I’m excited to announce something entirely different and unique today…
Many of you know that I post monthly and yearly expense reports on this blog, without any secrecy. Yet, I have never disclosed how much money I/we actually make in a year. I’ve also been pretty vague about how we have been able to afford our nomadic lifestyle over the years and what is required to financially sustain ourselves.
All this and more insights can be found on Nora Dunn’s website The Professional Hobo, where I take part in her Financial Case Study series. Unlike most of her guests, we don’t make six figures a year and stay true to our motto “The less money you need, the less you need to earn.”
Check it out here!
Warning: Her website is advertisement-heavy.
Liesbet Collaert was born in Belgium and recently became an American, but calls herself a world citizen. She’s been a digital nomad since 2003 (sailing, house sitting, and RVing), earning money as a freelance writer, photographer, translator, and editor. Her first travel memoir is almost ready for publication. Liesbet connects with her readers on her blog Roaming About – A Life Less Ordinary, as well as her Facebook page or Instagram account.
While Liesbet’s income seems small, I think you’ll agree that she and her husband have lived an extraordinary life of travel, and by using creative budget travel tips (like getting accommodation for free) they haven’t been left wanting for much. Check it out!
How long have you been living/working on the road, and where have you traveled to?
Where do I start? Since I’m pretty impulsive and adventurous, my nomadic existence and means to make money developed organically. I’ve always been a traveler. One of the reasons I became a teacher in Belgium was to have a long summer vacation designed around exploring the world. I took two “leave of absences” during my first four years of teaching, to backpack in Southeast Asia and Down Under. Being frugal and passionate about travel, that’s what I used my income for. I never owned anything, making it easy for me to be flexible. The third time I left Belgium for an extended adventure, I never returned. That was in 2003.
While I didn’t need to make money during these initial escapades, as I had savings from my “real job” and I run a tight budget ship, one – of course – can’t journey forever without earnings. Darn! I think it was in 2008 – after a few years of RV-travel and getting close and personal with sailboats – that I started to create some sort of income. Up until that point, I’d cleaned a few boats for change and kept a free blog about our sailing journey on SV Irie to share our experiences and inspire others.
I traveled throughout Europe while living in Belgium until I was 27, backpacked in Southeast Asia and Oceana for two years, explored the continental US, Canada, and Alaska in a truck camper for a year and a half and Mexico and Central America for another year. In 2007, the sailboat episode followed – a journey that brought us from Maryland (USA) south to Florida, throughout the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, spending hurricane season in the Dominican Republic, and on to the Eastern Caribbean via Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
After three years up and down the Leeward and Windward Islands, we skimmed the out islands of Venezuela, spend time in Colombia, and enjoyed over a year in Panama. The next steps were transiting the Canal, being blown away by wildlife in the Galapagos Islands, and concluding our sailing voyage after cruising in French Polynesia for two years. Eight years after casting off (in 2015), we sold Irie in Tahiti.
Since then, we’ve slowed down a bit, house and pet sitting throughout the United States and exploring North America in our 19ft camper van Zesty. I am more than ready for tropical and exciting destinations again, whenever this pandemic allows it.
Please describe what you do for income.
First, I’d like to point out that my husband and I are very frugal and we’ve found that being careful with expenditures allows us the life we desire – more freedom and less need to be workaholics. The way we manage our money, our aversion towards collecting material goods, and our love of simplicity are leading factors for how we make this nomadic lifestyle work – financially and otherwise.
Continue reading here…
To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the expense blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For August, the question is: “Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn’t planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?”
This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the awesome co-hosts are Susan Baury Rouchard, Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jennifer Hawes, Chemist Ken, and Chrys Fey.
My answer to the question
Easy answer this month: the only genre I ever write in is non-fiction. Although, there have been moments where embellishments and exaggerations almost sneaked in! ???? I dabbled in poetry years ago as well. All my writing is pretty straightforward and planned.
My book progress
Last month, Mark, Maya, and I went camping for a week and I completed a few editing and writing assignments unrelated to my book. But, a lot happened behind the scenes. Early in July, another rejection letter from a traditional publisher arrived. I have coined it the “the nicest email ever to bum me out.” Here is an excerpt:
Continue readingNew Hampshire’s attractive White Mountains are located 150 miles (241km) northeast of our current home base in Massachusetts. It takes a little over three hours to get there in our van (as opposed to 2.5 hours by car), since we stick to an average highway speed of 55-60mph (90km/h) in Zesty. This consumes less diesel, and we rarely have to pass anyone!
White Mountain National Forest was our destination this past week. It is huge, at 800,000 acres (which expand into Maine), attracts millions of visitors annually, and offers countless recreation possibilities, like 1,200 miles of hiking trails. When Mark and I returned from visiting people in Maine and Vermont in June, we drove through this stunning area and were impressed. We vowed to return for a proper immersion.
(Scroll over or click on images to read photo captions in the galleries.)
Maya, Dixie, and Max cooling off in the lake of Island Pond, Vermont
Maya is still learning how to swim – awkwardly
Max LOVES retrieving balls – ashore and in the water
Maya, relaxing in the sand
Did I mention that Max is eager to play ball, all…the…time?
Practice makes perfect!
Wet and cooled off, but done playing with the ball
Just because I love sunsets, with or without dogs…
Until next time…
This is my contribution to this week’s (mostly) Wordless Wednesday.
Today, I invite you into my mind. If you accept, you might regret it. So much is going on in there, you might get overwhelmed, or mad, or jealous. This chaotic brain activity even has a name: Monkey Mind. Although, its description appears a bit harsh to define my condition. Thank you for supplying me with the correct term, Peta, when I mentioned this busy-bee thought syndrome in my last writing update. Luckily, those mulled-over and constantly-sprouting concepts aren’t all writing-related. That being said, the idea for this post formed while I was in the shower, head-writing it. ????
Pensive position
Some background information to help understand our conundrums in regards to… our future:
We spotted a groundhog in the back yard.
Keeping an eye on her flock.
A family with five adolescents… and more individuals in the front yard. So cute!
Maya smells the groundhogs. They hide in tunnels behind the rocks of the retaining walls.
To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the expense blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
I hope my American friends and family are enjoying their Independence Day Weekend. The three of us had a mellow social-distanced BBQ with my brother-in-law and his family yesterday.
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