Hello all!! Excited to finally be on the forums.

[Amy'sjourney]

Hello everyone my name is Amy and I am not currently living in a vehicle but I am about to have to be. I am looking for something myself and my 17 year old son and my 15 year old daughter and our animals can fit into. We are currently living with family but, we really need our own space. REALLY BAD!! That is what made me decide to go ahead and make that jump. I have started blogging about my journey (yesterday actually), and started a YouTube channel as well. I have been watching the cheap rv living youtube channel forever now, I never actually knew there was a forum and all that went with it until it was mentioned on one of the videos I was watching this morning. I live In Harlan, Kentucky right now and I guess as soon as I can find something I can turn into our dream home we will hit the road. If anyone has any advice on where to find something that is affordable, like super affordable, or a place that will let me make payments like a buy here pay here type of thing where credit isn't such a be all end all I would appreciate any help I can get. I have raised 7 kids by myself and it has taken a toll on my credit that is one of the main reasons I want to do this so I can afford to pay off my debt, and to find a happy way of life, a life for myself now that my kids aren't my entire life. Any help is greatly appreciated and I am so excited to meet everyone!!

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Amy to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you. highdesertranger

 

[Amy'sjourney]

Thank you very much, that is actually the first thing that popped up when I joined so I read it already. I appreciate the help though very much. Glad to meet you.

 

[travelaround]

Amy, if you owe a lot to credit card companies and can't pay rent or buy food for your family it is time to declare bankruptcy, in my opinion. Then make a vow never to use credit cards again. They add on so much interest your payments pay very little toward reducing the debt.

These companies target low income people who can't afford the nice things in life unless they use credit cards. It is a criminal enterprise, the way I see it. You spend all your income on making payments on debt and then to eat, you have to use the credit cards so you go further into debt. I've been there and done that. It is a form of slavery.

While I was trying to pay off my debt I did some online transcription and came across a few interviews with people who were struggling with deep debt. It was heartbreaking to hear how they were unable to find good employment and unable to make payments.

By the time I got to the end of my credit nightmare I found out most of what I owed was interest; the principal of what I borrowed had been paid off long before. I wish I had declared bankruptcy instead of paying it off. That's how I feel about credit card companies.

The important thing is to quit wanting things you can't afford. There's got to be a better solution. My daughter bought an old RV for 300 dollars and they lived in it for a few years. Now she's living in a school bus they bought for 3000 with her tax return money. They found it on Facebook Marketplace. Another source is school bus auctions. For example:
https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/browse/cataucs?catid=402

 

[Amy'sjourney]

No credit card debt, just older school loans and the IRS has recently decided to audit me and take back 2 years I worked, it turns out that the kid's father had been claiming them on taxes even though I have always had them. The IRS decided to audit because they had given me the earned income tax credit and a child tax credit for my kids, they ended up taking 3 years in total before they were done, now I owe them almost 10k. I can never afford to pay that off so I think this is the only way I am going to be able to do it. Living here with my grandmother I end up spending about 80% of my check on bills, electricity is the worst by far. I think investing in solar is the only way I am ever going to be able to save a penny. I just want to get myself afloat in the water again. I may decde dowqn the road I don't want to be on the road all the time and go back to a house and a property and I will always have a small house in the back yard here that is mine if i want it. I just don't think I want it, lol. I long for the road, I lived in my car once before for over a year and it was the best year of my life to be honest, just want to find myself and get a jump on paying back my debt. I honestly don't see any other way to accomplish it and be able to afford to live. As it is now on my monthly income I don't have any savings, that I want to change but, I cannot afford to put anything up because kids have to have a roof over there heads and lights or they tend to take them away. I don't really have enough income to live anywhere and pay rent either, not if I want to eat so I have been pondering the camper idea for about 3 years now. It may be a disaster and like i said I may come home with my tail between my legs but, i have to try!!

 

[Amy'sjourney]

Sorry just realized it says 2 years and then 3 years, they took 2 years back, i hit the wrong key sorry.

 

[WanderingRose]

I’m sorry for your situation, Amy. I was a single parent, too, and we had some really desperate years.

Not to be a wet blanket, but think very carefully about trying to live in a vehicle with two teenagers and your animals.

That sounds really unworkable, to me. Assuming they are still in school, that needs to be supported with a stable and physically adequate home environment. Have you thought about all of that?

