Posted on by AskCathy

PHASE 1 – SimpleLifeRVing.com – Getting the Right Mindset to Full-Time RV

Phase 1 – Full-Time RVing – A New Mindset 
 
How To Live ‘The Good Life’ in a Car, Van, RV, Bus, Boat, etc. 
 
 
Within the next year (more like 6 months), I am preparing to go #FullTimeRVing around the U.S.. You guys know I am famous for creating initiatives, projects, and movements, but this is going to be my new permanent #Lifestyle.
 
In order to prepare and encourage myself for my new lifestyle, it was important to place a map of the U.S. on my wall. As you will learn many RVers will also have a map of the U.S. in their vehicles. So this did nothing but encourage me to keep moving into the direction of my dreams. 
 
Most of you know that I am a stickler for setting goals. I set daily, weekly, monthly, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 5-year goals around — 1) My Health, 2) My Family/Financial Life, and 3) My Business/Career. That’s how I have been able to stay on track in my life.
 
All of you know I love doing things in phases especially Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3. Okay, welcome to Phase 1 of a new idea and lifestyle to bring even more happiness into my life. 
 
These are my Phases as I see them:
  • Phase 1: Getting the Mindset of Going Full-Time RVing. 
  • Phase 2: Finding the Perfect RV.
  • Phase 3: Packing the RV and Getting On the Road.
Phase 1 is simply having that thought pattern and mindset with a PLAN OF ACTION how you will proceed forward. I will be #SwitchingGears and continuing to run my Empowerment and Publishing Company, AngelsPress.com, from the road but many of my teachings will be embracing the #MinimalistLifestyle and teaching RVers and other minimalists how to stay healthy and start businesses on the road — through mostly videos.  
 
Therefore, I won’t take time out of my schedule to write a weekly or monthly e-newsletter, but I will be posting regularly to my NEW BLOG “Simple Life RVing” (SimpleLifeRVing.com), which will feature videos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Periscope and Youtube. Eventually, I will start another podcast on the road. 
 
I have been able to publish some great products on my website over the years, so basically you need to keep going there to look for some great products and services and share this info with your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues.  
 
Unlike my “One Year On The Road Journey” in 2013 when I traveled by car to 15 states holding seminars and workshops, this time I will document the entire journey as I also interview others that have chosen to live a #MinimalistLifestyle in their Cars, Trucks, Vans, Buses, Boats, RVs, etc.  
 
The Marie Konda Effect – #Minimalism
 
I am currently living in Orlando, FL in a Studio/Efficiency apartment so everything I currently own besides a couple of tables for my books, computer, and my bed, fits in my car so going #FullTimeRVing will be a breeze for me to downsize even further, especially after watching “Tidying Up” with Marie Kondo on Netflix. 
 
Marie is kind of a ‘folk hero’ in the minimalist community. Many of the books on Full-Time RV Living mention her teachings and many folks have adopted these, which has helped them adapt to Full-Time RVing.
 
She said, “Americans have too much stuff and if the things you have don’t SPARK JOY, get rid of them.” It sounds pretty logical to me.
 
I really don’t want to have to pay for a storage unit, which can cost up to $90 a month (climate-controlled) or can run close to $1000 a year, so it will be better for me to leave some of my really sentimental items like pictures, old yearbooks, etc., with my two daughters in their ‘sticks and bricks’ homes. 
 
Some people get storage units and never come back to them so it doesn’t make sense to pay a storage fee if you are living Full-Time RVing. It’s best to get rid of everything and have an emergency fund while on the road. 
 
My goal is to find an RV that will fit my bed. I don’t need much just an area to film videos, work in my business, prepare a simple and natural diet, and rest when I get tired. Like most Full-Time RVers, I will be living my life OUTSIDE of the RV. 
 
I originally bought the bed because I had a hard time healing my shoulder that I hurt at CampGladiator.com when I lived in Texas, so I realized that investing in a better bed was what I needed to continue to stay healthy as I AGED GRACEFULLY and now my shoulder seems to be totally healed. So it was a great decision! 
 
Life Can Be An Adventure
 

My entire life has been an adventure so far and I am really enjoying myself. Just some of the things that I look at as adventures in my life include:

  • Surviving my childhood as a Black Sheep Child.
  • Going into the military and traveling to different places.
  • Getting married and having two daughters. 
  • Going to work for the federal government after the military.
  • Working on the El Paso, TX border as a black female.
  • Working and living in sunny Miami for 5 years.
  • Leaving Atlanta after 20 years and traveling around the country by car to 15 states in 2013. 
  • Getting back to nature and growing foods for an entire year in my backyard in Austin, TX in 2018.
Your life can definitely be an adventure. According to Dr. G, Medical Examiner, from the Investigation Discovery Channel and the author of the book “How Not To Die,”
most of the people who end up dead on her slab are white males in their 40s, who are #DareDevils.
 
