On to the topic at hand….Did you know, that we can live in a national forest for free? In the beginning when I first started reading on the tiny movement, that fact definitely caught my eye. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to live so far out and isolated, but free?! Yes, the national forest is considered to be owned by all of us… citizens. There are apps, methods and ways of figuring out how to locate specific spots for boon-docking. I talk about this here because knowing that had me thinking about money in a new way.
Typical expenses like (in California) our way over priced house payments, plus paying for Gardners, cleaning ladies, pool guys, exterminators, painters, Air Conditioner and Furnace Specialists, Roofers, and the list goes on…. All adds up. Sure one could do a lot of do it yourself… but who has time for that when working full time?
People kept trying to understand how the expenses work and saying things like, can you really live for less? Isn’t your diesel truck gas going to cost you a ton?! Yes, you can live a great life on very little and yes, gas can add up, but now I simply pay one payment that covers a parking space, electric, water, and cable as well as fantastic security guards who welcome me home everytime I drive in and amazing service from all of the park employees. They are like family. And I don’t have all of those huge house maintenance or repair costs. I will have RV repair. Costs, but that’s not as bad. There will be other expenses like vehicle registration for my RV and my truck that may determine what state I call home down the road. And I drive a lot slower with eight thousand pounds behind me, so gas is not as bad as it would seem… and diesel is way worth it. But overall, I live on a lot less. Seriously, it would be insane to hire a cleaning lady when it takes me ten minutes to fully clean the inside of my home. But…. If I wanted to they have those services for RV folk too.
I live in a pretty fancy RV park. We have our own breathtakingly beautiful lake, miles of wilderness hiking yet 30 minutes out of downtown LA, a couple of swimming pools and more. Thus the higher end rent. This next year I’ll be on the road and living in an RV park as a full timer for five months of the year to escape the cold. I will live right on riverfront property. My “rent” will cut in half. My goal will be to own my own land to full-time on, taking trips at will. Eventually, I’d like to provide parking on my land and possibly invite an artists’ community of nomad glampers. 🙂 My adventures begins.
How did it begin? It began with a bad ass real estate agent whose efforts to sell my house were like a finely orchestrated, well choreographed dance. Her name is Valerie Hoffman, and she now sells houses in Texas. You know your service is good when you become friends with the people you do business with. In a nutshell, she quickly got me good money for my home. She was creative with her methods and it paid off. I was so impressed I contemplated changing career directions for a flash and learning from her, but in the end I stuck with early retirement and the money making ventures I’m currently doing. So the house sold, I made enough money to be ready to buy my trailer and truck, a shift from a tiny home and land…. and I began downsizing.
By the way… as I type this I’m listening to two guys at the bar downing drinks dreaming about the day they near retirement how they want to live their life and it’s making me chuckle because they are describing what I do. I am grateful for my life.
Tiny Adventures of Elisa MG 