If you have family support, consider hunkering down there and continuing to work to stabilize yourself financially. It isn’t ideal, I am sure, but I’ve done that, too.

Your kids are going to be on their own in a few years, when your responsibilities will be less and your freedoms more.

Look at your options carefully, and good luck to you.

 

[Amy'sjourney]

My son is already home schooling now, my daughter hasn't wanted to yet, I am hoping she will change her mind. I planned this out for years as i mentioned above, the original time frame wouldn't have been until she was 18 (she is almost 16) but, life had other plans. I have made a detailed budget already and if it works correctly ( I may have to tweak some things along the way) I should be able to pay back my IRS debt as well as almost everything bad on my credit in 1 year. Then all i will have left is my school loans, that will be quite manageable once everything else is paid. It will also significantly raise my credit score and enable me to buy a piece of land, which is what I want to do in the end. I also may stay in the vehicle awhile and build a tiny home or even purchase a trailer to put on the land, that part I haven't decided yet. I am not going to travel around alot when I do the vehicle living, the plan is to go to a camp site that i can pay for monthly because the price is still significantly smaller than what I can pay for rent. They will have a home life that is suitable for school just a smaller home. I really have no other options at this point. My time here where I live is limited and I have to move somewhere, I just want to do this because on what my income is 1. it is very affordable for me, 2. I basically live in one room now and the kids also, 3. we want to move locations to where there's work and i cannot afford to pick up and move us unless we move in our house. Hopefully we can travel some of course but we don't plan to just travel, I would have to spend too much that way in gas and repairs on my vehicle. Another words it would defeat the purpose of trying to budget and live minimally for a year. I by no means want this to be forever before the kids are grown but, like I said I have really very limited options at this point. You do what you gotta do sometimes when it is best. I think this will work out ok, it won't be easy by any means but, life seldom is, at least mine never has been.

 

[WanderingRose]

I wish you all the best, Amy.

 

[Amy'sjourney]

Thank you very much. I hope it all works out as I have planned, I am sure it will be super hard but, I am determined to get it done. One way or another I have to, no choices left, lol.

 

[badmotorscooter]

I'm not sure if it would be worth the expense, but you could get a lawyer to contest the IRS judgement.  Remember, they are not a government agency like we are lead to believe, just a private corporation.

They have been beaten in court.  If the children's father was claiming them on income taxes while they lived with you, then he is guilty and should be the one to make up the double dipping amount.

 

[travelaround]

I was thinking the same thing - talk to an attorney about that. I was told by a bankruptcy attorney that they can sometimes get IRS debt discharged that way. But it does seem like they charged the wrong person if you had custody.

Really sad about your predicament. I hope it all works as you've planned. Look into auctions for trailers. I can't remember where I saw them but I did see some travel trailers being sold cheap at an auction site.

 

[Amy'sjourney]

I'm not sure if it would be worth the expense, but you could get a lawyer to contest the IRS judgement.  Remember, they are not a government agency like we are lead to believe, just a private corporation.

They have been beaten in court.  If the children's father was claiming them on income taxes while they lived with you, then he is guilty and should be the one to make up the double dipping amount.

I actually have been, thank you so much. I have an appointment with an attorney this week to see exactly what I can do. I think if bankruptcy is an option I may go that way to be honest.

 

[Amy'sjourney]

I was thinking the same thing - talk to an attorney about that. I was told by a bankruptcy attorney that they can sometimes get IRS debt discharged that way. But it does seem like they charged the wrong person if you had custody.

Really sad about your predicament. I hope it all works as you've planned. Look into auctions for trailers. I can't remember where I saw them but I did see some travel trailers being sold cheap at an auction site.

I have an appointment with one next week actually. I will look into auctions and see what I can find. I am hoping that I will find somewhere that either does buy here pay here or will let me pay it off and then just hold it until i get it paid for maybe where my credit is not great. If not I may just buy this one I have found for 1200 that is pretty much no good on the inside but the roof doesn't leak and the floors are solid it just wasn't taken care of. I am sure it would be better to design it how you want anyhow. At least for me. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[txmnjim]

good luck to you and welcome to the forums!
jim

 

[RoamerRV428]

WELCOME and hope it all works in your favor
when all choices are gone you just hunker down and go for it best ya can!