tericalvery64
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i live on a low income of 733 a month is it possible t live in a van on that?
Its just me..and i am vegan so dont need meat..
Its just me..and i am vegan so dont need meat..
low income
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dragonflyinthesky
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Try $636 a month. I have 2 dogs. I have emergency funds. I eat well and live in an 18 foot TT. I owe nothing except ins, phone, the usual. I keep triple A RV plus, and have used it.
ArtW
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I would imagine it'd be easier than living in an apartment of that income, although there is always Low Income housing where the rent is based on your income
not being a meat eater could make that easier or harder, depending on your tolerance for, say, a lot of rice and beans, but I'm not vegan, so I'll have to leave advice in that vein for 'dwellers who are
Back when I was living below poverty level I literally lived on rice and beans for months at a time
I wonder if I could do that today, being mildly diabetic?
the main thing will be your movement and whether or not you can boondock for little or no cost
Dragonfly Posted while I was typing
there's your answer
not being a meat eater could make that easier or harder, depending on your tolerance for, say, a lot of rice and beans, but I'm not vegan, so I'll have to leave advice in that vein for 'dwellers who are
Back when I was living below poverty level I literally lived on rice and beans for months at a time
I wonder if I could do that today, being mildly diabetic?
the main thing will be your movement and whether or not you can boondock for little or no cost
Dragonfly Posted while I was typing
there's your answer
ghost
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If you already have a van paid off, that's in good shape, I would say sure that's possible!
eDJ_
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I would say much of it would depend on where you are trying to live in a Van or older RV.
One of the things I've tried to do where I've lived in the past is try to find a place on the east side of town (so I don't have to drive to and from work with the sun in my eyes) within walking distance of a larger Grocery Store/shopping center, 24/7 Convenience Store with gas pumps, Laundry, a fast food or two. Then to see if I could be within a few minutes commute to work.
I've done this a couple of times in different areas when it was possible. I found an old bicycle with a basket to use for my "grocery getter", and paid $25 dollars for it. It was like new, just needed the dust cleaned off it. I got paid every 2 weeks back then, and I figured I broke even on the investment in one pay cycle, as I saved that much in gas with local errand running.
Then learn to shop the yard sales, flea markets, and Resale Stores like Goodwill etc.
Keep in mind your vehicle is your home and the care and maintenance you give it is the same it will give to you in return. (at least most of the time)
10 Cheapest Places in the USA to live.
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/10-cheapest-places-to-live-in-the-us/
One of the things I've tried to do where I've lived in the past is try to find a place on the east side of town (so I don't have to drive to and from work with the sun in my eyes) within walking distance of a larger Grocery Store/shopping center, 24/7 Convenience Store with gas pumps, Laundry, a fast food or two. Then to see if I could be within a few minutes commute to work.
I've done this a couple of times in different areas when it was possible. I found an old bicycle with a basket to use for my "grocery getter", and paid $25 dollars for it. It was like new, just needed the dust cleaned off it. I got paid every 2 weeks back then, and I figured I broke even on the investment in one pay cycle, as I saved that much in gas with local errand running.
Then learn to shop the yard sales, flea markets, and Resale Stores like Goodwill etc.
Keep in mind your vehicle is your home and the care and maintenance you give it is the same it will give to you in return. (at least most of the time)
10 Cheapest Places in the USA to live.
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/10-cheapest-places-to-live-in-the-us/
ArtW
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And Statism rears it's ugly head
GotSmart
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ArtW said:And Statism rears it's ugly head
I have spent the last 20 years traveling in, and meeting with the men of influence in those states. There is a reason they are the cheapest places to live. (Can you say, "HUMIDITY?")
Nice people, nasty survival conditions.
To say any more than that would break the rules of this forum.
ArtW
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It was a joke
I know all about humidity, I live in Texas and have most of my life
Fulltiming in a van here would pretty much require AC
that which cannot be said on open forums, can be said via PM, if it's stuff you think might be interesting to a fellow living there
I know all about humidity, I live in Texas and have most of my life
Fulltiming in a van here would pretty much require AC
that which cannot be said on open forums, can be said via PM, if it's stuff you think might be interesting to a fellow living there
ArtW
Well-known member
Having been ti Arizona, I can relate to that, so long as this redhead has proper full coverage clothing
Heck,a few summers back, we had 113 and high humidity Gah!
Heck,a few summers back, we had 113 and high humidity Gah!
WanderLoveJosh
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Yes you could def do it, especially being vegan. Being vegan will only change your factor depending on how you choose to eat, the same as people who eat meat. You can be an expensive vegan, or you can easily eat on a budget.
My wife and I have a budget of $750 a month. We have been vegan for about 5 months, and our food budget hasn't changed much at all, except we save money since we aren't eating out all the time.
My wife and I have a budget of $750 a month. We have been vegan for about 5 months, and our food budget hasn't changed much at all, except we save money since we aren't eating out all the time.
roadtripous
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I live on the same amount. Plus $194 a month in " food stamps ". Fuel to move around is going to be your next biggest expense.
Having a bike to travel around with ( for shopping, getting out ) greatly decreases the amount of funds needed to live a nomadic lifestyle.
Most times, I only move around every 10 - 14 days, camping. Making it possible to live in comfort and save a little money each month for
emergencies.
