Let’s check out the nomadic Wealthy Lifetime of IWT worker Jonathan and his companion, Lucy.
We’ll cowl all the pieces: How and why Jonathan and Lucy determined to dwell a nomadic life, their camper van construct particulars, the ACTUAL prices concerned in residing on the highway, a number of of their Wealthy Life moments, and extra.
You’ll hear a few skeptical mom, Andrew Garfield, two pit bulls and a shotgun, a pack of 4x4s in a snowstorm, and extra.
It’s going to be nice!
We’ll go into element about their particular camper van later. First, I’d prefer to introduce you to Jonathan and Lucy.
Meet Jonathan and Lucy
Jonathan began working for IWT in summer time 2021 on our Scholar Success workforce. Once you be part of one in every of our applications, our SS workforce makes certain that you’ve all the pieces it’s worthwhile to get by means of this system and begin to implement what you’ve realized. The workforce is without doubt one of the greatest elements of IWT.
Jonathan and Lucy, who’ve been collectively for greater than seven years, purchased their first camper van in 2019. The primary van was designed to be an “adventuring” van with tons of storage (for a van) however no actual place to work or lounge.
“A month into our year-long journey, we knew that we needed to maintain the dream going,” Jonathan mentioned. In order that they took it to the subsequent degree.
In 2021, they got down to construct what they name their “Digital Nomadic Dream Van,” which might enable them to journey indefinitely whereas additionally with the ability to earn an earnings.
Once we interviewed Jonathan for The Wealthy Life e-newsletter, he gave us some background on what impressed him and Lucy to go on the highway.
“Our good friend Raquel, who launched us to the nomadic life-style, was recognized with terminal most cancers in summer time 2021 and handed away within the fall. She by no means acquired the prospect to dwell her Wealthy Life. It actually places into context why we aren’t losing any time residing our Wealthy Life, and every single day we’re on the highway, we’re reminded of her life. We named our van Raqi (pronounced ‘Rocky’) after her and hope to proceed residing the way in which she would have needed us to.”
Wow. What a robust purpose for Jonathan and Lucy to begin residing their imaginative and prescient for his or her Wealthy Life! No matter your purpose is, one of the best time to begin residing your Wealthy Life is right this moment.

I like with the ability to go in-depth and get particular particulars on a Wealthy Life story like this. Preserve studying to see precisely what it prices every month to dwell a nomadic life like this — I feel it can shock you.
Skeptics and “FISH’ing”
Jonathan and Lucy (and their canine, Teton) reside their Wealthy Life whereas touring the nation of their camper van.
Let’s speak about feedback Jonathan and Lucy heard and the way they handled them.
- “I want I used to be younger and had fewer tasks and will journey round.”
- “There’s no approach that will work for me. It’s an excessive amount of time, sources, and cash.”
- “Have to be good.”
- “How are you going to pay for all of that?”
Ah, skeptics.
“My mother was not a fan from the beginning,” Jonathan mentioned. “She really got here up with a enjoyable acronym for it: ‘FISH’ing.’ Feigning Curiosity, Suppressing Horror.”
LOL.
This is the reason I say your Wealthy Life is YOURS, not anybody else’s. Some individuals will assume your concepts of a Wealthy Life are loopy. That’s OK!
So why this Wealthy Life?
“With our preliminary jobs out of faculty, we weren’t in a position to do something enjoyable,” Jonathan mentioned. “We don’t wish to be locked right down to a metropolis, and particularly a high-rent space. We love the pliability of going wherever we would like.”
“It was an ideal time for us to launch into this new life-style as a result of there was nothing holding us again,” Jonathan mentioned. “We had been to start with of our careers, didn’t have a home, no youngsters. It felt like a superb alternative.”
They acknowledge it’s not excellent. Lucy mentioned, “In a perfect world, we wouldn’t be in a van — we’d have the ability to keep in additional snug lodging. However for now, we’re prioritizing our love for the outside, nevertheless it comes with the price of residing in a smaller area and never having all the pieces available.”
