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Bionca Smith is a single mom who completely uprooted her life in San Francisco to live on the road with her young son, Carter. She is now homeschooling him through Connections Academy and the two of them travel around the U.S. in a van. At first Bionca was worried about the effect of van living on Carter but she feels the experience has been incredibly positive for him. His reading levels have skyrocketed and now they get to spend quality time together every day.
You’ll love Bionca and her courage to change her life.
We also chat about…
- The Facebook post that catapulted Bionca on this journey
- How to talk to your child about alternative living and van life
- How homeschooling on the road works
- Bionca’s upbringing and how that shaped who she is today
- Making friends on the road
- Buying a van and the specific van she has
- How van life gives you a different perspective on homelessness
She was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Bionca, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!
Show notes and links from today’s episode
- Bionca’s Website
- Bionca’s Instagram
- Bionca on Facebook
- Connections Academy – Carter’s homeschool
- Off the Grid with a Kid on YouTube
- RVtrader.com
Key takeaways from our chat with Bionca Smith
1 – Van living has been a positive influence on her son
Carter was bullied at school and he struggled with reading. Bionca had a busy job and by the time they got home, ate dinner, showered, and got through their nightly routine – she had little time to help him with his school work nor spend quality time with him.
Now, they are together 24/7 on the road, his reading has massively improved through homeschooling, and Carter is loving the experience.
He is much more passionate about reading and his education. Connections Academy offers more flexibility to follow his interests than traditional school.
Bionca is so glad that they decided to try out van living.
2 – You need to prepare for how your kid will react to van living
Bionca wasn’t sure how much input to give Carter both in the decision to go on the road and the decision to stay on the road.
What if she asked him if he was interested in van living and he said no?
What if they got on the road and he hated it and wanted to go home right away?
Bionca encourages parents to think through how they would react if either of those situations happen ahead of time.
She also recommends that parents remember that as the parent, they can make the decision to pursue what lifestyle they think is best for the child.
3 – Put yourself out there to make friends on the road
Bionca is a naturally outgoing person and she finds that they make friends on the road wherever they go.
Carter and her son are super active on social media too and use that to make friends.
She is careful though about revealing their location for safety reasons. She often YouTubes about a place after she has left.
4 – The less money you spend, the better your journey becomes
Bionca had champagne taste and she recently shed that for van life.
She believes that frugality breeds creativity, happiness and connection.
She actually thinks it would take away from her experience if she spent more money.
Thanks to Our Episode Sponsor: Peti Morgan of The Leveraged Mama
Peti Morgan is The Leveraged Mama. She helps mamas find financial freedom through conscious, clever and creative money management. You can find her at https://leveragedmama.com or email her at peti@leveragedmama.com.
- Get her FREE debt reduction cheat sheet: leveragedmama.com/firedrill
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Peti @ The Leveraged Mama says
What a fantastic story Bionca has – there’s something so appealing about selling up and going on the road! I like that she just got creative and made it happen – no obstacle too large. The perfect role model for the author of a book about overcoming obstacles 🙂