Van Life Wisdom 5 STEPS TO GETTING OUT ON THE ROAD!
Van Life Wisdom 5 STEPS TO GETTING OUT ON THE ROAD!
How to get started as a nomad! No matter where you are starting from these steps can help to improve your life even if you never get out on the road.
1) Stop buying anything and start saving
2) Save up for an Emergency Fund of $3000 minimum and hopefully $6000 in savings
Make your goal to have 1 year’s income in the bank!
3) Start selling everything you can.
4) Adopt an attitude of frugality. Shrink your life exspenses and belongings.
5) Open your life and heart to nature! Start spending more time in nature!
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I loved hearing your enthusiasm for the nomad life! I am moving into a studio, from a larger home, and it is feeling great to let things go. I am drawn to trying the nomad life, and itās helping me simplify my life. I ask myself- would I keep this for my future RV life? The answer in most cases is NO.
I so appreciate your sincere efforts at helping other humans who are searching for ways to live their best life- Iām one of them!
Ho bob. Your the best. Love you. Cody. Brian. All families. Also all the utubers. Im on low income. Cant afford a emergency fund. If the rent keeps going up. I we will be homeless. Rent causes good credit to go bad. Its like what can we do. Jobs in this town isnt any good. Dont know how to travel. Had to stay in town. Kinda a lifetime thing. How to get help here is a mess believe me. The education level isnt good for me. Im 75 yrs. Old. I got some credit. More bad than good. Due to the pandemic. It mess up everyones life. We cant hardly eat now. Thank you for all that you do for us all. May god bless. We have a subcompact car. 3 cyl. Engine. 4 dr.. Mits. Mirage. 2019. Carpayments. Yes. Health issues is high blood preasure. Gall stones needs out. The bladder needs out to keep from. Getting. Anymore stones. A bunion on each foot. I get a soc.sec. check only. Average tho. Eat beans rice. Mostly. Hardly meat. We all need meat. City living has to be in my case. Thank you.
Iām interested in backpacking/biking and maybe getting a bike camper and this was still very helpful even if I donāt have an RV or license. Thank you!!
0:37 I really really liked this video. I want to be a part time nomad but still have a home base. It makes sense to encourage us to get outside of four walls surrounding us and enjoy nature for that is our true home. It makes sense to encourage people to try out different scenarios to see if they even would like to be a nomad plus savings. So much wisdom as always. Thank you Bob
My van broke down
I dream of this ! Sometimes others are alllowed to interfere in your plans but one day some way soon I will get away from the every day life and people and have control of my own story ! And I think many have had lifeās tragic events! Some more than others but when your done your done you donāt wanna be around anything negative or drama related and worrying over $ itās not worth what days we do have on this earth š
Your channel came highly recommended to me.
Teach me please!
I want to learn!
Iām 66, widower, currently emptying my house so I can sell it. I own a Dodge Ram, but it has to be upgraded.
This was mine and my wifeās dream. To RV the US.
Great advice about "stop buying". What most of uss want we already have (materialistically). And many THiNGS will not give us what we really want. I am personally working on reducing my possessions currently. Not an easy task! But I want to hit the road!
Yes, Iām getting ready to get back on the road after a year in an apartment, during which I shouldāve been selling all my stuff but was just relaxing. Now itās all for sale and whatever I donāt sell weāll go to charity not storage.š
I think it’s great advice! Yes, saving money and seeing the world are fantastic, but do buy some miniature art to keep art in your life! Thanks! Happy travels!
"Go to the park, and you’ll make a ton of new friends." Absolutely true, that’s how I found one of my past employers one of my happiest past jobs š
I moved into a 1 bedroom apt, but made it a studio. The "bedroom" is storage. I also have a storage unit that I have been downsizing. I have been eliminating, going to start stuff selling online. I am going to just pull out the stuff I can use or sell from the unit and letting it go – gonna stop paying the rent – I been wasting so much $$$! They can auction the rest off. I am 67 and want to be a nomad. Gotta gather the money and get rid of the stuff holding me back.
I’ve become very minimalistic and just have to get busy with an emergency fund I don’t touch. I have to be out of where I am in three months or less and hope can sell the mini house on skids. I have planned to be a nomad for a few years now and this is the year. Thank you for the reminder to really cut expenses. I noticed a huge expense is always spending on others. I have to cut that out to reach my goal.