And the van construct itself didn’t all the time go easily.
Their 2019 Ford Transit-350 HD XLT was their base and had a 400-pound wheelchair raise that they needed to manually take away, together with all the passenger seats.
Lucy ambitiously estimated that the construct would take 3 months and $20,000.
Seven months and $40,000 later, the van is full.
Listed here are simply a few the surprising delays and bills: They ordered the bathroom for the van in Might 2021, nevertheless it didn’t arrive till October. The skilled heating and electrical system installations value twice as a lot and took — no exaggeration — 10 occasions as lengthy.
However Jonathan and Lucy each word that you just turn into used to residing in a van in a short time. “It positively took some adjusting,” Jonathan mentioned. “At first we had been bumping into one another and determining use the area most successfully.”
“However now we have the entire world exterior our door,” he added. “And we will simply open it and get anyplace we wish to.”
Right here’s how Jonathan and Lucy determine the place to go, in line with Jonathan:
“We now have a common route that we wish to take after which discover particular issues to do as we’re touring by means of areas. The good half about residing nomadically is that we will keep for longer durations of time if we like a sure place. We enable for flexibility in our journey plans due to this.
“Throughout this second journey, we’re heading towards Denver to see Lucy’s sister, who not too long ago moved there. We intend to journey slower and extra meticulously than our first journey in order that we will actually soak up and expertise every place that we go to.”
Jonathan and Lucy are already fascinated with all of the locations they’d prefer to go quickly. Mexico and Alaska are on the listing, however even larger than that. “There are individuals we’ve seen who’ve both finished van swaps or really shipped their van to Europe or Asia,” Jonathan mentioned. “We’d like to discover and experiment with touring internationally whereas residing in a van and dealing remotely.”
I like it!
I speak about this with {couples} on my podcast on a regular basis. A Wealthy Life is a particular, detailed plan for the current AND the longer term. I like that Jonathan and Lucy had been fascinated with this even earlier than he began working with us and was conversant in all the IWT terminology.
Camper van economics
OK, now for ACTUAL NUMBERS.
Ever puzzled how a lot it prices to journey the nation in a van or a camper? Let’s discover out.
Right here’s what Jonathan says:
Price of the empty van: $40,000 after taxes and charge (a used 2019 Ford Transit 350 HD XLT passenger van with round 35,000 miles)
Price of the construct: $40,000, together with all supplies, home equipment, and labor of pros
Price to dwell on the highway monthly:
- Meals/grocery: $500
- Camper insurance coverage: $200
- Auto mortgage: $650
- Gasoline: $300 common (relying on the place they’re)
- Pet meals/insurance coverage: $125
- Guilt-free spending: $300–600 (relying on the place they’re)
Whole: Round $2,000–2,500 monthly, or $24,000–30,000 per yr
I wager that’s lower than what you thought it could be.
Give it some thought this fashion: It prices them much less to dwell on the highway than it did to hire a small condominium in Massachusetts. Every little thing is much less, not simply hire.
“It isn’t really as costly as individuals would assume it’s,” Jonathan mentioned, “as a result of we’re not paying towards a mortgage, we’re not paying towards taxes. All we’re paying towards is insurance coverage and our van mortgage.”
He explains one other approach they give it some thought:
“Once we had been touring round and stopped in locations like Jackson Gap or alongside the California coast, we’d be camped out proper subsequent to multimillion-dollar houses — and we had the identical view. And we had been staying there totally free or subsequent to nothing.
“It shifted our mindset. Experiencing the nation was way more attainable. We had been in a position to have the identical views as individuals who had stationary houses. Besides we might change it on a regular basis.”
Sure! Comparable causes to why I like renting and never proudly owning.
We requested Jonathan a number of different questions:
What about campsite bills? “On the East Coast, it’s actually laborious to camp totally free. However when you cross the Mississippi, there’s extra Bureau of Land Administration land the place you’ll be able to camp totally free for as much as two weeks at a time.”
