u/Liam_the_Pious

TL;DR: I collect cans on the side.

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It's a far fall from the good salary position at the corporate career I held just 6 months ago. But, it is what it is 🤷‍♂️ Life has a way of hard-resetting for the lot of us. I'm no exception. I've been through half a dozen of these hard resets in my lifetime already, so it's nothing new. LOL. But, I'm better prepared (mentally and equipment-wise) this time around.

While my living expenses are lower since I live out of my SUV 5 days a week, my current job is part-time, and the pay barely covers my monthly car payment and gasoline. Like many, I need to subsidize this income with side hustles. I do a lot of things from flipping furniture to collecting cans for recycle.

Aside from donating plasma, food delivery like DoorDash, or ride-share services like Lyft, how do you earn extra cash?

I don't eat too many pastries, but, I'm not gonna turn down a FREE doughnut. Krispy Kreme and other establishments are doing promotions. I think at Dunkin you have to purchase a beverage for a complimentary doughnut, but not at Krispy Kreme.

This is just something to brighten up your day if you're down to your last buck, and you could use a sweet pick-me-up.

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NOTE: Uh, it's not an ad. I mean, it is because I'm advertising it. But, it's not like I'm being paid. I'm just trying to spread some cheer in our lives 🙂

I'm a couple hours away from my home base for short-term employment. Honestly, the pay and hours suck but the job market is shit. Because of the high gas prices, and how much of a gas guzzler my SUV is, I don't want to make that 4 hour round-trip commute per day. For 4 days out of the week, for the past couple weeks, I'm back sleeping in my vehicle—man, have I missed it.

I limit my takeout to once a week. Almost like a treat for myself. Last week, I had a mediocre small burger combo from Carl's Jr. It cost me $12 and some change. I miss when the Cali XL was only $5. This week, I decided to ovetcome my anxiety and venture into an Asian supermarket. Don't sleep on these places. $12 for this compared to that floppy burger and soggy fries 😱

Howdy, folks.

It's been a minute. I'm checkin' in with an update for anyone interested.

After 18 months full-time out of my SUV, my time livin' out of a vehicle has come to an end (for now). I lost my well-paying job early March. I took the opportunity to relocate from Michigan-to-California to help care for my elderly father. He is quite ill.

I'm not a fan of the higher cost of living, or the ridiculous gas price. The job market in general sucks. Especially here. I arrived late April, and I'm still unemployed. Even McDonald's turned me down! My savings is basically cleaned out. SMH. It's definitely a far fall from the white collar corporate career. But, this is where I have to be until my father's inevitable passing. Hopefully, that's not anytime soon. And hopefully I can find some type of work, too.

Man, do I miss livin' out of my 4Runner. I was able to rent two bedrooms in a house. The home is shared with 4 other people, so it's busy and noisy. I hate having shared space. Inside my 4Runner, it felt like a space shuttle. Everything I needed was within an arm's reach. In a way, the limitations became comforting. I actually miss it.

Anyway, this is my bedroom. I left a lot to imagination. I transfered some of my stuff from my SUV in here. Like my foam mattress. But, livin' out of my vehicle for so long, it has me conditioned a certain way. Plus, I am hesitant to buy furniture. I like the minimalism. More space, more surfaces, tends to invite more stuff.

Well, keep in the good fight. I'll check in time-to-time, but I'll mostly be lurking. Also, I'm not keen on the direction this sub has taken. If that opinion is a ban-able offense, then be well and take care, folks. Ciao~