Still on the fence

[TrainChaser]

Hi, Folks!  I'm new to this forum, but I've been looking at some of the web videos by various parties, including Enigmatic Nomadics, where I posted comments as ShiloDogSmith. 

I'm in my 60s, low-income, near the end of my temporary job with a small local non-profit (data entry), and will soon be down to just my SS.  Whoopee. :dodgy:

I would put my good stuff in storage, get a used Chevy Cargo van, fix it up and head for the next RTR if I could.  My biggest problem is this decrepit old (37 years) mobile home.  Since I don't own the property outright, I don't think that I could just have the thing mashed down and hauled off (cost about $6,000).  Nor do I have the money to do it w/o taking out another loan on the property.  Which I probably couldn't pay.  And I would have to do all of this before I could put the property up for sale.

I did use my credit card a bit before I got the temp job, and have the balance down to $1,500.  Old '92 Ford Ranger with a bad clutch and original engine.  One really dumb dog and three cats. 

I'm trying to think of a way to make extra money that doesn't require full time, standing, or a good back.  I don't know computers like the 'kids' do.  I can do research and data entry, but I don't know how to do a website (like for Etsy) or how to do photos.  I have an older FinePix digital camera, but the neighbor who was going to show me how to do stuff with it moved away.

Also, I'm an anti-social misfit.  *sigh*

Sue

 

[Rugster]

Hi and welcome Is there anything you can make and sell on Ebay or Craigslist or anywhere like that? I've made a decent part time income with reselling things on Ebay and Craigslist.

Loved the comment about the dumb dog, we should share stories

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard the forums Sue!
I've lived on wheels almost all my life so am not much help with your property issues.
Lots of different experience here so stay tuned , you'll get responses.

 

[ZoNiE]

Offer the Mobile home to any one for free, they just have to haul it away and clean up the lot. Also Post it in Spanish. Some Mexican will take it. Seriously.

 

[Txjaybird]

Hello and Welcome.....I know what you mean about decrepit  MHs.  I had the floor give way in front of the washing machine once, thankfully I was also standing across a floor joist!  If you are going to sell the property it might be better to leave the MH on it.  In some places they pass ordinances against older MHs being placed on property but leave the ones there alone as they might be "grandfathered" in .  It might actually help sell the place.  You call always say it was a handyman special or storage trailer....like someone said you can probably give it away too.   Are you wanting to live in/out of a van?   My Ranger is older than yours     It's nearly a new Ranger as except for the engine I have replaced/rebuilt  just about everything that's fallen off it in the 12 yrs. I've had it.  

Good Luck to you in what ever you decide to do         Jewellann aka Texas Jbird and Queenie the untrained attack Chihuahua

 

[cyndi]

What Zonie said. offer the moho free on craigslist, if you can't just leave it.

 

[SillyLilly]

Putting your "good stuff" in storage will only prolong the financial drain. If it's good enough to keep, it's good enough to sell. It will provide you with cash you need to take care of the other problems you need to fix.

Fulltimers I've talked to say their biggest mistake was storing their stuff for years instead of selling or donating it right away. The fees quickly added up to more than it would have cost to replace everything had they just sold or donated it.

Use Craigslist and yard sales to get rid of everything you can't take with you, and donate whatever's left over. Salvation Army will even pick it up for you.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Yep, purge anything that is not irreplaceable and pocket the cash from the proceeds. Craig's List is great as the customer will come to you and pick it up, all you have to do is accept the cash.

 

[TrainChaser]

"Use Craigslist and yard sales to get rid of everything you can't take with you, and donate whatever's left over."

I cringe when I see or hear this advice. I am assuming that it either comes from people who don't have anything, or who are willing to heat up their credit cards until they're red-hot, and make minimum payments.

I hope most people don't believe that and do their own thinking.

Things change. Conditions change. Health changes. Subscribing to the philosophies of LaLa Land can lead you down a long, dark hole.

 

[DannyB1954]

Storage units can cost more than the stuff in it is worth. When I was living on a boat I rented shop space to store my tools. I got good use of the space so it wasn't a total waste, but when you figure a ten year period at $200 a month, it would have been cheaper to buy a wrench and throw it away when I was done with it. $200 x 12 x 10 = $24,000.00. I would wager most storage units are full of stuff that is not worth as much as the storage cost for two years. And then what are you going to do with the stuff? Lets say you move back into a house somewhere. If it is not in the same area as the storage, it can cost more than it is worth to move the junk to the new location.

 

[steamjam1]

"Use Craigslist and yard sales to get rid of everything you can't take with you, and donate whatever's left over."

I cringe when I see or hear this advice.  I am assuming that it either comes from people who don't have anything, or who are willing to heat up their credit cards until they're red-hot, and make minimum payments.  

I hope most people don't believe that and do their own thinking.

Things change.  Conditions change.  Health changes.  Subscribing to the philosophies of LaLa Land can lead you down a long, dark hole.

When I moved into my van, I used only one rule: "If I think I need it, then I will find room for it in one of the four large Tupperware bins I just bought. Nothing more.." It forced me to strip my entire life down to the essentials. Food and way to cook, clothes, and hygiene supplies. Tools were the only exception.

