Month: September 2010

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Pecuniary Shyness, or This is Real Life!

Some RVers like to talk at great length about their finances, to the point of splashing out for all to see their balance sheets. I made a decision early on to gloss over this topic because I realised early on that full-time RVing is real life. Let me repeat that: full-time RVing is a lifestyle choice, not a perpetual vacation. Everyone’s reality and circumstances are different. I don’t see any value in going into any sort of detail about my financial portrait.

This issue has come up several times over the past few days. I’ve had someone comment that I ‘owed’ it to other RVers to explain how I get by day to day financially so that they could emulate me (!). Another person was appalled that I ‘steal’ from the thrift and free stores since I’m obviously well off, with a ‘nice motorhome and recent model car.’  Another doesn’t get the difference between being ‘tight’ (choosing not to do or buy certain things in order to do or buy other things) and being ‘broke’ (not being able to do or buy anything). If I lived a mainstream life, no one would expect me to pull out my balance sheet, they would understand how someone my age living in her own home and driving a recent model car might need to be frugal in other areas of her life, and they’d understand that not being able to do it ‘all’ is normal!

So far, the financials of my RVing life have been very cyclical. I have had periods with good cashflow and periods with bad cashflow. During the good periods I get caught up and during bad periods I try not to get behind. The goal is, of course, to balance out these periods and provide a steadier cashflow instead of one with gigantic negative and positive peaks. This summer was my first taste of this ideal cashflow vision and it has been lovely, but I am now heading back into squirrel mode, especially since I have a couple of big expenses coming up.

One thing to keep in mind is that I’m single with only cats as my dependents. That gives me a lot of freedom in how I choose to allocate my money. Once the bills are paid and I’ve put money away for retirement and emergencies, there is no one to care if I decide to buy a new toy and eat beans for a month. But if I were to put all of this on a balance sheet for the world to say, I’d have to erase a lot of comments from people with different priorities and values who think they have a right to tell me how I should be managing things. I might as well save them the trouble. 😀

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Cat Food Heart Attack

I misjudged how much cat food I was going to need to finish off the season and found myself having to buy a bag here in Dawson. The best place to buy pet supplies is the Home Hardware, so that’s where I went. They carry the small bags of Whiskas, the food my cats eat.

Whiskas comes in three sizes. The small bag is normally about $7, the medium bag about $12, and the big bag about $20. I usually have several medium bags on hand, bought for $10 or less with coupons.

In Dawson, the small bag sells for $15!!! To my horror, I actually heard myself say out loud in front of staff “It’s no wonder I stock up in Whitehorse!”

This is obviously a necessary product; letting your cat starve is not an option! So, I have to wonder if that’s why the price is jacked up so high. I understand the logistics behind getting things here, but pricing up here really does not seem to have any rhyme or reason.

I have to say that much as I love Dawson the appalling grocery situation here is starting to wear on my nerves, especially after seeing how smaller towns in the Northwest Territories have proper grocery stores. I’m really looking forward to replenishing the larder in Whitehorse!

(I’m just grateful I won’t have to buy propane in Dawson this year.)

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Two Years on the Road

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key. (the Eagles)

Two years on the road…

I think that if anyone knew the full story of some of the things that have happened over the past twenty-four months, they would be shocked that I have made it this far. I have survived bad employers, negative cash flow, a life threatening incident, and crushing loneliness. Why do I continue to persevere at making this life work when it is obviously so difficult?

Because it gets better every day. Because it lets me see wonderful places and meet amazing people. Because it does not leave time for boredom. Because it constantly challenges me. Because it has so much to teach. Because it gives me something to share. Because it is my calling; this is without a doubt what I am supposed to be doing with my one wild and precious life.

