JaredEggo
New member
At the risk of upsetting my inner perfectionist I'm just going to write what's on my mind.
So I was furloughed for the second time yesterday (thanks COVID), and despite the stress that that has caused I kind of see this as an opportunity. I've wanted for a while now to live at least part time van life, or in my case SUV life, but bills, debt, and of course my job have prevented that. Now that my job is no longer an issue I have an opportunity to test my plan for my journey. I drive for Door Dash on the side, so my plan is to use Door Dash cities as a hub of sorts. I can make deliveries to earn enough money for my bills and necessities, and the rest of the time I can just explore, do my photography, and generally be free.
This is a photo from my last trip. I went to the north shore of Lake Superior and hiked Eagle Mountain, Minnesota's state high point. It was a great trip, and the longest I've ever car camped (3 nights).
![BnW wave splash_11zon.jpg BnW wave splash_11zon.jpg](https://expeditionportal.com/forum/data/attachments/544/544972-f9cbd18d7e5b617b4219284f2487a5e0.jpg)
There are a few things I would need to do before I head out for anything longer, namely make window covers. It got pretty cold in Minnesota, but not as cold as it is now, and I was lucky enough to find shady places to park, but I can't rely on luck alone, and the window covers would be a huge help. I also need to order more dry storage food. Up till now I've always used freeze dried backpack meals, but those are expensive. I have used emergency freeze dried soup from My Patriot Supply which are pretty good, and most are less than $1 per serving.
My other option is to move in with a friend, or my parents to save money on rent, and just drive with Door Dash to get more of my debt payed off. I'm currently on a month to month basis at my apartment, and there's not much point in paying to stay close to work if I'm not working. If I can get enough debt payed off I won't have to go back to work when the building capacity restrictions are lifted. I work in an event arena. I was furloughed because the restrictions are making it impossible to make a decent profit. Corporate wanted to shut the entire building down until they're back to full cap, so I don't anticipate being called back until that happens.
So that's where I'm at. Stay and pay stuff off, or go and get a head start on my Escape Life? Not an easy decision however you cut it. The amount of my unemployment checks will be a big deciding factor as well. Either way, I'm going to try to post here regularly, if for no other reason than to vent.
So I was furloughed for the second time yesterday (thanks COVID), and despite the stress that that has caused I kind of see this as an opportunity. I've wanted for a while now to live at least part time van life, or in my case SUV life, but bills, debt, and of course my job have prevented that. Now that my job is no longer an issue I have an opportunity to test my plan for my journey. I drive for Door Dash on the side, so my plan is to use Door Dash cities as a hub of sorts. I can make deliveries to earn enough money for my bills and necessities, and the rest of the time I can just explore, do my photography, and generally be free.
This is a photo from my last trip. I went to the north shore of Lake Superior and hiked Eagle Mountain, Minnesota's state high point. It was a great trip, and the longest I've ever car camped (3 nights).
![BnW wave splash_11zon.jpg BnW wave splash_11zon.jpg](https://expeditionportal.com/forum/data/attachments/544/544972-f9cbd18d7e5b617b4219284f2487a5e0.jpg)
There are a few things I would need to do before I head out for anything longer, namely make window covers. It got pretty cold in Minnesota, but not as cold as it is now, and I was lucky enough to find shady places to park, but I can't rely on luck alone, and the window covers would be a huge help. I also need to order more dry storage food. Up till now I've always used freeze dried backpack meals, but those are expensive. I have used emergency freeze dried soup from My Patriot Supply which are pretty good, and most are less than $1 per serving.
My other option is to move in with a friend, or my parents to save money on rent, and just drive with Door Dash to get more of my debt payed off. I'm currently on a month to month basis at my apartment, and there's not much point in paying to stay close to work if I'm not working. If I can get enough debt payed off I won't have to go back to work when the building capacity restrictions are lifted. I work in an event arena. I was furloughed because the restrictions are making it impossible to make a decent profit. Corporate wanted to shut the entire building down until they're back to full cap, so I don't anticipate being called back until that happens.
So that's where I'm at. Stay and pay stuff off, or go and get a head start on my Escape Life? Not an easy decision however you cut it. The amount of my unemployment checks will be a big deciding factor as well. Either way, I'm going to try to post here regularly, if for no other reason than to vent.