We’ve all seen it — they cover our social media, we see them in public parking lots, they frequent our local areas most beautiful places. The “van lifers,” the RV converts. These are people who have moved out of a permanent residence and make home in their RV, travel trailer, or camper van. What was once a tactic saved for retirees chasing warm weather is now a craze taking the nation by storm. There are many advantages to making this life path your own.
Financial stability
For $200,000 dollars, you can purchase the average home in America today. With rising mortgage rates and a millennial’s average credit score, that is a monthly mortgage between $1,000 and $1,500. That doesn’t include utilities and other bills you want while outfitting your home with living comforts. That monthly number can easily get high enough that your margin of error is eliminated. Between those house payments, your car payment, and other bills, all it takes is one unforeseen financial incident to put you in a bind. Even with your most luxurious of RV options, it is hard to spend more than $100,000. Often it is easy to find something comfortable, capable, and livable in the $20,000 range. An option to consider, you could always downsize to limit your expenses and replace your house with an RV on a plot of land. Those kinds of savings totally change the dynamics of one’s lifestyle month in and month out. Not only do RV inhabitants have the financial flexibility to overcome unforeseen monetary adversities, but that added flexibility creates an impressive upgrade in quality of living.
Financial Recovery
A recent study showed over 60 percent of millennials have over $10,000 in student loan debt. Over 33 percent said they have over $30,000 in student loan debt. Taking on a burdensome mortgage can be intimidating or even not feasible. Trading that mortgage for an RV lifestyle can be one of the fastest ways to begin lowering your amount of debt opposed to adding to it. After moving into a travel trailer, one man paid off his debt of over $85,000 in three years. Even if long-term RV life isn’t for you, it’s a great option for putting yourself in a good position before taking on a home purchase.
Emotional, and literal Freedom
Another recent study by San Francisco State University showed that people feel less stress in their lives and about their finances when they spend their money on experiences instead of material items. RV living leads you down this stress reduction path two different ways. First, the limited amount of square footage available in an RV forces you to trim your material possessions down to what is truly most necessary or important. Second, experiences typically involve travel and luckily for you, your home is travel ready!
It’s easier than it has ever been.
The New York Times recently found out that more than 43 percent of Americans are allowed to spend at least some time working away from the office. Careers are becoming more and more technology dependent, and the option to work remotely is increasingly common. Almost every work organization has technology in place for remote meetings and cloud-based data sharing. Wi-Fi is becoming more and more readily available. Almost every cell phone company in America offers Wi-Fi devices that use cell towers for connectivity. All this means that regardless of where your company calls home, you don’t necessarily have to. With an RV lifestyle, you can relocate to wherever you want, as often as you want, and continue to be a productive employee.
With all this in mind, it’s easy to see why RV living is becoming more and more popular. Do your research, find the nomadic home that best fits you, and go forth living your mobile dream life!