My home for 13 years

Living where everything has a purpose

The freedom lifestyle

I didn’t want to spend 30 years paying for something that never made me feel free. I've had a mortgage more than once. A mortgage felt like a trap. An RV, a sailboat, or traveling felt like possibilities.

I didn’t want rooms I never used. Or closets full of stuff I didn’t need. In an RV, on a boat, or when traveling, everything has a purpose. Everything has value. Everything I own rolls, floats, or packs into two bags.

I wanted sunrises, not rush-hour traffic. Salt air or mountain air instead of exhaust fumes. Time, not things.

I wanted to design my days—not squeeze in life around a 9-to-5. An RV, a boat, or traveling gave me time to write. To dream, fail, and try again. I've written 36 books while living this life.

I knew an RV or a boat would break. That storms would come. (A storm eventually destroyed my RV.) That I’d be uncomfortable sometimes. But discomfort builds strength. And I wanted to grow, not just accumulate.

I didn’t want to wait for “someday.” The trip. The freedom. The joy. I wanted it now—even if it meant living small to live big.

An RV, a boat, or traveling wasn’t just a home. It was a mindset shift. A quiet rebellion against a life that never quite fit.

People say RVs and boats are money pits.

(Note: I paid $27,500 for my motorhome. Lived in it for 13 years, and insurance paid me $25,600 when Hurricane Helene destroyed it.) I’d rather invest in wealth I can feel.

Freedom. Simplicity. Adventure. Connection to the natural world. Time with like-minded people I enjoy being around. That’s why I choose not to continue living in a house.

A mortgage might offer security. But it anchors you in one place. An RV, a boat, or traveling offers freedom. For me, that’s worth more than square footage ever could be.

Bottom line: Where is your happy place? Are you living there, or are you waiting for someday? For now, I'm living in Costa Rica with the other monkeys. Life is good, or as they say here, "Pura Vida."

P.S. I never really lived on my own boat. My son lived on a sailboat for many years, and I spent time with him.