The Penny-Wise Creation – Living in 150 square feet of space to save money

6 Months ago this week my husband David and I sold everything we owned and bought a 27 foot long travel trailer and moved in to it full time.  Going from a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom apartment with 1106 square feet to a travel trailer with about 150 square feet of space was a bit of an adjustment.  The honeymoon has definitely worn off, but the goal is still the same.  Reduce our monthly living expenses and save money!

We were definitely living paycheck to paycheck, borrowing money to cover emergencies and crossing our fingers hoping that we can make it to the next paycheck.  It was a very frustrating feeling of always being behind on bills.  We were also feeling like we were always digging out of the same financial hole every month with no real hope of ever making it to ground level.  It was always emergency bills – the power is about to get shut off so put every dime of the paycheck this week into paying that one bill to avoid a catastrophe.  It was always damage control with no end in sight.

The stress alone was eating us alive.  The late fees, the overdraft charges and the not knowing how we were going to make it every month were draining us and our relationship.  We were paying over $2000 a month in basic living expenses – Rent, electric, gas, water and garbage.  Not including groceries, gas, cell phones, cable, car insurance, child support and health insurance.  70% of our income was in our housing and we were drowning.  The thought of having any type of savings for an emergency situation was just a dream.  We had to do something drastic.

Now that we are in the trailer full time, we pay $400 in rent/basic living expenses.  We are saving money every month.  We paid cash for the trailer and own our car.  We don’t have to pay water, electric, gas or garbage unless we need to refill the propane tank or call in the Sani-Can guy to dump our black water for us.  We are in a win-win situation.  We are putting away money into savings every month.  We are living within our means and seeing the reward that is waiting for us at the other end.  The dream of buying a house or land one day is a reality.  Whereas before the thought of buying our own property was just a dream.

We filed bankruptcy this summer, something that was 2 years in the making.  With both of us being divorced in our past lives and trying to survive with kids, paying child support (him) and me living without any help or child support,  it has been a challenge.  But now that are on the other side of our discharge, we have a fresh start.  We can lock down our budget and keep everything to a minimum.  We have to rebuild our credit in time and keep saving money.  Our goal is to try this lifestyle for the next 2 years.  We initially thought we might just put the trailer on a piece of land and continue living this way.  6 months in, I am not so sure.

We could not buy right now even without the bankruptcy on our record.  The market is really high where I live for buying and renting.    We moved into an apartment in 2013 because we could not afford the rental house we were living in at the time.  We only had 1 kid at home that year until he graduated in 2014 and went off to college.  We wanted to rent another house and enjoy a yard and gardening, but we could not afford to even get in the door.  Not only is the rent super expensive, the first, last and security deposits were equal to the monthly rent – who has $3000 or more just to get into a house? I make less than that in a single month! It was especially overwhelming because of having bad credit.  They make you pay for that on top of all of the other deposits and fees.  We opted for the apartment and that seemed like a good option.  Then the first year when the new lease was available there was an increase of $170.  Then the next year it was going to be $250.  We saw what we were facing.  It was almost like the property management company wanted renters to move out.  Old renters move out, new move in.  it is constant revenue coming in with security deposits, cleaning fees and so on.

You can’t get into a rental house with a yard for less than $1500 a month not including utilities.  Apartments in my area are anywhere from $1100 (studio or one bedroom) or a 2 or 3 bedroom for the same price as the houses.  To buy a house where I live requires perfect credit, 20% down and about $240,000 for a townhome/condo/ fixer-upper or $425,000 for a family sized home.   It is just not an ideal situation for us to even attempt that right now.  I can only hope that in the next few years the market will drop again – just in time for us to buy something.

For us we are trying something different to improve our lives.  It has not been easy.  Everything looks great on paper as far as the long term plan goes.  Living in a trailer is not ideal and is not for everyone.   There are so many things that we did not consider when we made the jump.  We were so focused on the goals and the budget, that we may have been naïve to what the lifestyle would actually be like.

You have so many routines and conveniences that are taken for granted.  Buying groceries, shoes, laundry are just a few things to mention. I knew that storage would be an issue the very first day.  I marked many boxes “trailer” and so much more marked “storage”.  However, more than half of those boxes that landed at the trailer had to go to storage.  I was very naïve.

