Planning Planning Planning and 5 years out before I go full time.

[Lizmccal]

Hello,
I have been researching everything I need to go full time. In 5 years I can have about 50k to get a minivan (I’d like a toyota hybrid, but might not be able to afford it simply for the climate control), savings, and off to a start. I make 1200 a month on disability but am currently taking care of my elderly parents as they refuse to go to a home, and this is time I can never get back, so I’m taking it.
Just wanted to say hi. You have great people here, and I follow a few on YouTube.

 

[bullfrog]

Welcome! You might want to take a look at Escapees Club Care Center in Livingston Texas. They have a program there that allows you to live in their park in an RV while they do adult daycare and allow caregivers time away. It is mostly a volunteer staff and allows caregivers a chance to get some time off. Even people with temporary disabilities can qualify I believe. You might be able to put everyone in an RV and use their transportation to doctors in Houston when necessary. Just something to consider. Last time I looked their rates were extremely affordable. You might be able to volunteer while taking care of your loved ones even.

 

[Lizmccal]

Welcome! You might want to take a look at Escapees Club Care Center in Livingston Texas. They have a program there that allows you to live in their park in an RV while they do adult daycare and allow caregivers time away. It is mostly a volunteer staff and allows caregivers a chance to get some time off. Even people with temporary disabilities can qualify I believe. You might be able to put everyone in an RV and use their transportation to doctors in Houston when necessary. Just something to consider. Last time I looked their rates were extremely affordable. You might be able to volunteer while taking care of your loved ones even.

My parents have a few houses and way to much mone

 

[Lizmccal]

Sorry I didn’t think that posted. My family is here, but I’m the only one with no kids. It’s to the point that I drive for them, clean, and take care of their property to whatever extent I can (they have 1.5 acres in the mountains). I’m on ssdi and can work part time. I think I’m going to start my house keeping business again to save up even more money.
Thank you so much for your suggestion. Maybe someday I’ll use that resource, but I can always pass along the info to others who it may help.

 

[Dingfelder]

Good for you planning way ahead. I'm doing the same thing, can't really afford to not work until I'm too broken down to not work, so I come here and read and chat and research. One day it will hopefully all come in handy. You can never prepare too soon, I suppose. Even though things like solar and internet access will definitely be different five years from now. Just having been thinking about it for five years, though, will give you the context to put it into useful perspective instead of being bewildered by the newness and weirdness of it all.

 

[jacqueg]

Sorry I didn’t think that posted. My family is here, but I’m the only one with no kids. It’s to the point that I drive for them, clean, and take care of their property to whatever extent I can (they have 1.5 acres in the mountains). I’m on ssdi and can work part time. I think I’m going to start my house keeping business again to save up even more money.
Thank you so much for your suggestion. Maybe someday I’ll use that resource, but I can always pass along the info to others who it may help.

You say that they live in the mountains?

Start going camping NOW with the vehicle you have and the stuff you have. Camp in their driveway once in a while. Going camping is the single best way to find out what YOU require to be comfortable on the road. Or even IF you are cut out for life on the road - not everyone is. If you are one of those folks, there's no time like the present to find out.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the Van Living Forum. There has been a stream of people here who are presently looking after their aged folks. I'm all for them as I've spent some time doing that myself.

I know of some who have used the Toyota Prius hybrid as a rolling house battery so that they have plenty of power available to them.
In fact I've seen news shows where the Prius was powering a house while the "grid power" was out. I don't know if the Van would work like that or not. But I applaud your willingness to plan and think things thru first. It can also serve as an escape from time to time in this planning.....as your life is constantly at service to others.

There is a thread going in "Vans" you may want to look at titled...

How to build it right the first time



All the best

 

[RearViewMirror]

Hello,
I have been researching everything I need to go full time. In 5 years I can have about 50k to get a minivan (I’d like a toyota hybrid, but might not be able to afford it simply for the climate control), savings, and off to a start. I make 1200 a month on disability but am currently taking care of my elderly parents as they refuse to go to a home, and this is time I can never get back, so I’m taking it.
Just wanted to say hi. You have great people here, and I follow a few on YouTube.

