“Once you need less, you will have more.”

**We are not RV experts by any means and can only speak from personal preference and experience.

February 2015
Thanks to coaching, I fired my boss to work for myself. Moved from Redding, CA to rent a room at a friends house in the bay area for a month, with my husband, as we found our own place. (see how I fired my boss–> HERE)

Initially we had discussed renting a home in order to live together but the rent exceeded $2,000 a month. We just couldn’t justify paying someone else’s mortgage. Especially since I didn’t intend on going back to work for some boss! On top of that, we ran into the pet problem. All the decent housing would not allow our pets or they charged an arm and leg deposit to have them.

For a minute we thought our only options were — we either get rid of our pets or we give up looking?!

Husband started throwing around the idea of buying an RV. When we decided to start looking for one that we could live in, we were SO excited. We told all of our friends and family, we had FINALLY found the solution to our problem!! The response we got surprised us.
“You’re going to hate it”
“Its too small of a space”
“You’re going to fight all of the time”
“You’re going to be stuck in it for 7 years” <– that one was funny, where did that time frame even come from?! AND GOOD, maybe thats what we want to do!

I believe it is at the utmost importance that YOU do what YOU want to do in life. After all, you are the only one that has to live with it. The less fucks you give, the happier you will be. Nam sayin’?

Realizing that others were projecting their fears onto us, we pushed forward and continued to shop around. Unless we were willing to be in the same position as we were before, broke, but together this time and keep both of our pets – the RV life seemed to be the only option.

March 2015
Once we became determined to chase this crazy idea, my husband did a lot of searching online – finding what would suit our lifestyle best. He checked craigslist often for new listings, looking locally and in different states. We came across one located in Sacramento, Ca. It was previously owned by an elderly gentleman and was in pristine condition, within our budget as well.

It didn’t take long for the universe to send us exactly what we were looking for. A little less than a month after deciding to go the RV route, we purchased our first home.
A 40’ Holiday Rambler Next Level fifth wheel toy hauler.

We paid $20,000 (financed through our credit union) and our monthly payment is about $400. Definitely better than $2,000+ for rent in someone else’s home!

Prior to the purchase we had a few requirements:

• a decent sized shower
  (didn’t want to feel like we were in a closet bumping our elbows on the wall)
• no gold interior hardware
• no metal exterior
• at least 2 slides (for max interior space)
• a garage separated from the living quarter
  (because toys stink and husband needed a man cave to tinker with shit)
• a toy hauler as we have dirt bikes
• able to fully walk around the bed on both sides
• no signs of water seeping in through the seams

April 2015-April 2016
Our first full year in the RV. We realized that we had a ton of STUFF. This RV was packed from floor to ceiling with material items. Not only was all of the storage overflowing, we had an additional storage trailer at my parents house in Redding, Ca full to the brim. I started selling and donating things I no longer had space for. I called it “downsizing” until I realized I was minimizing and shifting toward a minimalistic lifestyle. A story for another time.

The longer I spent in the RV the more I loved it but it didn’t feel like a “home” to me. The color scheme was off, the furniture was uncomfortable and it all felt too temporary for my liking. After some serious convincing of my husband, we began our remodel. I wanted to change EVERYTHING! And so we did…

April 2016-August 2016
After our first year of RV living, it became clear that I didn’t NEED or even WANT a house. The thought of being tied down and stuck in one place no longer sounded appealing. I was always saying how much I loved our little home. My husband was shocked at first. Now we both feel the same, we thoroughly enjoy having less. By having less, we are able to do more. I actually feel anxiety for people who have houses filled with stuff. Our bills have decreased, our connection to each other increased.

We never realized that we would fall in love with this lifestyle. We can’t wait to hit the road full-time!!
–>Read next RV BLOG: “The Cost Of Full-Time RV Living”

“Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.”