Stealth Camping or Layovering

JaxDad wrote:
I read it, but maybe my post wasn't clear enough.

My point was, and still is, that without a kitchen (or to a lesser impact, storage) your options for economical nutritious food are VERY limited.

Put another way, you seem so focused on a single end goal that you're not seeing the big picture.

If you could save ONLY $10 / day on food that's $300 / month. Nearly your car payment. If you spent that money on rent in an RV park or something equivalent you can then save another $50 / month by not needing a PO box, gym membership or storage either.

The below is an average, but I feel it's pretty accurate.

Monthly Food Expense
• Ramen Noodles $2.50 Box of 12
To cook Ramen, I get Hot water from the coffee machine at work usually or from a gas station
o 9 per week
o 0.21 cents per bag
o $1.89 per week
o $7.56 per month
• Canned Food $1.00 per can
I usually microwave the canned food at work, sometimes I'll go into the truck stop and ask if I can use their microwave, I try not to do this often.
o 9 per week
o $1.00 per can
o $9.00 per week
o $36.00 per month
• Little Cesar’s $5.00 per pizza
Best deal on the planet, but not the best pizza
o 1 per week
o $5.00 per pizza
o $5.00 per week
o $20.00 per month
• Fast Food $6.00 per meal
Usually this is just the dollar menu at McDonalds or other fast food places
o 4 per week
o $6.00 per meal
o $24.00 per week
o $96.00 per month
• Monthly Total
o $159.56

I'm thinking about getting a Coleman 1 or 2 stove burner so I can cook healthier food. Most likely I would be limited to this on the weekends when I'm at parks and out of the city.

My first week living in the Prius was pretty rough in regards to cash, I didn't have much money, and needed it for gas and food. About 20 dollars I think. I ate nothing but Ramen noodles and drove very little. I ate roughly 28 packages of Ramen Noodles which comes out to about $5.88 and the rest was used on gas.

When I first thought of living in my car, I initially thought about claiming resident at a RV. The minimum monthly rate I've found is 435 dollars, and I'm not sure if I want to spend that much money. That's 435 dollars I can save by sticking with Truck stops, Walmarts, and hotel parking lots. Let's say I eliminate the Gym, Mobley, P.O. Box (do they accept mail at a campground?), I save about 51 dollars a month. I'm still spending 384 dollars more than I normally would. Then my monthly expenses would go up to 867 dollars a month.