Sudden bills? “You may’t simply have common auto insurance coverage. And lots of camper insurance coverage insurance policies wouldn’t cowl us since we constructed it ourselves. So we needed to navigate that course of — principally monitoring each single buy, maintaining detailed receipts, and sending that to the insurance coverage firm to get a customized coverage.”
Sightseeing and different experiences? “We now have a guilt-free spending quantity that we like to remain at, however we do keep versatile. If there are issues in sure areas that we wish to do, we would say ‘Effectively, that goes above funds, however this can be a once-in-a-lifetime alternative, so let’s do it.’”
“After the preliminary construct is completed, the bills are very predictable,” Lucy mentioned. “You can even transfer the funds round. So if it seems like issues are getting too tight, you don’t should drive as a lot. It’s very manageable.”
It is a nice instance of how to consider cash in a different way in an effort to dwell your Wealthy Life.
A proposal, an actor, a shotgun, and a pack of 4x4s
A Wealthy Life is your preferrred life — one the place you take a look at your private relationships, your funds, and your extraordinary days and say, “Wow!”
It’s a life that’s full. A life lived deliberately, proactively, and abundantly.
Listed here are a number of particular examples of Jonathan and Lucy’s Wealthy Life from touring over the previous couple years.
Engagement hike
From Jonathan:
“Earlier than the journey began, we had been simply courting. We weren’t engaged but. We each knew that we needed to pop the query in some unspecified time in the future throughout the journey, however we didn’t know the place we had been going to do it or what the context was going to be. So over the course of the journey, we had been discovering all of those lovely hikes, and I used to be pondering, Oh, is that this going to be a superb place to do it? Is that this going to be a superb place to do it?
“We each began speaking about this one particular hike in Zion known as Angel’s Touchdown. It’s presupposed to be just like the scariest hike within the U.S. So I assumed, That seems like an incredible spot to do it. It’s this massive hike that we’ve each been speaking about the entire journey.
“Once you get there, there’s an indication about how many individuals have died previously 10 years.
“Once we acquired to the highest, I beloved the views and was on the brink of ask the query. However I didn’t notice that there have been tons of individuals crying and stressing out and breaking down as a result of they’d simply made it there. I simply thought it was one of the best time to ask. So I went to Lucy and mentioned quietly in her ear, ‘I’ve an important query to ask you.’ However the very first thing out of her mouth was, ‘Not now, Jon. I’m not prepared for this.’
“So we made our approach just a little farther out on the touchdown and had probably the most unbelievable view. Nobody was crying at that time, and I used to be in a position to ask the query.”
Lucy mentioned, “My reply was really ‘If we make it down. If I survive.’”
“I took it as a sure,” Jonathan mentioned.
Assembly an actor
Lucy remembers a selected hike they went on:
“In one other park, we biked in. We began chatting with the man that we had been biking with for just a little bit.
“We got here again from a hike and the identical man was there. He had simply completed the hike. Jon struck up a dialog with him, and he was speaking about how he’s touring round in a van.
“So we talked a bit, and I mentioned, ‘We even have a van.’ We had been telling one another about our lives. I requested, ‘What do you do that enables you to have the ability to journey on a regular basis? Do you’ve a versatile work schedule?’ And he mentioned, ‘Oh, I’m in movie and theater.’ Then he mentioned, ‘There’s an awesome campsite I’m staying at east of Zion. You guys ought to test it out. It has showers. We might hang around and have a campfire.’
