Travel Archives - Page 3 of 25 - Making Sense Of Cents

My Year In Travels – Where I Went in 2017 – Hiking, Biking, RVing, Sailing, and More

January 5, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 51 Comments

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2017 was an amazing year. We traveled to many new areas in the RV, went on a 10-day sailing trip, climbed several mountains, went on many bike rides, saw killer whales in their natural habitat, rode the third longest tram in the world, went on a brewery trail (yep, it exists!), and more.

We traveled to 18 states, too many cities to even keep track of, stayed in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and sailed in the British Virgin Islands. We saw beautiful mountains, oceans, beaches, deserts, and everything in between.

We visited several new places, and we revisited many of our favorites as well. Some people think we're crazy for visiting the same place more than once, but we are always doing new things, and I think it's impossible to see and do everything if you only visit a place once. Plus, if you enjoyed your visit once, why not enjoy it some more?

2017 was an amazing year, full of great travel, building friendships and relationships, and more. I couldn't have asked for a better year.

Here's where we RVed in 2017. Credit: https://visitedstatesmap.com

Quick list of my favorite things from 2017: [Read more…]

How I’ve Paid Off $29,000 In Debt By Living In a Van

December 20, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 40 Comments

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Michelle's quick note: Today, I have a great article from Sarah of Tiny Van Big Living about how living in a van is saving her money. She has paid off $29,000 in debt so far by living in a van and is working on paying off the rest. I heard her story and I asked her to share it with all of you. Enjoy this #vanlife article!

Hello there, my name is Sarah, and I currently live in a tiny van full-time! I am a traveling Occupational Therapist who has taken on the minimalist lifestyle, in order to pay off student loans and gain more experiences while doing so.

May 2016, I decided to make a leap from a spacious two bedroom apartment in Los Angeles to full-time living in a van in Alaska. This decision was not made overnight. It evolved over time when I became more knowledgeable about minimal lifestyle and personal finance. I have been living full-time in a 2010 Ford Transit Connect for over a year now and have no plans to return to standard housing anytime soon!

Van life and RV-related content:

[Read more…]

How To Teach English From Home And Earn $14 to $26 An Hour

December 15, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 10 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello! Today, I have a great article from Janice Cook about how to teach English from home through online tutoring jobs with VIPKID. I've been hearing GREAT things about VIPKID, so I'm glad this reader of Making Sense of Cents volunteered to talk about her experience teaching English online with VIPKID. She has been a school teacher for 12 years and also teaches ESL online to students in China with VIPKID since February of 2017. Below is her article on how to teach English online:

Do you want to be a stay-at-home parent who can make some money in the early morning hours before your spouse leaves for work?

Do you want to work an extra 10 hours on the weekend to supplement your current income, pay down debt, and reach your goals more quickly?

Do you want to travel the world and take your job with you on the go? [Read more…]

Why would you make $100,000+ a month and live in an RV?

October 30, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 88 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

My name is Michelle and I live in an RV. And, yes, I regularly earn over $100,000 a month.

A common question I often receive involves why would I make a high income and live in an RV. As if only a "certain" type of people are allowed to live in an RV and everyone else is just lying about it. A common question I receive is “Why would you make $100,000+ and live in an RV?”

I am asked this question so often that it deserved to be its own article. And, if you want to get to the point quickly, it’s simple – we do it because we LOVE RVing.

There are a lot of assumptions that people make about why we live in an RV, like we’re hippies or even homeless. On the other end of the spectrum, some people assume that we’ve inherited a ton of money and don’t actually work, ha!

Other people assume that if we just bought a real house we would love it and quit RVing. Well, we did own a “real” house for six years, and we still love RVing more.

Whenever people make these comments, though, I think what they should be asking is, “Why wouldn't a person live in an RV if they could?”

To us, full-time RVing is freedom. We can chase good weather, we can visit friends and families all over the country, we can wake up one morning by the ocean, and spend the night next to a snow capped mountain. It also means that we understand how little we actually need to live, and that is true freedom. [Read more…]

How This Couple Does Van Life with A Baby (and a dog!)

October 25, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 21 Comments

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Giddi and Jace live in a van and travel full-time with their baby and dog. They are outdoor enthusiasts who purchased and converted a Sprinter van. Come here for van life DIY ideas, hacks, interior looks, tips, how they shower, how they afford their travel budget, and more! #vanlife Next up in my Extraordinary Series is Giddi and Jace from Our Home On Wheels. They live in a van and travel full-time with their baby (yes, a baby!) named Juniper, and their dog, Lotus. They are outdoor enthusiasts who purchased and converted a Sprinter van in March of 2016.

When they first started full-time travel, they had no more than $40 to their names.

Before they moved into their van, they were feeling stuck and unhappy in their full-time jobs.

Now, they fund full-time travel by selling their handmade jewelry, and they also collaborate with brands on social media.

Their Instagram account is one of my favorites, and it’s how I first found out about them.

In this interview, you'll learn:

How they live in a van with three people and a dog
How they are raising their beautiful baby in a van
How they earn a living traveling full-time
And more!

[Read more…]

How To Make Extra Money By Renting Out Your RV

September 27, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 16 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you looking for a way to make extra income, maybe by providing an RV rental? According to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, over 8.9 million households own an RV, and this number only continues to increase.

Many RVs sit unused in storage lots, driveways, and backyards, so why not try to make a little money while you’re not using your RV?

And, who doesn’t want to earn a little extra money?

As you know, I talk a lot about how to make extra money here on Making Sense of Cents because I believe that earning extra income can completely change your life. By learning about different ways to make extra money, you can stop living paycheck to paycheck, you can pay off your debt, and more.

Due to the fact that I learned how to make extra money, I was able to pay off $38,000 in student loans within 7 months, I was able to leave my day job in order to pursue my passion, travel full-time, and more! [Read more…]

Create a Life You Don’t Need To Escape From

September 18, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 28 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” – Seth Godin

To make life better, create a better life you don't need to escape from. Do you constantly dread going to work or some other task? Here are ways to make your life better. I know this quote will stir up some feelings. However, I want you to dig deeper and think about the true meaning of it, which I’ll get to in a second.

First, though, dreaming about vacations isn't a bad thing – we all do it.

Honestly, I'm always looking forward to the next destination (after all, I do travel full-time). But, if you aren’t traveling full-time, vacations do allow you to explore new places, relax, have fun, and more. And, because of all of that, they really can make life better.

When thinking of the quote, though, I think it’s saying – you should create a life that you don't hate. Honestly, it’s possible that taking vacations are causing you unhappiness, especially if you are taking on more debt to travel.

However, the life this quote mentions is one where you don't have to purchase things to make you happy, a life where you don't dread every single day, a life where you actually look forward to things, and are positive. [Read more…]

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