In today's episode Ayana sits down with Sam & Kate of Shuttlebusbessie. This couple has been nomadic for over 5 years after leaving their full time jobs in restaurant management. Although the pandemic brought their international travel to a premature halt, the two pivoted quickly and self-converted their shuttle bus! Listen along as Sam & Kate share how they got into nomadic living, how they took control of their finances to make it all happen, and their plans for the future!
To follow Sam & Kate visit them on Instagram: @shuttlebusbessie
Click here for full Show Notes from today's episode.
Click here to sign up for the Tiny Home Tours Newsletter.
Click here to apply to be featured on the YouTube channel.
In today's episode Ayana sits down with Sam & Kate of Shuttlebusbessie. This couple has been nomadic for over 5 years after leaving their full time jobs in restaurant management. Although the pandemic brought their international travel to a premature halt, the two pivoted quickly and self-converted their shuttle bus! Listen along as Sam & Kate share how they got into nomadic living, how they took control of their finances to make it all happen, and their plans for the future!
To follow Sam & Kate visit them on Instagram: @shuttlebusbessie
Click here for full Show Notes from today's episode.
Click here to sign up for the Tiny Home Tours Newsletter.
Click here to apply to be featured on the YouTube channel.
Shuttlebusbessie Podcast
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Intro: Welcome back to the Tiny Home Tours Podcast. The tiny house made me feel in my body this thing that I think I always understood, which is that there are no rules, like you're literally living in the moment. I know it's a cliches saying, but living this lifestyle consistently puts me in that mindset.
It's about keeping all of the things that matter to you and letting everything else go. I've been scared a lot of times. But I just, I jump anyways I guess. You have to jump. Join us each week as we share stories, wisdom, and practical tips from those who choose to have less and live more.
Ayana: Hey, everyone. I'm back with another episode of the Tiny Home Tours podcast. Today, I am joined by Sam and Kate of Shuttle [00:01:00] Bus Bessie. They have been nomadic both internationally and nationally for over five years now, and have become really good friends to both Andy and I in the last year.
So I'm so stoked to have this conversation with you all and share your wisdom with our audience. Thanks.
Kate: Thanks for having us on. Yeah, thanks for having us. Exciting to talk to you.
Ayana: Woohoo. So. Hit me with your two truths and a lie to start it out.
Kate: We actually had to work for a long time this morning to come up with two truths and a lie that you wouldn't immediately know. Hopefully.
Let's see how we've done. Alright, so you can read the first one
Sam: we've been to all the continents except Antarctica.
Kate: We catered our own wedding.
Sam: And we have driven the bus through 44 of the 50 United States.
Ayana: Okay, these are good ones that I don't immediately know. All the continents except for [00:02:00] Antarctica.
For some reason in my head, I feel like you guys haven't been to Australia. So I, and I am pretty sure you catered your own wedding. I feel like we've talked about that. Forty four states. That's a lot. Hmm. I don't think you guys have been to Australia. Is the first one the lie?
Kate: The first one's a lie. Nailed it.
Ayana: Okay. Oh, am I right about Australia? Is that the one that you're missing?
Sam: Kate has also not been to South America.
Kate: Yeah, Sam's been to South America but I have not. But that's pretty high on our, our list. Some serious time in South America and Australia.
I mean, I would love to do both.
Ayana: It wouldn't surprise me if you all made it to all seven continents at some point.
Sam: I could see that happening.
Kate: It would be an adventure.
Ayana: Definitely, definitely. So you are so well traveled. You have been doing nomad life for such a long time. Tell us kind of that origin story, like how [00:03:00] did you get from life before traveling internationally and then bus life? How did that transition happen and what got you into it in the first place?
Kate: So, , it's a pretty long story. We both were working as restaurant managers in Boston, and it kind of got to the point where we were both working and then sleeping and working and sleeping, and there really wasn't any. There wasn't much life happening in between.
Sam: And we only had one day off together, so we'd see each other like, for like a real day off, one day a week, most weeks, but some weeks we wouldn't see each other for a full day off at all, so it was like, this isn't really living.