“However I mentioned, ‘No, now we have to go choose up our pet from doggy day care. We’re staying on the east aspect. We’re completely high-quality. It was good assembly you.’ So he biked off. As he biked away, Jon mentioned, ‘That’s a very well-known actor.’ I mentioned, ‘What are you speaking about?’ ‘That was Andrew Garfield.’ I didn’t know the identify. As quickly as we acquired service once more and he confirmed me an image, I mentioned, ‘Holy crap. I simply talked to that man for half-hour.’ I handled him as if he was a vacationer as a result of I assumed he was British. I advised him that he ought to go to California and see Large Sur and locations like that. He by no means gave up his id. Behind his head, he was most likely pondering, ‘Yeah, I do know the place to go in California. I personal a home in California.’
“It was such a enjoyable second to fulfill an A-list celeb in probably the most out-of-context place. He was such a standard, common man, simply doing a hike the identical day we had been doing the hike.
“In order that made us notice that you just don’t must have tens of millions and tens of millions of {dollars} to dwell your Wealthy Life. We had been having the identical expertise as a celeb.”
Pit bulls and a shotgun
One other story from Jonathan:
“One time, we went to a website close to Yellowstone. It was an deserted filth highway. We misplaced service after 5 minutes on the highway and had been nonetheless half-hour away. Once we acquired to the spot, there was just one campsite and there’s somebody already there. I politely requested, ‘Hey, we’re already out right here. Do you thoughts if we simply keep over right here for the night time?’ And he mentioned it was completely high-quality.
“We did a fast tour of one another’s vans as a result of that’s what you do. Apparently, there was an enormous shotgun in his entrance seat. Lucy noticed it, however I didn’t. He additionally had two large pit bulls. He was touring along with his mother, which I assume is the least scary a part of that. That’s the one factor that I took away from it — that he had his mother with him.
“The primary query Lucy requested after his tour was in regards to the shotgun. He mentioned, ‘Yeah, I’ve a shotgun to keep off bears in the event that they ever come by. Do you guys have any weapons?’ After all I mentioned no.
“Lucy thought we had been going to die that night time.
“However on the finish of the day, he was tremendous good. He actually was simply touring round along with his mother and solely had the shotgun for bears, and he was tremendous pleasant. However now I do know to say that now we have all of the weapons.”
A bunch of 4x4s
Jonathan mentioned:
“The scariest second most likely was after we acquired caught in a blizzard close to Bend, Oregon.
“We stayed at a campsite — actually, a relaxation space parking zone — for the night time. Everybody else was going again into Portland, however we determined to remain for the night time. We figured they’d plow it within the morning.
“The entire locals got here out with their massive SUVs and Jeeps and began doing donuts across the parking zone.
“Lucy began to get just a little bit upset. We might have had a few glasses of wine. She mentioned, ‘I’m going to go inform these guys they’re getting approach too shut and so they’re approach too loud.’
“I mentioned, ‘I wouldn’t try this. They’ll cease ultimately.’
“However she marched out, and mentioned to a man standing exterior smoking a cigarette, ‘You realize, you guys are being very loud, and I’m making an attempt to sleep. You’re too shut.’”
Lucy continued the story:
“The man began laughing and requested if we had been within the van. I mentioned sure and marched again very proud. Jon requested, ‘What did you do? You advised them that we had been within the van? You compromised our security.’
“A couple of minutes later, they left, and I used to be bragging.
“However a couple of minutes after that, they got here again in power. They need to’ve known as all their pals. They had been doing donuts inside a number of ft of the van.
“After about 20 minutes, they drove away. I determine it’s as a result of I didn’t present them that they had been getting below my pores and skin. They weren’t getting a response and so weren’t getting a lot enjoyable out of it.
“We advised our mother and father that story and I feel it terrified them. But it surely’s a really joke now.”
I like these tales as a result of they illustrate a key level of the Wealthy Life idea. A Wealthy Life isn’t all about cash. NONE of those tales have cash as the first character. The purpose is the expertise.
At IWT, we see cash as a software for designing, enhancing, and having fun with the life you’re meant to dwell. Jonathan and Lucy have organized their life — together with their funds — to permit them to dwell the life they need. I hope tales like theirs encourage you to do the identical.
