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Old 07-20-2007, 02:40 AM   #41
richfaa
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unfortunately the availability of Finances (Money) determines just about everything we do and everything we buy. At least that is the way it works for us.If whatever we wish to do falls within the limits of the resources we have..we do it.If not we do not do it or we find ways to supplement our income to make it happen. The cost of fuel, utilities, food, services, campground fees, insurances and every other thing we purchase falls into that financial equation.Since we began our great adventure in Dec of 06 we have traveled about 18K miles. A review of our all over expenditures to date indicated that we can not continue to use our available resources at the rate we have been IF we wish to continue our great adventure. We have made adjustments. The adventure will continue, We will continue to review on a ongoing basis. We will make adjustments as necessary. That system works for us. Whatever works for others is fine. Oil opened at 75.92 per barrel this AM, Gas at 2.19 per gallon.That affects the the price of every single thing WE purchase..
 
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Old 07-20-2007, 03:27 AM   #42
dsprik
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Rich, I was going to add last night (but I had a long day and I almost fell asleep at the keyboard):

~ Late Edit of last post: However, we are not stupid (arguably). We are leaving Yorkton, SK for the Rally. Mapquest routed us through Winnipeg and gradually eased us down out of Canada towards Goshen. Wrong! I like Canada, but at a $1.00(?) per gal more for diesel than in the US, I am making a STRAIGHT shot for the US border THEN over to Goshen. Won't have price of diesel dictate where I go - just how I get there.

We do not have unlimited supply of money either, as most here don't. Workamping, or whatever, may be necessary to get me where I want to go. I agree with Rich in that money has to dictate (and always will) how and when we get to our dreams. However, NOTHING should ever dictate IF we get to our dreams. Nothing wrong with getting a new dream, either...

IN OTHER WORDS... You had better be willing to fight for your dreams and keep the Faith, but you have to be flexible regarding the path. I have found from personal experience (recently) that your path may NOT be God's path to your goals and dreams, but it always ends up better than you could have imagined.
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Old 07-20-2007, 04:20 AM   #43
richfaa
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And believe me when I say that Dave and Cheryl are fine examples of doing what needed to be done to realize the dream. Most other folks would have given up..I guess what gets me is that most everyone picks on the price of fuel as the SOLE determining factor " Won't let the price of fuel bother me" It is NOT just the fuel price..It is Everything.. The big finanical picture folks..Our great adventure will continue we will review, modify, adapt, and adjust to conditions as they are ever changing..
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Old 07-20-2007, 07:35 AM   #44
DonandBonnie
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For us full timing is still the way to go, no mortgage payment, no property taxes, etc. Yes, we will have to pay the costs associated with the Montana, but we will not be paying double. We will also be able to choose a home base (South Dakota?) that will save us money.
Full timing will give us some additional cash that can go into the fuel tank rather than into a piece of property. When the price of fuel gets too high we will just slow down a bit and spend a little more time at each location we visit.
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Old 07-20-2007, 08:01 AM   #45
simonsrf
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A suggestion:

We are new to fulltiming, but when we started we knew there would be changes in our lifestyle and we needed to be flexible in learning how to do it to suit our needs. We are in the process of remedying any loose ends to survive this lifestyle. We have learned the following in our short 10-month journey.

If you own a mortgage, you are not a fulltimer. We are in the process of selling our house, as a rental, the mortgage got paid, but tax advantage wise, we can only rent for 2 years…it has to go.

If you pay utility bills, you are not a fulltimer. We paid upfront for solar installed on the Montana, we are off the grid, and use boondocking to stretch the budget. We love to boondock, but that is NOT for everyone…there is some sacrifices, but we like our small carbon footprint and the freedom to be able to stay anywhere without fees for up to 14 days at a time.

If you have to store possessions in a storage facility, you are not a fulltimer. We just bought a cargo trailer that will be stored at my brother’s house in California. (half-way between WA and AZ). Yep, once the pictures are scanned, and we get rid of the sentimental stuff, the trailer will be sold.

