I’ve been so busy working and researching and working and working that I haven’t taken the time to write. But I finally made the decision on my departure date, so let the countdown begin!

August 1, 2022

It is scary. It is exciting. It makes me anxious and giddy.

It’s hard to believe I made the decision over 2, almost 3, months ago to move into my SUV. Since then I have continued to watch videos, research, research some more, plan, change and make more plans and figure things out.

The hardest decision was to figure out WHEN. And after a lot of thinking and putting things into action, I have finally made the decision – 08.01.2022 will be the beginning of a whole new way of life for me.

The Decisions I Had To Make

There were a lot of little things that factored into my decision. When would my roommate (who is my ex) be able to move out, what am I going to do with all the dogs (my son’s dog was left in my care and I rescued one of the pups I had given away so I now have 5 dogs!), how much time am I going to need to go through all the STUFF in the house and garage and what was I going to do with it all, and, of course, money. How much do I have, how much will I need, and how will I make it while living in my Nissan Rogue.

My roommate.

Sorry bud, but it’s time to go. He recently changed jobs and needs time to get back on his feet, so these next few weeks will give him time to do that. June 30th is that deadline.

5 dogs.

Jack: I adopted him from a friend in Feb 2007 (15.5 years), he is elderly and dying. He is my 1st furbaby.
Bella: She is Jack’s daughter and I’ve had her since she was born Dec 2011 (10.5 years).
Fred: He was born to my son’s girlfriend’s dog in Jul 2020 and I’ve had him since he left the litter (almost 2 years).
Teddy Bear: Fred & Daphne’s spawn (Daphne is my daughter, Tori’s, dog). We have had him since birth in Jul 2021. He was Dylan’s dog but since Dylan and family moved they were not able to take him and he has been in my care.
Freyja: She is Fred & Daphne’s spawn and Bear’s sister. She was adopted out when she was old enough to leave the litter but rescued about 2 months ago. She is the smallest of the big dogs and I already love her so much.

THIS is one of the hardest decisions as my pets have always been FAMILY to me. But I have to do what’s best for them, for me and for my sanity. I am rehoming my son’s dog (Bear) as I just cannot take care of 3 big dogs and 2 little dogs in my SUV, especially high energy dogs that are not fully trained. I am on the fence with Fred as he is the biggest of the dogs, but I’ve had him for almost 2 years and love him dearly. Jack is elderly and probably will not live through summer, so he stays until his final day.

At this point, I am planning on taking Jack, Bella, and Freyja for sure. I am considering also taking Fred.

STUFF

This is also a difficult process. I have too much stuff. I am also the family member that has been the most settled and have other people’s stuff stored for them.

One thing I know is that I do not want to pay for a storage unit long-term. There are, however, some things I am not willing to part with yet. Once I have narrowed down what I absolutely will not be getting rid of in one way or another, then I will determine if I need a storage unit or if a family member can store some things for me – things I will eventually be able to put in a camper van when I get one.

The first step in this process is for me to get everyone else’s stuff to them and out of the way of deciding what to do with everything else.. that means ROAD TRIP! I will be packing up all of my sister’s stuff and driving down to California to drop it all off – as well as some family heirlooms and pictures it will now be up to her to manage and pass on. (I’m glad for this as it will be Jack’s last road trip and my grandson, Sebastian’s, first road trip and I’m so excited to share this with them!)

When I return I will have just over 4 weeks to clean out the rest of my belongings, whether it be giving to family members, donating, selling, giving away or trash, and to clean the place as well as to organize my Nissan Rogue with the things I will be keeping and purchasing.

Money

Money and how to make it are one of the top 5 questions I’ve seen asked of most VanLife/SUVLife/Nomads I follow on TikTok/YouTube/Instagram and I plan to be transparent on this topic.

I was not able to work most of 2021 due to my vision and I fell behind on bills. My roommates (ex and son) should have been able to keep things current, but life is life – thanks Covid. I finally had cataract surgery in December 2021 and MOHS surgery January 2022. After a short recovery time I took a 3-week trip in January/February to visit my daughter in Netherlands – and it was oh-so-wonderful!

After returning home in mid-February my focus returned to bills, my budget, and finding a job. At this point I pretty much had Nada, so my first priority was to make enough to pay my past due bills.

When I decided I was going to live the SUVLife my focus was then on “how am I going to make money while traveling the states” but that didn’t take a whole lot of thought. I looked at things other nomads were doing and what I had going for me.

I finally decided that DoorDash would be my primary source of income for now. I will focus on building my blog, my photography skills and portfolio for print sales, and, possibly, affiliate marketing and content creation.

I’ve also started a part-time position as a weekend Hotel Night Auditor. This fits in well with doing DoorDash as I Dash on weekdays and a few hours on the weekend after work and my schedule is completely flexible.

In the past 2+ months, I have gone from past due on all my bills to not only current but paying extra on credit cards and my car payment so that I can reduce my debt as much as possible before “hitting the road”. I also am working on getting vehicle maintenance done and building my emergency savings.

The Final Countdown

So, here I am. The decision for D-Day (departure day) has been made.

57 days… I hope you stick with me and follow along with the countdown as I prepare for life on the road.

And feel free to ask me any questions you have. I plan to be an open book so that I can help anyone else that is interested in doing this.