Welcome and good on you for starting your planning so far in advance. Our planning was a little bit shorter but nonetheless thoroughly planned out to the smallest detail. Money saved, what type of vehicle we were going to purchase, exactly how we were going to actually do this, financial boundaries, emergency funds set aside, etc...

I 53 right now and my wife is 48. Like you, my parents are in moderately poor health. I was able to retire a a Professional FF at the age of 47 with a full pension with a 3% COLA that compounds each year for as long as I live. I have not touched my investments since I left the job. My wife works for the largest Scientific Research Hospital in the state. While on a 2+ week vacation out West we kept on seeing these 4WD Sprinter vans with Flarespace sides in the back etc... At the time I had never seen a vehicle like this. They are not popular in the state that I live in. In fact... I think we might be one of the only ones in this state that actually own a van like this. They are much more popular in the Western states. Not here. I finally got a good look at one parked in a parking lot in Utah and quickly realized that people were living in these.

So over a bit of time my wife and I started doing heavy research on any information we could find. Our plan has always been to move to Colorado once my daughter graduates next year. She will be attending the University of Colorado Boulder. My wife and I were married right outside of Durango Co. 22 years ago. I've been traveling to Colorado since I was 9 years old. So Colorado has always felt like home to us since we make 2-3 trips out there each year.

This is where our conversion van comes into play. We did as much research as we could and found the perfect van for us. It is a fully loaded 2022 MB 4WD Sprinter that we have about $180,000 in with all of the options that we felt we needed. I completely understand that we spent a lot of money of this. And truthfully, we could have spent much less. But... what this will allow us to do is live in the van full time until we either get tired of it or just can't do it anymore. It has every creature comfort you could ask for. But that was where our research came in and where our "must haves" came into play since we will be spending a large amount of time in such a small space.

It is much easier if you are single. You have to have a complete "buy in" from the other person if you are involved in a relationship. Luckily my wife and I share the same passion for travel and adventure. Come next spring, we are selling our house (which we were going to do before the van purchase ever came into the picture). We were going to put down roots in Colorado Springs as that is a perfect staging point for everything we want to do in that state or the surrounding states. My wife will retire at 48 and we will hit the road after we get our daughter acclimated to college life. But... we came to realize that we will have to remain mobile due do my parents health. It seemed silly to pay for a place in Colorado only to have to come back to this state if something should happen to my parents (maybe for sometimes months at a time). Paying for a place in Colorado and not actually being able to stay there during the times we will have to come back just didn't make a lot of sense to us. So this was the next best option. Being able to camp where we want, when we want with no timeframe appeals to us.

I completely understand we are going to be living outside the lines of what a "normal" adult our age is expected to do. But I have lived in between the lines for long enough. And I want to enjoy what life I have left doing the things that I want to do, when I want to do them. Life is to short not to be lived.

 

[Lizmccal]

You say that they live in the mountains?

Start going camping NOW with the vehicle you have and the stuff you have. Camp in their driveway once in a while. Going camping is the single best way to find out what YOU require to be comfortable on the road. Or even IF you are cut out for life on the road - not everyone is. If you are one of those folks, there's no time like the present to find out.

I started car camping about two years ago. I am going to start again soon. I was amazed at how big my little Hyundi accent was when I was in the back. I also had so much stuff I didn't need. I am a minimalist now and working on educating myself to national parks and the country. I have never “fit in” with the masses so finding this as an alternative life style has been a high light for me. I’m also more of an introvert than extrovert so the alone time doesn’t get to me much.

 

[Lizmccal]

Welcome to the Van Living Forum. There has been a stream of people here who are presently looking after their aged folks. I'm all for them as I've spent some time doing that myself.

I know of some who have used the Toyota Prius hybrid as a rolling house battery so that they have plenty of power available to them.
In fact I've seen news shows where the Prius was powering a house while the "grid power" was out. I don't know if the Van would work like that or not. But I applaud your willingness to plan and think things thru first. It can also serve as an escape from time to time in this planning.....as your life is constantly at service to others.