If you pay campground fees daily, you should consider one of the camping clubs…we pay $1 or $8 per day when necessary, we don’t need the half-price PA, yet. We prefer to boondock. Monthly rental is also an option, less diesel spent, and the ability to get to know the new country, culture, and people of the area. That is our reason for traveling.

If you worry about the price of diesel, you are not a fulltimer. We traveled a total of 10,000 miles in 10 months. Our plan is to curtail that some, but we do stretch out the days by only traveling 200 miles on travel days and staying at least 3 days…well, that is the plan, not always able to adhere, but we try. Usually, when boondocking, we stay much longer…thus, stretching the diesel price. We find that staying put makes our budget work.

Research on the internet really helps. We find free campgrounds, cheaper goods and services, cheaper fuel prices, and we learn all about the area before we get there, it is real nice to be prepared.

When we see people who are traveling all those many miles and complaining about the cost of diesel, and are still in vacation mode, we feel sorry for them. They just don’t get it! It would be cheaper for them to buy an airline ticket and stay in a fancy hotel, and then fly back to the stick house rather than having to drive the diesel home.

Fulltiming is a lifestyle commitment, and if you are not prepared for that commitment, you should probably not dream about fulltiming….you should continue with some sort of Mickey Mouse job, or spend your money on something more suitable for your needs.

There is a huge difference between people who vacation in their rigs and those who live in them. Also, we find there is another huge difference in the people who fulltime in campgrounds and those who boondock. Not may fulltimers can do boondocking; we love it, made the commitment, and will continue to enjoy our lives as fulltimers, regardless of the price of diesel.

We’re committed.
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Old 07-20-2007, 08:51 AM   #46
Mrs. CountryGuy
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OH, dear, color me confused AGAIN!

Robbie, What has this long post on full timing and whether you are a full timer or not have to do with the price of diesel/gas/fuel, and how we all handle these increases??

I have to sweetly disagree with your opinions on full timers not being full timers if they pay on a storage area, OR worry about the price of fuel. Tis ok, that is your take, etc etc etc.

I just don't follow how this fits this thread, but that is OK too, as I am usually confused these days. Very confused.
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Old 07-20-2007, 10:03 AM   #47
simonsrf
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Well Carol,

Not all of us are rich, so in order to live a lifestyle that is not dependent on the cost of fuel, we have to make changes to our lifestyle and give up on some of those things we feel are a necessity, like storage units, houses, living in expensive campgrounds, eating out often, buying stuff not needed, driving thousands of miles without smelling the roses along the way...and so on.

These people who complain are not willing to go that extra mile required to make their lifestyle their reality...therefore, they complain, that complaint should be about themselves, not the price of fuel. It gets old when I hear they are unwilling to make adjustments, but are willing to not commit to their dreams...that's what I meant.

Get it?

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Old 07-20-2007, 11:39 AM   #48
richfaa
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Robbie ..We could never have done what you guys did to full time or long time for that matter.Our commitment is doing what we do the way we do it making the necessary adjustment as we go along. Sometimes I do question the wisdom of us spending about 100K on Truck Montana and related camping stuff instead of spending the money on plane tickets and hotel rooms. We all make our choices.
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Old 07-20-2007, 11:40 AM   #49
Mrs. CountryGuy
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I see,

OKKK, I see

Trouble is, that some of us, have different life styles, different families and responsibilities, different problems to deal with. Our example, we are tied to a stick house, at this point, this is a house that is NOT saleable due to a lot of other nasty stuff that may or may not be our fault, the least of which is the state of affairs of the real estate market here.

We are tied to family situations, I suppose we could up and leave Al's elderly mother (legally blind, but still living alone), here while we travel and live our dream, but it is not in our emotional makeup to do so.

We are tied to the community for some volunteer work that I do, although I am downsizing that in the next year.

