My van's "Check Engine" light came on, once upon a time. Many dollars later, after several mechanics has slavishly looked at the diagnostic computer for hours and needlessly replaced various sensors, a clever mechanic found that the wiring harness had been rubbing a bolt and the outer insulation had been worn off, thus shorting a couple wires. I could have spared myself all this by poking around the engine compartment with a flashlight, and eliminating the rubbing with a few cents of tape.
O Woe! Rig maintenance is no small expense to an RVer. It puts you at the mercy of repair shops who see your out-of-state plates.
But if the School of Hard Knocks is not the ideal education for an independent lifestyle, what is? I'm not talking about "How to be an RVer 101" workshops. Long ago I read a book about early retirement that asserted that the ideal education was high school shop class cum Shakespeare. Perhaps the author meant that blue collar skills would solve practical problems less expensively, and liberal arts would make free moments interesting.
Good advice, but I hate automobile repair. How about just driving less? Grab your car keys and you set off a chain reaction of expenses, and not just for gasoline! Why do we drive so much, anyway? Isn't it just for entertainment? We think we need stimulation and entertainment every second of the day. We feel an ever-present itch that seems easiest to scratch by driving somewhere, buying something...
Of all the do-it-yourself skills that can save money, cooking is the most important. I envy people who feel no desire to eat out.
Most people get no education in investing money. It is scandalous that a trillion dollars of education money somehow overlooks this issue. Isn't doing your investment homework a better use of the day for a retiree than cable network news, crossword puzzles, or household trivia?
In our modern age the liberal arts seem effete and useless. We go to college to learn a profession and chase a "career" in some pathetic cubicle. Dilbert with a college diploma.
If it seems difficult to spell out what the ideal educations is, perhaps an alternative lifestyle and its self-education are the same thing.
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