CheapRVLiving: Blogger Spotlight

Few things make life as free as driving and living on the open road, hopping from town to town as the world passes by all around you. But, as the old saying goes, freedom isn’t free. Luckily, Bob Wells of CheapRVLiving, a self-described long-time Van Dweller, has taken it upon himself to prove that freedom can come cheap, as long as you know the right moves to make.

The CheapRVLiving Backstory

In his blog and website, aptly named CheapRVLiving, Bob writes about it all. He writes about his journeys across the country like most RV bloggers do. But the highlight of his site is no doubt the endless array of how-tos and helpful hints he dishes out on a sentence-by-sentence basis. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the best and cheapest ways to enjoy life on the road, and probably some things you never thought you could know. It’s all there—cooking tips, advice on how to do laundry in 5-gallon buckets, guides on how to harness the power of solar and wind energy for your mobile home, and lessons on how to convert just about every kind of vehicle imaginable into a residence. If you’ve ever wanted to live in an ambulance, Bob’s got you covered

But in the end, it’s all about the money. And that’s where this site really comes in handy. Especially for first-time RVers or anyone new to long-term travel, Bob’s advice is incredibly helpful. He takes you through how to budget just about everything, gives advice on how to bring in extra money on the road, and much more. Most of his tips are simple: if you’re prone to compulsive spending, never go into a store without a list; instead of just throwing all your cash in your wallet, keep it separated into envelopes (one for gas, one for food, one for other miscellaneous items). Bob is an advocate for simplicity—in living and in budgeting, and the best way to keep a good budget is to keep it simple.

At the heart of Bob’s financial philosophy is the idea that the best way to avoid spending money is to eliminate your wants. If you want less, you’ll spend less. To Bob, this doesn’t mean denying yourself, it just means taking a good hard look at what’s really important to you and focusing on that. If you’re looking for freedom, you’ll have to stop wanting so many material things. And once that step has been taken, the next step—saving money—will come easy.

So if you’re looking to take that long trek, and want to do it without spending exorbitant amounts of money, head on over to CheapRVLiving.com. And hey, if you’re the kind of person who wants to live in a converted bus, and want to read some awesome philosophical musings, that’s just a bonus.