September 12, 2025 • 54 mins
Tyler and Gracie are taking you on a "Relationtrip"—a journey through their real-life experience navigating love and partnership in a 30-foot RV.
From adjusting to living in close quarters to dealing with finances, schedules, and the occasional RV disaster (three-point turn in a forest, anyone?), this episode dives deep into the highs and lows of living tiny while staying emotionally connected.
We’re not experts—just a real couple with three dogs, a podcast mic, and a whole lot of stories from the road. If you've ever wondered what it's really like to live in an RV with your partner, this is the episode for you.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
We're going on an adventure in your favorite Waggoner, driving through the country, adventure
with coffee.
Come on friend, tune in and listen, there's so much to discuss with you and us.
(00:38):
Welcome back to the Adventure with Coffee podcast where today, me, one of your hosts,
Tyler, the most beautiful host in the entire world.
You always give me an intro like that, I need to give you an intro like that.
Well you always make me start the podcast.
I do because I feel like I'm going to fumble if I try to start it.
Well, the good thing is that we can just stop recording and then re-record, so...
(01:02):
That's true.
Yeah, got you on a technicality, didn't I?
What's those words?
It's your favorite saying.
That is my favorite saying.
What is those words that you want to say right now?
You're... what?
Wonderful.
Oh, well, thanks.
Anyway, as you may have seen on our social media,
we have started a You're Right counter for me and Gracie.
(01:25):
So if I say...
It's Gracie and I.
We're going to fight.
We're literally going to fight on the podcast.
I'm going to tackle you.
Gracie and I have started a You're Right counter.
(01:46):
And basically what that is, is every time that
Gracie says, You're Right, I get a point.
Every time I say, You're Right, Gracie gets a point.
I'm right way more often.
No, obviously.
But I just give him the...
I give him...
Oh, don't even start.
(02:07):
No, no, don't even start that.
That is nuts.
That is absolutely inaccurate.
I was going to say inappropriate, but it's not inappropriate.
All right.
So today's episode, we're taking y'all on a relation trip.
Right, Gracie?
Yes.
You want to tell our...
I'm so proud of that name.
(02:27):
I really, I really like it.
It is really good.
All right, Gracie, you want to kind of tell our guests a little bit about like
what we're going to be talking about today
and kind of get into the whole premise of this episode if you want to.
Does that work for you?
Sure.
Sure.
Power RV joke.
I don't get it.
(02:48):
So you can probably don't work with the electricity.
So essentially, if you've ever even just traveled in an RV,
everybody pretty much knows what an RV is.
You can go look up what it looks like inside of it.
Now there are some crazy ones out there.
There are some normal ones out there.
(03:10):
There are some hella small ones out there.
I'd say we're in about...
Teardrops.
Yeah.
I'd say we're in about an average.
And so we wanted to talk to you.
The reason I'm saying all that is because we wanted to talk with you guys
and really just discuss what it's like to have the relationship in an RV
because it is not for the weak by any means.
(03:33):
It is small spaces we're going to talk about.
It's time consuming we're going to talk about.
There are little things that if you live in a house
that's way different than an RV and things in the RV will set you off.
There are just jokes in the RV community alone
about hitching up your RV or backing it into a spot
(03:56):
where a couple of wives and husbands get mad at each other.
And I will say like as far as backing in the RV and stuff,
we do a really good team.
Typically it takes...
As long as I'm not the one backing it up.
That is true.
Because last time you backed it up, you got us stuck in trees.
Oh my God, that was terrible.
If you've ever tried to do a three-point turn between three trees in an RV,
(04:20):
a 30-foot RV, it's not easy.
And unfortunately, Gracie made me do it.
So that was fun.
He really heightened me up.
He was like, you can do it.
You can do it.
I was like, I can't do it.
I had so much faith.
I went in with no confidence, which was my fault.
Big mistake.
And that's what effed me up.
So yeah, that was a really tough situation.
(04:43):
I'm just going to be completely honest because I've never had to do that.
And it was like we had just...
I'm sorry.
Okay, so we decided to do the podcast on our bed today just to be comfy.
And Dutch just...
Dutch and Bill now just hopped out here and have completely just walked across everything.
(05:07):
They don't give a flying F.
No, they don't.
And Dutch is like basically sitting in my lap right now.
Anyway, so basically, yeah, we've never really had issues with the whole aspect of
putting the, you know, getting the RV backed in.
Even like that situation, I think I found it more funny than I did...
(05:32):
than I was mad.
No, I was...
I think whenever I got into the RV and I was trying to do it,
like I was a little frustrated, but you weren't around me.
You were outside trying to direct me.
So I was like...
I was like, God, Christy, damn it.
What did you do?
Oh, son of a bitch.
Bill thinks I'm mad right now.
Sorry, baby.
I'm good.
I mean, we're going to talk about all the little ups, downs, the positives, the negatives.
(05:58):
Like everything that you guys can think of that you may go through,
one, as a regular relationship.
And then squish it into a 30-foot camper.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Because that's really what it is.
And I mean, like this could technically like apply to tiny homes too,
like for couples living in a tiny home.
I feel like this could apply to everybody that's going to be in a small space
(06:20):
with your significant other.
And whether that's your bedroom, you can consider your bedroom a small space
unless you're crazy rich.
Your bathroom is a small space with your partner that you share typically.
So I mean, everything that we're kind of chatting about,
you can take in and understand.
(06:40):
Like there's nothing that's going to be here that you're like,
oh, well, that doesn't make any sense.
Right, absolutely.
And you know, the big thing is we're being very vulnerable,
very honest about all of our conversations today so that we can help other people.
Gracie and I, anybody who knows our story, we've gone through a lot of shit.
(07:03):
And this is just the tip of the iceberg for the last year of what we've gone through.
I mean, we've been together for 10 years and we've gone through a lot.
So Gracie, you want to dive right in and let's go ahead and get started.
Tell our guests about the first little section of our podcast episode.
Sure.
So we're going to start with how small and being in close quarters
(07:28):
feels like with your significant other.
Because we went from a three bedroom home, big old backyard.
I had me a his and her sink, a whole guest bathroom bathroom if I got that mad about it.
Like we had, you know, it was just an average home.
(07:48):
But we moved into this 30 foot RV and it got real close real fast.
Yeah.
And we also both worked remotely.
And I think that had a large thing to do with it because
we've definitely done some reno's here.
(08:09):
Yeah.
But it used to be a dinette table.
So if you don't know what a dinette table is, I really recommend looking it up.
Because when I tell you that it is a small thin table, it's not a,
it's not, it's not like a, how do I explain it?
It's not like a table you buy for your house.
(08:32):
It is very small and it is not comfortable.
And some RVs have, some RVs have like three sides to it.
Some of them just have the sides facing each other.
It just kind of depends on what RV you get.
But anyways, we will both sit on each side.
When we first started off, that was one of our questions.
(08:53):
Like how are we going to make this work?
Right?
So Tyler took one side, I took the other side.
And we kind of had to think about the space that we had because the table's not big.
So I had a monitor that I didn't bring.
I had a keyboard that I didn't bring.
I kind of just went all the way down to like one laptop essentially.
(09:13):
And then we kind of worked around and added a screen for each of us.
Neither one of us use those screens anymore.
But it just like, it's one of those things where we were spending all of our time together.
During work days.
During when we got off of work, when we woke up.
When like literally, three hundred and four seconds.
(09:35):
Yeah.
And so that was something we talked about.
Because he, if you know Tyler, he's a very optimistic person.
I don't, I don't like to keep it anymore.
But especially when it comes like hanging out with me.
He is very much like, there's not enough time in the day.
Like it doesn't matter.
And I am on the other end of, I love, don't say that.
(10:01):
I love hanging out with you.
But I call it my Gracie time.
And that was something him and I talked about.
Because I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
And I was like, I just need, sometimes I just need a couple of hours just for me.
Most people do need that.
And I mean, I'm like that now too.
Like especially since we've gotten to the smaller space.
I've needed like.
And it's, it's, we don't say that like, oh I need a break from Gracie.
(10:23):
Or I need a break from Tyler.
It's just I, like we need a break from peopling all together.
Yes.
I just need alone time.
Yeah.
That's all it is.
So we each spend them differently.
Sometimes it's one of us will stay in the bedroom while the other one stays in the living room.
Most of the time I nap.
Yeah.
And then sometimes it's me going out and shopping for a couple of hours by myself.
(10:45):
Or window shopping.
That's yeah.
That's really what it is.
Especially because that is something we will talk about as well.
Is what you buy versus don't buy.
And the space we have as far as things that we can buy and purchase for this.
And like Gracie said, we'll get into that a little more later on in the podcast.
(11:06):
But as far as living up close 24 seven, we have definitely learned to grow together.
Yeah.
And it's been, it's been a journey for sure this past, especially this past year.
Yes.
We have learned how to communicate more about it.
Yeah.
And make sure that we're both feeling comfortable and not feeling like we can't breathe.
(11:29):
Yeah.
And I feel like, sorry not to cut you off, but I feel like for the first
year or so that we were doing this, it was very much a learning process.
Um, we had to understand like what we had to do differently and what we needed to do differently.
One thing that we didn't mention earlier when we were talking about the small space with working,
(11:51):
was we had to learn each other's schedule too.
Yeah.
Because if I had a phone call, a video call, and she had a phone call,
then we couldn't do it at the same time.
Because then the, whoever we were talking to could hear the other person talking in the
background and they're two different conversations for two different industries.
So it's not like we could be like, Oh, that's just my coworker.
(12:12):
Like, yeah.
Mine's also about FERPA.
Right.
Right.
You're not supposed to talk about it in front of other people.
So, you know, we, we had to really figure all that out and work on a system,
which thankfully now that I am in my own kind of, uh, I'm going to an office for a job,
(12:33):
Gracie doesn't have to worry about that.
And she's doing a lot more talking lately on the phone.
Yeah.
The whole dynamic at work has completely changed.
So it really works out well.
But I mean, right now, the way we've got it set up for whenever I do work from home is,
um, I'll sit, we converted the dinette to a daybed and we're actually going to do an
(12:53):
episode on like renovations and things that we've done to the RV.
Um, but I converted the dinette into a daybed and built Gracie a desk.
So now that we're a little bit further apart, you can't hear the other person.
Um, especially when the AC is running, because that's just so loud, it drowns out everything.
Um, but it, it's really, it was a challenge to figure that out.
(13:17):
And sometimes it got frustrating because it was like,
I'd have a last minute phone call or a last minute call, or Gracie would have a,
you know, an incoming call that we didn't know about while the other one was preparing
for a meeting or getting ready to go into a meeting or a phone call.
And it was really tough.
Like, cause sometimes I'd get frustrated and I know it's not your fault.
(13:38):
I would just be frustrated in general.
And anybody who knows, like if you're in a relationship with somebody, unfortunately,
sometimes when you get frustrated with a outside situation, it kind of comes out in the inside
situation with you and your significant other, your spouse, whatever it may be.
So that was kind of a tough thing.
And we've really learned to take a step back.
(13:58):
I think both of us have done really good about this.
Take a step back when we get frustrated and say, it's not the other person's fault.