I thought that my second year on the road would be much more sedate than the first, but this was most certainly not the case! It started with a literal bang (of brake components failing) that taught me to slow down and be more present, paused on an island where I did my interior, took me back to the Klondike and past the Arctic Circle, before circling back to the beginning. I finally got my internet independence, made some serious progress in self-employment (the biggest of which still can’t be revealed!), and became a seasoned RVer.

My goals for year three are both general (to continue this upward trend) and specific (to add at least two more states to my list). Otherwise, I’m happy to see where the road will lead me now that I have checked so many of my expectations.

Thank you, once again, to all my wonderful readers, from those who have been with me from the start to those I picked up along the way.

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.

and

You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one.

(Henry David Thoreau)

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Detachment

I’m leaving Dawson in less than two weeks. I’ve had an okay summer this year, but I still love this town and am glad that I have had a chance to know it so well. That said, my feelings about my imminent departure are completely different from last year. In fact, this is the first time I’m going to leave a place without having my departure panic attack. I didn’t really get settled in this year and I’ve stopped thinking of this stop as a destination, as an event with a beginning and an end. It seems that sometime between leaving Campbell River and the last couple of weeks, my RVing life began to find a continuity of its own, with routines that carry over whether I’m stopped or traveling.

Financially, the summer was a blessing and going back to financial incertitude is going to be tough, but I actually managed to do a solid job of replenishing the coffers. I’ll do fine for myself well into the fall even if I don’t find a job in Osoyoos, although I have decided to look for something part-time. I have enough set aside to actually travel back south and I’m giving myself a full sixteen days to do so. My itinerary is a bit bold and I may chicken out about one section, but I look forward to an even longer period of boondocking while being able to work every night.

My fall plans are slowly coming together. I have decided to fly to Montreal at the beginning of November for a week to see my family, something that will be made possible since I’ll have a rig and cat sitter available to me. My sister had a baby on September 1st, my first niece, so it will be nice to see her and my two nephews. I’m pretty sure the youngest one doesn’t remember me!

Besides that, I have a writing project to complete and I also need to work on things related to that announcement I’m not yet ready to make. I’d also like to continue with the renovating and decorating, although I will have to be extremely frugal in all areas of my life so as to stretch my savings as far as possible. I’m committed to being in Osoyoos until December and have not made plans beyond that.

So, that’s the latest status update. Nothing too exciting, but things are going to pick up soon. 🙂

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Waiting on a New Computer

Purchasing a new main computer was not on my list of priorities for 2010. I was going to start considering it in 2011 and buy late in that year, or early in 2012. After all, I bought a brand new 24″ iMac in 2007, a computer I expected to serve me well for at least four years, which I then supplemented with a good notebook.

Without going into all the details, my iMac is slowing down; the fan went on the notebook needs replacing; having a notebook and a desktop computer and an iPod Touch is redundant; I finally conceded that a desktop computer does not fit in with my vision of the ideal RVing life; and my dream computer fell into my lap, albeit under sad circumstances.

So, here’s Angus, which should arrive within the week:

2009 17″ Macbook Pro

Going from a 24″ to a 17″ screen is probably going to be a shock, and the trackpad is going be an adjustment, but otherwise the change is a major upgrade and is especially sweet since I would never have been able to justify the purchase of 17″ model under any other circumstances.

This week, I’ve cleared the Powerbook and put it up on eBay and I’m now working at tidying up the iMac to make the transfer easier. I don’t want to use Migration Assistant since the iMac is experiencing some conflicts, so I’m making lists to aid in the manual transfer of files, apps, and preferences. I can’t believe how messy and cluttered the iMac is! I have gotten sloppy in my digital filing since moving to Macs since they have such a good search function.

Once everything is moved over to the Macbook Pro, I’ll clear out the iMac and put it up for sale. If I manage to sell both the iMac and the Powerbook, I should recoup at least two thirds of the cost of purchasing the Macbook Pro, which would definitely reduce the hit on my budget.

It’s going to be awesome to RV my way south this fall with my primary computer accessible at all times and internet access wherever there is cell service!