I'm just about done with the rat race | Squat the Planet

I'm just about done with the rat race

Big Time

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I'm so glad to have found this place.

Mid forties. Always worked in Broadcasting, mostly TV News. Never much to show for it. Never owned a house or had a wife or kids. Nothing left after I pay rent and everything else.

I'm about to just quit paying bills and get a topper for my truck and just travel to see the Pacific Northwest while I still can. Then try to make it back to my Brothers house in Tennessee and bankrupt everything.

Not much saved but my credit is good. My back isn't though. Osteo Arthritis, it's not that bad yet and I want to see the US while I can. Maybe Canada.

My truck is about two years old and I have a loan on it, that I would have to default on and take my chances. It's a pretty basic model that doesn't have any kind of GPS that I know of, just a basic radio, even though it is XM capable. Since I have good credit I could also trade it for a van or something since I won't be paying for it anyway.

I have about 10K in available credit to get a topper and gear and live it up pretty good for a few months at least. I could probably get more.

I would tour the Southwest come November and stay in places like Quartszite and Slab City maybe and make my way up north during the spring, and then up to the Pacific Northwest next Summer.

Anybody ever just abandon your apartment and quit making vehicle payments and take off with it? What if you get pulled over? Do Police care if the bank wants to repo it? I know some tow trucks have a plate scanner that looks for plate numbers that match a database of vehicles that they want recovered, but I doubt they cruise camp sites.

Thanks for any input.
 
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Popsicle

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Yep up and did it 6 years ago fell off the face of the earth . Stay away big towns and truck stops police use scanners aa well for theft .

Camp sites are good and Wal Mart outter parking lot . The best route is to make a camper that slides in and out that way if it gets taken you have a fall out to go back to .

Fuck the system
 

6StringLovin

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Yeah man, if thats what you need to do right now, do it. dont second guess yourself, cut the cord and go. you spend too long in the machine and you lose yourself to it. youre having a moment of clarity right now so go out and live! trade that truck in on something without a payment. dont burn up your credit, keep it clean for now. keep working and use that money to prep yourself up out of there. you dont need a lot of money to get out, especially if you play it smart. there are a ton of threads around here about getting cheap/used/free shit. you can repurpose or upcycle just about anything. you dont wanna burn too many bridges least you have to go back for some reason. especially with any kind of health problem, you will find yourself needing medication or other treatment(stock up on that shit now too btw and look into alternative ways to treat yourself whether it be yoga or other exercise, otc supplements etc) after the first 6mos to a year youll know for sure if you want to stay out here or not. its not for everyone and thats ok, but at least if its not for you you got a saftey net to get back. start making friends, network with people, visit communities like these in person and you will have contacts around the world..literally it can be scary but just follow the learning curve, make a plan and stick to it.
 

bjorkedfork

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Don't burn bridges. By all means, do it, but do it clean. Find someone to take over the truck payments and get the title and loan transferred over so your out without damaging your credit. If you don't, your still going to owe on the vehicle. Stop making payments and the bank will send repo out to recover it.

If you don’t make the payments, the lender will repossess the vehicle. It will then be sold at auction and you will be responsible for the “deficiency balance” – difference between what you owe and the auction sales price.

Losing your car to a repossession is not where the fun ends. Your lender will probably turn the amount of the deficiency balance over to collections.

To avoid a collection, see if you can make a deal with the lender for a reduced “deficiency balance” by doing what is called a voluntary repossession. A voluntary repossession happens when you turn the car in yourself, versus the lender coming to get it. Sometimes they’ll be a little more lenient with you because they’re not having to incur the additional expense of having to come get the vehicle.

Another option is to try to sell the vehicle yourself as a “short sale“, much like a short-sale home. If you have a buyer willing to take the car off your hands, but the sales price is short of what you owe, call the lender. See if they’ll agree to a reduced amount and how much less they’d take for the payoff of the vehicle. I guarantee by doing it this way, your deficiency balance will be much less than if they sell it at auction.

Even if you successfully negotiate with your lender, as with a short sale home, your credit is going to take a significant hit hit by doing a “short sale”. The account will most likely be listed as “debt settled for less than owed”. An auto loan is an installment loan, vs a revolving loan (credit cards). Installment loan payment histories are weighted more heavily than credit card accounts by the various credit scoring models.

Same with the apartment - either finish out the lease or get a room mate to qualify and then get signed off the lease without abandoning or breaking the lease. Your credit will be trashed if you don't do this.

At some future point of time, your going need to pick up a job and you don't want past actions to interfere with that, unless of course, you ultimate goal is to become a homebum.
 
