At 24 years old, Cortni Armstrong found herself sleeping in her office.
One year earlier, shed been a fresh college grad.
She wanted a career in radio and was hopeful about the radio station her dad was investing in.
The living and dining area inside a 2009 Montana RV remodeled by Cortni Armstrong. Photo courtesy of Cortni Armstrong
But two months after her dad signed the papers, he had a stroke.
Thats how she ended up sleeping (or rather, trying to sleep) in her office.
But she knew pretty quickly it wouldnt be sustainable.
Armstrong turned to a family friend, who managed a KOA campground, for help.
He happened to know someone who was selling his fifth-wheel RV.
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The seller was willing to let Armstrong make payments on the RV.
She got free parking at the KOA in exchange for working the front desk a few hours a week.
On April 21, 2014, Armstrong moved into her first fifth wheel.
She felt like she had reached rock bottom.
At first, I was embarrassed about it, said Armstrong, now 28.
As I was purging and getting rid of all of this stuff, I felt lighter.
Her first year in the RV provided more than just a purge of extra possessions.
Turns out, most RVs come standard with floral couches, dingy blue carpeting and wall-to-wall wood cabinets.
Thats how she had the idea to renovate one.
If she couldnt find one that looked like home, shed make it one.
And in July 2015, she renovated her first fixer-upper, a 2006 Sedona fifth wheel.
That fifth wheel was such a game changer for me, she said.
It was my safe space.
It was the first unit that I chose the lifestyle in.
Armstrong was finally able to shed her heaviest emotional possessions, too.
She transferred ownership of her dads radio station and sold the festival.
The Business of Flipping RVs
Armstrong got her resale license and has flipped 28 RVs for profit.
She has also been living and traveling in RVs full time for over four years.
She rents a workshop with an acre of property that shes quickly outgrowing.
There are currently six RVs on the property.
She flips RVs during the year and travels for two to three months during winters.
She calls them turn and burns.
Some of my favorites Ive barely vacuumed the carpet, she said.
But some are deceptively needy one required so much work she barely broke even.
Jen Smith is a former staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
She gives money-saving and debt-payoff tips on Instagram at @savingwithspunk.
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