After I quit my job, my budget was extremely tight. Practically down to the dollar.
In order to maximize savings, we got a Costco membership and reduced our trips to the store. Now, we eat organic food, so our food cost is double and always has room to move down. But we prefer to prioritize the quality of food we put into our bodies so we can get maximum benefit for our lifestyles. With that one transition, we were able to cut down about $150 a month.
So, I started calculating the cost of travel. Travel is expensive, especially if you stay in hotels.
When I found out that my veteran status gets me 50% off state park camping rates, it was a no-brainer. In dive destinations like the Florida Keys, I would only spend $30 a night, versus the $150 it might cost to stay in a dingy motel. The only blessing is that I have two young children and a wife whom I want to enjoy the journey with. Couch surfing, tent sleeping, and shady motels are out of the question. Not to mention, having a stove in an RV and a place for the kids to run and play is the best part of a campground.
So, with that extra $150 a month in grocery savings, I decided to get a loan of $6,000 for a pull-behind camper trailer.
The Hunt for the Rig
Pensacola is not a good area to buy campers. At $6,000, you get a 15- to 20-year-old worn-out box. Up in Michigan, you could get the same thing for two grand, but driving to Michigan and back would end up taking six or more days plus $500 in gas. I was looking at an extra $1,000 and a week's time.
I decided to look around Orlando and Tampa instead. I drove my family down to Tampa Bay, we stayed with my mom for a day, and then I went on a mission to hunt for a camper. I found a great one, set up a meeting for the next morning, and drove two hours to the meeting point... and I was ghosted.
So, I decided to stop, have some coffee, and find my next option.
I just happened to stop at a coffee shop that also sold guns. What a crazy experience. What made it even more interesting was the Arabic music playing in the background and its proximity to a Muslim center. It brought me back to Dearborn, Michigan—a city that’s Muslim-majority. I'd never seen a city like that in America, and they had the most incredible Middle Eastern food I've ever had in the U.S.
But I couldn't help being triggered a bit by memories of Afghanistan. Part of me likes the chaotic feeling I get from experiences like that, but the other part of me knows it's not normal to have that kind of emotion toward a culture. The owner handed me fully built assault rifles, and the Marine in me looked back at the thousands of rounds I've put downrange with those guns.
It’s the small things in life that bring back the wildest memories.
Eventually, the hunt paid off. I found a nice 2017 20-foot RV in Orlando with bunk beds, a queen bed, and a table that converts. It was small and light, making my loan just $136 a month. I plan on paying it off early, so I'm looking at between $600 and $1,000 for financing costs if I go the term and pay some extra here and there.
Hacking the Keys
With the rig secured, I booked 14 nights in Key Largo’s John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and Jupiter Florida. You have to do this six months in advance, as the state parks in Florida fill up almost immediately.
I paid $435 for two weeks at Pennekamp. At a conservative $150 a night in a hotel, that would have been $2,100. I’m already cutting out $1,665 in a top diving destination.
That $435 came out of a $2,000 reserve I set aside before I quit my job to kick off the travels.
In the meantime I am headed to Swansboro and Morehead, North Carolina, where I was invited onto a dive charter to dive with Sand Tiger sharks. Some of my video work gets me access to the charters, and the campgrounds give me lower rates for being a veteran. My next goal is to find a way to cover the cost of camping and fuel.
This is how every journey starts. You have to put in the investments and do the work that eventually opens you up to getting paid to live your dreams. It's just a matter of how bad you want it and how much work you are willing to put in.
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