...then one day after trying to clean through a family owned house that was stuffed full I came to the conclusion that I wanted nothing to do with this type of life. Keep in mind that I do have hobbies. I want to keep at my hobbies. This is factoring into the way I am approaching all this. Over the last several years since that time cleaning that house I have gotten more and more critical about the things i purchase. Does it have more than one purpose? How large is it? Do I really need it? Frankly, most people should have these thoughts when purchasing anything. Now granted if one has a house the weight issue may not be a factors, but you get my point. There are just some things that a person doesn't need. Or for that matter a person doesn't need 3 or 4 of. I do not understand houses that have more than 1 TV. Cable is pure garbage, but i do enjoy cinema. That being said, I don't want a television in every room where I am living. My mother has a TV in nearly every room in her house. It just baffles me. So whenever i buy something these days I really scrutinize over it.
So when I got the idea to live in a camper of some kind I really got serious about doing some research. I had to decide if it was right for me. I originally had the idea of living in a boat. A sailing rig. This has a few problems for me. I enjoy working. My profession is in forest resource management, conservation, and environmental studies. Living in a boat limits my income potential. Until someone invents forests on the open ocean I'll stick with land based full timing. I had this idea some years ago, maybe seven. I love the look of a sail boat. Though, that is for later thought. So, once i decided on camper living I started researching. I am currently still researching. You see I am not procrastinating by any means. I am currently in graduate school. This is a good and bad thing. Good that I have time to search out all the nooks and crannies of this life style.
There is another aspect to my decision that I'm sure every post college student can get behind...Student Loans. If there is one thing I hate it is debt. The generations before mine were so greedy. They had a multi-bed room and bath house and needed a boat, 6 cars, and a vacation cabin while only making 50,000 a year. On top of that they hadn't even paid off their house yet, but lumped all those other items up on credit cards and loans. Yes, i know that is an extreme example, but come on...everyone knows someone who has far to much stuff that they can't pay for. I'm all for hobbies, but sometimes it gets ridiculous. Maybe i'm just thrifty by nature. I have friends who will by those "toys" from people at a cheap price and set them the way they want them. But now I'm digressing. Where was I? Student Loans? Yes. I don't know many college students who aren't eyeball deep in loan debt. I am one of them. The banks have it rigged so most people will pay back 3 times the amount you actually owe because of insane interest rates. Without getting to political, this whole loan jazz, important as education is, can be seen as a racket. I value my education, but I will not be held down for the good years of my life by a mountain of debt. So this choice to live lightly will hopefully help me pay things off with a bit more speed.
As you can see I've thought about this in depth and I have many reasons why I want to live this way. I enjoy traveling as well, but that's more of a perk of the life. However, with 18 months left in graduate school I have some time to go before I can push through with my plans. Thankfully, I have a supportive mother who is also letting me store some of the things I either won't be able to fit in the rig i choose or just don't want to get rid of. Not everyone has that particular option, but I do and will be utilizing this. One day, not any time soon, I wouldn't mind having a log cabin and doing a homesteading type of thing. That will be some time down the road. The great thing about life is that there are so many options. I've never seen eye to eye with the average 'Merican life style. To each their own, I suppose. If we all thought alike than life would be boring.
I think I have rambled on enough for the moment. This is just the beginning of a long journey to find balance. Until I find a rig to sink my teeth into I will be posting my thoughts on certain subjects here. I'm also a modeler, miniature gamer, and role player...yes...I have some nerdy hobbies...so I will most likely post some photos of that stuff here.
I hope you join me for this wild ride that I've assigned myself. It should be fun and educational.
Now i search for my star. To guide myself into the storm front.
~~ Gabriel
| Oh, no, it is an ever fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken.
It is the star to every wandering bark
Whose worth's unknown although his height be taken. |
__ Shakespeare __ Sonnet 116
This is great, now I finally have some way to keep tabs on you. :) Can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! And I can finally attack ypur blog.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, having multiple TVs is mostly a convenience thing. When there are multiple ones, the kids can watch their shows without inflicting them on us.
ReplyDeleteThat said I don't personally use it too much except to watch some Netflix. I would also use it to play mechwarrior if I had the big one (32") to myself.
I guess what I'm basically saying is that it's good you came to this realization now, so when finding someone you can find someone who matches your austere ideals :).
Having kids is a completely different story. I can understanding having multiples of things at that point. More people = more stuff. In my Mum's case, she is the only one in the damned house. LOL If you use the stuff that's cool. It just comes down to what you want and what you are willing to put up with (say you move alot...packing lots of stuff). ya know.
Delete"The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket." - Will Rogers
ReplyDeleteI think this thing is marking me as anonymous because my log in attempts are not working. -Jessica
When I go online to pay my student loans, I go to "loan level payment." It breaks my loan down into the 11 separate parts I received them in and lets me view how much is due for what. My smallest loan is a total of $110.11, and the monthly due for that one is 8 cents, a lot of which probably goes to interest. However, instead of paying 8 cents, I've been paying $20. Not much over my minimum payment, but a HUGE difference in that one loan. I'll have that loan paid off in a few months as opposed to 15 years. After that one is paid off, I'll move on to the next. It'll get the small ones knocked out of the way fairly quickly, at least; then that should free up some cash when it comes time to start bearing down on my bigger amounts.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Paying off debts is an OCD issue with me. But I am getting them paid off!
~Brandi
That's good advice! I haven't gotten that far since i'm still in masters school, but I will not pay those loans for 15 years. I want them paid off.
Delete~~ Hydro
It also makes a HUGE difference on other bills--I'm not sure if you even have anything other than student debt--to make 2 payments per month. Not paying twice as much, but paying half of the minimum payment, twice. I've been doing that with my car. Due to my bad credit when I got financed, my interest is rather high. My bill is over $400/month, with a huge chunk of that going to interest. But now I pay $200-ish twice per month. The interest comes out of the first payment (it will be x% of smaller payment rather than x% of $400--a much smaller amount) and the second payment goes wholly to principle.
DeleteI don't know what I'll do with myself when I actually have things paid off. Find something else to get OCD about, I guess.