Having a bike to travel around with ( for shopping, getting out ) greatly decreases the amount of funds needed to live a nomadic lifestyle.
Most times, I only move around every 10 - 14 days, camping. Making it possible to live in comfort and save a little money each month for
emergencies.
Hey tericalvery64,
I've been in the same boat for nearly two years now, and am now trying to get off of it.
The conclusion I've reached is that it will be easier to live on an average of $600/month without restrictions than $733/month without the ability to save.
When you see people posting about how they can get by with so little, they're referring to having savings on hand for when things come up that small budget cannot afford. When you and I talk about getting by on $733/month, we're saying that's it. If you save, your income stops. $733/month without savings, and without the ability to save......is extremely difficult. Not impossible, but not terribly fun. At least, that has been my experience.
Something I've found essential is to have a good credit score with a lot of available credit. This acts in lieu of savings for me, only instead of being disciplined to create the savings in the first place, I simply need to be disciplined to pay off the debt afterwards. I never pay interest. My first year I had only one very low card and that didn't work so well, but since then I've had a very high amount of available credit and that allows me to, for example, buy an entire year of auto insurance at once, which gave me a discount, and earned me a $100 credit back bonus for spending so much on the new card.
Most folks 'round here frown on credit in general, moreso by using it when you can't immediately pay it off, but that's because they can save without their income stopping and saving is a far better safety net.
What I'm saying is you need a safety net of some kind--be it savings, credit, friend or family member who will bail you out of a jam....something. If you have something available as an effective safety net then yes, $733/month is doable for a wide variety of situations.
I've been in the same boat for nearly two years now, and am now trying to get off of it.
The conclusion I've reached is that it will be easier to live on an average of $600/month without restrictions than $733/month without the ability to save.
When you see people posting about how they can get by with so little, they're referring to having savings on hand for when things come up that small budget cannot afford. When you and I talk about getting by on $733/month, we're saying that's it. If you save, your income stops. $733/month without savings, and without the ability to save......is extremely difficult. Not impossible, but not terribly fun. At least, that has been my experience.
Something I've found essential is to have a good credit score with a lot of available credit. This acts in lieu of savings for me, only instead of being disciplined to create the savings in the first place, I simply need to be disciplined to pay off the debt afterwards. I never pay interest. My first year I had only one very low card and that didn't work so well, but since then I've had a very high amount of available credit and that allows me to, for example, buy an entire year of auto insurance at once, which gave me a discount, and earned me a $100 credit back bonus for spending so much on the new card.
Most folks 'round here frown on credit in general, moreso by using it when you can't immediately pay it off, but that's because they can save without their income stopping and saving is a far better safety net.
What I'm saying is you need a safety net of some kind--be it savings, credit, friend or family member who will bail you out of a jam....something. If you have something available as an effective safety net then yes, $733/month is doable for a wide variety of situations.
justbreathe
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Hi Bitty, Nice response, I'm curious why you cannot save without your income being cut off? Can you save without letting them know? For instance, not putting it in a bank?
justbreathe said:
The $733/month income is from the government and transferred into a bank. They track all withdrawals from that account and do a thorough audit every two years.
Any additional income can technically be earned under the table and not reported. The OP didn't mention additional income so I assumed that wasn't in the picture. Also, it's illegal to not report it, with very harsh penalties if found out, something they take pleasure in constantly reminding you.
ArtW
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That's got to be some state govt thing, SSI and SSDI let you have savings, even Medicaid allows for some saving in Texas, that's some pretty draconian rules your state is giving you, but not much to do about it but what you're doing, and I would do the exact same in those circumstances
ArtW
Well-known member
$2000 in savings, is a limited ability to save, for sure, but it is savings, and most emergencies can be handled with around $1000
Does make it very hard to buy a van unless you can find a cheap older one and do some fixing
of course, once my mother and brother qualified for SSDI they no longer had to live with that restriction...until they also wound up on Medicaid, which had the same restrictions
We just made sure all the 'excess' got spent before it built up, not hard to do when you consider what most folks consider 'necessities'
and I wasn't on either, so I could save whatever I wanted
I don't recall any audits being performed on them, ever, but that could certainly have changed
I had forgotten about life insurance being considered an 'asset' as if 1500 will get you buried (it will get you cremated) i remember banging my head against that one before my mom died
Even If I bought the insurance, it would have counted
I can certainly see where credit would be very important in your situation, it's not quite the same as ours was
Does make it very hard to buy a van unless you can find a cheap older one and do some fixing
of course, once my mother and brother qualified for SSDI they no longer had to live with that restriction...until they also wound up on Medicaid, which had the same restrictions
We just made sure all the 'excess' got spent before it built up, not hard to do when you consider what most folks consider 'necessities'
and I wasn't on either, so I could save whatever I wanted
I don't recall any audits being performed on them, ever, but that could certainly have changed
I had forgotten about life insurance being considered an 'asset' as if 1500 will get you buried (it will get you cremated) i remember banging my head against that one before my mom died
Even If I bought the insurance, it would have counted
I can certainly see where credit would be very important in your situation, it's not quite the same as ours was
ArtW said:
It isn't "$2000 in savings", it's $2000 total--the difference being that the most you can have by the end of the month is $1267 to avoid going over when the $733 comes in. Which means, in practice, $1000 savings is typically best case scenario.
SSI and SSDI have a lot of differences... :/
