When an individual or a family wants to save more money, they often reduce spending by cutting cable, eating more home-cooked meals, or selling used belongings at a garage sale. However, Christopher Armstrong had an unconventional approach to saving money—the BYU Marriott marketing alum and current Google employee lived out of a moving truck for a year to save on rent.
“I did it all for financial independence,” says Armstrong. “Now is the best time of my life to make sacrifices that will pay off in dividends in the future.”
Armstrong got the idea from a blog written by a Google employee who lived in a truck while working near San Francisco. The fellow Googler outlined his entire plan including the overall costs, savings, pros, and cons of living “homeless.” Armstrong decided if he ever transferred to the Bay Area while working for Google that he’d consider doing the same thing; sure enough, a year after taking a job with the internet giant, Armstrong transferred to California.
Because of his frugal nature, Armstrong believed that a year living out of a moving truck would offer far more benefits than disadvantages. This venture also served as a good start to Armstrong’s savings for his early retirement plan.
So how did he do it?
Armstrong purchased a moving truck a month after moving to California. Following his purchase, he moved out of the apartment he was staying in and set up a yearlong plan. “All I needed was a bed,” he says. “I’d be working on Google’s campus until 6 or 7 p.m., then spend time with friends, and then I’d go to the truck to sleep.”
Though there were challenges, including a couple months’ worth of cold nights and no space to have friends over, Armstrong’s yearlong pursuit of homelessness saved him thousands of dollars. “I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he says.
Armstrong’s long-term pursuits include building up his savings, retiring from the corporate world in his early thirties, investing in venture capital or starting up his own company, and traveling the world with his family à la the Bucket List Family. By giving up electricity, running water, and air conditioning for a year, Armstrong moved one step closer to achieving these goals.
Though Armstrong says he would do the past year over again, he’s moved on to bigger and better things at Google. Armstrong now works as an account manager for nonprofits in Washington, DC, with the LDS Church being his biggest account.
“Google has never had an LDS Church member work on this account before,” he says. “This is my favorite job I’ve had at Google so far because I’m able to help the church reach people through digital means.”
Whether it’s living in a moving truck or consulting with LDS apostles, Armstrong lives a life full of adventure and takes sacrifices now to live his dream life in the future.
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Writer: Sydney Zenger
