Happiness and Money

So, the one question that I get over and over again about our adventure, which is quickly approaching, is "What are you going to do about money?"

I feel like people automatically assume we won't be able to do this without a ton of money saved up. Most people say "I wish I had enough money to do that.." Since when does money rule our lives? And more importantly, why would you let it?

I'm not sure if you guys know this or not, but I'm not a millionaire. I don't have money growing on trees. And to top it all off, I'm quitting my job. I know, I know... what am I going to do? The answer is simple... I'm going to live my life the way I want to, not the way society says I should. I'm plenty capable of living a happy fulfilling life without a steady income or a huge pile of money lying around, and so are you. All you have to do is live within your means and not buy stupid unnecessary things for no reason.

We are going to be living out of an ugly unique RV that we only paid $2000 for. Yes, our house for the next chapter in our lives only cost us $2000. We are going to be saving a ton of money by living in our RV. This means no mortgage payments, no electricity bills, no internet bills, no water bills or any other bills that come with living in the standard house. We will have gas and food to pay for. Other than RV insurance (which we will pay upfront), those will be our only constant bills. Its small, but its perfect. Its all that we need. 16ft home with a bathroom and a bedroom. We don't a 6 bedroom house with 4 bathrooms and a bonus room to be happy. We are minimizing our possessions to the very minimum. We don't need 3 closets and 2 dressers full of clothes. Its just not necessary. And those things don't bring us happiness.

I like to think that the people who really know me, know that money is not at the top of my priority list. I very rarely pay full price for anything. I hate paying over $10 for any item. Goodwill is my main source of clothing, shoes and furniture. I wear things until they fall completely apart. I take advantage of the free things in life. We like to go on hikes and ride our bikes everywhere! We take advantage of the free parks/wild life areas. We don't find much joy in things that usually cost a lot of money. I can't tell you the last time we actually went to a movie theater and payed to watch a movie. We would much rather wait until it comes out at Redbox and pay $1. I'm much happier watching a movie at home on my couch for $1 then paying over $20 to watch it in a theater with a bunch of annoying people who chew too loud and make too much noise opening up their candy and drinking extra large cokes. (people wonder why so Americans are obese)

Sorry, got off subject there.... my point is Heath and I don't need money to be happy and to live a fulfilling life. Without all of the material things in life, we are going to be able to enjoy the things the world has to offer. I can't wait to not have an iphone so I can have a conversation with someone and really listen to them without checking my phone. I've honestly become disgusted with how attached I've become to certain things in my life. When we leave on this trip we are going to have each other, our dog and America. That's it. I'm absolutely positive that will be enough to keep me happy. I'm not going to miss the constant negativity on the news or on Facebook. I'm not going to miss getting lost on the internet for hours on end. I can't wait until I actually have to call my friends/family to check and see how they are doing instead of sending a comment on facebook. I can't wait to send snail mail to anyone who wants it! I can't wait to enjoy life the way people did before money became so important.

Money doesn't buy happiness. Read this article about a study just released proving it doesn't always make you happier.

With all of this said, if you are still overly concerned with how Heath and I are going to survive in this world without a steady income/huge savings account, please feel free to ask me for my paypal account and I will be more than happy to take some of your "happiness" from you.

-Megan

Progress! Progress! Progress!

Well, we are finally making progress on the TruckHouse. Which is good  necessary since we plan on leaving sometime next month. Time is just flying by!

Oh, so something really awesome happened and we got  a codes violation sticker on the camper a few weeks ago. They claimed it was an abandoned vehicle and if we didn't move it in 10days they were gonna confiscate it and destroy it. Jerks. So, thankfully, my parents are letting it live in their driveway. Unfortunately, Heath has to drive to White House every day to work on it now, instead of just walking to the street and working on it. Oh the joy.

Anyway, remember all of that god awful interior? Well, its all gone. Every last bit of it. Heath successfully gutted the entire camper. Things that are gone and never coming back: stove, big refrigerator, water heater, tv, microwave and shag carpet. Unfortunately we also had to take out big chunks of the floor due to water damage. It was a little more than we had originally thought, but we Heath is dealing with it.

 Hey there ground.                                                                          

 Oh, see that thing on the right? Thats our bathroom/shower. All one piece. Gonna be fun taking showers while straddling a toilet.

Positive note: We have a new floor! And our sink is connected and thats our new mini fridge (Thanks mom and dad)!

Also, we did score a free new bench (a seat out of an old van that had literally never been used). Thank you craigslist. It should work just fine. The previous bench was just completely ruined from a leak. 

I think the next step is to put some carpet on the walls/floors and go from there. Heath is being such a trooper and I am so thankful for him!!

So far we have only spent about $200 on materials and the camper itself was only $2000. So, we are hoping to have our new home up and ready for around $2500. Not bad if you think about. I'm dreaming of the days where I don't have to pay rent or electric/cable/internet bills. That freedom will be oh so lovely.

Hurry up next month!!!!

Our plan as of now is once we are out of our apartment and the camper is ready to go, we are going to spend some time at my parents campground in good ol' Dunmor, KY. We have a site that is already paid for . This way we can test out living in it and making sure we know how to work everything properly. Then, my dad will be coming home for Afghanistan for about a month. Really looking forward to seeing him. We plan on starting the real adventure towards the end of July. 

We are getting more and more excited/anxious every day. Thank you all for all of your support and love!