Why I Ditched [wait, should I?] Kickstarter

I have the audio ready to go and several minutes of supporting video footage for what I think could be a pretty great Kickstarter presentation. It’s just a matter of final edits, sorting out the rewards to donors, posting, and spreading the word. It’s been like this for at least two months. But I’m stuck.

Originally drawn to Kickstarter by all of the successfully funded vegan AND travel type of projects posted, I thought it was a sure fire way to find financial support for my trip. I’ve also had several friends encourage me to post a project to Kickstarter too, as a way to support the financial burdens associated with such an epic adventure.

On one hand, it would be a dream come true to have a good chunk of money raised before heading out on the trip. On the other hand, I’m going to essentially be living and working on the road. This is, after all, a complete lifestyle change. It’s not an extended vacation and it’s not going to be all play and no work. If anything, it’s going to be a higher stress period of my life: mapping out the route, restaurants, scheduling interviews, writing blog posts, updating social media, following up with restaurant owners and vegan business owners, creating video updates, editing video and audio interviews, finding places to park, finding places to sleep, finding time to drive between restaurants/states, alerting friends and other vegan organizations of my arrival, keeping track of recommendations that are coming in via email, Twitter, and Facebook. Oh yeah, and I’ll need to find time to actually work. You know, to earn that money. Phew!

For the sake of complete disclosure (and so you can help me figure out what to do!): my one steady client has changed their needs and I’ll now be making roughly $800/month (maybe a little more) instead of what was $2,000/month. And right now my non-travel related expenses are about $1,800/month..sometimes more. I AM actively working on other income streams but for the time being… well, I’m panicking a little because I’ve still got to secure a bunch of things before knowing if these other income streams I’m working on will shake out. A while back I figured that the trip expenses alone will be roughly $10,000 for the year (between gas and food). So, if what I’m making now only covers my current living expenses….ugh. Although, I’ll no longer be paying rent… so that money will now go into the trip. Essentially, I might just barely make it, if none of my other revenue streams work out.

So, you can see how it would take a load of stress off knowing there’s a bit of a financial cushion there. But I’m having trouble justifying it since I will be working and essentially earning what I hope to be a livable income while on the road. So the hope is that I will be able to afford all of the related expenses.

Anyway, I’m feeling a bit torn about it. I’m still on the fence. But I suppose that’s why I’ve created a donation button on the site for those who are interested in supporting the trip in this way. And of course, there are other ways to support the trip as well.

But I don’t know. What do you think? Should I go ahead and give Kickstarter a try or suck it up and dig deep for what’s sure to be a unique life lesson in financial planning and management?