RV Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Making Sense Of Cents

Less is More: Guide To Becoming a Minimalist

Last Updated: January 9, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 35 Comments

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Are you interested in becoming a minimalist? Or, maybe you just want to get rid of some clutter and extra nonsense in your life?

Whatever your reason may be, cutting back on the number of things you own can help you in many ways.

Here are some interesting facts about how clutter impacts our lives:

The average house has 300,000 items.
Nearly 10% of households also rent a self-storage unit.
The average person spends 12 days per year looking for things they can’t find.
Every day the average office worker spends 1.5 hours looking for things (when a simple filing system like one of these would solve this problem!).
In a recent survey, 55% of consumers stated they would save anywhere from 16 to 60 minutes a day if they were organized.
23% of people pay bills late and have to pay late fees because they are unable to find their bills.
In the last few decades, the average home has nearly tripled in size.

If you’re looking for blog posts on how to become a minimalist and becoming a minimalist, then you’ve come to the right place. [Read more…]

11 Reasons to Choose RV Life

Last Updated: January 15, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 71 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

It’s been over a year since me, my husband, and our two dogs started living the RV life full-time.

People keep asking us when we will stop traveling, grow up, and buy a house again.

Well, not anytime soon!

While I know that traveling full-time and RV life isn’t for everyone, I also know that I don’t want to live in a “normal” home anytime soon.

Now, don’t get me wrong, living in a house can be great. And, when I owned one, I loved it at the time. However, I just love RV life much, much more.

And, I don’t think I’m alone.

According to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, in 2016 RV sales reached their highest total since 1977. More than 9,000,000 households own an RV, which is also the highest level ever recorded. And, buyers between the ages of 35 and 54 are the largest segment of RV owners, so there are a lot of other young RVers who are pursuing this lifestyle as well. [Read more…]

How To Travel On A Budget And Still Have The Time Of Your Life

Last Updated: October 4, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 65 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

One of the top reasons I hear for why a person doesn’t travel more is that they feel they don’t have enough money to do so. However, it’s very possible to travel on a budget and still have a great time!

Many people think that they need to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars in order to have a good vacation, and/or that vacations are only for those with high incomes.

Well, that’s simply not true.

I know many people who successfully travel on low incomes, travel for free, travel for cheap, and more – and yes, they have a great time even when budgeting!

And, you can do it too. Yes, you can go on an amazing trip and still travel on a budget. It may take a little bit of effort and planning, but it can be well worth it in the end.

By finding ways to travel on a budget, you can go on a stress free vacation and not have to worry about money. This makes a vacation much more enjoyable, because who wants to think about money when they are trying to relax? [Read more…]

Why Paying For A Storage Unit Is A Waste of Money

Last Updated: September 28, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 57 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The average home size in 1950 was less than 1,000 square feet. Fast forward to now, the average home size has increased to around 2,600 square feet, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Despite that, according to SpareFoot, nearly 10% of households also rent a self-storage unit.

That is a lot of storage units!

Just over a year ago, in July 2016, we cleared out our storage unit. We were paying $185 a month for a small storage unit, mainly for photo albums and childhood items.

We only had the storage unit for around 6 months, but in that small amount of time we had already spent $1,110 in storage unit costs.

That’s just an unbelievable amount of money to spend on things that we knew we weren’t going to need or use for at least several years. [Read more…]

What It’s Like Living In An RV

Last Updated: December 6, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 58 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

For the past year, me and my husband, as well as our two dogs, have been living in an RV.

Some people think we’re crazy (okay, most people think that), others are extremely interested and want to do it as well, but the most common question we receive from anyone is “What is it like living in an RV?”

Makes sense, as living in an RV isn’t the “normal” American dream.

Just over a year ago, I never thought I’d live in an RV either. It was never a dream of mine or anything like that. I never gave it a second thought.

However, one step into an RV and I knew it was for me. Living in our RV full-time has been the best thing ever, and we truly love living in an RV. [Read more…]

The Ultimate Guide To Getting Started RVing

Last Updated: December 12, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 35 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Recently, we celebrated our one year anniversary of RVing. This past year of RVing has been really amazing for us. There hasn’t been a single day when we’ve wished that we lived in a “real” home!

We love seeing new places, trying new adventures, meeting new people, learning about new areas, and more.

However, if you’re thinking about RVing, then you may be a little overwhelmed with questions.

After all, RVing is a somewhat new lifestyle that not too many people take part in. So, this can lead to many questions!

If you’re interested in RVing, check out these other blog posts on Making Sense of Cents:

Whether you are a young RVer or if you’ve reached retirement age and want to start the RVing lifestyle, there are several things you may want to think about and research. [Read more…]

Celebrating Our One Year RV Life Anniversary

Last Updated: December 10, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 83 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

In the past year, we’ve traveled around 15,000 miles just in the RV (RV life for the win!), with even more miles put on our car (when we tow it, no miles are added, so in total we’ve actually traveled more than 30,000 miles).

In the RV, we’ve already traveled to many awesome places such as:

The Pacific Northwest (Wes cycled 1,000 miles from Port Angeles, Washington to San Francisco, California while I drove myself and our two dogs in the RV). We went to Mount Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, Kalaloch and Ruby Beach, Hoh National Rainforest, La Push Beach, and many other beautiful places. This was the trip of a lifetime!
Utah (many times) – Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, and many other places.
Colorado (many times) – Rocky Mountain National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, and many other places.
“Home” in Missouri
Mississippi
Arizona – Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Sedona, and many other places.
California – This was a part of the Pacific Northwest trip, but we continued on and hopped along beaches all the way to Los Angeles.
Wyoming – Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

[Read more…]

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