Optimistic Paranoid wrote:
I tend to agree that $500 a month is not much.
But it can be done.
I'm just not sure you'd enjoy living like that.
Spend some time over on Bob Wells' site, Cheap RV Living.
http://www.cheaprvliving.com
Lot's of people there getting by on less than $1,000 a month. They can tell you what it's going to be like.
That guy's $500 budget does not include any costs of depreciation/replacing vehicles. It doesn't budget one cent for health care and health insurance. It doesn't have a penny set aside for utilities. And apparently you are staying for free because there is nothing for site costs. The website stresses the benefits of "freedom", but how free are you if you only have $25.00 for gas a month. How is the fact you can't have heat or air conditioning (again, no budget for utilities and no solar system can power those items) considered living carefree?
Thankfully, the OP's plan isn't exactly based on living only on the $500. However, I think they will at best struggle mightily and probably fail completely. If you don't like the rat race of your chosen profession, you probably aren't going to like being tied to a minimum wage job to survive.
When we hire work campers we have pretty specific profile we look for. The OP would not meet that criteria. We look for people who have the financial means to support themselves and are looking for something to do and perhaps stretch their budget. Unless they were executives who were high earners in high pressure positions, the younger "tired of the rat race" crowd doesn't interest us. To me, that sounds like someone who wants to put a positive spin on the fact they don't want to work. If the OP and wife were in their late 50s, early 60s lclose to financially securing their future and were having their jobs phased out, that opinion might be different. But they are in their early 50s, which should be their peak earnings and time to intensely save and plan for retirement. Without a substantial nest egg (and $100,000 doesn't come close to qualifying) they are making a decision that will likely negatively effect the rest of their lives. It isn't something I would even tacitly endorse by hiring them. This isn't intended to be smug or rude, just stating what I think is a very realistic opinion.