Kate: So, we were really starting to burn out pretty hard, and then we went on this, , vacation, because travel has always been something that's important to us, I mean, for, As long as we've been together and it didn't really feel like a vacation. We couldn't get off as much time as we needed to, to take the full [00:04:00] vacation and really get the benefits of a vacation.
And so we came back to just like disasters that were happening.
Sam: The people we left in charge could not handle it. And it was just a nightmare.
Kate: And we got back. And so I think my breaking point was when I got into a fight with um, Somebody about salt, and, uh, And I went into like a closet and cried for 30 minutes.
And then I went home and was like, I just can't do this. We're quitting our jobs, Sam. We're doing this. We're quitting our jobs. We are traveling. We're selling everything and we're going. And he was like, whoa, okay, hold on. Like, let's um, take a step back. I realize that you're angry. Uh, let's think about this.
Sam: Let's think about it first. Let's think about this for a minute.
Kate: Um. And so we talked about it later, you know, the next day, and I was obviously less angry. Cooled down a bit. Um, but we both still liked the idea because we both were kind [00:05:00] of miserable a little bit. Um, and so the more we started thinking about it, the more excited we got about, Hey, this is something that we've always wanted to do, go travel.
So originally we wanted to just travel for one year internationally, and we were going to sell everything. We were going to get rid of our apartments. So all of our stuff in the apartment and basically whittle it down to the only thing left, we had two backpacks and then we were just going to get a one way ticket and go.
Um, and we kind of planned for traveling for a year. Yeah.
Sam: We started in Europe and then ended up going to Asia. But then we found that Asia was just so affordable and amazing that we stayed in Asia for a year after being in Europe for six months. So we, and the only reason we really, Stopped traveling was because COVID shut the world down.
Kate: had to come home. But that I think is why we ended up in the bus because we weren't mentally prepared yet. Yeah. We [00:06:00] weren't finished with our traveling. We didn't, we still were really enjoying it. And, um, We had to go home pretty quickly within like three days of buying our plane ticket because everything got really, really crazy in March 2020.
And um, so we, thankfully my mom had a place for us to be able to go because obviously we didn't have an apartment. We didn't have anything. We weren't planning on coming home anytime soon. And so we called my mom and we're like, Hey, can we just stay with you at your farm for a little while while we get back on our feet for a second?
And she was like, Oh, of course. Yeah, come on. We'll be right back. So we, um, flew back to North Carolina where I grew up and stayed with my mom for a little while and during lockdown. Um, and then at that point we were both kind of like, okay, we got to do something else. We weren't quite done with traveling.
What would be the sustainable things to do during like COVID and something that we could...
Sam: We didn't want to get jobs. You know, working in the restaurant industry [00:07:00] during COVID either. So.
Kate: You couldn't. And, um, so we bought this bus that we currently live in and, um, just essentially watched a lot of YouTube videos and renovated ourselves.
And here we are today.
Ayana: That's so cool. So it sounds like there weren't any trepidations, really, from either one of you about selling everything that you owned, moving into the backpacks, and going international. Was it the same with bus life? Like, was it the same just like, we're both in, here we go?
Kate: Yeah, I think early on like when you go from like a pretty normal life You know living in the apartment and having jobs It was kind of difficult to get rid of a lot of stuff because you go through
Sam: Like stuff you've had for years and you're like, yeah, this is something that I for some reason cherish, but I haven't I don't know if I've seen or touched in three years, but I don't want to get rid of it.
It's like, why do I [00:08:00] have this? And, but like, that took a bit to get over that weird hump, but then also just talking about it, like, do we really want to do this? Do we really want to use all of our savings to go travel? And yeah, no, I've discussed it and then we determined that, yeah, why not? Yeah.
Kate: So, I mean, I think the biggest hurdle was.
At the beginning, when we went from like living in an apartment to deciding that we were going to go travel, because it was terrifying. The idea of like, we had a lot of stability, we had a steady income. We had, I mean, great jobs like, that paid well, we had an apartment. We weren't living paycheck to paycheck.
We like, we're doing well, according to. You know, all of the, like, what you do in life. The metrics you need. Yeah, and um, and so just kind of like, abandoning that was pretty scary, and getting rid of all your stuff. Because, um, you do have like, strange attachments, at least I did, to stuff. But then the more we got [00:09:00] rid of, The better I felt and the more excited I felt about it.