There is a thread going in "Vans" you may want to look at titled...

How to build it right the first time



All the best

Thank you! I will look into that forum tag today. It seems like a good life, and I’ve always been my own person not following the masses. I think it’s going to be a great change for me.

 

[jacqueg]

I started car camping about two years ago. I am going to start again soon. I was amazed at how big my little Hyundi accent was when I was in the back. I also had so much stuff I didn't need. I am a minimalist now and working on educating myself to national parks and the country. I have never “fit in” with the masses so finding this as an alternative life style has been a high light for me. I’m also more of an introvert than extrovert so the alone time doesn’t get to me much.

Good for you!

This is the perfect lifestyle for an introvert, you will find that many nomads are introverts, who will completely accept your need for down time.

 

[quilting22]

Welcome and good on you for starting your planning so far in advance. Our planning was a little bit shorter but nonetheless thoroughly planned out to the smallest detail. Money saved, what type of vehicle we were going to purchase, exactly how we were going to actually do this, financial boundaries, emergency funds set aside, etc...

I 53 right now and my wife is 48. Like you, my parents are in moderately poor health. I was able to retire a a Professional FF at the age of 47 with a full pension with a 3% COLA that compounds each year for as long as I live. I have not touched my investments since I left the job. My wife works for the largest Scientific Research Hospital in the state. While on a 2+ week vacation out West we kept on seeing these 4WD Sprinter vans with Flarespace sides in the back etc... At the time I had never seen a vehicle like this. They are not popular in the state that I live in. In fact... I think we might be one of the only ones in this state that actually own a van like this. They are much more popular in the Western states. Not here. I finally got a good look at one parked in a parking lot in Utah and quickly realized that people were living in these.

So over a bit of time my wife and I started doing heavy research on any information we could find. Our plan has always been to move to Colorado once my daughter graduates next year. She will be attending the University of Colorado Boulder. My wife and I were married right outside of Durango Co. 22 years ago. I've been traveling to Colorado since I was 9 years old. So Colorado has always felt like home to us since we make 2-3 trips out there each year.

This is where our conversion van comes into play. We did as much research as we could and found the perfect van for us. It is a fully loaded 2022 MB 4WD Sprinter that we have about $180,000 in with all of the options that we felt we needed. I completely understand that we spent a lot of money of this. And truthfully, we could have spent much less. But... what this will allow us to do is live in the van full time until we either get tired of it or just can't do it anymore. It has every creature comfort you could ask for. But that was where our research came in and where our "must haves" came into play since we will be spending a large amount of time in such a small space.

It is much easier if you are single. You have to have a complete "buy in" from the other person if you are involved in a relationship. Luckily my wife and I share the same passion for travel and adventure. Come next spring, we are selling our house (which we were going to do before the van purchase ever came into the picture). We were going to put down roots in Colorado Springs as that is a perfect staging point for everything we want to do in that state or the surrounding states. My wife will retire at 48 and we will hit the road after we get our daughter acclimated to college life. But... we came to realize that we will have to remain mobile due do my parents health. It seemed silly to pay for a place in Colorado only to have to come back to this state if something should happen to my parents (maybe for sometimes months at a time). Paying for a place in Colora and not actually being able to stay there during the times we will have to come back just didn't make a lot of sense to us. So this was the next best option. Being able to camp where we want, when we want with no timeframe appeals to us.

I completely understand we are going to be living outside the lines of what a "normal" adult our age is expected to do. But I have lived in between the lines for long enough. And I want to enjoy what life I have left doing the things that I want to do, when I want to do them. Life is to short not to be lived.

 

[quilting22]

Good for the both of you !!! I had previously sold my house years ago and Feb of this year the house l was living in was sold. I refuse to pay "extortion" $$$ to rent a place so l sold my 1 yr old CRV which l loved and put $dn on a 2023 Promaster 1500 cargo van March 13th this year. Still waiting delivery to the dealer...was suppose to be May, now June. I'm 74, in good health and ready to go !