Tipping point

[Rivmage]

I've come to a crossroad in my life, I have the life society says I should have. A job that pays the bills, some credit card debit, car and house payment but, I lack a few things; passion, joy, happiness and a sense of direction. On the other path, I have the unknown, it would mean walking away from the security blanket that is killing me.

I know the path I want to take but, I'm not sure I'm brave enough to take the step needed. It is a high risk for my wife, my two dogs and myself.


Life is too short to be unhappy....

Scott

 

[ttpadilla]

Life IS too short to be unhappy. I will be making this huge life change in 14 days, but it's just me and my dog, so I don't have the spousal issue to be concerned with. On the other hand, it's just me and my dog, so I don't have anyone to lean on, either.

I'm getting rid of the last of my stuff from storage that won't fit in the motor home, and I know that somewhere down the line, I'll downsize again, to something a little less comfortable, but that offers a little more traveling freedom (back roads, etc). It does require bravery, and sometimes I'm not sure I'm tough enough, but I am. The alternative is being a wage slave in order to hand over my earnings to someone else for mortgage, rent, utilities, etc, and I'm just absolutely done with that.

Here's the thing... Only you have the power to change your life. So few people realize that, but you do. And this is a super great group of people for advice and support.

 

[Rivmage]

The last couple of days have been enlightening. Yesterday while sitting in traffic, I decided to take the day off. I have no plan but, I felt free. I spent a couple of hours at Walmart finding clearance items to sell on Amazon. Went home and invited my wife to the zoo, once we got to the zoo, we realized it was spring break and it was packed so we went to lunch and a movie instead. Got home, scanned the items for amazon and pack a couple of boxes to send off. It felt good.

This morning, I woke up and still felt the high from the day before but, the closer I got to my desk at work the more that feeling faded. A couple hours into work with tears in my eyes, I emailed my wife about my feelings of the direction or lack there of in my life and I needed change in my daily life (I wasn't thinking of leaving her as it might sound but, more of finding my passion and purpose).

In that email, I found my voice to say what I need and want....it is the first step in changing things for the better.

Scott

 

[ttpadilla]

In that email, I found my voice to say what I need and want....it is the first step in changing things for the better.

Scott

Every life-changing journey begins with a single step. Here's the thing. You can keep taking steps. Nothing drastic has to happen overnight. Start: making a plan; paying off your credit card debts and car loan; getting rid of "stuff"; saving money; deciding what your real priorities are; and keep having those conversations with your wife!

There are a bunch of free e-books about downsizing, and organizing, and getting rid of things, on Amazon. I just picked up 4 of them today. Although things at work won't magically improve (I know, because I still have two weeks left, and it's killing me!), you will feel better, as you continue to make changes that will lead to you achieving your dreams.

Best of luck. Please keep us posted.

 

[gypsychic]

Today I went to pick up from a CL ad some plastic storage bins to put in my van. Right behind the waiting bins was a huge world map with tons of pins and country flags pined to it. I commented on it to the guy & he told me he was lucky his father taught him about debt management. He paid for his house by the time he was 43 and used would-be mortgage money to finance world travel. He's been to all 7 continents, most at least twice, every state and 64 countries. And he's still young, not near retirement age. He says he usually has it hanging in his office at work so when he has a bad day he knows why he's there. It's a means to an end, not an identity (my words, not his.)

I just got energized and excited all over again for myself. Baby steps grow momentum. Most really rewarding things are scary. I happen to think it's scarier to look back at several years of my life and find so much monotony that nothing really stood out, good or bad. That's not how I want to look back at my entire lifetime.

Good luck!

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

Not to sound judgemental, because I'm just a dumb hillbilly, but I think one needs to get rid of ALL credit card debt.  Credit cards are great, I think they're essential, but pay it off every month.  I have mine paid directly from my checking account.  Nothing wrong with a house payment, and a car payment can be ok if you've got a new car and low interest.  Besides the interest expense, when you have car payments you have to have full coverage insurance.  If your car is a few years old, it's usually better to pay it off and drop your insurance to the minimum required.  

To live on the road you'll need a vehicle.  Once you get a vehicle (van in my case) you can take week-end trips to get it worked out.  I'd suggest doing that before doing a major "build" because you won't really know what you need until you take some trips.

To live on the road you'll need some way to make money.  It might not work selling stuff on Amazon if you don't have a house and garage.  

I suggest making a plan, a list of goals.  Something like pay off the credit cards, car, drop insurance, save some amount of cash, get vehicle.  

You didn't say how old you are, but whatever, good luck!

 

[Rivmage]

To live on the road you'll need some way to make money.  It might not work selling stuff on Amazon if you don't have a house and garage.  

