The consumer education system has conditioned you to think in terms of products, you need to step back in ask bigger questions to find more interesting and sustainable answers. For example, the question, *should I buy this camera?* has no good answer without first asking *how to I create photos that make me happy?* It may be that some particular camera really does help in that quest, but more likely, it doesn't. More likely what you need to learn is technique and acquire skills like composition and reading light.

These too are things that can be commodified, write a tutorial, wrap it in advertisements. Write a tutorial, mention gear, link to it with affiliate links. The latter of these is too me, the least offensive provided it is done well and honestly, e.g. not linking to the Lieca Q2 only because it's super expensive and earns you a bunch of money if anyone buys it. It's also not well known, but Ebay has an affiliate program as well, which means you can link to earn money off of second hand purchases, which I think it wonderful. Most of the affiliate links on this site go to Ebay searches for whatever the item may be. There are very few things I suggest buying brand new, though ironically in the context of this article, digital cameras are one of them.



Takeaways to reduce travel spending:
    * better planning means more boondocking and less money on camping 
    * change of diet from mexico means less on food
        - no more sausage for breakfast
        - more tortillas, less bread for lunches
            + bread is special occassions
        - use oat/rice flour from bulk bins for pancakes
        - shop mexican markets, asian markets
        - go meatless twice a week
        - drop organic/grass fed, eat less of it
    * having propane fridge would mean less trips for ice, longer away from money spending opportunities
    * doing bucket laundry to get by, with full laundry once a month would do the same (again, fewer money spending opportunities)
    * no more lenses, amazon orders, ever.
    * use local libraries
    * have corrinne get meds down here.
    * start with forays into mexico, but gradually reverse -- here becomes our home base with forays into the states
    
    * how much less? Don't know but I think we could do 
        - $1200/month groceries
        - $500/month camping (if we go over, better hole up and boondock)
        - $400/month gas (if we're headed over, better hole up)
        - $500/month repairs and incidentals
    * So at reliable $3000 a month we can get by pretty much anywhere
        - Need the ability to take a serious breakdown and keep going, what does that look like?
        - maybe $5000- $8000 savings for repairs

The real question becomes, how deep should our savings be for bus repairs?
Or should we take what we know, downsize our vehicle and get even further out there?
    - What would that take? 
        * initial outlay for vehicle -- $5000
        * restoration and outfitting -- $9000
    - What could we sell the bus for?
        * Maybe $13,000?