And then like, especially when we do have that momentary break,
where we take it out on the other person,
we're both really good about taking a step back and saying, Hey, I apologize.
I was frustrated with X, Y, Z situation, not with you.
And I took it out on you.
Oh, wait, let me tell y'all.
(14:19):
It was not always like that.
No.
It was very much, uh, like.
Blame the other person.
We've had a dynamic of when we first got together and we wouldn't argue a bunch,
but when we did argue, it was things that boiled over because we didn't talk about it.
Like this is 10 years in the making of getting to this point of us being able to
(14:40):
be in a very healthy, communicative place.
Yeah.
And that's all the time.
Right.
All the time.
Right.
And that's, that's the thing about relationships though,
is like, especially when you're together for this long,
people change and people grow as time goes on.
Sometimes couples will grow apart.
Gracie and I have taken the extra step to really make sure that we're growing together.
(15:04):
We're communicating with each other for our needs that were,
that were individually discovering that things that we need and we're really communicating it.
And that's a huge thing.
I mean, that's what we tell everybody when people are like, you know,
come to us for relationship advice.
Communicate.
Like communication is the biggest thing.
If you can't communicate.
(15:25):
People just think that means to talk and that's not what it is.
Like I used to, growing up, I know a lot of us, if we,
especially if we had parents that stayed together or even if they divorced,
you're like, I don't understand.
Right.
You guys seem happy all the time.
And I think some people just, is what Tyler said, they grow and then people don't understand like,
(15:46):
oh, even though I married, I had to put in the extra work because
shit happens in life.
You lose jobs.
You lose people in your life.
Right.
Like there are changes.
You does.
It completely changes who you are.
And if your partner's not willing to grow with you and be with you.
Or if you're not willing to grow with your partner.
Yeah.
I mean, y'all are, you're either going to be unhappy or you're not going to be together
(16:08):
because you've got to be able to be resilient and grow as a person.
Right.
I mean, that's just, that's all there is to it is like I said, people grow as we get older.
I mean, and as we go through more life experiences, that's just a matter of life.
And if you can't, you know, you've got to understand when you get into a relationship
that that person that you, that you're in a relationship with
(16:31):
is not going to be the same person in five years that they are today.
And that's not always a bad thing.
I mean, yeah, sometimes it can be a rough change.
If they're going down a negative path.
Right.
Right.
But like Tyler lost his grandpa.
Yeah.
I lost my brother.
I've lost several jobs.
(16:51):
And I mean, there's, there's stuff that is so private that will not be on the podcast
that him and I have been through that most people wouldn't survive or be able to handle
having their partner go through something that they've been through.
We will do a mental health episode as well.
100%.
And that's from his point of being the person in relationship with it.
(17:16):
I can't imagine how hard that is being on the receiving end.
We'll talk about that too.
Yeah.
Because I can speak to that and it's hard.
Yeah.
So those are things that like you've got to know.
Yeah.
That you've got to be, you just.
And again, you've got to communicate with your partner, how thing, how, like if you're
as the person with a mental health, mental illness,
(17:38):
you've got to communicate with your partner better about how you feel.
And I'm, trust me, I know that's hard.
It was a struggle for me to really understand how to, I mean, I get it.
It's, it's hard sometimes to even communicate how you feel for you to even know how you
feel.
And then to put it in words is just terrifying sometimes.
And I don't know.
(17:58):
Let me tell you.
I know, I know Tyler's parents and I know who he grew up with.
My best guess is his grandparents.
But even then I didn't see it a lot from them.
Tyler's family growing up did not voice out their feelings.
No.
And I don't know where he got it from, but he's always been really good at it.
(18:19):
I was terrible at it.
Yeah.
Because I had the same type of family growing up that you did.
Yeah.
And I was, when Tyler would like bring something to my attention,
it, like sometimes it wasn't in the best way.
Yeah.
A hundred percent.
I had to learn.
He was still coming at me.
That sounds bad.
He was still approaching.
Coming to you.
(18:39):
Yes.
About things that needed to be talked about.
And I would immediately jump on the defensive.
Yeah.
Because that's all I ever saw.
Yeah.
And so that is, that's something I finally felt like I've broken out of.
And then he would jump to the defensive.
And so now he's kind of, he's gotten out of that too.
(19:00):
So it's now so much more of a healthy conversation.
We rarely get in, get into arguments.
Bickering.
Bickering, which leads us into our next.
Yeah.
Subsection.
And I mean, and going on with that, sometimes you have to learn when to step away for a few
minutes.
And that's something I really struggled with because I was very much, let's solve it now
(19:23):
and let's just get it over with.
And Gracie, Gracie's kind of the one who taught me this, this need that I didn't know I had
because she does have this need where sometimes she just needs to step away from the situation
for five minutes, 10 minutes and cool down.
And she.
That boggled you at first.
(19:44):
Yeah.
We had worst arguments because you're like, no, I want to solve it now.
And I'm like, I can't.
Sometimes I couldn't.
My brain wasn't processing things the right way.
And I would say things.
I would say shitty things because I couldn't figure out a better way to say them because
(20:06):
I couldn't take the time.
Right.
And I've, I've really picked that up too lately.
Like whenever we get into it, it's, we, we really don't get into arguments.
It's more of like little.
Like we used to.
Yeah, we used to.
But nowadays, like we really don't.
I mean, like if we get into a, I don't even know what to call it.
(20:26):
Like bicker.
They're debates, not even hidden debates.
Yeah.
They're just debates.
Debates.
Yeah.
Last, like last night was our most recent one.
And it wasn't even that either one of us got.
It was more like a frustration than anything you were telling me about what you wanted
to do now with the company that you're working with.
(20:46):
And he was trying to explain it to me.
I was trying to explain to him the opposite.
And then he voiced out why he felt like I wasn't hearing him out.
And I think eventually at the end we got to where we needed to be at.
Yeah.
And it was fine.
Like we didn't argue, we didn't scream.
Yeah, we didn't.
I mean, and this whole time we didn't, that whole time we didn't really argue.
(21:08):
It was more of just a frustration.
Like I was trying to explain it and you didn't understand.
And you were trying to explain like why you didn't think this idea would work.
And like I was trying to understand why.
And it was just, it was, it was a whole mess of a situation.
But I mean, like, like Gracie said, like it was literally 10 minutes maybe that we were
(21:29):
kind of going back and forth.
Like, and again.
We were going somewhere for the night and it used to be back in the day.
If something like that would have happened, we would have yelled over something so minute
and small.
And it would have ruined the entire time when we were out.
And like literally within 10 minutes, I reached over, she grabbed my hand and we just rode.
(21:51):
Yeah, we rode and talked and we were joking and laughing.
Like, and a lot of our joking and laughing came at the expense of the situation.
Like we were just like laughing about it and like, oh, well that was silly.
Like, and you know, that's how like our growth has happened is that we're able to take accountability
and say, you know what, I wasn't expressing myself as effectively and as clearly as I
(22:15):
should have.
And you know, the other person, if they weren't doing the same has to take that same accountability.
It can't be just one person.
And then sometimes you have to learn, like I said, when to walk away for five, 10 minutes
or when to walk away period and just say, you know, just cut your losses and be like, hey,
you know what, you're right.
Like this, this is, this is silly.
(22:35):
Let's just not even like, you know, let's move forward.
And that's, that's a huge thing.
But I think one of the biggest, the biggest things is that the biggest things that started
our bickering whenever we first got into the RV was figuring out our responsibilities.
Because we do have a smaller space, the need to clean and keep things organized and stay
(23:02):
on top of chores is much more important and prevalent than when you're in a house.
You have a lot more leeway when you're in the house because you can leave more sink,
more dishes in the sink.
You can leave bottles around more.
But now, like, because we do have such a small space and such a small sink, it's like
you can't leave as many dishes in there.
(23:23):
You've got to clean them as soon as you get done.
And I feel like it's not just community spaces like a living room and a kitchen.
In your bedroom, in your bathroom, you have your space.
You no longer have, in this size camper, you don't really have a your space.
It doesn't exist.
It's our space.
It is our space.
And if it's, it got to the point, we get on track really well with, okay, this is our
(23:48):
new schedule.
This is what we're going to do to try and keep things clean.
And, and then something, some type of event happens and it all goes plummeting down the
drain when we try to come up with a new one.
And we're honestly, we're still learning on what works best for us and how to navigate
it.
So.
And one thing I would say is like, like Gracie said, we don't have a lot of your space versus
(24:14):
my space, but you definitely need at least your own small little space.
And I think that's one thing that we're still trying to figure out is where our spaces are.
We've got a couple, like in our bathroom, there's a cabinet with shelves in it.
Tyler has his shelf.
I have my shelf shelves.
I have three shelves.
(24:34):
He has one.
Yeah.
Let's not forget that.
Now granted some of, some of the shelves that I have one, I am a, I am a wash your face
religiously girl.
She is.
I, I have the worst skin on the planet and I, I'm taking care of it.
So that's the first one.
It's a basket.
It has all my stuff in it.
I use it every single day.
(24:55):
Um, his stuff is his deodorant, his beard stuff, his toothbrush, you know, just his
little bit of stuff.
Cause he doesn't have a lot of stuff.
And then my other one is like my perfume, my hairbrush, my deodorant, like my stuff
like that.
And then the fourth one all the way at the top is random shit.
(25:19):
Like lotion, my heat protectant for my hair, my hairspray, my tanning stuff.
Like I need to get some rid of some of that stuff to be honest, which I probably could,
but we each have, we at least have our own section there.
You know what I mean?
Like I tried now granted in about four weeks when I get out of school, I told him I'm
(25:40):
doing a complete redo.
I'm going to redo everything.
Um, and see what I can, cause we, now that we've lived in here for a while, this was
nothing's really changed as far as organization wise.
Nothing really has changed since we've moved in.
So I want to kind of reorganize everything now that we've been here and kind of see what
(26:02):
else I can come up with.
Um, we each also have a side of our bed.
Yeah.
That's our quote unquote own space.
And that has been a source of contention too, because like a lot of the times, whenever
our dirty clothes end up on my side of the bed, not like my actual side of the bed, but
on the floor and it's, it got really frustrating because whenever I was trying to like put my
(26:24):
stuff places, it was filled with stuff that I put there, but also stuff that Gracie was
putting there.
And so we've had to talk about that and like what we had to do.
I'm going to try my best to figure out a better way for clothes.
Cause the, what we're doing now, just, it's not effective.
It's not at all.
(26:45):
And a lot of it has to do.
Okay.
So Tyler is not a laundry dude.
Um, no, I hate laundry.
And so it, it is something that I do and it gets to the point where, okay, I go in, I
do laundry, I fold it, I bring it back.
And I don't, um, load it into the drawers right away.
And it's because you've already done a lot.
(27:07):
And I know that.
And that's why, like, I really don't make that big of a deal about that because I know
like laundry is a very labor intensive thing, like chore, chore, because you've got to take
the lot, get all the clothes together.
You've got to get the laundry basket to the washer dryer.
Yeah.
And it's not something we don't have.
Some RVs are fancy AF and have them inside the RV.
(27:30):
Which is super nice.
I don't, but we don't.
Yeah.
