Decisions, & more Decisions

[soulmate]

Ok, I have been putting this off long enough and need some advise.
We are scheduled for October 2009, to be full timing, are first place is in Florida of course, (need to experience the winter there!).

We have been selling things left and right, garage sales, changing personal accounts, etc for all online to prepare and be ready. REALLY trying to do this correctly and refer to MOC members input and advise. No attachment or emotional upset here with leaving, so pls do not assume that! CAN'T wait to do this. Kids are settled and last one graduated nursing last Saturday with a job as a "critical care nurse" . Sorry my brag book was out!

The thing that I am concerned with is so many different budgets with soooo much money going out! We just don't see how ie: $3000.00 for full time campers is needed! Are plans are workcamping for a free site, not a big deal. And we may work part time for grounds or somewhere close by for extra $$. We have savings etc, but will not pull out unless we have to. Being "YOUNGINS" and retiring early we have to wait for 5 more years for that to come in. Still not a big deal to us, we can wait.

I guess because we had this desire so strongly that the lifestyle for us is more important than anything. With us both working full time, raising kids, etc. we never got to spend TIME with each other like we wanted. Alan is truck driver, out every day, nightime line haul. This means no LIFE, to those who are familiar, can't plan anything, and feel like crap all of the time. Alan has wanted to retire from this back breaking industry for a long time!

When we see budgets that are HIGHER than are "normal" life, I have to take a step back! I am sure everyone is different, as is everyones needs are. We are estimating at $1800 to $2000.00 month. That is uncluding RV payment. So for those of you fortunate enough to have your "rig" paid for, does that sound reasonable or out of the question? Alan & I don't smoke or comsume alcohol, I hate SHOPPING (yes girls, don't be mad at me for that), and we will be happy to workcamp until whenever. My brother inlaw swears (they are going in 14 mths) that we need the least amount of $3500.00 per mth!

So the question around the barn is this; what has some of your budget experiences been? If you don't want to share thats ok, we don't think we are "off the hook" here, just checking....

[stiles watson]

After 2-1/2 years of full timing, my estimate would be between $3,500 and $4,000 per month. We are debt free, do not live on the high side and do not smoke or consume alcohol. If we did not travel, we may be able to reduce that by around $1,000 per month.

When you budget, you need to estimate on the high side because the unexpected will take up whatever overestimate you include. We frequently use Passport America, look for the cheapest fuel prices, shop the bargains in grocery stores, shop the discount stores, i.e., Costco, Sam's Club, BiMart, etc. and in general, live fairly "close to the vest".

I am sure waste can be found in our spending habits, but in my opinion, your estimate needs to come up some.

[ALAN]

You might review www.RV-dreams.com. Howard and Linda post on a monthly basis their expenses with explanations for each item. They have been on the road fulltime for about 3 years and are in their 40's so no social security or retirement income.

We are in the process of loading our 3400RL for fulltime and are estimating a budget of $3400/month. That includes business expenses. We also plan to be workampers for at least six months of the year if we can find the jobs. I would be more than willing to share our experience as we go along. My email address is AL1999W@aol.com

Alan & Kathy

[soulmate]

Wow, I am surprised at the responses. Alan says since I am such a "tightwad" , that we still will be able to come in at the $2000/mth level...

I have refiqured it all again, just to be sure. Still no need for us to reach a higher level.

We have visited the web site of rv-dreams.com, great site! Lots to read, their budget NEEDS to be higher for them to be comfortable, and thats ok. AGAIN we are all different with various levels, we are not "cookie Cutter" people and we all have different opinions. I am sure that if we did travel a lot, went to golf trips, etc. and did'nt work camp the amount of course would be higher. Sightseeing and fuel is not cheap, remaining in one place for 3-6 months is.

I will try to keep a solid track of expenses for future. We have chosen to go full timing to be together more and enjoy the outdoors. The lifestyle will be a MAJOR improvement for us since we both come from high stress industries. We have sooo many books to read, fish to catch, and naps to take .

Please continue the thoughts, we still love to hear them all.

[TheCoachPotatoes]

I can't speak from experience, but I don't think it's that much different than being in a stick house. We all have such different lifestyles and it is impossible to say how much you will need. In my opinion if you are planning on staying in one place for 3-6 months and workkamping, that makes a huge difference. If you are frugal in your spending, don't eat out much and don't treat it like a vacation, it would seem like you might be ok. Again, it's hard to say because we are all individuals with different needs. Also, a must is to have health insurance. When we retire, our health insurance is paid for. If you need to purchase health insurance and aren't eligible for Medicare and Supplemental Ins. that can drain your finances. Don't forget many of your expenses are the same as when home. Just be prepared for emergencies and account for things that might go wrong. Good to have a little extra for such things.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

[ols1932]

soulmate,
I think your estimate is a little low. Though you can be a little frugal if you want to and keep your budget low but I think you should go upwards of $3500-4000/month (more in line with what Stiles mentioned) if you're including an RV payment. Remember, RVs break just like stick houses, and this "house" is being bounced down the road.