I used to love to go to Costco.  Now, I can’t buy toilet paper in bulk because I only have enough room for a 4 pack at a time.  I can’t buy bulk anything.  I can’t fill my cart with meat that is on sale at the grocery store because I have the freezer the size of shoe box.  I have very limited pantry space.  Every square inch of this little tin box is precious real-estate.  I love candles.  No room for extra’s.  I love shoes… I am still trying to figure out storage for shoes.  Laundry has been a challenge.  I took for granted having a washer & dryer in the apartment where I could just throw a load of dirties in at will and BAM!  Clean clothes.  Now, I have to go to the Laundromat.  If I don’t do this regularly the piles of dirties seem to take on their own life-force in the trailer.  I don’t have room for multiple laundry baskets – I have one.  I really don’t have room for the one that I have, but I LOVE it.  It is an older wicker basket with sturdy handles.  I just have to make room for it.  But it is not big enough for mine and Dave’s clothes.  He seems to just pile them on his side of the bed.  I am not really sure how he deals with it – the piles make me crazy.  Taking time to sort and go to the Tubs N Suds is a pain.  (Laundry every week is also a budget item I didn’t consider – not only money but time in my schedule) It costs about $12 a week to do the normal laundry.  If I bring the bigger stuff like comforters or towels that will add another $5.  It takes me at least an hour and half to do laundry.  Who wants to spend that kind of time watching clothes?  I am so grateful for the bar in the same shopping center.  On the topic of clothes, transitioning from my summer to fall wardrobe is tricky.  Currently I am packing boxes to take to storage and bring more boxes back to hang in the wardrobe the same size as my refrigerator.  SMALL.

I knew that showers and using the toilet were going to be an issue.  I never imagined it would be this difficult.  I used to get up in the morning and not think twice about using the toilet and taking a shower.  Well, now those things are luxuries.  We are not hooked up to sewer or drain water.  We are completely self -contained.   When the 40 gallon holding bins get full we either fill our portable totes and drive them to the dump station to dispose of the waste or call the Sani-Can man which is the drive by dumper that charges $40.  I never realized that not only would I have to focus on budgeting money for our new lifestyle but water and sewage as well!

Regardless of all of these little adjustments that we have had to make to adapt to our new little life in our new little trailer, it’s working.  I am trying to be more organized in my living space.  If you neglect the place for one day it looks like a bomb went off.  We have a cat and he sheds – everywhere.  I am sweeping and vacuuming often.  There is a significant amount of upkeep on the inside as well as on the outside.  We had our first big rain a couple of weeks ago.  There was a leak.  That was fun!  Dave had to do damage control on the roof and watch a few Youtube videos to make sure he knew what he was doing.  It is not an easy life in that respect.

But you know what I am learning?  I absolutely love my husband.  We are working together as a team more than we have ever done.  I have learned that since we only have one TV (with bunny ears, no less!  Nope, no cable!) We are actually watching the same shows every night and doing it together.  We are cooking together and eating together.  Since the living room, dining room and kitchen are all actually the same space in the trailer it is a great version of an open-concept floor plan.  While I am cooking he can’t go run off to the bedroom.  Well, I guess he could but it is literally 4 steps from the stove.  We have bonded more and I feel closer to him than I have in a long time.  Our new lifestyle has been really good for our relationship.

I am also learning what I need and what I want are two very different things.  I recently pulled every item of clothing out of the trailer and sorted by “LOVE THIS” to “Eh, not so much”.  I put all of the “LOVE THIS” back in the wardrobe and everything else went to Goodwill.  I don’t need 5 wooden spoons.  I don’t need 20 glasses in the cupboard.  I don’t need 15 different cleaning products.  I need simple.  Less.  I need only what I need.

Well, thanks for reading my 6 month update.  I am still trying to balance my time and my checkbook with all of these changes.  But this is what I am sure of – it was the right decision for us – for now.   We have our house parked in Sherwood, Oregon and we are working full time in our 40’s.  We are happy living with less and saving more.  Every day is a new lesson and a new experience gained in our Penny-Wise way of life.  Please feel free to comment and leave suggestions!

Cheers from the trailer park!

