doing dishes at the resort. You spend your summer weekends hiking and taking
pictures. Three months later, you are free again. Or maybe you are a history
buff. So you drive to Gettysburg and get a job there. You spend your weekends
exploring the Amish country and Philadelphia. You then go to New England to
photograph the fall colors and spend a month exploring Washington DC. When you
need to work again you drive to Orlando or Miami, get a job, and explore Florida.
If you are adventurous you can work your way down to a beach resort in Mexico
where you work for the next three months and surf, fish and snorkel on your
weekends. Working in the tourist industry you probably double your wage in tips
and living in Mexico is very cheap so you save even more than usual. Now you can
take the next six months off in the U.S., or maybe nine months off in Mexico (see
Jim Jaillet's articles on traveling in Mexico and Central America.) You keep doing
this to your hearts content!
3) Live on a Pension
Or maybe you are like me. I am about to take early retirement with a pension of
about $1100 per month and I don't have to work at all unless I want to for
whatever reason. There are lots of people on a small pension or Social Security
check. I am young and healthy so I plan on working at jobs that I like as I travel.
That way I can build more of a savings account or spend more as I want.
4) Work While You Travel
With a little creativity you can find ways to make money while you travel. The
possibilities here are endless, only limited by your abilities and imagination. With
access to the Internet, many traditional jobs can be done remotely as you travel.
Here are some possibilities but they are just to jump-start your thinking. There
are many books and websites with a huge selection of ideas:
- WorkCamp (see workampers.com for more info)
- Make crafts and sell them
- Buy and sell on Ebay
- Create works of art and sell them
- Handyman services
- House painting
- Animal grooming
- Auto detailing
- Knife Sharpening
- Web Site creation and maintenance
- Photography
- Sewing
- Accounting
This life can be for you if you want it! We have shown that you can live on very
little, and four ways to make the little money you do need. So what is holding you
back? For most of us it is fear. Let's address that and show you a simple
strategy to overcome your fears.
Overcoming Your Fears.
This is a tough one. Many of us live lives of quiet desperation, hating our jobs, and
just enduring our life. We meet our obligations and conform to societies
dictates. On the surface, all looks good. But on the inside is a desperate but
muffled cry for a life of passion, adventure and travel. Summed up in one word it
is a cry for FREEDOM!! This is probably overstating it, but if you look at your
life, you can probably find some element of it in there. What holds us back? Why
can't we break out of our rut into a new and exciting life? For most of us it is
fear. An unpleasant but acceptable present is better than an unknown and
dangerous future. So, how do you overcome your fears? Allow me to lead you
through an exercise to overcome a fear.
The first and hardest step is to take an unflinching look at ourselves and identify
the fears that hold us back. I will list a few possibilities, but remember this is
just a starting place, you must do the hard work of finding your own fears.
- Fear of going broke and being homeless and penniless.
- Fear of being alone (see Traveling With Your Pets).
- Fear for my physical safety. (see Vandwellers Safety)
- Fear of failure.
- Fear that I'm not good enough.
- Fear of what others will think.
- Fear of the unknown.
After you have identified your fears, accept them, even embrace them. They are
a natural instinct given to us to keep us safe and from taking stupid risks. They
are a good thing unless we let them paralyze us. When that feeling of fear and
panic starts to well up from your gut, take a really deep breath and thank it for
the wise warning. Assure it you will consider the warning very seriously. This may
seem very "new-agy" but try it any way.
Next, address the fears and find solutions. There are solutions to every
problem! On this page we have presented a solution to one of our biggest fears,
that we will run out of money and be indigent. We have shown how little we can
live on and how to make the money we need. Start right now doing your homework:
- Record all your expenses so you know where your money is going.
- Decide what is really important and spend your money only on those things.
- Write up a detailed budget and follow it.
- Start researching new ways to make money.
- Increase your work skills and gather the necessary tools.
Now, when that fear wells up again, gratefully embrace it and say. "Thank you
for the warning, but this is a safe risk. Look at my budget. Here is my savings
account for emergencies. This is how I will make more money. Everything will be
alright," You may have to do this many times, but eventually your fear will turn to
hope as it embraces your new life. Then, come, and join us as we travel the road
of carefree destiny.
| Hatchers Pass in Alaska |
|
Living and Traveling Full or Part-Time in a Van, Car, or RV
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, Healthy, free, the world before me, The long brown path before me--leading wherever I choose. Walt Whitman, Song Of The Open Road |
| To Learn how you can make a camper like this one: Click here |
While I lived in a box van for six years following my divorce, I have been busy working and
haven't really traveled. Well, no more!! I have taken an early retirement and hit the road. I
am leaving Alaska, my home of over 40 years. If you are interested in following my journey,
I will leave a photographic history here. As nature photography is my main hobby, I will try
to give information on where to go and how to take better pictures of the area. Just click
on the printed state link:
----------------------------------------------------
Northern Lights In Alaska
Arches National Park
| White House Washington DC |
I have always dreamed of not
only traveling to Mexico, but all
the way through Central America,
However, Fear of the Unknown
has held me back and I gave up on
that dream as too dangerous.
Recently I found a great book
called Panama or Bust by Jim
Jaillet that allayed my fears and
I am now actively planning a trip
to the Panama Canal. Jim has
written a series of articles on
traveling in Central America and
has graciously allowed us to
reprint them here. I highly
recommend these articles to you
and hope that you are as inspired
as I have been.
Click Here For Articles
Also see his excellant article on:
Extras For Fulltiming
only traveling to Mexico, but all
the way through Central America,
However, Fear of the Unknown
has held me back and I gave up on
that dream as too dangerous.
Recently I found a great book
called Panama or Bust by Jim
Jaillet that allayed my fears and
I am now actively planning a trip
to the Panama Canal. Jim has
written a series of articles on
traveling in Central America and
has graciously allowed us to
reprint them here. I highly
recommend these articles to you
and hope that you are as inspired
as I have been.
Click Here For Articles
Also see his excellant article on:
Extras For Fulltiming
| New Article! Vandwelling Safety 6-1-2008 |
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| New Article How to Install Solar Panels 6-1-2008 |
Utah Photos:
Capital Reef. NP
Arches, NP
Zion, NP
Capital Reef. NP
Arches, NP
Zion, NP
Arizona Photos:
Monument Valley
Monument Valley