That's not one of my things.
I don't really, it's not that big of a deal to me.
I mean, we probably save money in the long run, but I do, I have to carry all of our
laundry to the wash place.
Like there's one here where we live at the campground.
Yeah.
And it's not, it's not really that far away, but I have to take all of that there.
(27:53):
I have to time out when the wash is done, go back up there, change everything to the
dryer, time that out, go back up there.
I'm strapped to it for like three hours between taking it there and folding it.
I'm strapped there for three hours.
And it really works out now well though, because we, they have an app that we can use for starting
(28:14):
the washer and dryer.
And then it gives you, like, it tells you how much longer is on it.
Tell me.
That app is so unreliable.
It is, but it gives you a good like...
It tells me every day, an hour after my dryer stuff finished.
Because remember I had to take Trenton home.
Oh yeah.
And it had six minutes left on it.
Tyler, when I got two Trentons is when it told me it was done.
(28:38):
Oh wow.
I was like, that is not right.
Wow.
That is not right.
So I, I don't really worry about that because I know what time I keep it on my stuff, you
know, but...
Trenton is our nephew, by the way.
Yeah.
So that, that's just one of the things, like there are things that I, we are going to update.
We're going to talk about probably start making some changes.
(28:59):
Tyler's really thought about some organizational things.
Yeah.
He's put these really cool, like...
Pockets is what I call them.
They're like the little plastic things that go on the wall that have little compartments
in them.
So that's been really helpful.
It probably looks like a catch-all at this point today.
(29:23):
It's not though.
I know, I know what's in there.
Bayer AF compared to his.
But I know everything's in mine.
But then he has the, sorry, he has the side that has a little shelf on it.
But we're getting ready to take that down and put a bigger mattress in here.
Who thinks?
(29:43):
I know.
And then my side looks like a tornado.
It's got an ice cream tub and a trash and where I did my hair yesterday.
There's been, there's been a joke in Gracie's family for as long as I can remember
about Gracie having a snack bar on her side of the bed.
And she was really like, it's bad now.
(30:03):
But whenever we were at the house.
Oh, I had my own little nightstand.
Yeah.
Your nightstand.
And the bed had a headboard on it was actual shelves.
Yep.
So that was awesome.
Like it just, it's, I have no words.
It's bad.
But that kind of leads into the next point is minimizing.
(30:24):
We had to really, I'll let you talk about this.
I love it.
Okay.
So I am not, if you, if you know me, if you don't know me, let me tell you, I'm not a junk person.
I felt like growing up, there was a lot of a junk is so long word, but it's also the right word.
Clutter.
(30:45):
Yes.
I mean, granted growing up, there were five kids.
Yeah.
Minimum three kids.
And my dad is a junk monster.
Yeah.
He cannot get rid of shit.
He's finally at the point where he's, he still can't let go of some stuff.
But I get that.
But there's some things he should get rid of.
(31:08):
He won't get rid of.
Still get that.
But that's because you have Tyler's grandma.
Same way.
Cause grandma.
Now she's got sentimental things.
Mom is too.
But she's also got junk.
Just nice too.
That's crazy.
I don't get it.
I don't have that attachment to things like that.
(31:31):
Unless they are sentimentality.
And like, I find sentimentality in a lot of things like Gracie will be like, what is this?
And I'll go into this obscure story about how I got it in third grade from my third grade teacher
for X, Y, Z.
And like, I wanted to keep it cause it meant a lot.
(31:51):
And then it's like.
You should see my face over here right now.
Yeah.
Like.
It doesn't faze me.
Get rid of it.
Gracie had, Gracie gave me for Valentine's year, Valentine's one year.
She had put together like this.
You may remember like the candy signs that used to be real popular.
Where it was like you glued candy boxes.
It was into the sentences.
Yeah.
So like, it was like, instead of what is it?
(32:15):
Hot tamales or the spicy ones.
I don't remember.
But like it was.
There's a picture running around.
Yeah.
But so I kept that for like years.
Years.
You're supposed to eat the candy and get rid of it.
That's the point.
I didn't want to.
I thought it was so sweet.
So I kept it for years.
(32:36):
And finally, when we downsized, she made me get rid of it.
So that was, that was nice of her.
It was, let me tell you.
It was pulling teeth when we moved from our house.
Put a lot of our stuff.
Now, granted, we still do have a storage in it.
Yeah.
A very small one though.
A very small one.
And we could get them, make it smaller if we ever get rid of that table.
Yeah.
Like there are, it was like pulling teeth though.
(32:56):
Because we went from house to what were we taking?
What was absolutely essential to take in the RV.
Then put everything in storage that we needed to put in.
Then we came back, redid our entire storage unit and went down to a smaller one.
So we're getting there.
I still think we could get down to a smaller one.
(33:17):
But there are some things in our storage unit that once we get a bigger camper,
would probably come into the camper with us.
Yeah.
But we're still going to need a very small storage unit.
Yeah.
I think that's all because we have sentimental things.
Right.
Tyler has all of his, very short, but very short little interlude.
(33:38):
Tyler has like shirts and trophies.
I have jerseys and trophies and shirts and things like that that we don't want to get rid of.
There's a couple of things, like our diplomas are in there.
Like there's things like that.
Which I got to get those so I can put them in my office.
We have some decor that meant a lot to us.
(33:59):
Yeah.
That we either purchased for the house that I was like,
if we get a bigger RV.
Because some of my Christmas stuff that I bought.
Yeah.
Is still in there because I didn't want to give it to anybody.
Because I was like, if we get a bigger RV and I have spots to put them for Christmas.
I'm going to put them out for Christmas.
And we kept a lot of our furniture at first.
Just in case, like after the first year we decided this wasn't for us.
(34:23):
And then after that first year, whenever we got back from our Midwest trip.
We went ahead and got rid of a lot of stuff because we were like.
Mattresses.
Side table or entryway tables.
You know, that custom one.
I know we had a custom built entryway table and it was so beautiful.
(34:44):
But it was like just unrealistic to keep.
And we were like, we sold it.
TVs too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sold our TVs.
But the lady who wound up buying that entryway table was obsessed with it.
I know and I met her.
She was super nice.
And I was like, okay, she'll take care of it.
Yeah, exactly.
So it made us feel good that at least it was going to a good home.
Sorry, we got off topic for a minute there.
(35:06):
But as far as like choosing what to keep and what to give it up.
That was a test.
Yes.
On our relationship for sure.
Just because I don't have that bone of sentimentality as much as Tyler does.
And there's things I understand.
And there were things that we had.
To have conversations about.
(35:26):
Yes.
There were sessions of bickering during this.
Because I couldn't.
Really connecting it to those first two points that we just talked about.
Because I do have people.
Like I said, I have people in my family who were essentially hoarders.
And then I'm not like that.
And my sister's not like that either.
I think Sarah and I grew up in the same kind of environment.
And we both know.
(35:47):
Yeah.
So that.
And I also knew.
Okay.
One of the big things I like to remind people about RVs.
Is regardless if you're stationary.
Or you are traveling.
RVs have weight limits.
Yes.
And so this includes anything you put in your RV.
Yourselves in your RV.
So we have to keep in mind like.
(36:09):
Oh shit.
We have three.
Now three dogs.
Yeah.
We have us.
And all of this shit weighs down.
Clothes especially.
Oh yeah.
Weigh down in your RV.
And you don't realize how much clothes really weigh.
Until you've got them in an RV.
Yeah.
So that was something that we had to think about.
Which was kind of nice.
(36:29):
Because clothes were a big thing for me.
Yeah.
They really were.
When we had our closet.
Like it was my stuff.
Yeah.
Tyler doesn't have that.
He's getting better about it.
Honestly it's taken a decade.
It's taken a decade.
A decade.
But he is getting better about what he dresses himself in.
He takes his style seriously now.
(36:50):
Instead of just not worrying about what he puts on his body.
Unless I'm going out to the gas station or Walmart.
And I just don't care.
Like the other day I wore a pair of yellow shorts.
And a bright pink shirt.
That's okay.
I think those match.
I know you're going to say because.
Oh well they definitely match.
They definitely match.
But it doesn't mean it looks stylish.
(37:12):
Definitely stood out.
There's just like it was something that.
That was where he had to come and help me.
I really don't know what I want to bring.
And we've gotten rid of stuff on our traveling trips.
When I was like well shit I haven't worn this.
I really need to get rid of it.
And then when we redid our storage unit again.
That was awesome.
So I was like damn I forgot this existed.
(37:34):
Because I haven't touched it in a year.
Yeah.
So we don't really care about it.
Yeah.
And I realized that my remote job's sticking.
And why am I keeping office close.
Right.
So I got rid of all of those too.
Very true.
And honestly we're going to do another one.
Because now it's been.
Very soon.
Two years?
Uh almost a year.
Because it was.
(37:54):
No no no.
Since we've started this.
Oh yeah 2023.
So we're going to do another round of that.
Yeah.
And I think probably what we're going to stick to is anything like.
Tyler has funeral clothes in here now.
I don't have funeral clothes in here now.
So things like that that don't happen all the time.
But because we're home right now.
(38:15):
And a lot of like my funeral clothes can also be like office clothes for me.
So it kind of.
And I'm working in an office now.
So it kind of works out.
But that talking about the storage unit.
That really leads us into the next point about finances.
But first off let's take a break and hear a little bit about Dubby.
(38:37):
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(38:57):
And zero fake stuff.
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Basically if chaos had a chill cousin that helped you focus and tasted good.
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(39:24):
Because RV life is unpredictable.
But your energy doesn't have to be.
And welcome back after hearing a little bit about our sponsor Dubby.
It is it is it is so good.
And I've been like mixing the flavors together.
And then we got a soda stream to carbonate it.
He's like do you want to try it so I take a sip.
(39:46):
And it's so good.
It is.
It is.
It's like an energy drink.
It really is.
Like a like a red bull or a monster.
I told him now that because we we've talked about this.
He's a soda freak.
I know.
Terrible.
I was like you need to do something because he bought soda for the office.
And I'm like you need to take water.
So I do need to drink it.
And I was doing really good while we were at the while I was at the house.
(40:08):
So I got to really get back on track with that.
But anyway as we mentioned before the break.
We're going to jump into finances.
Talking about finances.
You know the storage unit like we talked about was a big one.
Because it is an additional expense.
You have to really track your expenses when you're in an RV.
Especially when you're traveling like we were.
(40:29):
I don't think we realized how expensive the gas was going to be while we were traveling.
Like really you know really understood it.
Like we knew it was going to be a big expense.
But when we were budgeting we definitely did not budget enough for that.
And then like if you take out a loan to like you know to get your your vehicle.
Like your RV or your travel trailer.
(40:51):
And then like your tow vehicle.
Whether you're towing it or you're using it to tow the RV.
You've really got to take into account all those costs.
Because like us when we were traveling.
Because we were in these places for you know a week or two.
We wanted to get as much done as we could.
Unfortunately that's also spending a lot of money at the time.
(41:13):
Because we're visiting new states and we wanted to try new things.
And new restaurants.
New beer.
New experiences.
Things that we couldn't get anywhere else.
So it was really it became a stressor while we were on the road.
And it became a source of contention for us.