Orv

[Art-n-Marge]

LOL Orv... It HAS been a long time since you started full-timing!

RVs break MORE than stick houses. Even living in California my stick house does not experience as many earthquakes and incur as much damage from them as an RV bounding down the road!

Also, much of the qualities that a house undergoes during its construction to prevent major problems are far more numerous than an RV, which has far fewer regulations per se which contributes to more RV breakdowns.

What "soulmate" needs to think about is the cost of stick housing versus RVing. Buying food is about the same. Sure you probably can't store a month of goods in an RV but I hope that's a small adjustment. The utilities are probably less. If fuel gets too expensive don't go anywhere or not as far. The yearly costs (like property taxes, house insurance premiums versus DMV fees) could be lesser for a full-timer. Just the fact you have less "stuff" to use, break or have lying around converts to the world is now your backyard and you can give it back to leave for someone else to enjoy.

Anyway, one can go on and on. Good luck to soulmate and I hope you are able to live with your decision!

[soulmate]

I like the word "frugal" better than "tightwad".

Would any of you be interested in sharing actual costs that you have? Maybe I am missing something unknown..

We in turn will do the same for the "estimated" costs for us.

All I am trying to say is this, fulltiming can be done with less per month after reviewing several budgets, and comparing them with ours.
Some were less, some were very high...

We realize RV's will breakdown, etc. The medical insurance is not a question here and does not apply for us. The electric, propane, wii fi, laundry and sites are covered when workcamping. All we need is cell phone, food, license, insurance, emergency funds, everthing else has been arranged at no costs. We pay around $50.00 per YEAR for clubs etc. We may go out to eat once a week, and spend average $25.00 for both, at NICE resaurants too, We dont like fast food.

We love being together, playing games, reading, fishing, hiking, riding the bikes, and actually just doing NOTHING. AGAIN we are doing this to BE TOGETHER, not so much travel and go go go. It does not take a lot to make us comfortable every day.

There is really no "set" amount right or wrong so please don't think we are saying that.

[Phyllen]

We will also start fulltiming in Oct. Our guaranteed income will be $2,500 (my SS and his small state pension). He turned 60 in Jan so will have 15 months to SS income. We have investments of which we plan to draw down $1,000 a month. We will also do some workamping if need be. One big expense will be his medical, I have Medicare but will also need a supplement. We are looking at a high deductible, health savings account for him.

Belonging to Escapees, Passport American and Good Sams will save us some on campgrounds. Also, some state parks accept the Federal Golden Age Pass for 1/2 price camping. In addtion there will be some boondocking but only for 2-3 days at a time.

We love to eat out once or twice a week. I am afraid that will probably not change when fulltiming. In fact I suspect it will increase.

We will be debt free as my daughter is buying our house and we will pay off the truck and also the Montana we just purchased in March. The truck is a 2006 but we have a 0% loan on it so why pay it off when the money is best in the bank making money.

We, too, get concerned about the costs. We had planned to take off in Jan but Hubby got real nervous in December after having met with our financial planner and he for the first time saw how much we were down in investments. So he called it off. He now says what a mistake that was. So - two weeks ago he started his retirement process again.

I, too, think you budget is low. Let us know how it works out for you.

Phyllis

[soulmate]

Just got back from reading more information on the Rv-Dreams site, the list of expenses they have are more than what we need. I did find this little section and copied so I do not mis-quote..This is from their web site on their expenses. They also mentioned they know of a couple of fulltimers on a $1000.00 budget!!! WOW and you guys think I am "frugel" . This budget amount below also includes a $200.00 entertainment allowance, don't need that yet, maybe later after I read ALL the BOOKS, catch ALL the FISH, and NAP some more!!.

AGAIN, THIS IS NOT FROM US, ITS THE RV DREAMS site QUOTE:

We fall somewhere in the middle. We are averaging about $2,333 per month ($28,000 per year) in pure living expenses. However, we have spent more than that for various one-time expenses like upgrades to our rig and special things for our lifestyle that we didn't realize we would want before we started. I think we can get by on about $2,500 per month ($30,000 per year) pretty consistently, although $3,000 a month ($36,000 a year) gives a little room for unexpected items, emergencies, and income taxes.


