I definitely thought that this entire process would be a master excel spreadsheet, crunching numbers and data, driving down expenses by doing weekly research on high expenditure categories and trying to financially extend any mobile journey for as long as possible. It started there, but then became a critical perspective on several aspects of the mobile lifestyle. Beginning with budget analysis was a good starting off point, and then the opportunities presented to myself in the discussions had with my peers led to other involved topics of how to save money, where to start your journey from an economic view, and how to make a living on the road.

It has always been understood that in order to stay on the road full time, a strict budget is a good backbone. Having a spreadsheet of some kind that can estimate how much money you will spend in a calendar year will prepare you for anything you can possibly face on the road. You can estimate everything from gasoline prices to clothing needs, and you should in fact do this. Without a regiment, spending could get out of hand, or some unforeseen circumstance could, and usually does, arrive and you are blindsided into giving up the lifestyle that you care so much about. So, trying to find the best deals on the major expenses on the road is an excellent way to continue the ride. Gasoline, Food, and Campground Fees normally are the ones that can cause the most damage, and will continue to be so in the near future. (see here – https://sites.psu.edu/micromobility/2015/02/24/initial-report/ ) And I can go over budgets and what things you don’t need and other things, but there is something to be said that can tie together what we’ve all been working on. Boondock. ( https://sites.psu.edu/micromobility/2015/03/25/why-choose-boondocking/ ) Buy energy saving appliances. Shop smart, and shop well. Be smart when you shower, hell maybe even shower together to save water. There is a certain accountability that we have as micro mobile pioneers, and that is to think and execute our lifestyles as efficient as possible. Now I’m not saying it should be a skin and bone lifestyle, if you want to go out and eat at great restaurants every night and you can afford to do so, do so. But we are on a fixed income. We have a bank account with a number, and when that number runs out, so do we. So, if on the road all that is done economically is to bleed an account until its dry, then why use appliances that waste energy and money? Why flush every time? I think there is a system that needs to be intrinsic to the user, and that is that money will run out, but there are effective ways to counter that process.

Something that I touched on briefly during this study was also where the journey should begin, and this speaks to the economics of how Texas is bigger and better, but also the kind of societies and geographies that support the lifestyle. Texas, while I wrote about all of its pros ( https://sites.psu.edu/micromobility/2015/04/07/texas-where-rv-journeys-are-born/ ) has the wide open prairie landforms that support long road trips, or the full time lifestyle. I think that it isn’t any coincidence that the three most popular states for RV-ing are Texas, North Dakota, and Florida – I suppose my flat lands proposition isn’t fully supported by Florida but it still speaks highly to the infrastructure that is there for the Floridian demographic (Walmarts as far as the eye can see). Newbies and experts alike all agree that this is the place to start, and I agree. It makes too much sense to not only live in states that don’t have income tax, but also have cheap gas, excessive convenience stores, and high speed limits. It builds perfectly into a lot of the tolls that are taken on a yearly budget – oh that reminds me, there aren’t very many toll roads in Texas. This comes back to planning and research. I wouldn’t start a life in an RV in Manhattan. That just wouldn’t be feasible, let alone the price of everything there, but finding a place to stay in the city would be damn near impossible. The full time lifestyle is very achievable, it comes down to how much work you are willing to put in up front: preparing a budget, having a possible end destination or several long term stopping areas ( if you choose not to boondock), and knowing your vehicle, your traveling partners, and your path. This isn’t something that can be rushed into, especially since most people sell homes and other things to go all in on an RV. Without careful consideration, there is only despair and fruitlessness on the road.