So know up front at the age of 62, I am not trying to climb mountains or jump out of planes. My adventures are simple — to simply create a life that I can truly love and encourage others around me to do the same.  
 
Growing Up Living “The Good Life”
 
Growing up my mother loved old western pictures with Randolph Scott and I guess you can say her love for these types of pictures also rubbed off on me. I was always fascinated with how folks used to travel across the desert by covered wagons, hoping to make it to California, Oregon, and other areas so they could claim their share of land to homestead on and live “The Good Life.”  
 
This is my fourth time living in the state of Florida. I have also lived in Tallahassee, Miami, Tampa and now Orlando. When I always used to travel around the country or when I was on my way to Florida, I was always so intrigued by all the RVs that I saw on the road. 
 
I always remarked to myself, “What a life to live like that!” But I never knew that people were actually living these FULL-TIME LIVES in an RV or that I too could do this. It just wasn’t something I contemplated at the time. 
 
As I prepare for another BIG ADVENTURE in my life, #FullTimeRVing, I want all of you to have a front seat. Not only do I want all of you to dig deep within your hearts and minds, but I want you to realize that you too can have a life full of adventures, which I also call “The Good Life.” To achieve this good life, you need to be willing to live a “Simple Life RVing” (SimpleLifeRVing.com).
 
Many people have different definitions for “The Good Life.” Looking back on my life growing up, I was indeed living “The Good Life.” I grew up with 8 siblings in rural Georgia very underprivileged in a house on our farm that did not even have running water until much, much later. I remember taking baths in round tin foot tubs back in the day.
 
I had to bath in the water after my 2 sisters and my 3
younger brothers after me. At night my father had a big bucket in a patio room, where he would put some type of dissolvent to keep the smell down, but during the day we went to the outhouse. 
 
Coming up I lived in fear my entire childhood that I would get bit on the butt by a snake. This of course never happened, but there were many, many snakes on our farm. These are the types of things that were just a part of my life growing up.  
 
We were not only minimalists back in my day, but we were HAPPY and HEALTHY #Minimalists and I  have wanted to live this type of lifestyle ever since. So unlike a lot of people today, I know first-hand that getting back to minimalism is a #DoableLifestyle because I have been there and done that. 
 
We lived “A Simpler Life” and everything we ate came from the land — from our farm. I never remember going to a doctor as a child, simply because of the natural and healthy way we lived. GMOs did not exist until the 80s, so back then we really were in a position to live “The Good Life.” 
 
My Roots and Nature Are Calling Me Again
 
I know I need to get BACK TO NATURE because that is when I was mostly at peace in my life. Sure there were obstacles back then that you had to deal with because you had no other options, but still, it did not take away from the fact that my childhood was truly living “The Good Life.”
 
I feel so blessed to have been in a position to live as a homesteader for the first 17 years of my life. At that time to get away from abusive family members especially my mother, as a Black Sheep Child, I would go and sit in nature and look at the beautiful scenery and talk to my echo amongst the trees and sky.
 
I would tell myself “If you can just hang on in there, then my life would be worthy.” So that was one of the first promises I made to myself and every day I have strived to make that a reality. 
 
I do this by continuing to walk on a path of goodness and grace for my family and fellow man — without having a wicked or evil bone in my body. I made myself a promise that I would not just live a “worthy life,” but I would also live a beautiful life, both inside and out. And I would help those around me do the same.  
 
Today people have been so consumed with
“consumerism” to the point that many can’t get off the grid or even downsize and become a minimalist
simply because they just want things — in many cases #ShinyThings.
 
Because they desire all these #ShinyThings (#Materialism), they ignore the one thing that really counts in this lifetime – #TheirHealth.
 
Rent is the #BigEnemy – no doubt. I am not saying give up your dream of owning a big beautiful house in the suburbs with that gated fence and 2 and a half children, but if your health and well-being have suffered because you continuously try to keep up with the #Joneses, then there are OTHER OPTIONS today out here. 
 
People put themselves through stress to have a job, especially to pay for a dwelling. Houses, condos, townhouses, duplexes, and apartments are TRAPS that we fall into. The average American spends 47% of their TAKE HOME PAY for a roof over their head.
 
