Originally Posted by Smallwheels

Exactly. Unless I win a lottery I won't ever have a lot of money. That's OK. Right now I need to earn about $800 per month to live. That pays for rent, food, vehicle insurance, with a little bit left over. I would prefer putting the rent into a vehicle or RV. Once the vehicle is paid off that money would be saved for other things and future vehicle repairs. There aren't many people who can live on that small amount of money. If I had children it would be impossible.

One great thing about simple living with few possessions is the ability to move quickly and inexpensively. I moved from Los Angeles to Montana for the price of renting a small SUV for three days. When I owned a house full of things it cost $3000 to go from New Orleans to Helena back in 2005.

When I was in Hollywood I met a guy who lived without shelter. He had a new Harley Davidson Sportster with a trunk bag. He put a tarp over the bike and himself at night. He slept on the ground. He ate at restaurants and mostly didn't want anything more. He had a small pension. He was given a tent and a small camp stove by somebody but he didn't use the tent very often. He really liked living his super simple lifestyle because he could just go anywhere in a moment's notice just like me in the van. He had owned a van the year before and preferred the motorcycle. Wow! I thought I lived simply but this guy has me beat. His cost of living was food, insurance, and his $435 per month motorcycle payment.

Take away the motorcycle and that guy would really just have a big backpack full of things. Of course he could only live that way on the west coast. Inland the weather would be to drastic. This also means somebody on a bicycle could do the same in the coastal area.

There is a guy on Youtube who lives in his minivan with two super expensive bicycles. He lives that way so he can travel to different states and ride his bikes. He has a blog and writes about his bicycle trips. One of his videos showed him being pulled over by a policeman. The cop stopped him because he recognized the guy from his blog. They had a great conversation about bicycling and touring. If only all police encounters could be so enjoyable.