A camper van Dream Job
As I discussed, Jonathan is an IWT worker. Right here at IWT, we’re massive believers in working from house. Actually, our complete firm works remotely.
“I used to be in search of a job that was going to permit me to dwell my Wealthy Life, with out even figuring out what that meant,” Jonathan mentioned. “I knew that I needed to work remotely for a corporation that was serving to individuals with their issues of their lives.”
So how does working in a van work?
“We’re fully self-sufficient so far as electrical energy is worried. We now have greater than sufficient solar energy to maintain us going, and we cost at any time when we drive,” he mentioned.
“Proper now, we’re spending a lot of the day, say 9:00 to five:00 within the van working, after which at night time we discover the realm,” mentioned Jonathan. “With it getting darkish sooner, typically now we have to attend till the weekends to drive to the subsequent spot in order that now we have daylight to discover the realm to discover a good place to remain.”
Lucy, who labored full time on ending the van conversion for seven months, is now in search of her personal distant Dream Job.
Your questions for Jonathan and Lucy
Once we shared Jonathan and Lucy’s story in The Wealthy Life e-newsletter, we acquired plenty of nice questions on their Wealthy Life. Listed here are a number of, together with Jonathan and Lucy’s solutions:
Q: How does the web work?
A: We now have an LTE router and a cell sign booster. Worth vary can fluctuate relying in your bandwidth wants, however sometimes may be between $300–$1,000 for the gear. For the router, you’ll be able to plug in any kind of SIM card, so Verizon, AT&T, T-Cellular, and even worldwide SIMs will work. The hotspot-only plans vary from $40 to $75 monthly for 40 to 100 GB of information. And we all the time have the choice to go to a restaurant if we would like or want.
Q: How do you deal with being in such shut contact together with your companion on a regular basis? How do you’ve your solo/alone time whereas residing in a small area?
A: Communication. Full cease. You have to be fully open and sincere together with your companion and your self to prioritize your alone time if you want it. We designed our van with a “bed room” and “lounge” in order that we will each have our personal lounging/working areas. Additionally, taking time to go on solo walks/hikes/bike rides may be very therapeutic. It was vital for us that we had been residing collectively for over 5 years earlier than hitting the highway, which constructed an awesome basis for our relationship.
Q: How do you get mail or packages or listing a everlasting deal with?
A: It’s really loads simpler than individuals assume. If we’re ordering one thing from Amazon, then we attempt to discover an Amazon hub locker or a Entire Meals retailer close by. If we’re getting one thing from our household/pals, then UPS shops will maintain a package deal for you for as much as every week. So far as everlasting addresses, our mother and father and siblings have everlasting addresses that we will ship essential mail to.
Q: What do you miss probably the most a few conventional area?
A: Limitless water, particularly for dishes, showers, and baths. Not having to continually take into consideration eliminating our trash, recycling, wastewater, and so forth. The area is so restricted that the trash appears to pile up much more than regular residing. Extra storage and steady storage — we hit a bump simply the opposite day and launched a full glass bottle of vinegar that shattered on our ground. A constant place to go house to each night time — continually in search of campsites to remain in.
Q: How do you take care of journey fatigue? Does that even occur since your life is decidedly cell?
A: Whereas we live on the highway touring full time, the period of time that we spend in anywhere is totally as much as us. If we ever really feel fatigued shifting round a lot, we will all the time discover a place to remain for weeks at a time to recuperate. Our favourite instance of this was after we had been touring by means of northern Arizona and southern Utah. There was an awesome quantity of issues to do, and we had by no means actually stayed in a single place for longer than every week at that time. We ended up staying within the space for over a month, and it was nice to decelerate and actually expertise the place and achieve again our vitality to journey extra.
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I hope you’ve loved this take a look at Jonathan and Lucy’s Wealthy Life. We’ll make sure you verify in on them now and again and share what we be taught in The Wealthy Life e-newsletter. Within the meantime, you’ll be able to comply with their journey on Instagram @ajucyadventure.
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