As far as Amazon selling goes, I'm using Filled by Amazon (FBA), I found stuff and ship it off to Amazon to fill the orders and store the items. So, far I've been about to get items in the morning and have them packed and shipped in the afternoon by dropping it off at a UPS location. I hope to be able to continue in that fashion.

Also, I have experience with dropshipping on Ebay and plan to start that once again as another source of money.

Tonight, the wife and I went to dinner to talk in private, we decided to wait until the end of June for me to quit my job and to look for an RV. This is partly due to the fact she has some conferences schedule for the next few months. She is a writer so these shows are a way to get her name and books out there. This also gives us time to downsize and pay down/off debt.

Scott

 

[ttpadilla]

Hooray!!! You have a time frame, and an agreeable, supportive wife. Two huge steps in the right direction. And now, when you go to that job that makes you a bit crazy, you can just remind yourself that it's all about working toward that freedom.

But, if I were you, I'd start looking at RVs now. Spend a lot of time in them, even test drive a few to see how they feel. Once you know what you are going to be most comfortable with, you can start searching for YOUR RV. Sometimes it takes a while to find exactly what you're looking for.

Congratulations, welcome, and yay!!

 

[Patrick46]

Nana has a great idea! ^^^


I'd include the idea of renting one you like for a weekend getaway, just to see how it all feels. You can always modify your plans to suit your own needs.

 

[compassrose]

I do live fulltime in an RV (school bus conversion... they are never finished). Been fulltiming (for the second time) since early fall 2006. This is what I have found in our/my case...

-- You need to be debt free.
-- You need to have a plan for when various things go wrong (David died and I have found you need to pay CASH up front for a funeral/cremation). Get a legal will, etc for your DOMAIN state (the one you will have everything registered in and you can only have one state)
-- Do not get rid of ALL your credit cards. Hang on to one or two and use them occasionally then PAY THEM OFF. Use them for purchases that you have the money for. Credit reporting bureaus are several years behind on my addresses. I used to say NO credit cards. I have found that they do come in handy but only if you use them like a debit card. I figure one use per month should flesh back out my "thin" credit file.
-- Get a mail forwarding outfit now. Get your mail transferred over months before you need to as it will give you time to get used to it.
-- Get your banking set up for online while you still have a stix-n-brix address. Banks are weird. I use a Wal-Mart Moneycard VISA Debit (paycheck is direct deposited) and I also have a Schwab checking/brokerage account. I have an employee stock purchase plan where I work and it pays better than a savings account. 10% of my paycheck get pulled out and twice a year stocks are bought. Then I can sell them a little later and make a few $$ (last buy/sell got me $106 over a 6mo time frame). The money is then put in the Schwab account. PAY ATTENTION to your banks travel policy. Schwab requires that I notify them, BOA kept putting locks on our debit cards because we were using them in different states on the same day.
-- Build up your business now, not while you are on the road. It will keep you from being overwhelmed by having to adjust to so many changes at one time.
-- Once you get your RV, take it on a few short "close-to-home" trips to work out any bugs it may have. Then I strongly suggest that you move it to a nearby RV park and live in it for a few months to get an idea of what changes you will need to make to it WHILE operating your
business out of it. Meanwhile you can be cleaning out your house, storing what you may think you want to keep, putting it on the market.
-- If you are selling and using Paypal, get the debit card so that you can access your Paypal $$ without having to wait for a transfer to your bank account.
-- Get a fire/waterproof safe to carry your important papers with you (you will need a copy of your legal government issued birth certificate and marriage license). If you don't have one already, you may want to consider getting a passport. Even if you do not plan on leaving the US, it would be helpful. I have run into several situations where having one would have meant I did not need an inch thick stack of papers to prove I am who I am. I'm not sure if it is the patriot act or the mind numbingly idiotic NM government workers.
-- Put your vehicles in BOTH of your names.


Most folks opt for a no income tax state (FL, SD, TN, TX). I suggest that you chose a state that you will be passing thru or be close enough to visit in case they demand you show up (TN said I had to renew my driver's license in person... 2-3 days notice would not allow me to travel from NM to TN, nor did I have the funds to do it... so much for "you can renew your driver's license online").

My next state will be FL. I do work fulltime in a regular retail job (Home Depot). Trying to get an online selling thing going but with a recent death, I have a hard time just getting thru the day and getting the bus ready to leave this terrible state (I blame NM for David's death, irrational I know, but I am very irrational right now). For me, I just want to go "home" (east of the Mississippi and south of the Mason-Dixon).

BTW, I get "cash back" when I use any of my debit cards rather than using an ATM machine... no fees.