At 1 time I thought I would never see them in ga now their ecerywhere
Great message Bob to avoid dependency upon others ! Is the safety net bank roll obtainable for most poor class workers or low income folks ? All in the name of providing a sense of security notion that dictates what can be done or not be done leaves out many who have not much more than their dream .. they are aware how reality of lack beats them up … There’s so much education on living thrifty , minimalism life style , stretching each coin to it’s very end , adjusting continually to make the most out living ! Yes , Each individual is confronted with their own reality .. Saving , & tightening the purse strings is a must due to all the unexpected expenses that comes to stake it’s claim against what has been saved .. satisfying the demands is a challenge .. Taming the emotional peer pressure that comes from traveling with the pack who is in a much better financial standing having the means to spend without concern … To each their own .. independence , breaking free from the peer pressures & not beholding to reality of living up to those who can afford more traveling with a pack . Living within our own means is often a humbling experience ..
Great video ā¤ļøš„°
This video is somewhat aimed at a more older generation, but as a 20 year old, this makes me realize that I’m in the best place to nomad right now, I don’t own much besides my car and my computer and such, and I’m not attached to a house or have a family relying on me. The big thing for me is that I don’t know how I’d generate the money I would need to survive with on the road
Your advice is great. I want to start in the winters.
Your right on all of this video. I’m close to early retirement, my house will buy a RV and put money in savings. then I will have SS and a small pension. I have been reducing and getting rid of stuff. But what I have been buying I use now but with RV life in mind. i buy chargeable things. my drill went out I bought a chargeable one. I bought a chargeable weather radio this time. I’m saving for a Berkey. I have slowly been making a bug out bag for me and my dogs. etc etc. You also right about getting out and exploring where I live. I have been in Iowa my whole life and and friend and I have been doing day trips and a over nighter to places in Iowa. I didn’t know we had water falls! HA! It makes me want to go to every town in the states I will travel Love walking town squares and water falls and flower gardens.
I think this is your "calling" Bob. You are so good at what you do! I’m not a nomad and don’t know if I ever will be. Just an off and on rv traveler to get out of the heat of AZ in the summer. I enjoy watching your videos whether they apply to me or not.
I sold my car and aging mobile in a park. Looking for my rig. Will have the 6 months fund. Plus my land fund in case I don’t want to live in a van. I am downsizing hard and fast. Started in 2014. It was a lot of stuff. I don’t want to leave a mess behind for my kids. Not that I am that old. But we never know. Thanks.
LOVE MY TRUCK CAMPER, love traveling, money is not an issue, but I would reccomend trying it for 3or 4 months before you sell your house. It can get old fast. What do you if you wreck your truck or have a major mechanical malfunction. No fun being homeless.
Thank you Gor this! I need this change!
Am doing just that. BUT with a E-Bike & a bike camper
I never managed to save more than 3 months expenses. If I had waited for that I wouldn’t have ever gotten on the road.
Bob, thanks! We are doing our preparations now. Have given away our homes/property to our kids. Putting everything in the bank. Now we are in Arizona and looking at land. In a small rental near work and prepping our rv for the final push. Explored Grand Canyon, Williams and Flagstaff this weekend. Thanks see you at RTR this coming January. CAN’T WAIT!
I can not fully express my huge relief at learning how to live in a vehicle if I need to. I am not sure at this time of my life if I would want to go full-time, however, with all this newfound knowledge I could without fear if it turned into a "have-to". I am 65 years old and semi-retired living in a very high-rent state. Bob, almost every day I dream of busting lose and getting on the road. One person told me if I keep thinking about it, it maybe it’s a calling. All I know is the southwestern desert is calling me. I have lived in the desert and know the highs and lows. I crave those wide-open skies. In any event, you turned my shame and fear of becoming "homeless" into pride and achievement in finding a way to live fully and at peace. And that is a God send for my worried mind.
I loved this, the concept and philosophy of shrinking the artificial parts of our lives and expanding the natural aspects. Very helpful, thank you.
Facebook Marketplace is a great place to sell stuff
Excellent presentation!
Great advice.
