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We get asked fairly often how we make money on the road. And it's a great question. The truth is, many types of jobs don't lend themselves well to traveling full-time. Thankfully without realizing it we started several years ago building an income that was location independent. It was just the first step, though. Read on to find out more.
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It’s not always the grand adventures that gets us excited around here. You wouldn’t believe the little things that make me happy but I’ll tell you one!
Just the other day I found my second abandoned milk crate! I know, some of you may be like, seriously? But, yes!! I found my second milk crate....that I didn’t have to pay for!
The first milk crate I spotted was in the Florida Keys while we were driving around Sunshine Key looking for little key deer. Laying off the road was the beauty. We drove right by a black milk crate and I remember telling Jonathan, ‘We have to go back and get that! We could really use it!' He looked at me with the same look you’re probably having right now.
We turned the truck around and I got out and ran to go pick it up! I was SO excited. It wasn’t just a couple weeks ago I told him that we should get a milk crate for our leveling blocks that are always just strewn about the bed of the truck. He agreed that it was a good idea to contain them in something. But not just something. I didn’t want to go to walmart and get those cheap looking milk crates. I wanted a real one. You know what I mean, right? A heavy duty milk crate. The ones they actually used to carry milk containers. But more importantly, I didn't want to have to pay for it.
So just imagine my surprise when it’s just laying there...all alone on the side of the road. Waiting for someone to love it. Well, I’m here, my precious. I got you!
Fast forward to this morning when I was on my way to get our windshield replaced and low and behold...out of the corner of my eye, I spotted it! Another beautiful, black milk crate just waiting on the side of the road for someone to love it. I immediately texted Jonathan, at a stop sign, to get outside and walk down the street to get it since I was going to be late to my appointment. He did!
Now we have 2 crates, that we didn’t have to pay for!
I can’t be the only one who gets excited about these little things. So tell me, what unexpected things have you found on the road that you love?
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Twenty weeks! What? Weren’t we supposed to be done 8 weeks ago? Ha! What was I thinking? Anyway, after finishing our bunk beds last week, we’re closer than we were and this week we’ve got several things done on our list!
You can watch the video below and then read on for more details:
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Guys and Girls, we have picked up some serious momentum since our last update. We left off having just installed our lower pantry cabinet, one lower bunk bed and one wall between them.
In just two weeks the inside of the Airstream looks like a totally different place. Let’s see what’s changed.
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It’s no secret that I hate cold weather. When we first set out on our adventure in May of 2015, we decided that we’ll go where we can always wear flip flops! (I also hate shoes) We were living it up touring up north on the east coast the first 7 months. It was summer and the weather was amazing except for that one time in Virginia. We took our time coming back down south along the coast from Maine all the way down south to winter in the Florida Keys. We were on top of the world. We were comfortable in our huge 5th wheel and we were confident that this is the way it will always be. We’d go anywhere we want, as long as we were together...and warm.
Little did we know that when we decided to downsize...again...that we would be wintering in INDIANA. Guys, it’s so cold here. Yeah, I was raised in Indiana and I knew what to expect but I haven’t lived here for 14 glorious years. I got used to Tennessee winters where it’s never this cold and the whole state shuts down with a slight dusting of snow. I actually liked that. I could tolerate winters in Tennessee. But when we started traveling full time, we decided we wouldn’t go anywhere that we couldn’t wear flip flops! We were partying last winter in the Keys with not a thought about snow or being cold. Life got comfortable. I hate being cold but I’m learning some things as we’re hunkered down in these subzero temperatures.
For instance, I’ve learned that I complain way too much. Like, I tried to go a whole day without complaining but when I got out of bed all my clothes were dirty and the only pants I had to wear had holes in all the wrong places. First thing I thought was, “I don’t have enough clothes!” and “I never have enough time to do laundry.” Complain...complain...complain. Instead of being thankful that I woke up and get to spend all day with the people I love, my first thought was to complain about the circumstances that I could have prevented. I could have stayed up late to go do laundry but I didn’t.
Then, by the time lunch rolled around I was complaining that I didn’t have what I needed to make something for the kids. Yes, they had plenty to eat but I focused on the one thing I didn’t have, that I didn’t even really need.
It’s so easy to get caught up complaining about things you can’t change, that you start complaining about the things you can. I’m working on that. I’m trying to really think about just how good we’ve got it right now. We’re staying in a warm house, my dad is busting his butt to help us 6 days a week, my mom is helping me with the kids when I’m out working on the Airstream. We have so much to be thankful for. I’m really trying to just pause and enjoy this season we are in.
Would we rather be out on the road? Heck, yes! But there is a reason for every season we walk through. Right now I’m taking the time to work on the way I see life. Instead of complaining that we aren’t out seeing the world right now, I’m focusing on being thankful for the time I get to spend with my mom and my dad, and my sister and nephews. It’s a humbling experience to uproot your life and get uncomfortable. It brings out the very worst in you, but it can also bring out the very best. Keep in mind that this is just a season, big things are just around the corner...you just have to keep on walking.
The last thing I want for my family is to get too comfortable. Any minute things can change. I want us to be able to adapt and thrive when things aren’t going the way we think they should. We need to be ok with being uncomfortable.
We need to be ok spending winters in Indiana.
We need to be ok when we don’t know what next month will bring.
We need to be ok with living on less.
We need to be ok without the nicest clothes or the nicest cars.
We need to be ok with not having perfect Instagram worthy lives.
Sometimes life is messy. But we need to accept season we are in and be thankful for every trial and every victory. Every time we wake up we need to be thankful that we have another day to give it all we have. We have another day with the people we love. We have another day to try to turn our lives into whatever we want them to be.
Sometimes being uncomfortable is what it takes to give you a push in the right direction. Sometimes you have to be uncomfortable to realize that being comfortable is overrated. And sometimes you just need to stop complaining about being cold. Pull up those big girl panties, be thankful, and put on another pair of socks!
It’s cold, but it's going to be okay.
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Jonathan Longnecker / January 30, 2017
Ashley Longnecker / January 25, 2017
We’re Jonathan & Ashley Longnecker. We love weird ideas, great food, travel, drawing, music, homeschool, tattoos, dreads, woodworking, design and our 4 amazing kids.