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Our house in under contract!

May 62015



House-Contract-for-sale

We have been working very hard the past couple months preparing our house for sale. We listed it late last Friday night (May 1) and we had three offers by Monday (May 4). We are flabbergasted, grateful, anxious and excited. 

Selling our house is the last BIG piece of the exhausting journey to living and traveling full-time in our shiny, tiny home. I believe the insane amount of effort we put into getting the house ready for sale made the difference in selling it so quickly. Painting, cleaning, a new roof, a new furnace, staging, downsizing – countless hours of sweat and effort went into getting this home ready for the next family. I can easily say that it’s nicer than when we purchased!

Now we just hope and pray that we get through the appraisal, inspection and buyer financing that is needed to seal the deal the first week of June. That’s right – we could be out of here in just over a month!

The last day of school is June 12 and we would love to be on the road the weekend after that. Only time (and a lot more hard work) will tell if that’s possible! We have more downsizing to do to fit into 200 square feet, a storage unit to rent, and a lot of minor things like address changes and doctor/dentist check-ups to fit in before then.

Stay tune as we round this important corner toward what feels like the last sprint toward our dream of full-time travel!

{ 2 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Planning

Grayland Beach State Park Campground {Washington} – our maiden voyage

Apr 112015



Grayland Beach State Park

Our Maiden Voyage with Stella {our Airstream} happened over Spring Break, April 8-10, 2015. We had booked a camping spot at Grayland Beach State Park in Western Washington. We chose Grayland because it was a short 80-mile distance from home, an easy driving route and on the beach.

Location – Grayland Beach State Park, camping spot 102
Available services – Electrical and water hook-up (no sewer, but dumping available in campground)
Cost – $30/night, plus $8 web reservation fee = $68 for two night

It’s recommended you take a little “shake down” trip with your new (or used) rig a few times before you head out for a big trip. It’s a good opportunity to test your trailer systems to make sure all systems are working properly. I was a ball of nerves – although we had a very thorough walkthrough when we picked Her up, it was the first time we’d be doing everything on our own – hitching her up, hooking her up to water, leveling her and using all the systems.

Grayland Beach State Park - Airstream

Once we got to the campsite, got her backed in, leveled and plugged in – I finally let out that first sigh of relief. I think I had been holding my breath all the way from Olympia. 🙂 Had we really just got here in one piece? I was so grateful and giddy to have arrived as planned.

Shiny Airstream at Grayland Beach State Park (Washington)

It didn’t take us long to completely relax and immerse ourselves in the beauty and fun around us. How could we not? The weather was GLORIOUS – sunshine, no wind, and temps in the 60’s – rare conditions for a Washington beach in April.

Sandy log at Grayland Beach State Park

We headed straight to the beach – a short five minute walk from our campsite. The beaches at Grayland aren’t rocky like some – lots of nice soft sand, driftwood and shells.

Kid playing with crabs at Grayland Beach State Park

And crab. Lots of crab shells laying around, which Liam enjoyed playing with.

[Read more…]

{ 10 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Destinations, Washington

The BIG purge. Downsizing from 2,000 to 200 square feet.

Apr 52015



Project-Downsize-550-Take-That-Exit

Of all the things we’ve done to prepare for life on the road – I’d rank downsizing as one of the most exhausting tasks. 

When you live in a big house you tend to fill it up. It’s human nature. It’s consumer nature.

All the kitchen gadgets you thought would rock your world. All the Target red-tag-clearance-treasures you just had to have. The clothes that you thought you’d fit into some day. It all adds up.

And I have to say – it feels a whole lot harder selling it then it was buying it. 🙂

I considered donating and giving it all away. That seemed noble and it sure seemed easier.

BUT – I knew we could use the funds. Prepping for a life on the road was expensive, getting our house ready to sell was expensive, my husband giving notice at work was scary.

I was determined to try and sell my items for as much a fair price as I could get. So I started February 1 and I’m so glad I did – because it has taken me weeks of constant effort to sell my items.

1.) Find a local Facebook Buy, Sell, Trade group to sell your items

2.) Sell used books on Amazon {see my tutorial on selling used books on Amazon here}

3.) Have an epic garage sale (or two?) 

4.) Donate items to Goodwill or local thrift shop

5.) Give items away to friends and family

6.) Rent a storage unit for meaningful items

If you’re planning to downsize for full-time travel, I recommend starting immediately – give yourself as much time as you can. You’ll earn more if you take your time and sell items online or in Facebook groups than you will if you just have a big garage sale.

Garage-sale-downsize-sale

If you want very detailed updates on our 2015 Downsizing progress, I’ve been blogging about it over on my Queen Bee Coupons site – 

Week 1 update here – earned $548.16
Week 2 update here – earned $1,283.47
Week 3 update here – earned $432.40
Week 4 update here – earned $300
Week 5 update here – earned $395
Week 6 update here – earned $160
Week 7 update here – earned zilch, nada, nothing!
Week 8 update here – earned $645!!
Week 9 and 10 update – earned $715
Week 11 update – earned $3,280.88 {garage sale}
Year-to-date – $7759.91

I can’t wait to hit the road without the burden of STUFF pulling me down.

{ 5 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Planning

Places and people we’d like to see {a growing list}

Apr 32015



United-States-Map

We are less than two months to take off and we have only one campground reservation and only a basic idea of where we want to go. We want to follow the good weather – sticking to the northern states in the summer and heading south and southwest for the winter.

Here’s a general sketch of places and people we’d like to see along the route. Organize alphabetically by state. This list is not complete – not even close – but it’s a start. We haven’t even really begun to research and plan. It’s a brainstorm of sorts.

We will be updating this list as we get closer – and of course, sharing our adventures as we go!

If you have a favorite place you think we should see – leave a comment and let us know!

[Read more…]

{ 35 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Destinations, Planning

How can we afford full-time travel?

Apr 12015



How we afford full-time travel?

The burning question – “How can you afford to do this?” 

The question everyone wants to ask, but only few do. It’s okay. Ask us. Let’s talk about it.

We don’t have trust funds. We didn’t win the lottery. We are not independently wealthy. 

Here’s the top-level 10-seconds-in-an-elevator answer – We lived frugally – spending the last 11 years living below our means, even when some of those years were extremely lean. We clipped coupons, shopped discount racks and second-hand stores, and said “no” to a lot of purchases. We paid off all our student loan debt ($80,000!). We worked hard to build an online business that allows us (Heather) to work remotely. We paid extra on our mortgage every month. We avoided consumer debt. And we saved. . .a lot.

It is that simple. 

When we decided to take the plunge into full-time travel we had saved enough to pay cash for the tow vehicle and the trailer. This was key for us. We didn’t want the pressure of debt on the road.

We are debt free on the road, have a savings account/emergency fund, investment accounts and have a steady livable income from our online business.

An added bonus is our cost of living has dropped dramatically since moving out of our “traditional home” and traveling full time.  Think about it – no bills for heating, electricity, water, cable, internet, landline phone, security system, homeowners dues, property taxes, mortgage, daycare, preschool tuition. . . and so much less consumer debt – you’re not heading to Target and filling your cart with clearance treasures because you don’t have any place to store it!

Of course everyone’s situation is unique, but I would encourage most families considering full-time travel to :

1.) Start debt free

2.) Have an emergency fund established (3-6 months living expenses)

3.) Have an income source in place that allows you to make money on the road

4.) Have a monthly budget that keeps you in the green and make intentional choices to follow your budget

If you have any other budget questions – ask! We hope to be as transparent as possible so that we can help other families pursue the dream of full-time travel. 

{ 14 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Budget

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