Our experiment, for that is what I believe it always was, has finally come to a close. It was sometime around May/June 2014 when we bought the 1997 Fleetwood Wilderness Fifth Wheel, and commenced what I lovingly called, "The Great Downsizing."
The idea was simple. We would avoid high apartment rent, and gain an asset of value, while downsizing our cost of living and lifestyle in order to pay off some debts, and generally just save more money. How did it go? Well, like most things in life, not exactly to plan.
Once we committed to buying the RV, Juliet decided to go work for her dad with the mission teams in Mexico. At the time, I had 3 days off per week, so I drove down frequently to visit her while she stayed there. The original RV plan had included her keeping her decent paying job that she hated for a year so that we could knock all the debts out, and then begin working for her dad. We essentially flipped that, and did the opposite.
And, for a time it worked. We still managed to pay down some of the bigger debts, and for the most part did not incur too much more, despite her not bringing in an income anymore. And, living in the RV, for me, was a fun experience at first.
And then, Tyler moved back into town. My best friend Tyler had just about every tool, and life experience, to fix anything and everything (and he still does). He was kind enough on multiple occasions to help me with some of the heftier projects. We installed new, more stable piping under the sink. We replaced the A/C Motor to give the Air conditioner new life. And, he helped on many small things as well.
When they visited, Juliet's dad also did some small repairs.
I think because of these people around us, I pushed for us to stay in the RV longer than I probably would have if I'd not had the help.
When Juliet finished in Mexico and came back up in May of this year, we knew she'd need to get a job somewhere. We had survived on the little bit she got from the teams in Mexico, so I knew she could work wherever she wanted, for whatever pay she could get. Anything would be an upgrade financially at that point. She chose to work somewhere that makes her happy, essentially playing with dogs all day (her dream job for sure). What I hadn't counted on, was the issue of where to put all of her things once she moved back to the RV, on top of having two dogs taking up space. It was never cramped, but it was also never an abundance of space for storage.
And then it got to be a little too much...
This past weekend, the rain (or at least I believe it was the rain) shorted something out, and we haven't been able to get the AC or lights working. If we're lucky, it'll turn out that the electric pole shorted out and the community will fix it. If we aren't, then something went wrong on the RV, and it became temporarily unlivable. Either way we had to spend 4 nights at hotels because the weather wasn't quite cool enough yet to go without AC in Austin. We had been discussing a move back to a 1 bedroom apartment by the end of the year, but because of the new problem with the electricity/air conditioner, our timetable got pushed up.
We had visited a few apartments to get ideas, but we never imagined we'd be back 24 hours later to lease whatever we could find available at a decent price. It was either that, or keep paying nightly at hotels (way more expensive in the long run).
So, with a measure of frustration, which soon turned to excitement, we sought out an apartment community. We landed at a nice community in the north part of Round Rock, near the outlet mall and IKEA. It wasn't too far from where the RV park had been, so our commute didn't increase too much.
We found a nice 1st floor, 1 bed/1bath apartment with a washer/dryer in unit (so great to have). Today, we got the keys, and paid the move in costs. Because of the short notice, we were able to get some generous, last minute help to meet all of the initial costs.
Tonight will be the first night in nearly a year and a half that I will sleep in a new home that isn't the RV. Honestly, it's a bit of a relief, despite my fondness for the RV lifestyle in the beginning.
Our next step is to get it put in storage and try to sell it. I have a feeling the issues were community related instead of RV related, so the AC and things should still be good. Hopefully we can sell it for enough to knock out a few months rent, and just buy some general flexibility.
Overall, the Great down sizingwas not a bad thing at all. But, as with any experiment, it eventually must end.
The RV allowed Juliet to do what she loved in Mexico for nearly a year. It allowed us to pay off some debts and bills, and learn to live with a little less. I learned a few handyman tricks that I can someday implement on a house. We still have an asset (albeit a fixer-upper asset) and can get some money back on it. Overall, it was a good life experience, and I don't regret it. I think it was there for the time we needed it, but now it's time to move on again to creature comforts like a maintenance team, and a washer, dryer, and dishwasher.
I still would recommend downsizing to someone thinking about it. But, I would suggest paying a little more for the RV and getting a newer model. We bought one that was a bit older, and as such, had a few maintenance items to take care of in our time with it. Overall, it has held up pretty well considering its age. Still, the investment for something a bit newer would be worth it in the long haul and same some headache.
I think we will still do what we can to maintain a lifestyle of a little less. We'll still do our best to set aside money that we can. Ultimately, whatever we end up being able to do, we can do it with a bit more comfort and peace of mind than we've had for the last year. The trade off at this point seems worth it, so it's time to close one chapter, and begin another.
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