Yeah it wasn't easy.
We definitely had some arguments surrounding money.
(41:35):
Yeah.
And things like that.
Because I am definitely more on the frugal side of things.
And I'm very much of the mindset.
Like I grew up and I wasn't able to get all the things that I wanted.
Like my mom like I don't want to say that.
Well I know.
But my mom bless her heart she tried.
Like if she if there was something that me and my brother really wanted.
(41:56):
She found a way to get it most of the time.
But it wasn't everything we wanted we got you know.
So as I got older I was like and started making my own money.
I was like well shit I got my own money now.
Like I'm just going to get the things that I want.
And that's not the best mindset.
But it very much is where I can't where I kind of developed.
And it was a little bit different for us.
I think in that aspect.
(42:17):
Because you didn't start working until you were 19.
Nothing wrong with that.
Because you were playing sports.
Like you were very active in soccer.
Doing travel and stuff like that.
I didn't have time for a job.
Right.
And thankfully your first job was at Applebee's when you met me.
And we're married now.
So but I've been working since I was like 15 for money.
(42:39):
And you know before that I was working with family, grandparents, my dad.
You know not making money.
Just going in and helping.
So I've been working a lot longer than you have.
And like I said there's nothing wrong with that.
Because what you were doing was a different type of work.
Like unpaid work.
But it was still in my opinion work.
Because you were putting in the effort.
(43:00):
You were doing the training.
And you were going out on the weekends.
So it's very it's different kinds of work.
But I still consider what you were doing a valuable situation.
Not like oh well you didn't work.
You were so lucky.
Because you were like you you were.
But anyway.
I was lucky though that I had I had people that were able.
Because it cost money.
And I'm not trying to be a millionaire or nothing.
(43:22):
But I know when you play travel while you pay to play.
Yeah.
I rarely paid to play.
Yeah.
I was I was pretty good.
Yeah.
So I.
Until you blew out both your knees.
And then my dad had such.
And then you were still really good.
And then but my dad had connections too.
And a lot of people knew like that he didn't work.
(43:43):
Yeah.
So it kind of just went into this like I really didn't pay to play.
Like pay to work.
Was it his fault that he didn't work?
Let's let's clarify that.
Yeah he got hurt.
Yeah he got hurt at work.
So.
Regardless.
Okay.
Off track.
So.
Way off track.
So.
I think that what we were trying to get into was.
(44:05):
As far as like cost goes.
It was just a it was a it was a stressor between the two of us.
And I like to tell you a little different on that aspect of.
I was thinking nickels and dimes.
Nickels and pennies.
Yeah.
And he was thinking twenty dollars.
Yeah.
And I was like no.
(44:25):
I mean no.
And so that would become a stressor because.
We had to really.
It would be like okay well if I go get this one small thing.
Of x, y, and z.
It's not that big of a deal.
And I'm like but yes it is.
Because then you're gonna get that.
And then you're gonna get something else.
And then you're gonna get something else.
And it all adds up.
And it snowballs.
So that was also something that we.
(44:48):
I was I was a stressor when it comes to that kind of stuff.
Hard.
So I think it's something where you and your partner can't be afraid.
Because I've and this is something that I feel like.
I feel like communication is key.
But I also know finances can be one of the biggest stressors for couples.
Way over your percent.
And I think that this has really shown us that.
(45:11):
We're gonna be okay when it comes to finances in the long run.
Because we've been no money.
Lots of money.
Yeah.
And I think we still.
He's finally kind of getting like.
I'm a future.
Yeah.
Money person.
Like I'm gonna like.
Okay.
If I don't spend this.
Then I'm gonna have it.
For when we need it.
For X, Y, and Z.
For the future.
(45:32):
For rent.
For car payments.
Yeah.
And I've had to understand him a little bit more.
And I've tried to be a little more waxed too.
When it comes to certain.
She has.
Yeah.
But sometimes he has to back me up.
And sometimes I have to back him up.
100 percent.
So you know.
Obviously work is a big thing for us.
And we touched a little bit on work.
(45:54):
But our schedules were kind of.
A big stressor for us too.
We had to.
You know.
Whenever I was doing a lot of contract work.
For the Witkowski company.
Which was my marketing and non-profit company.
Or my marketing and communications company.
We.
There would be times that.
I would sleep during the day.
(46:15):
And work at night.
Because I'm a night owl.
And that became a real stressor for us.
Because Gracie was sleeping at night.
And awake during the day.
And I was sleeping during the day.
And awake at night.
So we were.
So mad.
Yeah it was.
It was tough.
I've finally gotten to the point.
Where I don't do that.
Now there are still times.
(46:35):
Where I can't sleep.
And I will maybe do some work.
But I still remain in bed.
Instead of getting up.
And going to the living room.
And working at the dinette.
Because we don't have a dinette anymore.
And Gracie's office space.
Is Gracie's office space.
And I try to respect that.
And not really take up her space.
Or use her space.
Just out of respect for her.
And her.
You can use my space.
(46:57):
I know I can.
But just the fact that.
Again going back to what we were saying earlier.
About having like our own spaces.
I try to respect that for you.
Like there are times.
Like I'll sit in your office chair.
To watch TV or something.
But as far as like using your desk.
And try and cluttering it up.
You can always use my desk.
I know I can you sweet little girl.
(47:17):
You made it for me.
I did.
I did.
It was very very.
And I drilled a hole through the slide.
But that's the renovation story.
For the renovation episode.
But and then another thing.
That was kind of a stressor for us.
But also a positive in the long run.
Was the work schedule change.
Due to time zone.
(47:38):
You know we had to really stay on top of that.
And it wasn't a stressor.
Like to the point where.
That was a positive.
I will always say that was a positive.
But it could be stressful.
When we were trying to figure out like.
Not necessarily stressful.
Because we were frustrated with each other.
But just stressful in general.
Trying to remember like.
Hey we're in a different time zone now.
Instead of working nine to five.
(48:00):
I'm working eight to four.
Or seven to three.
So it was a big adjustment for us.
I think it was a bigger adjustment for Gracie.
And but again.
Like she said.
She loved it.
She was the biggest fan of it.
It was positive though.
Because I was able to get off early.
Like I went in earlier.
Which sucked in the morning.
(48:20):
But like I got off earlier.
Which I loved.
Yeah because we were able to do more things.
We were able to.
Because a lot of you know events and stuff.
Will end at five six o'clock.
And with Gracie getting off at 5 30.
We didn't really have time.
When we were still in eastern zone.
But whenever we got into central.
And mountain time.
(48:40):
That mountain time.
Oh yeah.
Phenomenal roll.
You love that.
You were getting off at 3 30.
We were able to.
Oh god that was so nice.
Able to take 30 minutes to.
For you to decompress.
And then hit the road.
Go do what we wanted to do.
That was so so nice.
So.
But I think that leads us to.
Our very last point.
Kind of wrapping everything up.
(49:02):
And bringing it to a conclusion.
Is the golden rule.
And this was actually a rule.
That Gracie had proposed.
And really put in place.
So I'll let her talk a little bit about it.
When Tyler.
We've talked about this.
When Tyler proposed this whole idea.
Going into an RV.
And selling the house and everything.
She thought that was crazy.
(49:22):
I was like oh shit.
This is going to end terribly.
We're going to hate it.
And I was very skeptical about this.
So.
This rule was something we agreed on.
And we still agree on it to today.
Yes.
Is we are completely honest with each other.
Especially when it comes to.
Wanting to not be in an RV anymore.
(49:43):
Yeah.
So if one of us gets to the point.
Where we don't want to be in one.
We want to start potentially looking for a house.
Or something else.
Then we tell each other.
And we will discuss it.
And figure out what our best options are together.
And how to move forward.
Currently this has not happened yet.
I will tell you.
(50:03):
This has been something that's on my mind.
Because Tyler.
I know this is not something that.
He's really full fledged mentioned yet.
But.
He has started his new job.
As a realtor.
It's at a real estate office.
Oh yeah.
We haven't told people about that.
Oh yeah.
Because that just happened like a week ago.
Oh my gosh.
So real quick.
(50:24):
I started as a realtor.
Last week.
With my family business.
Art Skipper Realty.
Art Skipper was my uncle.
And that company is now ran by my aunt Sally.
Uncle Art passed away.
Late last year in August.
And it was very hard for all of us.
(50:44):
Uncle Art and Aunt Sally were like grandparents to me growing up.
So being able to get into the company.
And really help bring it to.
Keeping his legacy alive.
And hopefully taking it to the next level.
Is something that's really really super important for me.
So.
Yeah.
So go ahead.
Continue.
Well.
(51:04):
So.
If you know now.
If you've listened to our podcast.
You know that Tyler has this.
Go big.
Go home mentality.
And so.
It's kind of in someone that's.
Just lurking in the back.
That he will start selling homes.
And potentially.
See one that he's like.
I just.
(51:25):
I think it's perfect.
I don't wanna.
I wanna buy it.
And.
Not for us to move into.
No.
He'll sit here and say that.
But I.
I.
I feel like.
Eventually it's gonna happen.
No.
But.
He says.
Look he says no.
But you never.
Love RV.
I'm just saying.
I've.
I just.
I know him.
And it's just something that's there.
(51:45):
And that's okay.
But I have a feeling.
That it may potentially.
Come out.
We'll see what happens.
Um.
But.
You haven't even told him what my idea is yet.
You're just.
You're just.
You're just straight up.
Tearing me down.
I already told you.
Beating me up.
Wah wah wah.
He thinks renovating houses is a good idea.
Flipping houses.
Please tell him it's not.
(52:05):
Because people just.
Tell me it is.
Sink money into that stuff.
They do.
But.
They also make a shit ton of money.
It's not.
We don't want limitism.
We don't know nothing about.
Contracting.
That's why we would hire contractors.
We don't know nothing.
No.
Then you're losing even more money.
But you're still.
Like once you get that place back up.
(52:26):
But.
Thirty thousand dollars.
If you invest in it.
Just on the high end.
Can add an extra.
Fifty to a hundred thousand.
You know.
So.
Either way.
That's completely irrelevant to this podcast.
Because if we do start that.
Then that's a whole nother conversation.
That we can have for a podcast episode.
And additional social media content.
(52:47):
That everybody can watch.
But.
And again.
Like Gracie was saying.
Our golden rule.
At the end of the day.
Is to be honest with each other.
To really.
Tell each other.
And that's not just.
You know.
Like she mentioned.
About.
You know.
That rule.
For us to.
Be honest with each other.
(53:07):
If we wanted to stop RVing.
But it's about everything.
We've really had to implement that into our life.
That honesty is key.
Being sure that we're telling each other.
The things that the other person needs to know.
And really everything.
But obviously there are some things like.
You know.
Surprises for the other one.
That we can't tell each other until it comes.
(53:29):
But.
That brings us to the end of the relation trip.
And we have arrived at our destination.
Still have that name.
Yes.
It is so good.
So.
We just want to say.
Thank you for listening.
You guys are awesome.
Everybody who tunes in every month.
Everybody who tunes in.
You know.
Every couple of months.
Or for our new people who are tuning in.
(53:51):
Just thank you for listening.
We really.