 

[Txjaybird]

Has any one here other than myself ever said to themselves and maybe others  "I'm going to get rid of everything that will not fit in a van/pick-up/suv/ travel trailer and change my lifestyle completely"? If you say it fast enough it sounds really easy.

 Down sizing is something I'm very well acquainted with, in fact we are old adversaries.  In 2003/2004  I "down sized" to move from TX to SD.   MY Ranger and I with a small trailer went to SD, and then back to TX.  Then the trailer went to SD behind my sons one ton truck.  Next I and the Ranger along with a friend & his 3/4 ton truck and a 12 or 14 ft U haul trailer went to SD.   This was my idea of down sizing at that time.  If you're counting that's 3 pick up loads & 3 trailer loads and I only took what I "needed".  Go ahead you can laugh    and I'll laugh with you!

Two years later I "downsized" again.  My trusty Ranger and a homemade Chevy Luv pick-up trailer moved to KY.......That was only 1 trip, I had learned my lesson.  Then the Ranger and I and a 5x8 U-haul trailer moved to Al for a year..that was 6 years ago.  

Now I am once again thinking of "down sizing" and this time to something with wheels as a permanent dwelling.

Speaking only for myself.... It's hard to see some of my things going to a sale.  It's like after a death or divorce, it's the end of an era or a life that could have been.  

 Only I can try on my clothes/shoes and decide what's needed in the new life....and then there are the books/dvds/cds/ tools/dishes/pot/pans/cleaning supplies/linens/food/dog supplies/meds/sewing & crafting supplies/shampoo/toothpaste/etc...the list seems endless and also overwhelming at times.  I"m in my 60's and even having moved 4 times in 12 years I wonder if I have another one left in me.   And then moving from campsite to campsite. Time will tell.

In my recent consideration of the Van Dwelling lifestyle I have learned to keep my thoughts to my self re: family and friends..Some times help can be very hurtful.  Recently I commented to a family member " I just don't know what I'm going to do with all this stuff."  "Put it in the dumpster" was the response and I lost it big time.  Crying and screaming at the same time I said "this is my life we're dealing with here, it may seem like trash to you however it's my hopes and plans biting the dust not yours!  And that is what I heard in the words  "put it in the dumpster" that my life had no value.  I know that isn't true but that is what it felt like.  Maybe sell it, donate it, put it on the curb can sound the same way to someone else.

Maybe when we're younger we don't have so many things that remind us of someone, or a special time or place so it's easier to let things go.  As we age and mature some things may loose there value to us so it's easier to pass them on. Maybe some of us like to have more belongings than others find necessary. To me things without any sentimental value can easily be replaced others not so much.

"To Thine Own Self Be True" This is my new mantra...only I and I alone can decide what I need in whatever lifestyle I chose whether it's S&B, boon docking, van or whatever, full time or part time.  It's a decision only we can make for ourselves.  Asking for help or advice when we choose to...or not.

I do have good news.  Two days ago at my storage units someone whose family I've  sold to in the past is interested in buying everything I decide to sell...the beginning tentative offer will cover a nice solar set up or maybe even a down payment on a "get the hell out of dodge" vehicle. 
                            
                                   WHOOPEE! IT'S ON NOW! Queenie is excited too. 

 

[DannyB1954]

Someone once told me that to some extent all the things that he owned, the objects in return owned him. It took me a while to understand what he said. You want a car, you have to work to pay for it, maintain it, register it, insure it. All of these things are paid for with our labor, (or past labor). So the car serves you, but you also serve the car. So the question for me becomes do I serve this item more than it serves me? If the answer is yes, why do I need to keep serving this item.

The storage fees that you pay are you serving your possessions. You are making a financial sacrifice so that your possessions will have a place. When you move somewhere, it costs you to relocate your items. Even if you were able to start using the items again, what did it cost you to store them? Many people spend thousands of dollars to store hundreds of dollars of property. The item does not hold your memory, your brain does. Wouldn't a picture of the item still remind you?

If someone was to come steal everything that I have, I very much doubt that I would even bother to replace 10% of the items. So how important are they really to me? At some point I acquired them because I thought the item would bring me some sort of utility or pleasure. Does it still do that? I guess that I am saying these things because I really need to hear them for myself. I have a house and yard full of clutter. The someday I might need that item thinking is taking up a lot of my space.

 

[VanKitten]

Everything of real importance to me was passed down to me from great grand mothers, grand mothers, etc. every last item has since been passed from me to my daughter.

I admit, the actual monetary value was probably quite high (especially the jewelry), and for that reason I feel like I actually gave her the family white elephant. Now she will pay for deposit boxes, safes, etc. worry about insurance if she chooses to use any of it.

She is still young enough to be thrilled to have it all. She'll learn.

 

[TrainChaser]

Have you ever been to any of those storage unit sales? I went to a few with my brother. Most of them were filled with nothing but junk: old VHS movies, junky furniture, clothes and shoes that looked like they were stolen from donation boxes, old electronics, old drapes, weatherbeaten lumber, broken Christmas ornaments, rusty tools, old bedding, etc. Most of the junk in them shouldn't have been put into to storage to begin with.

I've lived in a van. I've had USEFUL stuff in storage. And when I settled somewhere, I was glad that I didn't have to replace it, because I couldn't have afforded to.

There are many people who offer bad advice without evening thinking about likely consequences, and they do it because it doesn't cost THEM anything but hot air.