And so it was kind of this amazing process of realizing that you don't need stuff to be happy. And the stuff that you have is just, I mean, the stuff that we had, a lot of it was just junk that sat in closets or, you know, we had to maintain it or clean it and You know, dust around this stuff that had just accumulated and it, it adds this, I don't, I don't even know what like mental load, I guess, to living.
And then all of a sudden, when all of that is gone and you don't own anything, for me, it was like the most freeing experience. Like all of a sudden just being like, wow, I feel like I, I didn't realize that was holding me down and, and now I feel like I can breathe. But it was hard to get there. Like it was not an easy, like, Oh, this is easy.
I can just get rid of all [00:10:00] my stuff. No problem. And also quit these jobs. Who cares? And jump into like the complete unknown. No big deal. Like we were terrified and there were a lot of like sobbing days and scary days. But I think that We went on, like, this rollercoaster for a while, so some days it felt really, really scary and daunting and overwhelming, and then some days it was like, No, we can do this.
Like, we can totally do this. And those were the days that kind of, we had more of those, we can do this, and we can totally do this, and it's like the most exciting thing, or the most excited I've felt about anything.
Sam: Yeah, to go see all these countries we've never been to and spend serious time in them instead of like, When you have a job, you're like, Oh, I'm going to go to Europe to visit a country and you get maybe two weeks if you're lucky.
And with all the jet lag and everything, you're not experiencing it very well. But we were in a lot of countries for months. So we actually really got to experience the things a lot more than we normally would. So,
Ayana: Yeah, there's so much [00:11:00] in your story, obviously, that I relate to, but that I just find fascinating. Like, the fact that it took something as, like, mundane as salt
Sam: Yeah. Yeah.
Ayana: in your life, and then really, like, take that experience and completely reorganize priorities and, um, where you're headed.
You know, it's like, so funny, you're ticking all of these, like, traditional boxes, like, oh, we're doing so well, and you know, we have the money, and we have the jobs, and look how good this all looks. And I'm sobbing about salt, and like, at some point, you have to be like, that's not what this life is about, you know?
And if you come to that point, then yeah, I think having that, the courage to really take that leap and follow that thread is, is so cool. Um, so you said you were originally planning on traveling for a year internationally, and then you extended that trip. Tell us a little bit about, uh, the financial aspect.
Like you said, you sold everything. How did you make it work and how have [00:12:00] you made it work for, you're going on six years, right?
Kate: Uh, well, yeah, just over five. We've gone over five. Yeah. So we're like five and a quarter now. But yeah. But, um, yeah, another kind of little bit of a long story lead up. So when I graduated college, um, I moved to Boston with like 200 in my bank account, which was another one of those like scary life moments of, Oh God, am I going to just like land straight on my face?
I don't have a security net. Am I going to be homeless really soon? So thankfully I found a job like immediately bartending basically. Um, which is actually where Sam and I met. Yeah.
I became really fascinated with finance because, um, all of a sudden I had all these student loans that were like letters coming in and it felt really overwhelming because you graduate college, you have all these like high hopes and you're Inspired, I think, by the people that are around you doing really cool things.
And everybody's like, [00:13:00] okay, now go and do your thing. And I like jumped in, moved to Boston, had no money. It was like terrified. And then I was getting all these letters in the mail that were like, you have all these loans and they've been sold from this place to this place. And now you're new, like APR is this.
And like, it was all. Just, like, legal jargon that I couldn't understand and I was absolutely terrified. So, I, um, I was trying to figure out what the difference between, like, successful people Was from like what I was doing. Like, why are some people okay financially? And then why do some people work so hard for their entire lives and basically live paycheck to paycheck?
And so I read pretty much like everything that I could get my hands on about personal finance. Like any book that I could possibly read about like the stock market and, you know, managing your finances and budgeting and all this stuff [00:14:00] and like. tricks and tips for anything. Like I even read investing for dummies, like literally every single book that you could possibly read.
And so, learned really early on how to budget. And I think that is the main thing that has helped us, um, learning like. You don't need a lot of stuff to get by. You
Sam: don't have to have the new cell phone every year and keep upgrading and spending money on all these things that We were doing and we're like spending like a ton of money to just upgrade little things
Kate: in our life that we don't need Yeah, and when you sit down and like look at all of your finances It's scary at first, but then you kind of take control over everything and you're like, oh, okay Not saying that budgeting you can't spend money on things.