Really appreciate you.
Gracie and I love doing this.
Because it gives us something to do together.
Yes.
It gives us an opportunity.
To really just chat and talk.
And bullshit.
So it's fun.
But.
Like always.
We love you.
So much.
Bye.
(54:36):
Until next time.
We're going on an adventure in your favorite Waggoner, driving through the country, adventure
with coffee.
Come on friend, tune in and listen, there's so much to discuss with you and us.
(00:38):
Welcome back to the Adventure with Coffee podcast where today, me, one of your hosts,
Tyler, the most beautiful host in the entire world.
You always give me an intro like that, I need to give you an intro like that.
Well you always make me start the podcast.
I do because I feel like I'm going to fumble if I try to start it.
Well, the good thing is that we can just stop recording and then re-record, so...
(01:02):
That's true.
Yeah, got you on a technicality, didn't I?
What's those words?
It's your favorite saying.
That is my favorite saying.
What is those words that you want to say right now?
You're... what?
Wonderful.
Oh, well, thanks.
Anyway, as you may have seen on our social media,
we have started a You're Right counter for me and Gracie.
(01:25):
So if I say...
It's Gracie and I.
We're going to fight.
We're literally going to fight on the podcast.
I'm going to tackle you.
Gracie and I have started a You're Right counter.
(01:46):
And basically what that is, is every time that
Gracie says, You're Right, I get a point.
Every time I say, You're Right, Gracie gets a point.
I'm right way more often.
No, obviously.
But I just give him the...
I give him...
Oh, don't even start.
(02:07):
No, no, don't even start that.
That is nuts.
That is absolutely inaccurate.
I was going to say inappropriate, but it's not inappropriate.
All right.
So today's episode, we're taking y'all on a relation trip.
Right, Gracie?
Yes.
You want to tell our...
I'm so proud of that name.
(02:27):
I really, I really like it.
It is really good.
All right, Gracie, you want to kind of tell our guests a little bit about like
what we're going to be talking about today
and kind of get into the whole premise of this episode if you want to.
Does that work for you?
Sure.
Sure.
Power RV joke.
I don't get it.
(02:48):
So you can probably don't work with the electricity.
So essentially, if you've ever even just traveled in an RV,
everybody pretty much knows what an RV is.
You can go look up what it looks like inside of it.
Now there are some crazy ones out there.
There are some normal ones out there.
(03:10):
There are some hella small ones out there.
I'd say we're in about...
Teardrops.
Yeah.
I'd say we're in about an average.
And so we wanted to talk to you.
The reason I'm saying all that is because we wanted to talk with you guys
and really just discuss what it's like to have the relationship in an RV
because it is not for the weak by any means.
(03:33):
It is small spaces we're going to talk about.
It's time consuming we're going to talk about.
There are little things that if you live in a house
that's way different than an RV and things in the RV will set you off.
There are just jokes in the RV community alone
about hitching up your RV or backing it into a spot
(03:56):
where a couple of wives and husbands get mad at each other.
And I will say like as far as backing in the RV and stuff,
we do a really good team.
Typically it takes...
As long as I'm not the one backing it up.
That is true.
Because last time you backed it up, you got us stuck in trees.
Oh my God, that was terrible.
If you've ever tried to do a three-point turn between three trees in an RV,
(04:20):
a 30-foot RV, it's not easy.
And unfortunately, Gracie made me do it.
So that was fun.
He really heightened me up.
He was like, you can do it.
You can do it.
I was like, I can't do it.
I had so much faith.
I went in with no confidence, which was my fault.
Big mistake.
And that's what effed me up.
So yeah, that was a really tough situation.
(04:43):
I'm just going to be completely honest because I've never had to do that.
And it was like we had just...
I'm sorry.
Okay, so we decided to do the podcast on our bed today just to be comfy.
And Dutch just...
Dutch and Bill now just hopped out here and have completely just walked across everything.
(05:07):
They don't give a flying F.
No, they don't.
And Dutch is like basically sitting in my lap right now.
Anyway, so basically, yeah, we've never really had issues with the whole aspect of
putting the, you know, getting the RV backed in.
Even like that situation, I think I found it more funny than I did...
(05:32):
than I was mad.
No, I was...
I think whenever I got into the RV and I was trying to do it,
like I was a little frustrated, but you weren't around me.
You were outside trying to direct me.
So I was like...
I was like, God, Christy, damn it.
What did you do?
Oh, son of a bitch.
Bill thinks I'm mad right now.
Sorry, baby.
I'm good.
I mean, we're going to talk about all the little ups, downs, the positives, the negatives.
(05:58):
Like everything that you guys can think of that you may go through,
one, as a regular relationship.
And then squish it into a 30-foot camper.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Because that's really what it is.
And I mean, like this could technically like apply to tiny homes too,
like for couples living in a tiny home.
I feel like this could apply to everybody that's going to be in a small space
(06:20):
with your significant other.
And whether that's your bedroom, you can consider your bedroom a small space
unless you're crazy rich.
Your bathroom is a small space with your partner that you share typically.
So I mean, everything that we're kind of chatting about,
you can take in and understand.
(06:40):
Like there's nothing that's going to be here that you're like,
oh, well, that doesn't make any sense.
Right, absolutely.
And you know, the big thing is we're being very vulnerable,
very honest about all of our conversations today so that we can help other people.
Gracie and I, anybody who knows our story, we've gone through a lot of shit.
(07:03):
And this is just the tip of the iceberg for the last year of what we've gone through.
I mean, we've been together for 10 years and we've gone through a lot.
So Gracie, you want to dive right in and let's go ahead and get started.
Tell our guests about the first little section of our podcast episode.
Sure.
So we're going to start with how small and being in close quarters
(07:28):
feels like with your significant other.
Because we went from a three bedroom home, big old backyard.
I had me a his and her sink, a whole guest bathroom bathroom if I got that mad about it.
Like we had, you know, it was just an average home.
(07:48):
But we moved into this 30 foot RV and it got real close real fast.
Yeah.
And we also both worked remotely.
And I think that had a large thing to do with it because
we've definitely done some reno's here.
(08:09):
Yeah.
But it used to be a dinette table.
So if you don't know what a dinette table is, I really recommend looking it up.
Because when I tell you that it is a small thin table, it's not a,
it's not, it's not like a, how do I explain it?
It's not like a table you buy for your house.
(08:32):
It is very small and it is not comfortable.
And some RVs have, some RVs have like three sides to it.
Some of them just have the sides facing each other.
It just kind of depends on what RV you get.
But anyways, we will both sit on each side.
When we first started off, that was one of our questions.
(08:53):
Like how are we going to make this work?
Right?
So Tyler took one side, I took the other side.
And we kind of had to think about the space that we had because the table's not big.
So I had a monitor that I didn't bring.
I had a keyboard that I didn't bring.
I kind of just went all the way down to like one laptop essentially.
(09:13):
And then we kind of worked around and added a screen for each of us.
Neither one of us use those screens anymore.
But it just like, it's one of those things where we were spending all of our time together.
During work days.
During when we got off of work, when we woke up.
When like literally, three hundred and four seconds.
(09:35):
Yeah.
And so that was something we talked about.
Because he, if you know Tyler, he's a very optimistic person.
I don't, I don't like to keep it anymore.
But especially when it comes like hanging out with me.
He is very much like, there's not enough time in the day.
Like it doesn't matter.
And I am on the other end of, I love, don't say that.
(10:01):
I love hanging out with you.
But I call it my Gracie time.
And that was something him and I talked about.
Because I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
And I was like, I just need, sometimes I just need a couple of hours just for me.
Most people do need that.
And I mean, I'm like that now too.
Like especially since we've gotten to the smaller space.
I've needed like.
And it's, it's, we don't say that like, oh I need a break from Gracie.
(10:23):
Or I need a break from Tyler.
It's just I, like we need a break from peopling all together.
Yes.
I just need alone time.
Yeah.
That's all it is.
So we each spend them differently.
Sometimes it's one of us will stay in the bedroom while the other one stays in the living room.
Most of the time I nap.
Yeah.
And then sometimes it's me going out and shopping for a couple of hours by myself.
(10:45):
Or window shopping.
That's yeah.
That's really what it is.
Especially because that is something we will talk about as well.
Is what you buy versus don't buy.
And the space we have as far as things that we can buy and purchase for this.
And like Gracie said, we'll get into that a little more later on in the podcast.
(11:06):
But as far as living up close 24 seven, we have definitely learned to grow together.
Yeah.
And it's been, it's been a journey for sure this past, especially this past year.
Yes.
We have learned how to communicate more about it.
Yeah.
And make sure that we're both feeling comfortable and not feeling like we can't breathe.
(11:29):
Yeah.
And I feel like, sorry not to cut you off, but I feel like for the first
year or so that we were doing this, it was very much a learning process.
Um, we had to understand like what we had to do differently and what we needed to do differently.
One thing that we didn't mention earlier when we were talking about the small space with working,
(11:51):
was we had to learn each other's schedule too.
Yeah.
Because if I had a phone call, a video call, and she had a phone call,
then we couldn't do it at the same time.
Because then the, whoever we were talking to could hear the other person talking in the
background and they're two different conversations for two different industries.
So it's not like we could be like, Oh, that's just my coworker.
(12:12):
Like, yeah.
Mine's also about FERPA.
Right.
Right.
You're not supposed to talk about it in front of other people.
So, you know, we, we had to really figure all that out and work on a system,
which thankfully now that I am in my own kind of, uh, I'm going to an office for a job,
(12:33):
Gracie doesn't have to worry about that.
And she's doing a lot more talking lately on the phone.
Yeah.
The whole dynamic at work has completely changed.
So it really works out well.
But I mean, right now, the way we've got it set up for whenever I do work from home is,
um, I'll sit, we converted the dinette to a daybed and we're actually going to do an
(12:53):
episode on like renovations and things that we've done to the RV.
Um, but I converted the dinette into a daybed and built Gracie a desk.
So now that we're a little bit further apart, you can't hear the other person.
Um, especially when the AC is running, because that's just so loud, it drowns out everything.
Um, but it, it's really, it was a challenge to figure that out.
(13:17):
And sometimes it got frustrating because it was like,
I'd have a last minute phone call or a last minute call, or Gracie would have a,
you know, an incoming call that we didn't know about while the other one was preparing
for a meeting or getting ready to go into a meeting or a phone call.
And it was really tough.
Like, cause sometimes I'd get frustrated and I know it's not your fault.
(13:38):
I would just be frustrated in general.
And anybody who knows, like if you're in a relationship with somebody, unfortunately,
sometimes when you get frustrated with a outside situation, it kind of comes out in the inside
situation with you and your significant other, your spouse, whatever it may be.
So that was kind of a tough thing.
And we've really learned to take a step back.
(13:58):
I think both of us have done really good about this.
Take a step back when we get frustrated and say, it's not the other person's fault.
And then like, especially when we do have that momentary break,
where we take it out on the other person,
we're both really good about taking a step back and saying, Hey, I apologize.
I was frustrated with X, Y, Z situation, not with you.
And I took it out on you.
Oh, wait, let me tell y'all.
(14:19):
It was not always like that.
No.
