Preparing for Van Life: Our Behind-the-Scenes Journey
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Van life isn’t just about converting a van—it’s a major lifestyle shift that requires careful planning. As my husband Jason and I prepare to move into our 2019 Ram ProMaster with our two dogs, we’re tackling everything from finances to downsizing and selling our house. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making the transition to full-time van life.
1. Budgeting for Van Life: Where Our Money Goes
Before we even purchased our van, we had to determine what we could afford. We created a detailed budget spreadsheet, tracking our income and expenses to see how much we could allocate for the build.
So far, we’ve spent around $8,300.00 on our van conversion (you can see our full budget breakdown for the van here). Since we didn’t have that money saved upfront, we adjusted our spending habits, cutting back on eating out, travel, and entertainment to redirect funds toward the van.
Extra Ways We’re Funding Our Van Build:
Selling household items: We started selling furniture and other belongings early to build up our van fund.
Credit card rewards: We use a credit card for purchases and pay it off immediately, earning cash-back for big-ticket items.
Work and health incentives: Bonus points from work and step-tracking rewards have helped us save extra cash.
2. Selling Our House Without a Realtor
One of the biggest steps in our transition is selling our home. Jason previously sold a house on his own, so we decided to try listing it without a realtor to save on commission fees.
Steps We Took to Sell Our Home:
Decluttering & depersonalizing: We removed personal items, cleaned out excess furniture, and fixed minor repairs.
Researching MLS listing services: Using a flat-fee MLS service allows us to list on major platforms like Zillow and Realtor.com without paying full realtor fees.
Hosting our own showings: By handling showings ourselves, we maintain control over the process while saving money.
3. Downsizing for Van Life
Moving into a van means drastically reducing our belongings. While we’ve always leaned toward minimalism, this transition requires even more downsizing.
How We’re Simplifying Our Possessions:
Sorting items into ‘sell, donate, keep’ categories
Investing in multi-purpose items to maximize storage in the van
Digitizing important documents to reduce paper clutter
We’ll also be selling our car, looking in to a potential small storage unit for personal memorabilia items we can’t replace such as photos or family heirlooms.
4. Final Preparations Before Hitting the Road
With our finances, home sale, and downsizing in motion, we’re now focused on the final van build details and getting everything ready for our May departure. Final preparations will include things like:
Making all annual doctors appointments.
Annual vet appointments and medications for the dogs.
Getting a year’s supply of contacts, medications, and other items that are easier to get while living stationary.
Stay tuned as we share more about this exciting transition!
Thinking About Van Life?
If you’re considering van life or planning your own transition, I’d love to hear your questions and experiences. Drop a comment below, and be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more van build updates!
