When most people graduate from college, they enter the working world and get that first “real job.” And with this newfound reality likely comes apartment renting, followed by home ownership. There’s insurance to purchase, mortgage loans and utility bills to pay. There’s your car payment that you have to account for. If you’re lucky, you might have enough to splurge on a few nice things for yourself every year or take one vacation with your friends and/or. Yeah, you’re likely living on a budget – and then once you get settled and your career picks up steam, you start budgeting for more and more things.

Some might call it living the American dream. Others may call it a new beginning. If you’re like us, you call it boring. Yes, we get that there’s something to be said for becoming a homeowner, rising in your profession and eventually even raising a family. But before you do that, have you ever thought about taking a few years off and becoming a fulltime traveler? You don’t just have to be a graduate to live out this lifestyle either. Perhaps you’re a senior citizen that just retired. Or maybe you just want to take some time away from the real world to find yourself and see the country. Whatever your situation, there are several financial and personal incentives to doing so.

An RV vs. A Home Mortgage

Buying a home doesn’t just come with monthly mortgage payments, but with utilities, homeowner’s insurance, possible homeowners’ association fees, property taxes and inevitable repairs that need to be made both on an emergency and non-emergency basis. Buying an RV on the other hand is much cheaper. You can get a trailer for about $8,000, a used RV for $35,000 or a new motorhome for around $100,000 – still much cheaper than the cost of a charming home in the long run. Yes, there’s fuel, RV insurance and maintenance you’ll need to carry out. But going for an RV over a house is likely to save you about $1,000 a month if you do it right.

Settling Down vs. Freedom

While buying an RV rather than a home and a car can offer significant monthly savings, the biggest benefit to living out of an RV as a fulltime traveler is the freedom to literally park your RV anywhere you want to. You can wake up Tuesday morning in Yellowstone National Park and wake up Thursday morning 1,000 miles away at another unique, scenic location. For many, this freedom alone is enticing enough to become a full-time traveler, as doing so enables you to see every nook and cranny of the country that you want to. What’s more is that traveling full-time takes you away from the stressors of the real world, so much so that it can be therapeutic in a sense. The freedom to go anywhere and see anything? It sounds nice.

You Can Always Make Money

We know what you’re thinking – how will you make money. Simple – you can always make money. If you don’t have a nest egg from your savings account or a 401K to fall back on, here’s a thought: If you’re serious about fulltime traveling, pick up odd jobs on your trips to help you pay for expenses. The Internet makes it easier than ever to locate short-term work in any part of the world, why not take advantage of this resource? Or perhaps you could even work out a telecommuting arrangement with your current employer (or potential employer) to make some cash in your spare time. Worst comes to worst, you can plant roots down somewhere for a few months, save up some money, then become a fulltime traveler again.

Are you tired of only have two weeks’ worth of vacation a year? Why not do something about it. When there’s a will, there’s a way. We’re betting you won’t regret it.