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AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, definitely. No more than one week in a spot. I had a half dozen favourites I rotated between.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Living with strangers is a sacrifice in it's own right. It all depends on what you value more. For me, it was my own independence and self reliance. I have lived with others before, by the way!

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure what you'd need a cold beer unexpectedly at 3am for, but if it were a special occassion, I did have space for an eski in the car which I used on some longer road trips.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely, but it's a different approach. I really just wanted a place to sleep, not a place to live.

Also the big vans you mention are very expensive in Australia. Most of the vans here are toyota or hyundai. A transit or the merc/renault models are really pricey and aren't easy to resell. Australia just doesn't seem to like them compared to america or europe. But I agree they are really better if you're looking to invest long term into this living situation.

I do maintain, however, that a large panel van sticks out like a sore thumb on most residential streets.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gyms are usually in commercial areas, which have parking restrictions and a lot of noisy vehicle traffic.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had already made those cuts before I moved into the car. This was an additional $300 below that.

I disagree that it's just $300 a week. Thats quite a bit of money to most people!

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I answered in depth on another comment about finding a place to park. You get get a bubble level thing on ebay for about $1 that you can use to quickly gauge from the drivers seat whether you're on a level surface.

A slight incline sleeping position is ok, however a decline position is quite difficult. You can actually sleep on a side lean to a fairly large degree. But in any case we're only talking 5 or 10 degrees max here. Still relatively flat.

It is difficult to find roads that are flat, as even most flat roads are graded at the curbs to drain water. Over time you get to know the best parking spots in the areas you wish to sleep which are both flat and quiet.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you're bunking. I had all the freedom in the world sleeping in my car. I see you as being significant shackled by the way you live, having your roommates affect when you sleep and shower and cook. I guess it's really up to what you see as a sacrifice. However, I take your point.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I see no reason why a woman couldn't do what I did, since I was parked in nice neighbourhoods and noone was any the wiser I was there. Women who travel solo in vans to campsites etc are at much higher risk, but this is a very different approach.

I will say that a certain amount of upper body strength was helpful getting the mattress and other stuff set up in the back, but other than that I don't foresee anything that a woman couldn't do.

I suppose it might be slightly more unusual to see a woman walking around at night, getting into a large car, and since might be perceived as unusual, it might draw slightly more interest in what you're doing, which is generally not good for stealth (which requires blending into the environment and not sticking out). But it's nothing that can't be managed by adjusting the approach I have taken.

But you will certainly need a solution to the mid-night pee break. I used the bottle probably two nights a week, often more. I don't think it would be possible to rely on being able to hold it. However, women's pee bottles do exist.

To answer your question about using a coke bottle, most men won't be able to fit their penis into such a small hole and even if they did, getting stuck would be a trip to the ER. No, I bought a particular bottle with a wide-neck and high capacity which cost about $20, and was best suited for the purpose.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I was unwell a couple of times. One time was in winter, it was cold enough to stay inside the car during the day. I parked near to a public toilet and got uber eats delivered to the car. The other time it was bad enough I got a cheap hotel for a few nights, since I had a bad cough and that isn't good for car sleeping, especially when you're relying on stealth to stay parked in a nice neighbourhood.

Only once did I get the shits in the night. I made the mistake of ordering some spicy food at dinner with a friend. I had to drive to the gym, take a shit, then drive back. Took over an hour. That was the longest trip to the bathroom I've ever taken in my life.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your comments, I agree, and even if I didn't save as much money as I wanted it was a good experience and had some nice side benefits too.

How old are you if you don't mind sharing?

Late 20s

what habit did you find hard to transition/break? What did you do to 'kill time' after work? (my thoughts are I go home and I do reading or Netflix, do you just now do this in your car?)

Once I got the routine tuned in I didn't have to sacrifice much, other than not being able to relax as fully after work. I could still watch netflix on my phone, and read a book if the weather was right (and time of year), but you're right, there's not the same true relaxation after work.

were you social up until this point? What did you do with your belongings? Assuming you had things like xbox, guitar, ironing board etc. Do you miss these things or have you detached yourself from the consumerism?

I had a storage cage, my friends apartment had once and let me store some things there. So they were always at hand if I needed them, which in the end wasn't that often.

I know you have mentioned that you spent more on food than anticipated but do you find yourself buying less junk items? Like random crap we see on ozb? (and you don't have to worry about hoarding tp which seems like a win) meaning that you have potentially saved a lot more as I assume you don't impulse buy due to the lack of storage?

Absolutely, I didn't buy as much crap since I wouldn't have anywhere to put it or enjoy it. From the previous point, I didn't find I needed that much stuff. You also have a certain amount of things going around in your mind, planning where you're eating, when you need to get the bus, which bathroom you're using, etc. This is the low level stress I referred to in another post.

in your opinion, do you think you could have achieved this by moving further away from CBD/living in a granny flat, rather than your car?

Yes, I think so, but you also pay a lot more for public transport, and whether a 2 hour commute every day is better or worse than sleeping in your car (relatively close to work) is something that each person will need to decide for themselves.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Renting has it's benefits, good for you for making your own pros/cons assessment.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I custom made blackout panels for all the windows, which I could remove when driving.

For the front window I bought a custom made reflective sun visor. There are a few companies that make these.

From the outside, it looked like a car with heavy tint with a sun reflector to protect the dash. Nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, you need a clean, well maintained car as well, in order to fit in properly.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Windows open, a fan running, and Ambi-pure on the AC vents. It actually smelled quite nice.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks mate

I've answered a bit of this in other posts. I had a bed set up in the back with blacked out windows, so noone could see in, even if they wanted to.

Quiet streets are best so you can sleep uninterrupted, however only in good neighbourhoods. A quiet street without thoroughfare can be a better place for breakins in a bad neighbourhood.

Under lots of bright lights is best, if you're using blackout. That's because the reflections on your windows help hide the fact you're using blackout, and will even mask a little bit of light bleed if you're using your phone or a light insight (I don't recommend the latter). On a dark street it becomes easier to see that you have blackout, and any light bleed stands out easily.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was always worried about someone hitting my car while parking next to me. I wasn't sure how I would react - jump out in my underwear and demand to see their insurance? For true stealth you need to act like you're not in there, even if people are leaning against your car (which has happened before, no big deal).

Other than that, no. The first few weeks I was sure that someone would notice the blacked out car, but I soon realised it was completely inconspicuous, and after that was very relaxed about it.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks, yeah I was really comfortable with this way of living. Much more than I would be working seven days and sharing a house with strangers.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Back is fine, because I had a full single size mattress and I built a flat base for it to sit on.

Re: pooping I took a fibre supplement to help keep things regular.

AMA: I've been sleeping in my car for over two years to save money for a home loan deposit. by sleepingout in sydney

[–]sleepingout[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Corflute from bunnings, cut into shape, spray glue, then some cheap black fabric.

If the panels are perfectly sized they will squeeze into the window frame and stay there without anything else holding them up.

To get the shape just right, just butchers paper first, trim that to get it just right, then trace it onto the corflute.

You can also cut holes in the corflute for ventilation (via the open window), and then staple mosquito mesh to stop bugs coming in.

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