(And VERY cool story Frugal Down Under – thx for sharing!)

I’m a Couchsurfer. Mainly a host. But I surfed in Vietnam and Bali in the past 4 years – both great experiences. Look at Helpx too. It’s kind of like couchsurfing except you give your help in exchange. I host Helpx more the couchsurfers nowdays, different mindset.

I had a 2 Couchsurfers that travelled the world and worked on their computers. They made a living while travelling frugally. I was very envious :-)

You’ll be fine if your open minded and chat to local people along the way. I came back home with amazing experiences and $20,000 in my pocket. You might too.

First, thanks to J. Money for letting me guest post on here! :)

Now, for the rest…

@ Money Infant – Thanks for all the positivity! That’s great to hear that someone else just went for the irresponsible decision and made it through.

@ Adam – Thanks! That seems like a neat project.

@ WR – Great tips!

Re 1. We’re already on the road so another car won’t do. We considered about getting a different one before we left, but it never ended up making sense.

Re 1b. That is a good idea. I think this first month is dedicated to making it through, seeing who is interested in following our blog, and then seeing if anyone is willing to sponsor – but a car wrap could be a good way to jump start that!

Re 2: We’re going to do option 2 and mostly stay in the southern climate and work our way around :)

Re Food: Amazing tips :) Definitely going to keep that in mind. We would have never never thought of the free buffet or church suppers!

@ LB – Thankfully I’m young enough that health insurance is technically covered under my family, but also shouldn’t be a huge issue for me barring a tragic event. Hopefully you’ll be able to do it yourself soon :)

@ bobbi – There’s a reason that this plan sounds irresponsible… that’s because by all usual reason and standards, it is. I totally understand that. That said, I’m actually pretty resourceful when it comes down to it. As a web designer & developer I can pick up gigs from anywhere in the country and get them done. Between being a freelancer in the comfort of a home vs. being a freelancer on the road, there isn’t much of a difference except for how happy I am with my lifestyle. I certainly am not counting on others to fund this trip, it would just make things a lot easier.

@ LG – Once again, I totally hear you on the “there would have been a more responsible way” bit. To my defense, we did put several months of real planning and preparation into this, it just didn’t include a full debt payment plan. In the last 3 or 4 years I’ve gone from well over $17,000 in commercial debt to where I am today, so what I’m looking at now feels like peanuts to me. :) Not the best view of debt, to be sure, but I have put in years and years of hard work and saving to get down to the level I’m at. We’ve always wanted to do a crazy trip, and in the words of J. Money… we just finally went for it.

@ Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents – Thanks for your encouragement! We’re definitely already having fun :)

@ Sharon – Definitely looked at mini vans. The hard thing is that my car is relatively new and there’s very small chance of it breaking down on us or giving us very expensive issues. It’s hard to trade that in when we don’t anticipate needing to sleep in the car often, if at all.

@ Keesha – Web development is actually a pretty decent gig. I’ve had a 5 year career full time and I typically have at least three or four people inquiring my services on the side at any given moment. Now that I’m on my own, working those jobs should actually pay the bills almost as well as a full time job. The thing is that I’m hoping we’ll find alternative methods of money making so that I’m doing only exactly what I love, instead of needing to work those jobs when I don’t want to. Am I spoiled for thinking that way? Maybe, but I definitely can’t have what I want if I’m not determined to try for the exact lifestyle I’d like to have.

@ Bridget – I do wonder if you talk fondly about that amazing month in France? I’m sure your budget regrets that decision, but the memories and times you had are irreplaceable. I have never had an amazing adventure like this, and for most of my life I’ve been the responsible oldest sibling helping take care of the 8 younger kids. I’ve worked since the day I was legally able to get a work permit, I finished college at 18, etc. etc. etc… so for me, this is about breaking out of the same old, responsible things and doing something insane for myself. All of my great stories (until now) are what happened to my friends and family that I witnessed. Now then… about the Air. Reliable, portable computer that will enable me to work anywhere at any time without going crazy? Priceless. As for the rest of it, like I mentioned in an earlier comment, I’m actually pretty handy at working hard and making money – I’m just hoping for the best that I can find an easier way of it. Right now, freelance web jobs are going to more than pay the bills for the first few months.

@ Brian – Thanks for the tip on the national parks pass! We just picked one up yesterday as we passed the Arches Park. :) Good luck on your new family road trip in a year!

@ Craig – I mentioned earlier in this comment, but where I’m at now is already after years of paying off a LOT of debt. So while being in debt on a trip like this isn’t the best, it’s actually head and shoulders above where I was, say, 3 years ago. We’ve had this trip in mind for a long time, finally started prepping for it around August or October I think, and now we just decided to go for it. I hope one day you’re also able to take life by the horns and ride that bull ;) other than the already obvious financial risks… we’re going to be doing our best to keep things in order! And FUN is why we’re doing this in the first place!! ;)

@ George – While I understand your reserve, thanks for the well wishes :) I think I’ve written enough above to explain where I’m coming from.

@ AWESOME – Life IS too damn complicated! Thanks for the cheers, I hope that one day you can take a less bold but similarly amazing step back to keeping it simple and having a good time.

@ DA & Bob – Thanks! We’re excited.

…

WHEW! I am sorry if I got carried away in there anywhere. I definitely hear the nay-sayers, but unfortunately no amount of foreboding is going to keep me away… in fact, we’re already on our fourth state in. Tomorrow marks the end of our first week!

My bottom line about the financials is that, no, I would probably not recommend this sort of thing (the way I’m doing it) to someone even 5 or 10 years older than me who has more responsibilities (okay, fine I don’t exactly recommend it as a “smart” option to myself but…) I’m pretty young so even if I am to crash and burn financially, I have my whole life to recover from it – and the stories I make this year are going to define who I become through the rest of my life.

That all said, I have utter confidence in myself as a creative mind, that we’ll be able to find a way to do things on our own terms – and I’m willing to do real work and find a way. I’m not the patient type, so waiting for this trip any longer wasn’t an option to me any longer.

(And yes, web design and development is in fact very real work! For that matter, so is blogging, creating interesting media, and so forth. The entertainment industry is in fact important in our society!)

If people find the Jersey Shore worth watching, I’d like to think that something as epic as this trip would also be worth something :)

Cheers to you for taking the risk! I wouldn’t be so bold these days, but thats just me.