It's just you decide what you want to spend your money on So for us travel was a priority and has always been a priority. Um, and [00:15:00] like You know, eating well is a real priority, whereas, like, you know, Shopping every week for something isn't necessarily for me, but that's not to say that that's not somebody else's priority, but it's really easy to like get stuck in this like cycle of consumerism where you just buying things for the sake of buying things or like clicking on Amazon or whatever and just spending so much money that like on this piece of clothing that you wear once and it just sits in the back of your closet with everything else. And so we realized that, um, the biggest trick that helped us budget was everybody has like a, a number in their head where they're comfortable financially. And it's always like, uh, you look at your bank account and you're like, Oh, I've got 2, 000, you know, I can just like.
Spend, spend, spend. And then you, like, don't think about it anymore. And some people it's not that low. Some people it's like 10, 000. And some people it's like, oh, I have all this money. The [00:16:00] trick is to not have that money in your bank account. And so, if it's gone, and you don't ever hit that number, you don't ever start just, like, not thinking.
And just like charge it, charge it, charge it, charge it. And it's like this thing that we learned and we're like, okay, so every time we made more money, we knew exactly what we needed to budget. And every time we made more money. We would invest it. It would just be gone automatically. Just immediately right into an investment account.
Yeah, out of, and it's not easy to access that stuff. It's not as easy as like transferring money from like one account to another account. Um, you have to like pay taxes and if you sell something one year, then it changes everything and makes your taxes way more annoying to do. So we just didn't touch it for years and years and years and had like years of doing this.
It's like.
Sam: We also made some really good investments.
Kate: Yeah. At one point it turned out to be really good for us. Yeah. I was [00:17:00] investing like 1, 500 a month just automatically out of my account for several years. And then that money was making money. Most of the stuff I was investing in was just like mutual funds and stuff that I didn't have to pay any attention to.
And a mutual fund is just a collection of a whole bunch of stocks that makes it less volatile. So some things do well, the whole thing goes up. But. You know, if something tanks in the mutual fund, there's a lot of other stocks kind of bundled into that. So it's less volatile. It doesn't go up and down as much.
Um, but then once you have like a little bit more money that you can play around with, you can get into individual stocks too. So Sam started investing in like Tesla. About 10 years ago, which, um, Worked out well for us. Obviously has been doing really well for us. So, we budgeted for our year of travel, we budgeted about 50, 000 to
Sam: But we also budgeted that based off what we've traveled before, which [00:18:00] was mostly Europe.
And 50, 000 for a year in Europe is doable. But then, six months into our travel, we got to Asia. And it goes a lot longer, a lot
Kate: further. Yeah, so we realized at the one year mark that we weren't done traveling and we were under budget. And the investments that we had made before we went to travel were actually making us more money than we had already spent.
So we were like, oh, like, we can keep doing that.
Sam: We traveled for a year and a half and by the time we got back to the States. We had more money than we started with because our investments were doing well. So we're like, oh,
Ayana: That is so cool.
Sam: Let's keep going.
Kate: And it's not always the case. Like in no way, shape or form are we set for life.
Like we have been selling our investments to live. Like that's what we're doing right now. Um,
Sam: it's also really, really cheap to live on the road. There's no rent. There's no utilities. We run off solar, you [00:19:00] know, we don't pay for campgrounds or anything like that really. So It's very affordable to live out here.
Kate: So that is how we've been doing it for the past five years. Just kind of stretching it out. Um, one day, I mean, soon, probably I am, um. It is financially reckless to just like not have any income for five years, uh, during some prime earning years. So,, we will be getting jobs again soon, but we have the flexibility I think now to really think about what it is that we want to do and make sure that what we're doing Like, it doesn't have to be, you know, my dream job or whatever.
Um, but I don't want to be completely miserable all the time.
Ayana: Mhm. Yeah, and the jobscape has changed so much in the last four years that now there are so many possibilities that probably before you guys were traveling internationally didn't seem [00:20:00] feasible.
