The Possibility of a Full-Time RV Life

No one ever told me that living and working from an RV was possible. Like most of us, I saw my potential life through a narrow lense: grow up, get a job, get a mortgage and a spouse, save for retirement, retire, then die.

If my parents had been firefighters, or scientists or rock stars, maybe I would have been one of those things. But my parents worked in the corporate world, and then so did I. Like most of us, I wasn’t exposed to a Nomadic Life, so I didn’t know it was possible. “What One Man Can Do, Another Can Do,” right? Well if you don’t see anyone being a Nomad, you don’t know that maybe you can do that too.

So, I followed the path laid out before me. But, while I graduated from college, got my first jobs, started businesses and rose up the corporate ladder, there was a strange B-reel playing in the back of my head telling me that none of this was right.

• I got in my car and drove to work, then I got in my car and drove home
• Money dribbled into my account and money dribbled out
• My stress level rose and my freedom plummeted
• The clock ticked, the wrinkles deepened, and my unhappiness grew
• Stress toppled around in mind like an unbalanced washing machine, with random bubbles rising to the surface only to whimper a final “someday” and “what if?” before they popped.

I didn’t know how to break out of this crazy cycle until I found My RV Life.

Now, the RV Life is not for everybody, let me tell you that right up-front. It can be a solitary, self-dependent life, but it can also be an amazing, beautiful adventure opening up worlds and dropping old anxieties right into the waste bucket.

If you’re new to the idea of living a Nomadic, RV Life, I would guess you have two questions:

1) How
2) and, Why?

The How is easy once you figure out the Why so let’s talk about that. When I began to actually believe my Nomadic Life was possible, of course, the terrified voice of reason began ranting. “Nope, Nope, Nope,” was basically what it said. “If you don’t work a corporate job, you’ll never have money to retire, you’ll never build up the equity in a house, you’ll never find a partner, you’ll be a homeless bum and everyone will judge you and you’ll die alone and penniless…”

I’m here to tell you those fears don’t have to be your reality. If you want it you CAN see the world, still work, still have money to retire, find love and anything else you want.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: What about money?

Yes, I suppose, if you do work a career job for forty years and contribute to a 401k with a match from your employer and buy a house that you pay off over the years, in your retirement you will be more comfortable than if you hadn’t done those things. However, we all know people that did all of these things and died soon after they retired and worked all those years for a future they never got to see.

And even if we do work that job, for most of us, I think this is what happens:

You work 40 hours a week (well, more if you include all the time you take preparing for that job, driving to and from that job and stressing about that job. But I digress). So, you make about $X and hour, let’s say, and you do this for forty years. Account for inflation, Take out taxes, the expense of keeping-up-with-the joneses, paying off credit cards over and over again, and you end up with a certain amount.

Now, write that amount on a big piece of paper, then do this: underneath it subtract “Your Happiness.”
$$$ – Your Happiness = WHAT
The WHAT is for you to decide. Is it worth it? It might be. Maybe that number is worth a little unhappiness, maybe it isn’t. Or, maybe you’re not unhappy in your job at all. But if not…keep reading.

Let’s use me as an example. When I discovered this life, I had a very nice, six figure job. I bought a house, I contributed to my 401k, my career prospects were golden – but I was miserable.
When I looked at how much money I was actually MAKING, the answer was very little. I made a great income, but I also paid a hefty mortgage, paid to have my hair and nails done, paid for the corporate wardrobe, eating swanky meals out and for many Happy Hours – you can’t survive corporate America without Happy Hour.

So, at the end of the day, the actual tangible dollars I was accruing was pretty small. If I subtracted my happiness from that number, well, it was a no-brainer; it just wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t actually pocketing enough money to make up for my misery.

 

Now, let’s look at what changed when I began my RV Life:

• I paid off my debt and bought my RV in full (getting only what I could afford)
• I created a budget that let me live on $1200 a month
• I took the skillset I had built up over my adult life and translated that into a job I could do from the road (AKA a Digital Nomad)
• I cut out all the silly expense I had (like hair, nails and clothes) and instead, focused on what made me truly happy. It turns out, shocker, I didn’t need all of those things.

And what about retirement?

I am still a big believer in having retirement savings and the right insurance. One non-negotiable for me was that I had to contribute the max $5k a year into my IRA after I hit the road. That was the deal I made with myself and I stick to it. I also still have all the insurance I need including *health and life insurance.

*A quick note here on health insurance. I don’t include my health insurance premium in my monthy $1,200 budget because all of us have different options here, and I want my budget to be a basic example for all. The fear of going without health insurance is a huge-deal for most of us, and I understand that dropping the coverage available through our employers is terrifying. I strive here not to get involved in politics, so I’ll just say this: DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. As of the publication of this blog post, every state in the U.S. has a health insurance exchange under the ACA and they are all required to provide coverage in a variety of ways. When I chose my RV life I was pleasantly surprised to find very affordable coverage this way; my income was lower, so the cost of my health insurance is also lower and I can afford it.

So, not such a huge scary deal after all, right? I still work, I still contribute to my retirement, I have health insurance and pay taxes, but instead of being stuck in my car or in a cubical I am free.
I Imagine you might now be wondering about that other part – the HOW to live an RV Life part. I am going to cover that extensively in upcoming blog and YouTube posts, so if you haven’t already, please subscribe.

Be Happy. Create More. Set Yourself Free .

Robin

CreativityRV

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