It was very much, uh, like.
Blame the other person.
We've had a dynamic of when we first got together and we wouldn't argue a bunch,
but when we did argue, it was things that boiled over because we didn't talk about it.
Like this is 10 years in the making of getting to this point of us being able to
(14:40):
be in a very healthy, communicative place.
Yeah.
And that's all the time.
Right.
All the time.
Right.
And that's, that's the thing about relationships though,
is like, especially when you're together for this long,
people change and people grow as time goes on.
Sometimes couples will grow apart.
Gracie and I have taken the extra step to really make sure that we're growing together.
(15:04):
We're communicating with each other for our needs that were,
that were individually discovering that things that we need and we're really communicating it.
And that's a huge thing.
I mean, that's what we tell everybody when people are like, you know,
come to us for relationship advice.
Communicate.
Like communication is the biggest thing.
If you can't communicate.
(15:25):
People just think that means to talk and that's not what it is.
Like I used to, growing up, I know a lot of us, if we,
especially if we had parents that stayed together or even if they divorced,
you're like, I don't understand.
Right.
You guys seem happy all the time.
And I think some people just, is what Tyler said, they grow and then people don't understand like,
(15:46):
oh, even though I married, I had to put in the extra work because
shit happens in life.
You lose jobs.
You lose people in your life.
Right.
Like there are changes.
You does.
It completely changes who you are.
And if your partner's not willing to grow with you and be with you.
Or if you're not willing to grow with your partner.
Yeah.
I mean, y'all are, you're either going to be unhappy or you're not going to be together
(16:08):
because you've got to be able to be resilient and grow as a person.
Right.
I mean, that's just, that's all there is to it is like I said, people grow as we get older.
I mean, and as we go through more life experiences, that's just a matter of life.
And if you can't, you know, you've got to understand when you get into a relationship
that that person that you, that you're in a relationship with
(16:31):
is not going to be the same person in five years that they are today.
And that's not always a bad thing.
I mean, yeah, sometimes it can be a rough change.
If they're going down a negative path.
Right.
Right.
But like Tyler lost his grandpa.
Yeah.
I lost my brother.
I've lost several jobs.
(16:51):
And I mean, there's, there's stuff that is so private that will not be on the podcast
that him and I have been through that most people wouldn't survive or be able to handle
having their partner go through something that they've been through.
We will do a mental health episode as well.
100%.
And that's from his point of being the person in relationship with it.
(17:16):
I can't imagine how hard that is being on the receiving end.
We'll talk about that too.
Yeah.
Because I can speak to that and it's hard.
Yeah.
So those are things that like you've got to know.
Yeah.
That you've got to be, you just.
And again, you've got to communicate with your partner, how thing, how, like if you're
as the person with a mental health, mental illness,
(17:38):
you've got to communicate with your partner better about how you feel.
And I'm, trust me, I know that's hard.
It was a struggle for me to really understand how to, I mean, I get it.
It's, it's hard sometimes to even communicate how you feel for you to even know how you
feel.
And then to put it in words is just terrifying sometimes.
And I don't know.
(17:58):
Let me tell you.
I know, I know Tyler's parents and I know who he grew up with.
My best guess is his grandparents.
But even then I didn't see it a lot from them.
Tyler's family growing up did not voice out their feelings.
No.
And I don't know where he got it from, but he's always been really good at it.
(18:19):
I was terrible at it.
Yeah.
Because I had the same type of family growing up that you did.
Yeah.
And I was, when Tyler would like bring something to my attention,
it, like sometimes it wasn't in the best way.
Yeah.
A hundred percent.
I had to learn.
He was still coming at me.
That sounds bad.
He was still approaching.
Coming to you.
(18:39):
Yes.
About things that needed to be talked about.
And I would immediately jump on the defensive.
Yeah.
Because that's all I ever saw.
Yeah.
And so that is, that's something I finally felt like I've broken out of.
And then he would jump to the defensive.
And so now he's kind of, he's gotten out of that too.
(19:00):
So it's now so much more of a healthy conversation.
We rarely get in, get into arguments.
Bickering.
Bickering, which leads us into our next.
Yeah.
Subsection.
And I mean, and going on with that, sometimes you have to learn when to step away for a few
minutes.
And that's something I really struggled with because I was very much, let's solve it now
(19:23):
and let's just get it over with.
And Gracie, Gracie's kind of the one who taught me this, this need that I didn't know I had
because she does have this need where sometimes she just needs to step away from the situation
for five minutes, 10 minutes and cool down.
And she.
That boggled you at first.
(19:44):
Yeah.
We had worst arguments because you're like, no, I want to solve it now.
And I'm like, I can't.
Sometimes I couldn't.
My brain wasn't processing things the right way.
And I would say things.
I would say shitty things because I couldn't figure out a better way to say them because
(20:06):
I couldn't take the time.
Right.
And I've, I've really picked that up too lately.
Like whenever we get into it, it's, we, we really don't get into arguments.
It's more of like little.
Like we used to.
Yeah, we used to.
But nowadays, like we really don't.
I mean, like if we get into a, I don't even know what to call it.
(20:26):
Like bicker.
They're debates, not even hidden debates.
Yeah.
They're just debates.
Debates.
Yeah.
Last, like last night was our most recent one.
And it wasn't even that either one of us got.
It was more like a frustration than anything you were telling me about what you wanted
to do now with the company that you're working with.
(20:46):
And he was trying to explain it to me.
I was trying to explain to him the opposite.
And then he voiced out why he felt like I wasn't hearing him out.
And I think eventually at the end we got to where we needed to be at.
Yeah.
And it was fine.
Like we didn't argue, we didn't scream.
Yeah, we didn't.
I mean, and this whole time we didn't, that whole time we didn't really argue.
(21:08):
It was more of just a frustration.
Like I was trying to explain it and you didn't understand.
And you were trying to explain like why you didn't think this idea would work.
And like I was trying to understand why.
And it was just, it was, it was a whole mess of a situation.
But I mean, like, like Gracie said, like it was literally 10 minutes maybe that we were
(21:29):
kind of going back and forth.
Like, and again.
We were going somewhere for the night and it used to be back in the day.
If something like that would have happened, we would have yelled over something so minute
and small.
And it would have ruined the entire time when we were out.
And like literally within 10 minutes, I reached over, she grabbed my hand and we just rode.
(21:51):
Yeah, we rode and talked and we were joking and laughing.
Like, and a lot of our joking and laughing came at the expense of the situation.
Like we were just like laughing about it and like, oh, well that was silly.
Like, and you know, that's how like our growth has happened is that we're able to take accountability
and say, you know what, I wasn't expressing myself as effectively and as clearly as I
(22:15):
should have.
And you know, the other person, if they weren't doing the same has to take that same accountability.
It can't be just one person.
And then sometimes you have to learn, like I said, when to walk away for five, 10 minutes
or when to walk away period and just say, you know, just cut your losses and be like, hey,
you know what, you're right.
Like this, this is, this is silly.
(22:35):
Let's just not even like, you know, let's move forward.
And that's, that's a huge thing.
But I think one of the biggest, the biggest things is that the biggest things that started
our bickering whenever we first got into the RV was figuring out our responsibilities.
Because we do have a smaller space, the need to clean and keep things organized and stay
(23:02):
on top of chores is much more important and prevalent than when you're in a house.
You have a lot more leeway when you're in the house because you can leave more sink,
more dishes in the sink.
You can leave bottles around more.
But now, like, because we do have such a small space and such a small sink, it's like
you can't leave as many dishes in there.
(23:23):
You've got to clean them as soon as you get done.
And I feel like it's not just community spaces like a living room and a kitchen.
In your bedroom, in your bathroom, you have your space.
You no longer have, in this size camper, you don't really have a your space.
It doesn't exist.
It's our space.
It is our space.
And if it's, it got to the point, we get on track really well with, okay, this is our
(23:48):
new schedule.
This is what we're going to do to try and keep things clean.
And, and then something, some type of event happens and it all goes plummeting down the
drain when we try to come up with a new one.
And we're honestly, we're still learning on what works best for us and how to navigate
it.
So.
And one thing I would say is like, like Gracie said, we don't have a lot of your space versus
(24:14):
my space, but you definitely need at least your own small little space.
And I think that's one thing that we're still trying to figure out is where our spaces are.
We've got a couple, like in our bathroom, there's a cabinet with shelves in it.
Tyler has his shelf.
I have my shelf shelves.
I have three shelves.
(24:34):
He has one.
Yeah.
Let's not forget that.
Now granted some of, some of the shelves that I have one, I am a, I am a wash your face
religiously girl.
She is.
I, I have the worst skin on the planet and I, I'm taking care of it.
So that's the first one.
It's a basket.
It has all my stuff in it.
I use it every single day.
(24:55):
Um, his stuff is his deodorant, his beard stuff, his toothbrush, you know, just his
little bit of stuff.
Cause he doesn't have a lot of stuff.
And then my other one is like my perfume, my hairbrush, my deodorant, like my stuff
like that.
And then the fourth one all the way at the top is random shit.
(25:19):
Like lotion, my heat protectant for my hair, my hairspray, my tanning stuff.
Like I need to get some rid of some of that stuff to be honest, which I probably could,
but we each have, we at least have our own section there.
You know what I mean?
Like I tried now granted in about four weeks when I get out of school, I told him I'm
(25:40):
doing a complete redo.
I'm going to redo everything.
Um, and see what I can, cause we, now that we've lived in here for a while, this was
nothing's really changed as far as organization wise.
Nothing really has changed since we've moved in.
So I want to kind of reorganize everything now that we've been here and kind of see what
(26:02):
else I can come up with.
Um, we each also have a side of our bed.
Yeah.
That's our quote unquote own space.
And that has been a source of contention too, because like a lot of the times, whenever
our dirty clothes end up on my side of the bed, not like my actual side of the bed, but
on the floor and it's, it got really frustrating because whenever I was trying to like put my
(26:24):
stuff places, it was filled with stuff that I put there, but also stuff that Gracie was
putting there.
And so we've had to talk about that and like what we had to do.
I'm going to try my best to figure out a better way for clothes.
Cause the, what we're doing now, just, it's not effective.
It's not at all.
(26:45):
And a lot of it has to do.
Okay.
So Tyler is not a laundry dude.
Um, no, I hate laundry.
And so it, it is something that I do and it gets to the point where, okay, I go in, I
do laundry, I fold it, I bring it back.
And I don't, um, load it into the drawers right away.
And it's because you've already done a lot.
(27:07):
And I know that.
And that's why, like, I really don't make that big of a deal about that because I know
like laundry is a very labor intensive thing, like chore, chore, because you've got to take
the lot, get all the clothes together.
You've got to get the laundry basket to the washer dryer.
Yeah.
And it's not something we don't have.
Some RVs are fancy AF and have them inside the RV.
(27:30):
Which is super nice.
I don't, but we don't.
Yeah.
That's not one of my things.
I don't really, it's not that big of a deal to me.
I mean, we probably save money in the long run, but I do, I have to carry all of our
laundry to the wash place.
Like there's one here where we live at the campground.
Yeah.
And it's not, it's not really that far away, but I have to take all of that there.
