Well, first off I did spend money, but I saved money from the lifestyle
Rent is $1000
I saved ~$3000 on rent for Dec, Jan and Feb
I spent roughly $4000 for the van, insurance, supplies (potty, m wave, inverter, mattress, sleeping bag, misc supplies)
I normally spend $800 on food per month, in the van phase I spent a total
of $3000, so about $600 more, even thou i ate less, fast food cost a lot over
time.
So 9K-4.5K(van, additional food) + 3K saved on rent leaves me about 8K, however when i cancel the insurance, should get 500 back, and since I am keeping the van, i see it as +EV, especially since I made improvements to my
physical and mental life
If i didnt take bet
3 month cost of living=3k rent+2.5k food costs=5.5k
Profit= 0
no van
I did take bet
3 month cost=4k for van, supplies, +3k living costs = 7k
Profit=9K - 1.5K difference in living costs = 7.5K
+ van
So even thou I spent more per month with the van, that's simply because i bought the van and supplies, but if i did this over a year, i could easily save about 10-15K per year. I'm sure the numbers are off here and there, but not by much.
Strange fact, I spent roughly the same amount on gas as I normally spend. My other cars gets 20 mpg, the van averages, 30+ mpg, and I drove a lot more passively since its a slow ass minivan, so my lack of aggressive driving saved me gas too, i would expect idling and blasting the heat a lot at night would use a lot of gas, but it really didn't add much to the cost
Ok, for Paul B.
1) the ice did melt more frequently because it was a ****ty cheap cooler, sure sometimes it would be 3 or 4 days, but i did it at least 3-4 times a week
2) I didn't cover the windows with paper, i bought black mattress sheets and Velcro strips, i glued the Velcro to the sheets and cut the sheets to cover the windows on the inside, so on outside , it just looks like a dark tint, the windows are tinted, but not completely, this way if they try to peak, they cant see, if you look at the front of the vehicle, you cant see me laying down, unless your right up on the hood, the front chairs and me laying down is enough to conceal myself, i am sure more people saw me, but probably just went about there business saying poor homeless person
3) There was plenty of room to lay down, plus i had two big plastic containers to put my food and such in and i had a bag and nap sack with clothing, i wouldn't wear much, same old jeans, jogging pants, few sweaters, etc.. if i needed more clothing i just went back to my storage locker, i would do laundry at laundry mat, a van can fit a lot, you'd be surprised
4) Yes I removed the mounting brackets, thats why i bought an airmatress and a sleeping bag, air mattress is a must, it insulates you from the cold floor and also its a lot more comphy of course
5) The camping potty was a bit small then that, but there was room, i didn't **** in it everyday, i took most of my dumps in the morning at the gym, or during the day, at the casino, or went to coffee shops, etc... only times i dumped were when i was there at night and needed to go, i dont poo like 5 times a day, 2-3 average
6) i am not web savvy but i am creating a webpage right now with a friend with all the pics and stories and it should be online later this weekend or early next week, when it is i will put up link
As for the question about me just waking up and going straight to casino, i only did that once in awhile. The gym where i could shower, workout, dump, etc... was HUGE in all of this, it gave me energy, get clean, etc... if i just slept at the casino all week, i would smell and security would see the same van in the same spot or just moving around all the time and the same guy, i don't know, i just wanted to stay mobile
Roll up the rim came towards the very ending, i won a free coffee
As for the 6 days not 7, it was his idea, i think he thought i wouldn't take the bet, remember if i lost i would have to pay him 9K, i think he truly believed i could not do it, he has a lot of money from his business too so i think he was willing to bait me a little, I will admit the first 2 weeks were so hard, but once i got over the cold and started taking advantage of the situation by driving around and visiting parks, etc... it was pretty cool