ALL of this information is good for thought and appreciated by all I am sure. We are blessed in many ways, if later down the road we experience a higher need of income rather than our resources...not a problem for either one of us to work somewhere for a few hours. We have yet to determined that, but then again we can still share thoughts and ideas. I have not recieved any "actual budgets", so I will wait on those should any of you care to share.

We will see you later

[jwedell]

The thousand dollars a week stated is that before or after taxes, with or without a truck and trailer payment also with or without medical insurance payments. We're going to fulltime also and wasn't planing on a thousand dollars a week. Our truck and trailer will be paid for, we have free medical for life and I will not pay NY State income taxes. If at all possible any basic budgets would be appreciated.

[soulmate]

John & Dale,

The $1000.00 budget is the amount they spend per month on fulltiming!
Thats really low, and actually AWESOME if it could be done. I have no clue what that includes
so that leaves us hanging a bit.

We are still waiting on those budgets also. When are you guys going full time? Soon?

[jwedell]

A year from January. I know it's far off but it get's here really fast. And I think they ment $3500.00 per month.

[soulmate]

I am sorry maybe I mis understood your response.

Think I will just wait until we actually hit the road, get the actual budget for ourselves. I have so much to do and prepare we will see you all at the Rally!

[stiles watson]

Some Items to consider in your budget:
Truck insurance
RV insurance
Health insurance (over 65, Medicare supplement)
Road service (Good Sam, Coach-Net, other)
Vehicle maintenance
RV payment
RV upgrades (either for comfort or for safety)

• Stabilizers
• Tire pressure monitoring system
• Whole rig surge protection
• possible second A/C in warm climes

Washer/dryer or laundry costs
Food (both at home and eating out)
Clothing replacement
Equipment replacement

• Coffee maker
• Laptop
• Toaster oven
• Hairdryer
• Other

Entertainment
Camp fees when not work camping
Cell phones (we each have one)
Internet service (air card or other for bank, bills, family contact)
TV and trailer license tags and inspections
Grooming costs
Medications
Dental care
Tire replacement
Shackle job (not if, but when)
Pet costs (if you plan to have one)

Many of the above items are, of course, not monthly items, but they are costs none the less and need to be considered. I am certain your list will be different. The above is intended to be a thought stimulator. Only you can really put dollar amounts to these categories because rates in different areas vary, like insurance rates, food buying habits and personal priorities. You will have to do the research.

Things just come up. For instance, today we are researching mattresses. We have come to the point where we possibly need to make a change. We are exploring the cost. Amortized over a year, it would add $100 or more a month to our budget.

Believe me when I say that I am not trying to rain on your party. We are experiencing the joy (and sometimes the difficulty) of full timing and would covet the great adventure for you too, but I want to make sure your excitement does not turn to disappointment and despair because of under estimation of real costs. Remember, work camping does not reduce your costs. It just identifies an additional source of income to meet them.

[Longwell]

Soulmate,
Do you have Excel on your computer?
We have not started fulltiming yet, but have spent quite a bit of time working out budgeting estimates on an Excel worksheet (which does NOT copy and paste properly in a reply on this forum).
I could send you an email with the spreadsheet attached if you are interested.
Larry

[exav8tr]

I only wish I could get by on $2,000/month. As a Fulltime SIGHTSEER we spend considerably more than that. Usually between 4 and 6k a month. I guess if I was stuck somewhere for an extended period and was a workamper I could get by on less. Reality check sets in very quickly when you run out of money before running out of month. Take care and budget well. Stiles seems to have covered it all, at least most of it........

[adelmoll]

We're with Phil & Cathy on this one. We own our lot in Florida and spend about 6 months there but it still tales us about $5000 a month to live the way we do. We travel a lot and try to watch it but we went full time to see the USA and that cost's money. Some months are a lot less but then something comes up and it is back right up there.

We are thankful that we are able to maintain this lifestyle. It was pretty scary last fall. Sure hope things are on the way up.

Helen

[rphoward]

Stiles provided a good list to compare your budget against. RV-dreams have been full-timing for some time now and their financial information is very, very complete. You could take Stiles list and RV-dreams monthly costs and compare where you think your costs would be. It is better to enter full-timing completely aware of your costs

[ALAN]

I believe you have received good advice from all. My wife and I kept track of all our expenses for two years before going forward. We did exactly as described by Ray and Pam. We compared our numbers to the Paynes and two other sources. How accurate the data will be is yet to be determined, but we feel comfortable that this will work. If not, just like the Paynes, we have an exit plan in place.

Good luck with your decision. It would be nice if we could all try out these life changing decisions before they become permanent.

Alan & Kathy