I wish I could talk my husband into this lifestyleš
I’ve done RV, van life off and on throughout the last 5 years . I ended up buying alot property here in Paradise Ca. It’s my base home. Will be landscaping and putting a storage I have a vintage trailer I will be restoring the inside to make it comfy. I will be out there after my knee surgery. I’m renting an apartment in Chico Ca. For the moment.
Love your videos
Bobā¦ THANKS for good solid advice. Iām betting yours is a very practical astrological signā¦ and also you love nature and the stars. Weāll keep on dreaming because weāre soul-directed. See you on the road, bro! (And sure hope youāre feeling better after the RTR.)
In 2016 my kids graduated and left and l sold everything l owned and spent 6 months sleeping in my Jeep Wrangler and tent camping. Then l bought a small trailer and lived in that for 3 years while doing seasonal work.
It was interesting and fun at times but l got paid very little, couldnāt save and found that working 40 hours a week was still working. I still didnāt have the freedom l craved.
After COVID laid me off 2 jobs l traveled and loved it but had to go back to work. Then gas shot up to $5/gal.
In 2021 l got a good job with benefits with reduced rent and donāt have any commute. I save a ton on gas. I sold the trailer l lived in and bought a small teardrop that was much easier to tow and take places.
Iām working for the next 2.5 years and putting $500/mo in the bank and hopefully will have $20-25,000. I downgraded my bigger trailer for a teardrop that l take on weekend camping trips. I also have NO loans or credit card debt, only my day to day living expenses which will be minimal once l retire.
When l turn 62 l plan to collect SS, work part time on and off and finally be free to travel and explore. Hopefully gas prices go down. The key is to make a plan and stick with it.
Great advice Bob!!! Working on downsizing. Hope to meet you someday.š
I long for this life someday.
Thank you!
Hello Bob ~ Appreciated the suggestions in your video. Though Iāve been a city dweller for quite some time – I grew up on a dairy farm many years ago so enjoyed the freedoms that went with a rural life. I have been fascinated by RVs and campers for a long time as well as with the nomadic folks of Mongolia and their gers and yurts plus their moving around the awesome steppes that I guess would be similar to our prairies both in the USA and here in Canada.
Also have been moved to a lesser degree by the nomads of the Sahara and so and how they could close camp – fold up their belongings and either by camel or horse or both – move elsewhere. Sometimes I think we have become too ācivilizedā in our part of the world. We put a lot of emphasis on material belongings and donāt have the freedoms and joys of the true nomads. Enjoyed your good advice about money (or as my late dad would say – saving for a rainy day) as well as disposing of those many things we are too attached to.
Thanks for this video. I first heard about you just today on another UTube channel of George Mauro – Humble Road – about customized campers. Cheers!
I think your advice is spot on
Yes I can thanks
Thank U*
Advice much appreciated
& heededšš½
Excellent advice!
Any interviews with full-time office workers living in a city?
I’ve been that person to have lived in my state all my life and never really explored it. Come to find out, there’s a lot of gems here! lol
Great advice Bob. I am retired and planning on heading out next year.
This assumes someone has much to begin with. Save a year salary? Are you joking? Living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t give a single penny to save. Save up an emergency fund? I just evacuated from Ian, and spent the tiny bit of extra money I had. AND I had to borrow to do it. I owe a huge mortgage and all daily bills to survive. I live on a fixed income and can’t physically work. So how am I to make extra money? Don’t have cable. Don’t have extra anything. People always make becoming a nomad so easy. It isn’t. What if they can’t physically live in a small car? These are questions a lot of people who would kill to live a life of freedom in a van or RV, think everytime they watch vids like this and others. They need solid answers. Not a lot of retoric about how easy it is. Are those classes free?
Several years back I started minimizing and almost 4 years ago I bought a small school bus that Iāve turned into my rv/home. I retired 10 months ago at 63 1/2 a little early but I got frustrated and feel really good Iām free just not getting that much. The house Iāve lived in for 30 years I rent from my best friend and for the price itās not worth moving. Heās threatened to sell it for 15 years so maybe he will and Iām pretty much ready if he does. Right now Iām doing some traveling and lots of camping trying to be ready when itās time. Iām glad I saw this video as it seems Iāve done most of it pretty good. Iād like a little more money in the bank but Iāve got some anyway.
How much cash would you suggest to have to get on the road permanently, I plan to work akong the way but how much would you start with, truck and camper are already paid for.