A new way to cook – RV Life

One thing I can say about my first 3 months of living in my Travel Trailer full time is that I look at Cooking as a whole new adventure.  I have this little tiny grill that we used to keep in storage for camping or day trips to the beach.  This little guy has become my best friend.  It is my favorite way to cook.  But, as I discovered this past weekend, I live in Oregon.  This means that RAIN is not my best friend when It comes to cooking outside of the trailer.

Yes, we have propane so cooking in the trailer is not out of the question. As you can see in the picture I have a stove and an oven & it all works perfectly fine.  Note the counter space –  It really is not conducive to prep a 3 course meal, cook, eat and clean up.  It is very close quarters to begin with inside the trailer. There is not a definitive line between the kitchen, dinning room and living room. Most of the time I am tripping over the vacuum, kitty toys and garbage can. So, when I start adding cutting boards, cast iron pans, mixing bowls and food – it has been quite overwhelming.  I think I am getting the hang of it, so I wanted to share what I am learning.  I am trying to keep the clutter under control so I don’t just run out and grab a pizza or taco bell.  I am really trying to embrace living in my space and not just thinking of it as Camping all of the time.

Shopping.  Shopping for me is key.  I can’t go to the grocery store and pick up everything all at once.  I have to break it up during the week.  I don’t have very much space in the fridge or in the pantry.  I have basic things that I keep in the fridge – condiments, eggs, coffee creamer and beverages.  By beverages I mean wine, beer, ice tea, juice – you know I mean mostly wine, right?

That was a major adjustment for the first weekend in the RV.  I filled the fridge with wine because I sold our wine rack during the move.  There is not any room for a wine rack, and I filled the fridge with what I had.  After the first weekend I was playing a new role as the “RV Park Wine Fairy” – I went around delivering bottles of wine to all of my new neighbors just so I could put actual food in the fridge.  I made room in the fridge for human food, and made some new friends. 🙂

Back to shopping – I now buy boxed wine and keep ice cubes handy – yes trailer life is changing my “wants” and “needs” on a daily basis.  I want wine.  But do I need it in the fridge? See how this is working?  I need to put eggs in the fridge.  I need to put salsa in the fridge.  Wine takes up real estate and I just have to prioritize.  So, when I do go shopping I have a plan.  This is also brilliant for my budget.  I have a meal plan which makes me create a shopping list which makes me spend less on impulse purchases that I don’t have room for.

When I make my meal plan, I have been creating meals that I can either cook multiple things at once on the BBQ or I cook enough that I can recycle for 1 or 2 more meals.  Example: My husband wanted tacos this weekend.  I used the inside stove (since it was raining) and browned the ground beef.  I cooked way more than I needed so that I could use it for taco salads and nachos for lunch the next day.  We grated extra cheese, chopped extra onions and we already had salsa. Another example is cooking on the BBQ.  I grilled steak last night for dinner.  The coals were still pretty hot when it was done, so I threw on some hot dogs that could be used for lunches today.

It is becoming more of a routine for me to plan ahead.  This is NOT something that comes naturally to me and is something that I definitely struggle with.  It is forcing me to carve out time to plan meals, create a list, stick to the list and shop more than once a week.  I am finding new recipes, too.  I am cooking differently than I did when I had a standard kitchen with room for all of your kitchen gadgets and machinery.  I have downsized my supplies – even since I have gotten into the RV.  I have found that I need even less than what I thought I needed.  I have so many bowls.  Why do I have 5 mixing bowls?  It is still an attachment issue.  I might need that bowl.  I like that other bowl.  This bowl is for salad, this one is for pancakes.  NO.  I only need 1 freaking bowl.  It will free up space if I change my hoarding mindset and just have one bowl.

I am nervous about how I will think about cooking when the summer ends.  I can’t even tell you how much I enjoy sitting outside listening to baseball on the radio and cooking on the grill.  In about 2 months I will be tarpping the chairs and putting away all of my outdoor decorations and be stuck indoors when the Oregon Rain hits.  I will have to come up with a game plan of how I am going to deal with that…  I am sure I will focus on soups, stews and hot alcoholic beverages.  It will be fun!

In the mean time, I will be searching out recipes to utilize in the trailer menu list.  If any of you reading this has any good ideas – easy cooking and easy cleaning up ideas, please share!!

Thanks for reading! Cheers from the RV Park in Oregon 🙂