I Lived in a Car and a Tent to Pay Off Debt in San Francisco. Here’s Why It’s the Best Thing I Ever Did

Back when I was in my 30s, I had the hardest time getting ahead, even though I had a full-time job as a radio news reporter and anchor at the esteemed KGO radio in San Francisco. My rent payment was high, grocery bills were high, and I had this lingering debt that had followed me around for years.

It wasn’t “good” debt either, but a personal loan I took to take a trip to Europe, which is just about the dumbest form of debt a person can get. The other part of debt was from credit cards I opened in college, back when it was legal to market credit cards right on campus.

I hated this debt and wanted to get ahead, to start saving for retirement and planning for my future, but how?

How I Started This Crazy New Lifestyle

I was living in a Mill Valley studio apartment and met this man named Tom. We had an instant connection and chemistry, and started hiking and playing music every day. He’d just downsized from an expensive house in Danville, California, to a shared-living situation. He rented a room in the main house and I rented a studio Zen cottage on the property.

We were hiking nearby on Mount Tamalpais one day when Tom suggested moving out.

“What if we lived up here for a year?” he said, motioning to the trees around us.

Up where? I thought. There were no houses here, no apartments. Just woods and trails a couple of campgrounds tourists used in the summer.

“Up here,” Tom said, motioning to the woods and whatever lie beyond. “We could camp for a year. Imagine how much money you’d save.” He did some quick calculations in his head. “If you didn’t pay that high rent, you’d save $21,500 in a year.”

It was amazing to think I paid over $21k in a year just in rent alone. No wonder I couldn’t manage to pay off my debt, a measly $3,500, but hard to pay off when also paying high rent to live in a tiny studio apartment.

I didn’t take to Tom’s idea right away. I mulled it over for weeks, but eventually decided to move out, giving my landlady 30-days notice.

I gave away most of my stuff and put the rest in storage. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.

How We Made Living in a Car Work in the San Francisco Bay Area

At first, we set up a huge tent in the campgrounds at Mount Tamalpais State Park, making foil packets and roasting sausages over the fire for dinner. Tom would strum his guitar, and we’d enjoy the mild weather of springtime in the Bay area.

But after one scary incident in the campground where it was full of out-of-control drunks, we decided to start sleeping in Tom’s Toyota Prius.

We laid down the seats, put down a futon, tinted the windows and were set. We parked in marinas, rest stops, our storage unit parking lot, and sometimes at my work parking lot downtown, at KGO radio. Nobody I worked with ever knew I was sleeping in a car.

We showered at the Bay Club in San Francisco, a very nice gym with free coffee in the mornings and a cafe with WiFi. In the evenings, we entertained ourselves by playing music in our storage unit, which we’d set up as a jam space.

On weekends, we’d backpack and hike in Lassen and Yosemite National Parks. With no laundry or cooking or cleaning, we had tons of free time on our hands.

How Long it Took to Pay Off My Debt

Luckily, with my low amount of debt, I was able to pay it off quickly. I lived in the Toyota Prius for only four months, and my debt was gone. I also had a sizable emergency fund. It was the first time in my life I felt completely financially free. I still remember the day I paid off that loan, and how good it felt to have ZERO DEBT. I wish everyone could have that feeling!

I moved into a floating home in Sausalito for seven months while Tom started a major retrofit project on new sailboat, which he purchased with savings acquired from living in the Prius.

But them, a few months later, I lost my full-time job. I’d already learned how to live tiny in the Toyota Prius, and the sailboat was much bigger. So, I gave my 30-days notice and moved onto the boat, and have been living on boats and in vans ever since.

What Living in a Car Taught Me About Life

I’m really glad that I lived in that Toyota Prius. It was an uncomfortable experience in 2015, when the hashtag #vanlife hadn’t been invented yet. Living in a vehicle was not mainstream, and I felt a certain amount of shame in doing so. I didn’t want to tell anyone, and was afraid of being caught and kicked out of overnight parking spots.

But I learned to live with less, to truly enjoy nature, and to understand that living tiny didn’t have to mean giving everything up.

I have now lived in boats and campervans for almost ten years, and have gained so much financial freedom and stability in doing so. I started my own business, can work remotely from anywhere, and have a good nest egg in my 401k for retirement. I live life on my own terms, rather than slaving away in an office for someone else.

It’s now around $3,300 average to rent a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. Rents and food prices are going up everywhere, and Americans are stressed out about their bills. People are struggling with debt, especially from student loans. It seems many are going through financial hardships and are rethinking and redefining home to deal with it.

I’m glad I lived in a car and a tent to finally deal with my debt, which had lingered for over 10 years. I hope others are inspired to make a change, either simple or drastic, to become financially free, like me.

Trust me, it’s worth it.