So if you can knock out that 47% and become #FullTime
RVers or even live in a Car, Van, Bus, Boat, etc., just think how great you can live and how you can see all the beautiful sites, make great friends along the way and have access to all the ORGANIC FOODS you want. This is truly living “The Good Life.” 
 

The other biggie is #MedicalCare so if you were in the military, you get that for free. For others, many RVers are living on $400, $500 and/or $1000 a month (#ChallengeYourself) so it takes discipline to live on that, but again it’s doable.

There are OTHER OPTIONS out there for anyone who fit into these categories. Is that you? 
  • You are struggling to pay your rent or mortgage every month.
  • You are living from PAYCHECK to PAYCHECK.
  • Your job is making you sick.
  • You don’t know if you can make it until retirement.
Why People Go Back To The “Rat Race”
 
Everyone needs to simply ask themselves, “What is it that they really enjoy in life? Can it be talking to a friend or camping in a beautiful place with a beautiful view? You can get all of that by embracing the #MinimalistLifestyle and learn to live in your RV or another vehicle full-time. 
 
Some people have been humbled in their lives with #CurveBalls. They have been forced to live with very little because they were laid off from their jobs or had to deal with some type of injury or illness. Many times this happened because they were working in high pressured jobs, where they were treated poorly by their superiors. 
 
As soon as they got better, they went back and got back into the #RatRace because they had no other ACTION PLAN for their lives. Many do end up giving up their freedom and return. 
 
Once you win your freedom, many people go back into the #RatRace because they never learned how to generate “meaning” in their lives. What you need to do is generate “meaning” in your life. Once you get FREE “meaning” is the thrill of personal evolution. You can feel it in yourself.
 
Personal evolution is a ‘change of perspective’ and a ‘shifting view’ of yourself in the world. It is finding ways to adapt to your life and to improve the way you handle relationships and situations. 
 
To evolve means you develop deep self-awareness and constant improvement of your skills and natural abilities. It is the ability to create your life in accordance with your unique vision. 
 

Whatever we focus on, we will manifest it into our lives. After a while, it goes deeper and deeper into our subconscious and eventually – that’s how we create “meaning” in your life. 
 
Be a Better Person and Get Out of a Rut
 
You set out on this new life and journey — RVing around the country with the idea you are going to become a better person. You are going to live “A Simple Life,” which is also “The Good Life.” You are going to have fun. 
 
And remember just a little adventure makes you hungrier for more and more. After a while, you learn how to adventure very cheaply so this lifestyle can work for many people. The old person that you used to be will go away. 
 
Society defines how we live but if we can get out of the rut and BE FREE, there is a whole world out there. Many of these RVers have changed and they will never be the same again. Many people think it’s their connection to nature. I believe that’s what it is also.
 
Many RVers believe a “disconnect from nature” or “disconnection from nature” has a part in who we are. You have to have a personal desire to change and become a new person. 
 
The people that you have around you can also enrich you so this is why it’s always important to have GOOD PEOPLE around you. Get #CoDreamers — people who can help you make your visions come true. 
 
Know that there are so many, many benefits to going Full-Time RVing and that you have made a GOOD CHOICE. Every single person that lives Full-Time in their RVs or are Van Dwellers or live in REBUILT cars, trucks, buses, boats, horse trailers, etc., has lost weight, been able to tone their bodies and now have a RENEWED ENERGY about life.
 
When you live in nature, you just automatically become more active and that means burning more calories. So not only will you be getting healthier along the way, you will be saving money on top of it. 
 
Full-Time RVing Lifestyle
 
There is no job security anymore. We are all just one or two decisions away from a MAJOR CHANGE in our lives, which include:
  • Loss of a Job
  • Loss of Health
  • Loss of a Relationship

Many are charmed by the living FullTime RV lifestyle and what they are doing is creating their ideal communities.

  •  
Prepare For The Journey
 
Figure out which RV you can afford. Part of the

enjoyment is the participation. People are going to think you are crazy. It’s not about you. It’s about them so don’t listen to ‘naysayers’.

If you have reservations about RVing full-time in the U.S., then rent or borrow an RV and make a long trip and see what you think about it. Also, try to visit local RV repair shops to learn about typical problems with RVs. 
 
Read about living in RVs from online forums and visit campgrounds to get a feel for living in them. Watch youtube.com videos, read books, talk to others who are already doing it. If you are unhappy with your life — JUST DO IT — #TransitionNow to #FullTimeRVing. 
 
What’s holding you back from living “The Good Life?”Tell your adult children you are leaving and going full-time on the road. They can stay with a friend or another family member, and/or get a roommate. If you have young kids, they can learn online as you travel on the road.
 
