(Crankers) A family of five figured out how to hack the freedom code! Molly and Jaren Garcia of the lifestyle blog We Plus Threee went on a trip and it turned into a potential nightmare. They whittled down their belongings, sold their house in Joshua, Texas, with three bedrooms, and two bathrooms, and moved with their three children into a recreational vehicle. The family has traveled and visited 25 states already since then, and is now in their fifth RV – a fifth-wheel that’s a 44-foot motorhome.
The 30-year-old Jaren Garcia told this to “Good Morning America”: “We’ve hacked the freedom code for us. Everyone has what freedom [means] for them, but I think that we were pretty happy with what we chose.” The big life change came because they wanted to take control of their own schedules, the Garcias said, and because they wanted to be together as a family, while Jaren Garcia, who was working in sales at the time, traveled for work.
The 29-year-old Molly Garcia explained: “We were trying to figure out how we were going to live our lives separately. Like, I was at home with the kids and then he was gone out of state. He would only come home for a few days out of the month and then it was for months at a time and I was like, ‘Well, I don’t really care for being at home by myself anymore. I’d rather be with you even if it’s in an RV. And we ended up doing that.”
Now, their children, Lillie, 13, Jaxton, 9, and Willow, 5, are being home-schooled by Molly Garcia, and she also creates content for the family’s blog and social media platforms. For the driving, Jaren Garcia is in charge, and he also switched jobs to become an independent insurance adjuster. Also, they have taken on other side businesses, including flipping a 1950s house, said ABC News.
The kids have quickly adjusted to their new lives, according to Molly, as she says that: “They love it. We asked them, we’re like, ‘Do you want to go live back in the house? Do you want to go to school?’ And they’re like, ‘No, no, we like this.'”
When they were living in a traditional house, the Garcias estimate that they were spending approximately $3,000 per month, but they spend much less per month now that they have switched to an RV, they said. Molly explained, saying: “When we first started, we stayed at an RV park for the entire month and it was $650 per month and then we paid electric and water, which was about $130, so we were close to $800 and then we would pay for our RV payment and then we didn’t have a truck payment then.”
She estimated that, along with food, they cut their living costs down to about $1,000 per month. Many of their meals are now being cooked by themselves, and they have taken the time to figure out what they like to do and what possessions they don’t need. Over the years, they have also downsized and customized each of their RVs to their liking.
“You can buy a $5,000 RV or you can buy a $500,000 RV, it’s all dependent on the person. It’s just like owning a home but you got to know, you could sell your home for a good amount and then buy your RV cash and then know, OK, my home is paid for. I’m good. So it’s all dependent on the person, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s cheaper because now your fuel costs have gone up, which will be a little more expensive,” Jaren explained.
“When you get into the RV life, if you bring a lot of weight into your RV, it’ll weigh it down. You’ll spend more money on gas, you might break things in your RV because there’s so much weight in there. So, actually going through everything, and, like, really going through everything, it’s a process,” Molly added.