(27:53):
I have to time out when the wash is done, go back up there, change everything to the
dryer, time that out, go back up there.
I'm strapped to it for like three hours between taking it there and folding it.
I'm strapped there for three hours.
And it really works out now well though, because we, they have an app that we can use for starting
(28:14):
the washer and dryer.
And then it gives you, like, it tells you how much longer is on it.
Tell me.
That app is so unreliable.
It is, but it gives you a good like...
It tells me every day, an hour after my dryer stuff finished.
Because remember I had to take Trenton home.
Oh yeah.
And it had six minutes left on it.
Tyler, when I got two Trentons is when it told me it was done.
(28:38):
Oh wow.
I was like, that is not right.
Wow.
That is not right.
So I, I don't really worry about that because I know what time I keep it on my stuff, you
know, but...
Trenton is our nephew, by the way.
Yeah.
So that, that's just one of the things, like there are things that I, we are going to update.
We're going to talk about probably start making some changes.
(28:59):
Tyler's really thought about some organizational things.
Yeah.
He's put these really cool, like...
Pockets is what I call them.
They're like the little plastic things that go on the wall that have little compartments
in them.
So that's been really helpful.
It probably looks like a catch-all at this point today.
(29:23):
It's not though.
I know, I know what's in there.
Bayer AF compared to his.
But I know everything's in mine.
But then he has the, sorry, he has the side that has a little shelf on it.
But we're getting ready to take that down and put a bigger mattress in here.
Who thinks?
(29:43):
I know.
And then my side looks like a tornado.
It's got an ice cream tub and a trash and where I did my hair yesterday.
There's been, there's been a joke in Gracie's family for as long as I can remember
about Gracie having a snack bar on her side of the bed.
And she was really like, it's bad now.
(30:03):
But whenever we were at the house.
Oh, I had my own little nightstand.
Yeah.
Your nightstand.
And the bed had a headboard on it was actual shelves.
Yep.
So that was awesome.
Like it just, it's, I have no words.
It's bad.
But that kind of leads into the next point is minimizing.
(30:24):
We had to really, I'll let you talk about this.
I love it.
Okay.
So I am not, if you, if you know me, if you don't know me, let me tell you, I'm not a junk person.
I felt like growing up, there was a lot of a junk is so long word, but it's also the right word.
Clutter.
(30:45):
Yes.
I mean, granted growing up, there were five kids.
Yeah.
Minimum three kids.
And my dad is a junk monster.
Yeah.
He cannot get rid of shit.
He's finally at the point where he's, he still can't let go of some stuff.
But I get that.
But there's some things he should get rid of.
(31:08):
He won't get rid of.
Still get that.
But that's because you have Tyler's grandma.
Same way.
Cause grandma.
Now she's got sentimental things.
Mom is too.
But she's also got junk.
Just nice too.
That's crazy.
I don't get it.
I don't have that attachment to things like that.
(31:31):
Unless they are sentimentality.
And like, I find sentimentality in a lot of things like Gracie will be like, what is this?
And I'll go into this obscure story about how I got it in third grade from my third grade teacher
for X, Y, Z.
And like, I wanted to keep it cause it meant a lot.
(31:51):
And then it's like.
You should see my face over here right now.
Yeah.
Like.
It doesn't faze me.
Get rid of it.
Gracie had, Gracie gave me for Valentine's year, Valentine's one year.
She had put together like this.
You may remember like the candy signs that used to be real popular.
Where it was like you glued candy boxes.
It was into the sentences.
Yeah.
So like, it was like, instead of what is it?
(32:15):
Hot tamales or the spicy ones.
I don't remember.
But like it was.
There's a picture running around.
Yeah.
But so I kept that for like years.
Years.
You're supposed to eat the candy and get rid of it.
That's the point.
I didn't want to.
I thought it was so sweet.
So I kept it for years.
(32:36):
And finally, when we downsized, she made me get rid of it.
So that was, that was nice of her.
It was, let me tell you.
It was pulling teeth when we moved from our house.
Put a lot of our stuff.
Now, granted, we still do have a storage in it.
Yeah.
A very small one though.
A very small one.
And we could get them, make it smaller if we ever get rid of that table.
Yeah.
Like there are, it was like pulling teeth though.
(32:56):
Because we went from house to what were we taking?
What was absolutely essential to take in the RV.
Then put everything in storage that we needed to put in.
Then we came back, redid our entire storage unit and went down to a smaller one.
So we're getting there.
I still think we could get down to a smaller one.
(33:17):
But there are some things in our storage unit that once we get a bigger camper,
would probably come into the camper with us.
Yeah.
But we're still going to need a very small storage unit.
Yeah.
I think that's all because we have sentimental things.
Right.
Tyler has all of his, very short, but very short little interlude.
(33:38):
Tyler has like shirts and trophies.
I have jerseys and trophies and shirts and things like that that we don't want to get rid of.
There's a couple of things, like our diplomas are in there.
Like there's things like that.
Which I got to get those so I can put them in my office.
We have some decor that meant a lot to us.
(33:59):
Yeah.
That we either purchased for the house that I was like,
if we get a bigger RV.
Because some of my Christmas stuff that I bought.
Yeah.
Is still in there because I didn't want to give it to anybody.
Because I was like, if we get a bigger RV and I have spots to put them for Christmas.
I'm going to put them out for Christmas.
And we kept a lot of our furniture at first.
Just in case, like after the first year we decided this wasn't for us.
(34:23):
And then after that first year, whenever we got back from our Midwest trip.
We went ahead and got rid of a lot of stuff because we were like.
Mattresses.
Side table or entryway tables.
You know, that custom one.
I know we had a custom built entryway table and it was so beautiful.
(34:44):
But it was like just unrealistic to keep.
And we were like, we sold it.
TVs too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sold our TVs.
But the lady who wound up buying that entryway table was obsessed with it.
I know and I met her.
She was super nice.
And I was like, okay, she'll take care of it.
Yeah, exactly.
So it made us feel good that at least it was going to a good home.
Sorry, we got off topic for a minute there.
(35:06):
But as far as like choosing what to keep and what to give it up.
That was a test.
Yes.
On our relationship for sure.
Just because I don't have that bone of sentimentality as much as Tyler does.
And there's things I understand.
And there were things that we had.
To have conversations about.
(35:26):
Yes.
There were sessions of bickering during this.
Because I couldn't.
Really connecting it to those first two points that we just talked about.
Because I do have people.
Like I said, I have people in my family who were essentially hoarders.
And then I'm not like that.
And my sister's not like that either.
I think Sarah and I grew up in the same kind of environment.
And we both know.
(35:47):
Yeah.
So that.
And I also knew.
Okay.
One of the big things I like to remind people about RVs.
Is regardless if you're stationary.
Or you are traveling.
RVs have weight limits.
Yes.
And so this includes anything you put in your RV.
Yourselves in your RV.
So we have to keep in mind like.
(36:09):
Oh shit.
We have three.
Now three dogs.
Yeah.
We have us.
And all of this shit weighs down.
Clothes especially.
Oh yeah.
Weigh down in your RV.
And you don't realize how much clothes really weigh.
Until you've got them in an RV.
Yeah.
So that was something that we had to think about.
Which was kind of nice.
(36:29):
Because clothes were a big thing for me.
Yeah.
They really were.
When we had our closet.
Like it was my stuff.
Yeah.
Tyler doesn't have that.
He's getting better about it.
Honestly it's taken a decade.
It's taken a decade.
A decade.
But he is getting better about what he dresses himself in.
He takes his style seriously now.
(36:50):
Instead of just not worrying about what he puts on his body.
Unless I'm going out to the gas station or Walmart.
And I just don't care.
Like the other day I wore a pair of yellow shorts.
And a bright pink shirt.
That's okay.
I think those match.
I know you're going to say because.
Oh well they definitely match.
They definitely match.
But it doesn't mean it looks stylish.
(37:12):
Definitely stood out.
There's just like it was something that.
That was where he had to come and help me.
I really don't know what I want to bring.
And we've gotten rid of stuff on our traveling trips.
When I was like well shit I haven't worn this.
I really need to get rid of it.
And then when we redid our storage unit again.
That was awesome.
So I was like damn I forgot this existed.
(37:34):
Because I haven't touched it in a year.
Yeah.
So we don't really care about it.
Yeah.
And I realized that my remote job's sticking.
And why am I keeping office close.
Right.
So I got rid of all of those too.
Very true.
And honestly we're going to do another one.
Because now it's been.
Very soon.
Two years?
Uh almost a year.
Because it was.
(37:54):
No no no.
Since we've started this.
Oh yeah 2023.
So we're going to do another round of that.
Yeah.
And I think probably what we're going to stick to is anything like.
Tyler has funeral clothes in here now.
I don't have funeral clothes in here now.
So things like that that don't happen all the time.
But because we're home right now.
(38:15):
And a lot of like my funeral clothes can also be like office clothes for me.
So it kind of.
And I'm working in an office now.
So it kind of works out.
But that talking about the storage unit.
That really leads us into the next point about finances.
But first off let's take a break and hear a little bit about Dubby.
(38:37):
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(38:57):
And zero fake stuff.
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Basically if chaos had a chill cousin that helped you focus and tasted good.
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(39:24):
Because RV life is unpredictable.
But your energy doesn't have to be.
And welcome back after hearing a little bit about our sponsor Dubby.
It is it is it is so good.
And I've been like mixing the flavors together.
And then we got a soda stream to carbonate it.
He's like do you want to try it so I take a sip.
(39:46):
And it's so good.
It is.
It is.
It's like an energy drink.
It really is.
Like a like a red bull or a monster.
I told him now that because we we've talked about this.
He's a soda freak.
I know.
Terrible.
I was like you need to do something because he bought soda for the office.
And I'm like you need to take water.
So I do need to drink it.
And I was doing really good while we were at the while I was at the house.
(40:08):
So I got to really get back on track with that.
But anyway as we mentioned before the break.
We're going to jump into finances.
Talking about finances.
You know the storage unit like we talked about was a big one.
Because it is an additional expense.
You have to really track your expenses when you're in an RV.
Especially when you're traveling like we were.
(40:29):
I don't think we realized how expensive the gas was going to be while we were traveling.
Like really you know really understood it.
Like we knew it was going to be a big expense.
But when we were budgeting we definitely did not budget enough for that.
And then like if you take out a loan to like you know to get your your vehicle.
Like your RV or your travel trailer.
(40:51):
And then like your tow vehicle.
Whether you're towing it or you're using it to tow the RV.
You've really got to take into account all those costs.
Because like us when we were traveling.
Because we were in these places for you know a week or two.
We wanted to get as much done as we could.
Unfortunately that's also spending a lot of money at the time.
(41:13):
Because we're visiting new states and we wanted to try new things.
And new restaurants.
New beer.
New experiences.
Things that we couldn't get anywhere else.
So it was really it became a stressor while we were on the road.
And it became a source of contention for us.
Yeah it wasn't easy.
We definitely had some arguments surrounding money.
(41:35):
Yeah.
And things like that.
Because I am definitely more on the frugal side of things.
And I'm very much of the mindset.
Like I grew up and I wasn't able to get all the things that I wanted.