For those reasons and a number of others, we are unable at this time to make our life long dream of fulltiming a reality. Life does throw ya a few 180's in your life. I call it, sorta as a joke, sorta as something very true, "Life gets in the way."

$$$ to fund this all, will become a problem, as we are not sure that Al's pension will ever see us through to Social Security. Companies do fold. Of course, as we all know, medical insurance is a huge concern. We have always pinched pennies and pinched gas/fuel expenses. We almost never go out for a gallon of milk. Friends drive 7000 miles in 3 months, we drive 1300.

From where we sit, I can see that there are a lot of us here in MOC land that would gladly change our lifestyle, go fulltiming, sit in some wonderful campground for a month so we could see the National Parks in the western USA, BUT, our life responsbilities are not gonna let us go there, YET!!! And, I also see a lot of MOC people who are making the adjustments so that they can enjoy their chosen way of life, the life of an RVer.

All this said, I continue on my digitizing photos and my research, and hope that some day, our lives with take another 180, and we will find ourselves sitting in some great campground. Will we have to work?? Maybe.

I know that Al is sure glad that he retired when he did, and we count every day retired with full pension as a blessing, much as we do with every day spent in Tana as a double blessing. Cannot take away the great times we have already had.

We all have our reactions to the price of fuel going way way up. Even tho I may change the way we travel, etc. I will probably still moan and groan and curse at the price. Makes me feel better??? Screaming and more moaning about it here at MOC may make me feel better too, good ole MOC!!!!
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Old 07-20-2007, 12:25 PM   #50
simonsrf
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by richfaa

Robbie ..We could never have done what you guys did to full time or long time for that matter. Our commitment is doing what we do the way we do it making the necessary adjustment as we go along. Sometimes I do question the wisdom of us spending about 100K on Truck Montana and related camping stuff instead of spending the money on plane tickets and hotel rooms. We all make our choices.
Rich, thanks for putting my confusing words into such eloquent style that anyone can understand.

Rich, your best statement that everyone should notice is "We all make our choices". Some people cannot leave their homes, their belongings, their relatives, their storage units, their lifestyles etc. etc. etc. for whatever reason…read Carol’s post, she makes a very good point that fulltiming is NOT for everyone.

My point pretty much what you said. If people are unwilling or unable to give up on these responsibilities, then please, don't say you can't fulltime because of the price of fuel! We made those sacrifices so we could afford to fulltime, and pay whatever the cost of fuel might be at any time. We made our own choice, and we plan to live with it.

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Old 07-20-2007, 12:54 PM   #51
richfaa
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Robbie..well said..and that is life.
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Old 07-20-2007, 04:20 PM   #52
Delaine and Lindy
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Well my friends we have come almost full circle. We sold our stick house and all funiture in 2006 and went full timing. However in 2005 we were in our stick house for only 3 months. We returned to our home base (site for 5er parking only) from Arizona in Jan 07. was in RGV for Nov and Dec 06. Then we get that dreaded phone call, Delaine's Mom had a serious Medical problem. Was given 3 to 6 months, well it has been 7 months and Meme is still with us. So we have had another stick house build. Our traveling will be very limited. But we will keep the Cambridge and someday we might travel some. But family is more important. We have been all over this beautiful country. And have great Love for our Country. Wow Life is Good.......

Diesel price?????? and it will keep going up as long as the Federal Goverment and the Tree huggers are involved, of course you all know that problem. We decided when we went full time we would do what it took to keep on Trucking. There are so many ways to make it work, work camping, staying longer at one location, and above all cut out eating out that is a large expense. Drop your speen 5 mph, and keep your TV serviced. Good Luck with what ever you decided. What a Country..... GBY.....
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Old 07-20-2007, 04:26 PM   #53
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Don't want to pour more "fuel" on this fire, but the business pages of the two newspapers I read today are promising $100/barrel for oil by 2008! Gasoline/diesel prices will continue to rise because of the increasing demand from India and China and the US. As mentioned in this thread, fuel price increases are going to drag other prices for nearly everything higher. This needs to be considered in everyone's planning for the future and it is only around the corner--sorry!