If you have a home start packing up things and have a garage sale every week. Many RVers downsize and sell everything. Many others just turn their homes over to their adult children. 
 
You don’t have to be “debt-free” to become a Full-Time RVer. Figure the debt into your budget. You can do it sooner than you think.
 
Conduct…Research, Research, Research. Get the smallest RV, but check reviews on make and model and get on a facebook group for that model and remember size does matter.
 
This is “The Good Life.” If people can GET FREE, they will discover what fascinates them. Discover your fascination, wake up your creativity and share yourself on the road. This can be done very cheaply. Freedom is so wonderful! There are really fine people out there on the road that live the life with you. 
 
Most people said they have more friends RVing on the road than when they lived in houses, condos, duplexes, apartments, etc. so remember because of GMOs, which turns the brain off, many people don’t even speak to each other anymore in ‘sticks and bricks’ homes and many RVers are eating even healthier on the road because they are saving money. 
 
 
Took Sick To Travel – #GetBetter
 
I suggest you start planning and if you are not healthy enough to come out on the road, then #GetBetter by living a HOLISTIC and NATURAL lifestyle.
 
Before I embarked on my One Year On the Road Journey in 2013, I had to get better and stronger and that I did because I really wanted that experience in my life. That was the beginning of creating the life that I could truly love. 
 
Resources for Full-Time RVing
 
Of course, you know that I too will be writing a book on my new adventures entitled “Simple Life RVing: How To Embrace Minimalism and Live ‘The Good Life’ in a Car, Van, RV, Bus or Boat.”
 
Meanwhile, there are so many books on Amazon.com, the world’s largest book website, and other book websites and in stores and libraries to help you transition into this type of lifestyle. 
 
Just some of my favorite books that are helping me prepare for my journey include:
One of my favorite websites that can help you prepare for a #FullTimeRVingLifestyle or living in a Car, Van, Bus, Boat, etc. is CheapRVLiving.com. Check out the interviews with families living in a Van or RV.
 
There are always RVers in facebook forums who can answer all your RV questions so check them out day and night at: 
Major Yearly RV Events
 
  • Women RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendevous): Jan. 4-8, 2020. Gathering of women RVers in Quartzsite, AZ. 
  • RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendevous): Jan. 8-18, 2020. Gathering of men and women RVers. Rent an RV if you don’t have one by then or just stay in your car or van and/or just bring a tent. You need to be at all these events. They will be signing minimalists up on the spot for work camping jobs.
  • Quartzsite Annual RV Show: Quartzsite Annual RV Show – 37th Annual Sports, Vacation and RV Show – Jan 18-26th, 2020 – Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM, Show Grounds Location – 700 S. Central – Quartzsite, AZ  85346.
  • Escapees.com New Year Meetup.com: Dec. 30, 2019-Jan. 2, 2020. This group give discounts at RV parks and hold several events throughout the year so join them today.
  • RVSingles.com: If you are single and want to meet friends on the road, especially if you are looking for the opposite sex, join this group today. They have several gatherings all over the country. Other single events are posted at my article entitled “Meet Someone On the Road: Get Out of Your ‘Comfort Zone.'”
Google RV shows and start attending RV shows near you or just go to RV dealerships or attend van dwellers events. If you have the money to purchase a used or new RV,  start looking on RVTrader.com, Facebook marketplace, eBay, or Craigslist to buy an RV from a personal seller. 
 
Go into a period of study to see if this minimalist lifestyle, car, van or bus dweller’s lifestyle and/or #RVLiving (full-time) can work for you. What do you have to lose?
 
Remember, you can always move back in a ‘sticks and bricks’ home or another dwelling again later on, so it’s not like you are losing anything. Just don’t forget to #Live, #Love and #EnjoyTheJourney along the way. Good luck!
 
Join me as I hit the road:
 
 
Cathy Harris is a #VanDweller living ‘The Good Life.’ Her blog website is SimpleLifeRVing.com. She is also an Empowerment and Motivational Speaker, Advice Columnist at DearCathy.com, Non-GMO Health and Wellness Expert, Business and Love Coach and Self-Publishing Expert and the author of 26 non-fiction books at www.AngelsPress.com. Her books cover topics such as family and community empowerment, health, youth and adult entrepreneurship, writing/publishing, workplace discrimination, whistleblowing, government, law enforcement, domestic and international traveling, politics, media, beauty, car buying and selling for women, aging/retirement – just to name a few. She offers seminars, workshops, and consultations at www.CathyHarrisInternational.com.