I preface this thread with an apology to those who are or have been homeless. I’m not trying to make light of your situation, I’m merely looking at an extreme strategy to save money.
Okay, I’ve a crazy idea to live in my car for a year or so in order to save a chunk of money. My lease ($3K) per month is about to expire and my job has me travelling a lot, both domestically and internationally (for the last 15 years I’ve averaged 90 days away from home per annum, with a peak of 144 days in 2016).
It just seems like a huge waste of money given that I’m only home 75 per cent of the time, and if I were to do this, I could even increase my work travel to cut down on the actual time I live in a car.
I’ll have the money to stay in a hotel if I get sick of the car, or could just get another lease if it sucks more than I’m imagining it will. But I am keen to see if I can make it work. And, no, I don’t want to move in with roommates - this is an all or nothing roll of the dice.
Beyond the lease savings of $36K, I’ve estimated that I’ll save a further $5-8K in reduced food and utility bills (some of which is offset by storage costs of some of my possessions). The extra $40K would push my savings to a level where I’d have the down payment required for a home in the area in which I want to live (at my current savings rate, I’m years away).
I’ve sorted a variety of safe and legal locations in which I can park, and I can use the showers at my gym (membership paid for next 12 months). There’s also a shower at my office that I already use after a run, but I’m keen not to look homeless at work.
The three logistical aspects that I need to work through are laundry, social and nutrition.
Obviously I’ll use a laundry service to wash and press my clothes, but it’s the clothes storage that I might struggle with. Thoughts?
As for the nutrition, the work trips supply meals (often at very nice restaurants, hotels and resorts), so I’m not going to be eating like the typical homeless person. I’m keen not to store much food in the car, and will have no means to cook, clean or refrigerate items.
I’m thinking that single-serve tins of tuna would be a good and inexpensive source of protein. Nuts would be another good protein source and are easy to store. As for fruit and vegetables, carrots, apples, bananas etc can be acquired daily from a grocer. I can also buy bread rolls daily. Buying daily isn’t the most time- or financially-efficient way to do it but it would mean minimal food in the car.
Dairy and meat is an obvious casualty of the plan, as is pasta and rice. However, these will be available on work trips, or I can go to a restaurant when I crave these.
Socially, I’m obviously not looking to divulge my homeless status with work colleagues and friends. I appreciate that I won’t sleep as well but am I overlooking other aspects that will make me appear homeless?
Given that I’m away so often for work, my friends rarely visit my current home. We usually meet in bars or restaurants, so that should be okay. I appreciate that it will be a challenge to ensure my car doesn’t look lived in but I intend to have very few possessions in the car - I’ll put items I want to keep in storage and clear out a whole lot of junk that I don’t need or want.
Obviously it’s not an ideal savings strategy, but I’m willing to give it a go.
Any tips or holes in the plan (beyond the obvious)?