In the beginning

In the beginning I had a plan.  It wasn't much of a plan, but it was a plan.  The great thing about plans is how they change, evolve, and then fall apart.  I have been working for the last 25 years and have nothing to show for it.  I don't own a house, the bank owns my car, and I have no savings.  I have been in love with the idea of vandwelling for over a year.  Coincidentally, a little over a year ago, I hurt my back and have been unable to work.  The vandwelling idea had come about in preparation for being homeless.  I was googling on how to be homeless and came across the yahoo group on vandwelling.  I started researching and fell in love with the whole idea. I had even started to make preparations to become a full time vandweller.  I got rid of things and paid off bills.  I had wanted to launch in the summer of 2012, but finances got in the way and it just wasn't possible.  So I held on and kept working away at preparing and I had hoped that I would have the money to buy a van for a few thousand dollars and get it set up with another couple of thousand.  I have 2 major things standing in my way.  I don't have the money and I still have my car that has a car payment.

So with things winding up tighter and tighter on my home front, it has come time that I have to launch as soon as possible even if I have to do it in the car.  It's not the worst car for living in (2010 Scion Xb).  I won't have to worry about it breaking down on me, but I wont have the  space that I wanted.  I'll live and I will adapt, but hopefully within a year I'll be able to get rid of it and get a van.  I will use the car for sleeping and as a place to sit to use my computer, but will need a tent for everything else.

My combined car and insurance payment are just under $400 per month and I only have a little over $900 per month to start so things will be tighter than I hoped.  Saving any money towards a van will be a huge challenge, but hey nobody said this would be easy.

I am currently in Montana.  I love Montana, but it will suck in a couple of months.  Last December it was below zero almost every day.  I will have to go south for the winter.  I've been to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, but never looked for a place to park for weeks on end in my car.  I plan on utilizing the many groups I've been lurking in for that last 6 months to help, but this will be a challenge for the next 7 months.  I need to get a bank account ready and a post office box and then I think I'll be ready to load and go.  I hope I will be on the road by the end of the month....here's hoping.