Kate: Yeah. And like, especially now remote work is huge and that was like. It's a little bit of remote work before we left before COVID, but not, not like it is now. So, I mean, ideally something like that, but we have, we have time to figure it out and we'll, we will figure it out. That's the thing. I think one of the biggest things that I've learned about us is that no matter what life throws at us, we both just kind of, you know, Roll with the punches and just like figure it out and then things might not be exactly what we expected them to be But you can kind of create your own Reality, I guess by the choices that you make and as long as you're constantly making choices in the direction that you want to be going then You can be really happy.
Ayana: totally. I love hearing about your [00:21:00] financial journey, Kate, and, like, the impetus that you took to just learn everything that you could and, like, really take control of something that can be so scary for people. Like, I think so many people can get frightened and then almost have this reflex of, like, sticking your head in the sand and just, like, I don't want to think about it.
I don't want to, like, that stresses me out. I can't do that. And I think It goes back to what you're saying of, like, rolling with the punches and kind of taking control of your own destiny in some regards, not to sound, like, so cliche, but that there's so much freedom and so much possibility when you are determined to, like, take more control over your circumstances or, like, learn a new skill set that can really support you in doing what feels important.
Kate: yeah, yeah. And I think that, um, taking control of your finances also, like, it's absolutely terrifying. And it's, uh,
Sam: it took me like a year, [00:22:00] you, you started doing your investing and you're like, you should do this. And I was like, I don't know, I'm afraid of it. I don't want to do it. And I was like putting like a couple pennies in here and there, like not going full in.
And then after like a year of you encouraging me, I was like, Oh, cool. I'll just throw all of my money that I make into investing. It worked out really well, but it definitely freaked me out for a while and I did not want to do it right away.
Kate: Well, managing money and like debt especially can be really scary.
Sam's got some significant school loans that we have been paying off for and will be paying off for. I mean, it's like a mortgage essentially, but um, if If you don't know what you're working with financially, you, it is terrifying, and I understand the, uh, urge to close your, like, not look at your finances, and never look at your bank account, and just, Be afraid of everything but it's so [00:23:00] disempowering when you are living like that because you're constantly like overdrafting your account which is expensive and Um, you get all these like stupid fees and credit card interests and all that and it's not easy to like sit down and work through because people associate debt with like a failure or You know, like there's a lot of moral, like moral, I don't know what I'm trying to say, but like morality attached to finance or like you're successful, you must be a good person, you're broke, you must be a bad person and you don't work hard enough or something like that, which is completely, could not be more far from the truth.
Like some of the best people that I know, um, work paycheck to paycheck. They're like the hardest working people that I've ever met in my entire life and they're struggling financially and it doesn't mean that they. are like failing morally. It just means that they don't understand, like, or I mean, I mean, I think it's also like a really privileged place for me to be able to sit here.
It's. [00:24:00] Not easy to make money and it really is very difficult to break through to the point where you can put money aside. And a lot of people work paycheck to paycheck first. So for me to stand here and be like, Oh, you know, you can budget and like put A certain amount of money aside every month is a really privileged thing to say, like you have to have a certain amount of income to have extra money every single month to be able to afford to put it away.
But yeah, I mean it's, it's scary to look at because there's like all these weird, also like family history, like people just come into talking about finances with a whole lot of baggage, um, and so, The thing I think that was helpful for me was When I didn't have like any money at all, really taking charge of something that felt really scary to me and realizing that like, you don't actually need to be making that [00:25:00] much money.
You don't have to be putting 1, 500 aside a month. You can be putting. You know, 10 a month aside or like whatever it is that you can afford because that money will start to make you money or if you're like really start to be good at budgeting and figuring out like, okay, you know, I am gonna not buy this brand new thing or not get this new car. And instead save that what I would be paying on a car payment and then put that into an account. And then when it gets big enough, I can start to invest some money. That's really when I think you start to get the financial freedom and the power or empowerment that comes from, um, like taking control of your finances.
Ayana: Yeah. Such a cool way to really change your lives. Like, holy moly, from before when you started traveling to now, like, that's, [00:26:00] that's such a 180.
Kate: But what was really interesting is like when I learned about it and read everything that I could I didn't think that it was gonna like Completely change our lives. It was just like this like this kind of interests me and I'm terrified of my student loans I want to like figure this out because our schools system do such a bad job teaching finances to kids.