Like my mom like I don't want to say that.
Well I know.
But my mom bless her heart she tried.
Like if she if there was something that me and my brother really wanted.
(41:56):
She found a way to get it most of the time.
But it wasn't everything we wanted we got you know.
So as I got older I was like and started making my own money.
I was like well shit I got my own money now.
Like I'm just going to get the things that I want.
And that's not the best mindset.
But it very much is where I can't where I kind of developed.
And it was a little bit different for us.
I think in that aspect.
(42:17):
Because you didn't start working until you were 19.
Nothing wrong with that.
Because you were playing sports.
Like you were very active in soccer.
Doing travel and stuff like that.
I didn't have time for a job.
Right.
And thankfully your first job was at Applebee's when you met me.
And we're married now.
So but I've been working since I was like 15 for money.
(42:39):
And you know before that I was working with family, grandparents, my dad.
You know not making money.
Just going in and helping.
So I've been working a lot longer than you have.
And like I said there's nothing wrong with that.
Because what you were doing was a different type of work.
Like unpaid work.
But it was still in my opinion work.
Because you were putting in the effort.
(43:00):
You were doing the training.
And you were going out on the weekends.
So it's very it's different kinds of work.
But I still consider what you were doing a valuable situation.
Not like oh well you didn't work.
You were so lucky.
Because you were like you you were.
But anyway.
I was lucky though that I had I had people that were able.
Because it cost money.
And I'm not trying to be a millionaire or nothing.
(43:22):
But I know when you play travel while you pay to play.
Yeah.
I rarely paid to play.
Yeah.
I was I was pretty good.
Yeah.
So I.
Until you blew out both your knees.
And then my dad had such.
And then you were still really good.
And then but my dad had connections too.
And a lot of people knew like that he didn't work.
(43:43):
Yeah.
So it kind of just went into this like I really didn't pay to play.
Like pay to work.
Was it his fault that he didn't work?
Let's let's clarify that.
Yeah he got hurt.
Yeah he got hurt at work.
So.
Regardless.
Okay.
Off track.
So.
Way off track.
So.
I think that what we were trying to get into was.
(44:05):
As far as like cost goes.
It was just a it was a it was a stressor between the two of us.
And I like to tell you a little different on that aspect of.
I was thinking nickels and dimes.
Nickels and pennies.
Yeah.
And he was thinking twenty dollars.
Yeah.
And I was like no.
(44:25):
I mean no.
And so that would become a stressor because.
We had to really.
It would be like okay well if I go get this one small thing.
Of x, y, and z.
It's not that big of a deal.
And I'm like but yes it is.
Because then you're gonna get that.
And then you're gonna get something else.
And then you're gonna get something else.
And it all adds up.
And it snowballs.
So that was also something that we.
(44:48):
I was I was a stressor when it comes to that kind of stuff.
Hard.
So I think it's something where you and your partner can't be afraid.
Because I've and this is something that I feel like.
I feel like communication is key.
But I also know finances can be one of the biggest stressors for couples.
Way over your percent.
And I think that this has really shown us that.
(45:11):
We're gonna be okay when it comes to finances in the long run.
Because we've been no money.
Lots of money.
Yeah.
And I think we still.
He's finally kind of getting like.
I'm a future.
Yeah.
Money person.
Like I'm gonna like.
Okay.
If I don't spend this.
Then I'm gonna have it.
For when we need it.
For X, Y, and Z.
For the future.
(45:32):
For rent.
For car payments.
Yeah.
And I've had to understand him a little bit more.
And I've tried to be a little more waxed too.
When it comes to certain.
She has.
Yeah.
But sometimes he has to back me up.
And sometimes I have to back him up.
100 percent.
So you know.
Obviously work is a big thing for us.
And we touched a little bit on work.
(45:54):
But our schedules were kind of.
A big stressor for us too.
We had to.
You know.
Whenever I was doing a lot of contract work.
For the Witkowski company.
Which was my marketing and non-profit company.
Or my marketing and communications company.
We.
There would be times that.
I would sleep during the day.
(46:15):
And work at night.
Because I'm a night owl.
And that became a real stressor for us.
Because Gracie was sleeping at night.
And awake during the day.
And I was sleeping during the day.
And awake at night.
So we were.
So mad.
Yeah it was.
It was tough.
I've finally gotten to the point.
Where I don't do that.
Now there are still times.
(46:35):
Where I can't sleep.
And I will maybe do some work.
But I still remain in bed.
Instead of getting up.
And going to the living room.
And working at the dinette.
Because we don't have a dinette anymore.
And Gracie's office space.
Is Gracie's office space.
And I try to respect that.
And not really take up her space.
Or use her space.
Just out of respect for her.
And her.
You can use my space.
(46:57):
I know I can.
But just the fact that.
Again going back to what we were saying earlier.
About having like our own spaces.
I try to respect that for you.
Like there are times.
Like I'll sit in your office chair.
To watch TV or something.
But as far as like using your desk.
And try and cluttering it up.
You can always use my desk.
I know I can you sweet little girl.
(47:17):
You made it for me.
I did.
I did.
It was very very.
And I drilled a hole through the slide.
But that's the renovation story.
For the renovation episode.
But and then another thing.
That was kind of a stressor for us.
But also a positive in the long run.
Was the work schedule change.
Due to time zone.
(47:38):
You know we had to really stay on top of that.
And it wasn't a stressor.
Like to the point where.
That was a positive.
I will always say that was a positive.
But it could be stressful.
When we were trying to figure out like.
Not necessarily stressful.
Because we were frustrated with each other.
But just stressful in general.
Trying to remember like.
Hey we're in a different time zone now.
Instead of working nine to five.
(48:00):
I'm working eight to four.
Or seven to three.
So it was a big adjustment for us.
I think it was a bigger adjustment for Gracie.
And but again.
Like she said.
She loved it.
She was the biggest fan of it.
It was positive though.
Because I was able to get off early.
Like I went in earlier.
Which sucked in the morning.
(48:20):
But like I got off earlier.
Which I loved.
Yeah because we were able to do more things.
We were able to.
Because a lot of you know events and stuff.
Will end at five six o'clock.
And with Gracie getting off at 5 30.
We didn't really have time.
When we were still in eastern zone.
But whenever we got into central.
And mountain time.
(48:40):
That mountain time.
Oh yeah.
Phenomenal roll.
You love that.
You were getting off at 3 30.
We were able to.
Oh god that was so nice.
Able to take 30 minutes to.
For you to decompress.
And then hit the road.
Go do what we wanted to do.
That was so so nice.
So.
But I think that leads us to.
Our very last point.
Kind of wrapping everything up.
(49:02):
And bringing it to a conclusion.
Is the golden rule.
And this was actually a rule.
That Gracie had proposed.
And really put in place.
So I'll let her talk a little bit about it.
When Tyler.
We've talked about this.
When Tyler proposed this whole idea.
Going into an RV.
And selling the house and everything.
She thought that was crazy.
(49:22):
I was like oh shit.
This is going to end terribly.
We're going to hate it.
And I was very skeptical about this.
So.
This rule was something we agreed on.
And we still agree on it to today.
Yes.
Is we are completely honest with each other.
Especially when it comes to.
Wanting to not be in an RV anymore.
(49:43):
Yeah.
So if one of us gets to the point.
Where we don't want to be in one.
We want to start potentially looking for a house.
Or something else.
Then we tell each other.
And we will discuss it.
And figure out what our best options are together.
And how to move forward.
Currently this has not happened yet.
I will tell you.
(50:03):
This has been something that's on my mind.
Because Tyler.
I know this is not something that.
He's really full fledged mentioned yet.
But.
He has started his new job.
As a realtor.
It's at a real estate office.
Oh yeah.
We haven't told people about that.
Oh yeah.
Because that just happened like a week ago.
Oh my gosh.
So real quick.
(50:24):
I started as a realtor.
Last week.
With my family business.
Art Skipper Realty.
Art Skipper was my uncle.
And that company is now ran by my aunt Sally.
Uncle Art passed away.
Late last year in August.
And it was very hard for all of us.
(50:44):
Uncle Art and Aunt Sally were like grandparents to me growing up.
So being able to get into the company.
And really help bring it to.
Keeping his legacy alive.
And hopefully taking it to the next level.
Is something that's really really super important for me.
So.
Yeah.
So go ahead.
Continue.
Well.
(51:04):
So.
If you know now.
If you've listened to our podcast.
You know that Tyler has this.
Go big.
Go home mentality.
And so.
It's kind of in someone that's.
Just lurking in the back.
That he will start selling homes.
And potentially.
See one that he's like.
I just.
(51:25):
I think it's perfect.
I don't wanna.
I wanna buy it.
And.
Not for us to move into.
No.
He'll sit here and say that.
But I.
I.
I feel like.
Eventually it's gonna happen.
No.
But.
He says.
Look he says no.
But you never.
Love RV.
I'm just saying.
I've.
I just.
I know him.
And it's just something that's there.
(51:45):
And that's okay.
But I have a feeling.
That it may potentially.
Come out.
We'll see what happens.
Um.
But.
You haven't even told him what my idea is yet.
You're just.
You're just.
You're just straight up.
Tearing me down.
I already told you.
Beating me up.
Wah wah wah.
He thinks renovating houses is a good idea.
Flipping houses.
Please tell him it's not.
(52:05):
Because people just.
Tell me it is.
Sink money into that stuff.
They do.
But.
They also make a shit ton of money.
It's not.
We don't want limitism.
We don't know nothing about.
Contracting.
That's why we would hire contractors.
We don't know nothing.
No.
Then you're losing even more money.
But you're still.
Like once you get that place back up.
(52:26):
But.
Thirty thousand dollars.
If you invest in it.
Just on the high end.
Can add an extra.
Fifty to a hundred thousand.
You know.
So.
Either way.
That's completely irrelevant to this podcast.
Because if we do start that.
Then that's a whole nother conversation.
That we can have for a podcast episode.
And additional social media content.
(52:47):
That everybody can watch.
But.
And again.
Like Gracie was saying.
Our golden rule.
At the end of the day.
Is to be honest with each other.
To really.
Tell each other.
And that's not just.
You know.
Like she mentioned.
About.
You know.
That rule.
For us to.
Be honest with each other.
(53:07):
If we wanted to stop RVing.
But it's about everything.
We've really had to implement that into our life.
That honesty is key.
Being sure that we're telling each other.
The things that the other person needs to know.
And really everything.
But obviously there are some things like.
You know.
Surprises for the other one.
That we can't tell each other until it comes.
(53:29):
But.
That brings us to the end of the relation trip.
And we have arrived at our destination.
Still have that name.
Yes.
It is so good.
So.
We just want to say.
Thank you for listening.
You guys are awesome.
Everybody who tunes in every month.
Everybody who tunes in.
You know.
Every couple of months.
Or for our new people who are tuning in.
(53:51):
Just thank you for listening.
We really.
Really appreciate you.
Gracie and I love doing this.
Because it gives us something to do together.
Yes.
It gives us an opportunity.
To really just chat and talk.
And bullshit.
So it's fun.
But.
Like always.
We love you.
So much.
Bye.
(54:36):
Until next time.
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Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Dateline NBC
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