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Jerrell

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Hey man,

I'm pretty much in the same place. I even went on LinkedIn for the first time in over a year and changed my profile to reflect that I'm checking out of the rat race. haha

I'm taking a year to wrap up lose ends though. I'm getting whatever medical and dental needing done taken care of. I have a bulging disc, but epidurals keep the pain at bay and will have to swing back through Omaha a couple times a year for that. (I've already been on medicaid about a year).
I'm mapping out a few routes I'd like to take to see some sights I've always been too busy to see.
Been getting my gear straightened out (I've always camped a lot and need to pare down to the essentials) by traveling regionally to free camp sites to see what I forget and/or don't need over a few days camped out. I have an old Miata (40 mpg!, tiny) and a '96 chevy truck with a camper shell (ugh mpg, not tiny!) to figure out.

Don't start out in a hole with the truck. Try to get out from under that thing. As far as cable and the apartment lease, that'll put a dent in your credit, but if you're not planning on buying a big screen and a boat on credit anytime soon, then fuck it. That shit will drop off your credit report in 7-10 years. haha

I have an AA degree in radio/TV that I never used, so I know you're used to scraping by already if you're in that industry. haha!

Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
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Anagor

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Don't burn bridges. By all means, do it, but do it clean.

I totally agree. Situation was different for me. For some reason (too much and off topic to explain here) as I decided to exit the rat race about 2 years ago I still lived in my parent's house. And my car I paid cash. I thought I can just leave, take some time off (or doing all this open end) without burning bridges. Just say "fuck it" on the one hand and thinking I could always go back "to normal life" without problems if I want to.

But wrong. For example, I just ignored all the letters from my health insurance asking about my current situation of income (I live in Germany, here laws are very much different from what it would be in US.) So the health insurance did what they apparently had to do: put me in the highest level of income (as if I would make like 7000 bucks every month or so). As I finally noticed that, I thought no problem, I'll just tell them I had no income (except change, hehe) in the last year, so I wouldn't have to pay. Wrong. As I found out they can't change the classification and thus the monthly amount a owe them afterward *by law*. So now I have about 10.000 € depts with my health insurance company they are not even allowed to reduce by law just for no reason. Or, in other words, the reason is I didn't inform myself about all this and just followed a "fuck it" attitude.

That is only one example. Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning to go back to the rat race, having a 9-5 job, etc. But I feel stupid that I made it pretty much harder for me to return to a so called "normal life" (just in case I'll want to some day in the future) while I could have avoided that just by doing a bit if research, talking to people at the right time and caring a bit more about all those things.

Plus, even while vagabonding around, a working bank account and not having to worry about debts and fees and debt collectors coming to my parent's house would be nice anyway.

So yes, don't burn bridges. Keep your good credit rating if possible.

Just my thoughts ...
 
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rootmyth

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Glad you found StP. I'm vandwelling in TN currently and so far so good. Not sure about repo situations though, I would imagine like most things if your far enough away from the county or state in which you'd be in trouble law enforcement isn't going to waste their time, but I really dunno.

I haven't been in Tennessee for too long and I'm trying to find work at this point, mostly to pay off debt as I travel.
you dont need a lot of money to get out, especially if you play it smart. there are a ton of threads around here about getting cheap/used/free shit. you can repurpose or upcycle just about anything.

Agreed, generally traveling itself shouldn't cost too much if you know how to play your angles.

Anyway, Welcome and I hope to see ya around!
 
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Hobo Mud

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I started traveling because of a broken heart. That initially was one of many factors as to why I left and walked away from my business years ago. Long story... From that point on I started traveling around the east coast either by training hopping, hitching or walking.

For me personally I travel to find my self again and either tho I am not sure what it is I am looking for I believe hopefully one day I will find it. We all have our reasons for living a nomadic lifestyle.

I've seen beauty, love, compassion, understanding and have met some really good people along the way including traveler's and I have also seen the brutality of monsters along the way. Your never to old or young to explore or relaunch a new life. If this makes you happy, keep moving forward and never look back.

Safe travels brother..... I wish you well in your journey.
 
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nivoldoog

I'm a d-bag and got banned.
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33 years old and never had a drivers license so it is difficult to recommend car stuff. So.. what i will say instead is.

Everything you "own" owns you. Your car, your back pack... your food you carry in the pack...

Fuck.. im gonna preach a bit again. I apologize but not sorry... all you need is god man. #boomout
 

Anagor

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Everything you "own" owns you. Your car, your back pack... your food you carry in the pack...

I agree. Some time ago I thought about getting a very cheap car to travel with. Would make some things easier and I would always have a warm place to sleep. But I decided against it, cause it also brings a lot of responsibility. You have to pay for insurance, tax, fuel, oil, tires, etc. And when the car breaks down for some reason ... even if the repairs are cheap, it would take a while to make the money. So ... no.

For me at the moment there are only a few things essential: clothes, sleeping bag, my ID and my phone (to keep in contact with folks and family). Everything else is optional. I try to travel as lightweight as possible.
 

nivoldoog

I'm a d-bag and got banned.
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Now i must feel i must pull hypocrisy...
Dont be foolish. Take care of yourself... boyscout that shit. But... not much is really needed. If you cool... you get taken care of. If you not cool... well learn to live hungry.
 

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