Like that's not a class I ever took.
Sam: Graduate high school and then you take out a 200, 000 loan.
Kate: Yeah. Good luck with that. Like I had to take some like stupid little, I don't know, like online tests when I signed the loans for my student loans, but they didn't say anything about like what this loan is, what.
Money is or like paying this off when you're 40. Yeah, or like if you take this loan out It means you will be paying three hundred dollars a month for ten [00:27:00] years After you graduate Just for this one loan and you'll also be signing another thing another one every single year after that So like it would be so helpful if there was some kind of information out there and they're just there isn't
Ayana: Totally. To
Kate: yeah, I didn't go into it thinking that it was going to change our life at all, but it, it definitely has.
Ayana: Yeah. What are some other ways that you all feel like the last five years have changed you? How, how has your life shifted since traveling full time?
Kate: for me. Um, I, I'm a completely different person than I used to be. I used to be very like type a everything is planned. Which has served me really well, which is why I think, you know, when I had that like student loans, oh my God, I'm scared. My react, my instinct was [00:28:00] like, fix this immediately, learn what you can like figure it out.
Um, that has served me well, but I think the like traveling and stuff like requires you to be a lot more spontaneous and flexible. Then I used to be and so I think I kind of have the best of both worlds now We're like I can plan if I need to but I'm not as rigid as I used to be so I can Go somewhere not really knowing where we're going And get the benefits of like the spontaneity or like spontaneous things that happen or meeting people.
You can change your plans or like, um, you know, find the cool thing that's happening, that everybody's going to. or like, I mean, a lot of times you'll just. break down on the side of the road too, which if you have this like carefully crafted [00:29:00] plan about what your summer is going to look like or whatever and all of a sudden you're like house doesn't work and you.
Get stuck in some little tiny town for five weeks while some Tiny little stupid part is getting ordered from across the world Yeah You know, you just have to learn to to be okay with change and Nothing is
Sam: set in stone.
Kate: Yeah Yeah, yeah, so at least for me, I think That's been the biggest thing is just learning how to be More flexible.
What about you?
Sam: I mean, I definitely like going and meeting other people on the road. Yeah. And, uh. Finding the community, that's a big thing. Yeah, yeah. Finding different people in the community to meet and stuff, like you guys. And all the other cool nomadic people we've met down the road.
Kate: Yeah. Which I think was a surprising thing for me [00:30:00] when we went to travel. You think of it as a pretty solo endeavor. Like there's not, I don't, I don't associate traveling with community. It seems opposite, but the really, really nice surprise for me about this life has been, um, that was something that I was missing for a long time.
Cause when we first went on the road, um. It was kind of lonely. I mean, it was just me and Sam and we were seeing really cool things and traveling to all these different states and a
Sam: few people here and there at hostels and stuff, but no like longterm friendships or anything, or you'd see them for like two days and they're going that way and we're going that way. So...
Ayana: Mm
Sam: they're just gone and no longer in your life anymore. But in this community, van life, definitely meet a lot more people that become longterm friends and whatnot.
Kate: Yeah. Yeah. And when you do have the flexibility to just change your plans on a whim. You can hang out with people for a long period of time and,
Ayana: [00:31:00] Yeah, totally. I hadn't thought about that before, but like, when I was traveling internationally, it was cool. And even sometimes, this is true internationally, like, you'll kind of be with a similar group of people traveling to, like, similar places. Like, people will do, you know, Vietnam, like, south to north, and then over to Thailand, and so you kind of keep bumping into the same people.
But in international travel, everyone's, like, On such different time scales, like how long is your trip and where are you headed and all these things. And so the cool thing about van life, at least the way that it's been for the last few years, is it seems like a lot of us are like long timers, have been in this for multiple years, and have fairly similar travel plans.
Sam: We're all maxed out at 60 miles an hour, too.
Ayana: That's true. You can't go that far that fast.
But it's cool because then you keep running into each other, and I think it helps foster that sense of community instead of, you know, like, having the couple days that are really cool and then not seeing somebody for [00:32:00] years. It's like, oh, no, we kind of keep bumping into each other, which is lovely.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. What sort of advice or words of wisdom would you have for people who are considering doing this, maybe interested in doing this, but haven't yet taken the leap?
