Money and insurance

imported
#1

How do people keep health insurance coverage and what are they doing for employment during the winter when they are doing the long trails and triple crowning. I am trying to fiqure out how I can do it.

coolerking

#2

As retirees we have insurance and don’t work when we get back home. I know, not any help for you.

I am still wondering which I would do first if I were young and just starting out: marriage, family, mortgage and hike after retirement or hike then get on with other goals.

I didn’t backpack until after retirement. I think had I tried it when I was 20 I wouldn’t have ever gotten around to all the conventional life activities.

Marcia

#3

I would like to know how to make it a lifestyle, too.

As for me, I had a really good job for about 10 years and saved up a lot of cash. I quit to go hiking. I quit because I did not want to go back to the company.

After the hike the economy was in shambles and now jobs are hard to find. Now I’m skating along on a couple of part time and temp jobs and trying to live so frugally that I don’t use much of my savings (my temp jobs don’t quite pay the rent).

I paid for COBRA for a little while and then I went for a few months without insurance and now, as soon as the paperwork is completed, I’ll be on my partner’s policy.

I kind of like the non-career lifestyle. I like forgetting about my job when I come home and I like not having to make some dumb job the center of my life just to survive. How to make that last, I do not know. It’s crazy, but ever since I lived on the trail, homeless doesn’t even scare me into working so hard again.

Piper

#4

To figure out how, or if, you can make a life style of long distance hiking you have to figure out what your yearly needs are and a form of income to pay for them. It really depends on your specific situation and it usually means budgeting to some extent.

Your needs could include a certain standard of living, paying rent/your mortgage, having health insurance, owning a car, cell phone, food (on and off trail), eating out (on & off tr), paying utilities, taking care of your family, school, your hiking gear, other hobbies, and what ever else is important to you.

For me income is the challenging part and it means cutting bills and expenses down to a minimum. It helps to get creative both in cutting expenses and making money. During the off season I sometimes work multiple jobs, I constantly scan job postings for temporary work. Self employment can be good if it’s the type that lets you get away for part of the year. So I basically do odd jobs. I also don’t have health insurance because of prior experiences with health insurance not working out (though i’m not recommending that for someone else). I used to not have a car but now I drive a beeter. I keep my rent as low as possible and don’t eat out that much.

But there are different ways of doing it. It helps to have a home that is paid for, an overly supportive significant other, income producing assets, retirement savings, a rich uncle, or some other factor that gets your needs matched to your income.

banjoboy (hikermiker)

#5

One of the best results of a hiker lifestyle is our low impact on the earth. Our acquisition of material goods, our list of wants versus needs, decreases. Hiking is when my ecological awareness started.

“It’s crazy, but ever since I lived on the trail, homeless doesn’t even scare me into working so hard again.” Funny in a skewed way, but I agree.

Marcia

#6

haven’t had insurance for the past 31 years, as for work?? you mean you’re not unemployed yet???
actually if you want to hike don’t worry about anything else, just go hike everything else will fall into place

neighbor

#7

Check out ‘Peace Pilgim’ - the first female AT thru-hiker ('52). After her AT hike she walked across the U.S. 7 times over a period of 28 years without a penny (or a backpack or a sleeping bag…) She’s got to be the ultimate example in modern history of someone literally dropping everything and walking on ‘faith.’

Happy Trails, freebird

freebird

#8

Since we’re all millionaires here in Connecticut its not really a problem, however if you do find yourself studying the sex life of the under-employed New England carpenter for the winter, live frugally, and have empathetic family members dose you with sympathy as you sulk about waiting to hike out again. And cheap major medical.

fishngame

#9

I don’t have it either. I guess I just take 1 day at time and not worry about it too much. Brad has had some health issues ( non hiking ) that have cost ALOT…but, he is hard to insure cuz he has had cancer. We live pretty simply… so that helps. In Alaska we still have the out house thing going on. … although we did get a water tank so we can shower now !..1550 gallons of water baby… how sweet it is !flaundering around outside in the winter searching for the outhouse…for some wierd reason I like it.

yappy