Regarding the comment about ethanol being brought to you by "the global warming crowd", it was brought to you in its current form by previous Republican/Farm State congressmen/women. It is driving up the cost of nearly all food products since anything remotely related to corn and there is a lot of those items is going higher and there is then less competition for the rest of the food products. IMHO we need to be putting more research in biodiesel which can be produced from nearly anything that is organic. It has more energy than ethanol and from what I understand, uses way less energy to make and the diesel engines love it. Any yes, we might have to take a chapter from the Europeans and run smaller RVs to make it affordable for us.

Whatever happens fuelwise is only going to go one direct. We're currently in Canada and the last fillup was at $3.90/gal. Milk is the same price for a half a gallon! Don't give up on the lifestyle, just figure out a way to do it besides winning the lottery and then tell us all.
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Old 07-20-2007, 04:52 PM   #54
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I just talked to a man, he and his wife live 9 miles from me. He traveded to Oregon and back on VEGETABLE OIL.. It was documented and put in the Topeka, KS Paper. He pulled a older 34' 5th wheel with his 1996 7.3 Ford....The trip cost him and his wife A little over $100.00 dollars for regular diesel fuel..Which he used just long enough to get the Vegetable oil warm and then switched over. He got additional Vegetable oil during this trip from eating establishments along the way. His filter system for that used oil cost $150.00 to set up... He said is was a bit messy to start with until he got better at it... I have been invited over to his home to look over the set up. His wife still works and they have a Mercedes that she drives back and forth on Vegetable oil also. His system require's two tanks. One of regular Diesel and an auxillary for the Veggie oil. He heats this up with the water from the engine, piped through a car heater which is installed inside the auxillary tank... One man's way of getting around the fuel charges... I know there are few that would actually do this. BUT SOME ARE.. Think about the distance he travels for $100.00. I do think Rich would look a little SILLY out behind a restaraunt (Helen as lookout) while he sucked used veggie oil ha ha ha, Something to think about..
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Old 07-20-2007, 05:08 PM   #55
dsprik
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Well, there goes the price of my vegetable oil... I'll start watching the commodities for this listing now...
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Old 07-21-2007, 04:22 PM   #56
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I have not ready every post in this thread (yet) but hope I'm not duplicating someone else's comments.

I think this fuel cost problem is less terrible to fulltimers than to those who travel from a fixed base. The reason I say that is those traveling from a fixed base have to start from and end at that fixed base. In Rich and Helen's situation, that's the Cleveland area. They spent last winter in Arizona. Long ways from Cleveland. Let's say they wanted to go to the Pacific Northwest after a couple of months back in Cleveland. Long ways. Lots of fuel.

For us, we'd go to Arizona for the winter, then we'd start from Arizona and work our way to the Pacific Northwest. Actually, that's our plan for this next Winter through Summer. Still lots of miles and lots of fuel, but far less than from Cleveland. I haven't run the miles in S&T but I hope my point comes across.

In our case, we do have kids/grandkids in the KC area, so in that respect we do the same things as those with a fixed base. But, we are there only twice per year and try to work it out so we're going that general direction anyhow. That doesn't always work but we try.
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Old 07-22-2007, 03:57 AM   #57
richfaa
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Steve S has a very good point in the above post and very true. That is advantage full timer... but again many of us , for one reason or another, just can't be a full timer. The expenses of Rv'ing is just something we will all have to work out in our own way according to our financial ability..There are many full timers who are full timers because that is the only way they can afford the rv lifestyle and then there are those of us who may, in the very near future need to choose which way to go.In our case only if we had to choose, the Truck and Camper would go and we would find another way to travel the country. there are always alternatives.
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Old 07-22-2007, 04:41 AM   #58
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Rich,

RVing/camping is such a part of our souls, we hope we NEVER have to make the choice to sell out of the sport all together. I might wither and crust over.

I won't go back to a tent, but might go back as far as a tent camper, if that was the only way we could still go.

The dislike factor for hotels and motels is rather high over here in Stevens' land, might rather stay at the stick built, and do more community service than to travel that way.

Isn't it wonderful there ARE so many choices for us to make??
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