I guess more specifically into like bus
Kate: bus life.
Yeah.
Ayana: van life, like that part of it.
Kate: I mean, I think the biggest thing would be do it. Like, cause it really is daunting and overwhelming at first to change your entire life and go from Um, you know, having a house to like jumping into the unknown is essentially what it's going to be like. Um, and not to say that it's not difficult because there definitely are really big challenges.
Um, and building a bus is definitely not for everyone. Yeah. And [00:33:00] building a bus is not the easiest thing in the entire world. Having said that though, the people who are interested in doing it, I think kind of know, like, This sounds really exciting. Um, and so I would say do it. Like the biggest hurdle is yourself and making that decision and really kind of moving towards like going from nothing to like Deciding that you want to do it is a really big hurdle that you have to go over, and there's a lot of, like, scary stuff there that you have to work through personally, and, um, my biggest, I guess, advice would be do it.
Like, you won't regret it. This has been the greatest adventure of our entire lives, and it's not always easy, but it is, like, But it's also not for everyone. Well, it's absolutely something that, like,[00:34:00] I have zero regrets about anything. Yeah. And, like, when, when I quit my job and was kind of freaking out, um, the absolute best thing that my boss said, which was really, really sweet, I think he knew that I was freaking out a little bit, he was like, you know, I want to Offer you more money to stay, but I'm not going to do that.
I want you to go because I think this will be like the best thing in the entire world. And the worst case scenario is you don't like it. And like, you know, you have a bad time, just come back and you'll get another job. He was like, I'll hire you again. Like, just go if like worst case scenario, this won't happen, but worst case scenario, you're not having a good time.
Just stop and change and come back and at least then, you know that you tried and And that really kind of I think made me feel a lot better, too Because it was like he's right like [00:35:00] these fears that we have in our head about worst case scenario stuff A lot of it's kind of unfounded and obviously things aren't always great.
Your bus breaks down or like whatever. But I think that, um, we create a lot of fear in our head to stop us from doing really cool things. So just do it. Jump in, jump in head first.
Ayana: Yeah, I think that's pretty consistent advice from everybody, and I'm sure it will be said on the podcast again and again, because it is, like, the act of taking the leap. There's no other way to do it
Kate: Yeah.
Ayana: than to just send it, and, um. Yeah, I think for folks who are interested in doing it, like, there's that inkling already inside of them that, oh, maybe this is for me.
I feel like it's those folks that we're talking to of like, okay, whatever the obstacle might be, like, do it and take the [00:36:00] leap. Um, another piece of advice that people always give is like, rent a rig. You know, like, try it out. It doesn't have to be, like, taking a leap doesn't have to mean sinking your savings into a school bus in an auction.
Sam: Give it a little test drive first, maybe.
Ayana: Yeah, exactly. Give yourself some, some experience before, before really jumping in. But yeah.
Sam: having three showers a day, it may not work out living in a bus.
Ayana: Yeah. You might have to switch that up a little bit. Or live in an RV park, I don't
Sam: Well,
Kate: there you go. Yeah, yeah,
Ayana: to city water,
Kate: I mean, there's a lot of, there's a lot of buses that I see with showers. Not ours. But it exists. Park next to a lake. Definitely exists. Yeah.
Sam: Yeah.
Ayana: You can bathe in telephone cove three times a day.
Kate: Beautiful. Yeah.
Ayana: all right, my loves, thank you for sharing your financial advice, your story, your wisdom, and your [00:37:00] laughter with us. Um, it's always so cool to hear. Like, about those little Salt moments. That one's going to stick with me for a long time.
Like, Salt brought us here, and I think that's really cool.
Kate: Yup.
Ayana: Yeah, thank you, Salt. Sorry that it led to 30 minutes crying in a closet, but I am glad that you all are here. Yeah. Yeah. All right, everyone, we'll see you back next week for the podcast. And, uh, yeah. Take care of yourselves.
Thanks Sam and Kate.
Bye!
Outro: This is a Tiny Home Tours production. Thank you so much for listening. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe for all future episodes. We'll see you next week.[00:38:00]