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by mattmanser 2855 days ago
It means he lives very frugally.

"Earn a badge" comes from a kids club called scouts where you earn a badge that you sow on your shirt for mastering a skill or doing certain things:

https://www.scouting.org/programs/boy-scouts/advancement-and...

So he's joking about earning a badge of being a hippy. Rubber tramp means live in a van (presumably a VW camper van).