Planning for the RV Life

This is it folks. I’m uber focused on one of my more outrageous Fire goals. In two years-time, I’m going to quit my job and travel the country in an RV, working the Renaissance Fair circuit. It’s a lofty goal for sure, but if I start planning for the RV life today, it’s achievable in this two-year time frame.  And, to prove it can be done (and in the Spirit of Financial Independence, which is my favorite theme of this blog), I’m going to document the journey starting now, with the planning phase!

Planning for the RV Life

RV Life Goals

My RV life goal is a tad bit different than what you usually see. Many people who are pursuing this lifestyle are traveling to the national parks, work camping, and boon-docking. While I do love those ideas (and they will be a part of it!) my major goal is to travel with fairs and festivals. I want to set up a store at Renaissance Fairs, read tarot cards, and sell awesome unique witch-crafty type stuff (all hand crafted, of course). And then, during the off season, I want to hang out at Venice Beach and try to sell some of my amazing artwork. Its time to do the stuff that Passion Fire is made of!

I do have tons of other fire goals, but I decided to start planning for the RV life first because it’s the most practical with all my animals. I definitely can’t take four cats and two dogs with me to study Tai Chi in China, or to teach English in Cambodia! But I can shove them all in an RV with me and travel the US. I’d rather stop waiting and start living, so if that means making some sacrifices (like living in an RV with a menagerie), so be it.

2 Year Time Frame

Two years is a long time, and there are pros and cons to such an extended timeline. The biggest pro is that it gives us tons of time for saving, preparing, and planning for the RV life. Unfortunately, that time can work against us as well. Who knows what the future will hold? And how can you fully plan for something that is so far away? Why not just start now?

To be honest, I’d love to just say screw it and go. Every Monday, I dream of not showing up to work and pursuing these goals instead. However, practicality usually wins out. First and foremost, I need the two years to get to my version of Coast Fire. I don’t want to be destitute when I’m elderly. The best laid plans often go awry, as they say, and I want to make sure I’m prepared for any possibility.  

That being said, I think having a long time frame is the best decision, even without the coast fire goals. Living the RV life isn’t something you can just jump into (well, maybe some people can, but have you met me? I’m Ms. Practical!). We have a lot of work to do these next two years to plan everything correctly and ensure that our RV adventure life is a success!

Using These Two Years

Saving Money

The most important thing we have to do is make and save money. As an avid planner, I just can’t fathom the idea of jumping into something without a safety net. I’ve estimated that we need a little over sixty thousand dollars for our first year on the road. The majority of that is the cost of the RV itself, though that’s a rough estimate because we haven’t decided whether to do a truck/trailer, or a motor home. We can decrease that by getting financing, but I would rather buy something used for cash than get into more debt. The rest of the money is the cost of getting into the fairs, buying materials to handcraft our items, and basic living expenses.

I’m estimating that we can save approximately $2000 per month towards this goal with our current incomes. That will give us about $48000 at the two-year mark, which is $12000 short of the goal. But that’s ok, because even if we don’t make money through other methods, I can pull from other non-retirement investments to make up that difference. And, hopefully, we will recoup some of that initial investment during our first fair!

Making Money

But ideally, we will make more money during these next few years with our side projects or other investment. I’ve had this blog for about 1.5 years, and although I haven’t made any real income from it yet, my hopes are still high. I’m learning and improving every day, and I am confident that my hard work and determination will pay off.

However, I’m obviously not putting all my eggs in my blogging basket. I’m researching direct affiliate marketing on Pinterest, trying to build my Instagram account for potential sponsorship opportunities and continuing to work on my Print on Demand stores. I’m also still interested in flipping awesome garage sale finds and writing an E-Book. There are tons of opportunities to make a little extra cash on the side.

After I take the plunge and quit my job, I’m hoping to make some money selling stuff at the fairs and at Venice Beach. But I’m not against picking up a side gig, work camping, freelancing, or doing whatever I need to do to support myself when I’m on the road. We can call it roadside barista fire!

Getting Stuff Done

There are tons of things that need to be done and decided prior to taking the leap, outside of the money. I have to decide whether to sell or rent the house I’m currently living in. If I sell, I’ll have a nice chunk of change that will help fund our RV adventures. However, with that plan, when the money is gone, it’s gone. If I keep it, I’ll have a bit of rental income coming in each month that will help fund the adventure. Unfortunately, if I go that route I’ll also have the stress of being a landlord and may have to deal with repair issues as they come up. Decisions decisions.

Either way, the house needs tons of work. We’re going to use these two years to update the wallpaper, kitchen, floors, and bathrooms. Getting this stuff all fixed up will ensure that we will get top dollar whichever way we decide to go. It will also make living in it better for the few years that we will be here. And fixing a house might be tons of fun! DIY on Fire!

Refining Our Crafts

Planning for the RV and Ren Fair life wouldn’t be complete without planning on what we are going to do at the Renaissance Fair. We have a general idea…reading tarot cards (and I’m looking into Cartomancy!), selling hand crafted items, and all the other stuff I listed above. But, before we do that, we have to make the items, and I have to learn how to read the cards. I study a bit every night, and I think I’ll be able to start doing practice readings in six months. By the time the two-year mark rolls around, I’ll be a pro!

The wares are a different story. First, we have to decide what exactly we are going to sell. That means we get to do market research at the Renaissance Fair! Going to the fair is now a business expense rather than a waste of money – like the way I spun that? We have tons of ideas, but we have to see what sells and we have to take the time to actually craft the items. Two years gives us enough time to do all of those things.

 

What Did We Miss?

I know there is so much more that goes into planning for the RV life that I haven’t even considered yet. Help me out! Share this post with your RV life friends, and have them tell me what I’m missing! I have plenty of time to plan, research, and readjust. This is just the beginning, but the adventure is going to be epic!

Hey folks! Transparency Disclosure- Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. That means I’ll receive a small commission if you decide to click on it and buy something. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you anything extra!