Money Stuff - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Russ Ranger · Russ Ranger

Recently a few people have been kind enough to post their 2015 budget/expenses. Lee & Trace and Dave & Diane both presented very clear reports for others to use in planning. One of the comments from Dale & Ruth about budgeting for vacations got me to thinking. An unmentioned benefit o...

Camper Chronicles · Camper Chronicles

Hi all, I have posted our first years operating costs. Because others shared their information to help me make my decision, I wanted to pay it forward a bit. Tons of detail..probably too much lol. Anyways if interested you can check it out at http://camperchronicles.com/2016/01/09/first-y...

wannabe · wannabe

How do i open a HSA account? My employer doesnot offer an HSA. They have HRA and FSA accounts but i don't think those are HSA thanks jim

wannabe · wannabe

During early retirement, do you pay SS tax, Medicare Tax when drawing from Roth IRA or 401k etc? I pay those on earned income but i am not planning to work during early retirement thanks jim

wannabe · wannabe

I wonder, what are the appropriate amuonts of Rainy Day funds to have when full timing? How much do you set aside? I am thinking of three categories... 1. Health/Medical for 2 people -this is to cover deductible amount before the insurance kicks in 2. RV+Car/Truck+trailer combo - this is to be used fo...

NWescapee · NWescapee

Started working on our Federal income taxes today, didn't take near as long as last year when we sold the house, donated boatloads of "stuff" to charity etc. One more big advantage to this full time RV life However, I do have one question that some of you might have dealt with when you had sol...

NWescapee · NWescapee

I really feel like we're getting the run around right now from our extended warranty company. One of our sealed bearings, which is covered on our plan, failed, so we need a new axle, etc. I knew the tire and wheel wouldn't be covered, although I was hopeful since it was collateral damage and we had just...

Second Chance · Second Chance

Good morning or afternoon... depending on your time zone. There are a lot of postings on the forum about RV, vehicle and health insurance (all important), but a search didn't turn up anything on long term care insurance. After seeing what my mother went through with my father (Lewy body dementia), my...

FreeToRoam · FreeToRoam

In 2005, we insured our RV with National Interstate Insurance. They offered and we took what's called Full Replacement Value, a fixed dollar amount was set for that value. We expected that as the gap between the Full Replacement Value and the Fair Market Value of the rig widened, our premiums would...

Talensnana · Talensnana

Just wondering how you handle the "How much did it cost?". I know we have a unique Rv and we have been blessed to be able to be at the right place at the right time. We never want to appear rude, so my DH usually answers more than "2 shiny nickels". The reality is we would never have g...

Bobc · Bobc

Just got stick shock for Full Time insurance on a new 5th wheel got a quote for almost 2,000.00 with a 500.00 deductible from American Adventure. Was not expecting that, OMG what do you guy do for a deductible? This is a lot more than i was pay for hose insurance! Is this rate out of line? I do get full re...

Russ Ranger · Russ Ranger

We've just finished our second year and I thought it might be time to report back on our maintenance costs during our two years. We travel in our RV only half the year with the Winters spent away from the RV in Mazatlán, Mexico. The first year we circled the USA and put 11,000 miles on the RV. This last y...

Lovinlifer · Lovinlifer

We're looking for ways to invest some of the equity from the home we just sold so that it will bring us supplemental income. Does anyone out there own an RV site that you rent out to other RVers? We'd like to know: 1) Does it make good money? 2) Is it reliable income? 3) How difficult or easy is it to manage fro...

Deborah452 · Deborah452

Hello all, My husband and I are seriously contemplating diving headfirst into full-time RV life. We are chefs, currently live in the great little city of Buffalo, NY. I have many questions, but the one we are talking about right now is, how many full-timers, of working age, are doing this without a re...

NWescapee · NWescapee

2 months ago I shared our experience of our truck breakdown and needing to be towed and some of the frustrations that accompanied that entire experience. So thankful it’s all behind us now. http://rv-dreams.activeboard.com/t59959323/rapid-change-to-our-non-plans-our-first-experienc...

NWescapee · NWescapee

In August of 2011 we made a decision to downsize, we were motivated by several factors including the fact that with all of our travel due to art shows we were leaving a house empty 25% of the time, but still paying the mortgage and all the bills and hiring someone to do the yard, etc. etc. Another big motiv...

TheNewhalls · TheNewhalls

Does anybody have a workable budget that they actually stick to? I downloaded Howard's XL sheet and have used it to track our expenses for the last two years. But all I really do is keep track of our expenses. I can tell what we've spent over the months and how much we spend for various things, but we don't u...

Camper Chronicles · Camper Chronicles

Wanted to take a minute to share our process of establishing Florida as our home state 1. We chose St. Brendan's Island as our mail service in Green Cove Springs, FL. ( After some initial issues with changing our addresses with Bank of America, we got all of our addresses changed and started receivin...

bigboomer · bigboomer

For everyone in Texas there is a billed in committee in the Texas House HB401 authored by Rep. Patricia Harless which would double the current registration fees for all vehicles. So for example if you own an RV over 18,000 lbs and your registration is $205 now it will go to $410. This affects everyone o...

suse1023 · suse1023

In 2013 we purchased full timer coverage with the Thum Agency as recommended here iirc. Folks there were super helpful and friendly on the phone and I asked a ton of questions in an attempt to get the very best coverage available. Last month my truck was stolen while grocery shopping and as it turns out...

MPMomof3 · MPMomof3

I know a lot of banks offer the ability to take a picture of checks to deposit them, but what if you are on the road and want to deposit cash into your bank and there isn't a branch nearby? How do you go about doing that? Money Order? Western Union? Wire Transfer? Anyone have experience with that? Thank...

bjoyce · bjoyce

I found this off the Home Feed on RVillage - http://wandrlymagazine.com/cheaper-on-the-road/ I question some of the numbers, especially insurance since most fulltimers insurance is more than $400 a year. But, still an interesting read.

The Junkman · The Junkman

Here is the last post in that thread.. Pick it up if you like.. or not.. I do not see this as politics.. I see this as healthcare. "There are rver's that travel, And there are Rvers that live in rv's, I think? I think if you travel around florida and look at some of the mobile home parks and rv parks.. y...

PIEERE · PIEERE

Believe I saved a few hundred dollars!!! I just purchased a new WH from PPL an RV dealer in Houston TX. got here in about 6 days. The heater was on sale for $387.00 and $9.99 shipping. It is a 10 gal. model with propane and direct spark ignition w/110 Volt electric. Camping World wanted close to $800.00 wi...

Jim and Barb · Jim and Barb

We are currently researching insurance companies for our vehicles and 5th wheel. We received a quote from a company recommended on this site and were happy with the cost. When we asked about a rider for our jewelry, we were told that the quote did not include personal property. Question...... What ar...

Russ Ranger · Russ Ranger

What are you personally doing for medical insurance? Or what will you do when you hit the road? As I have read various threads the biggest concern for many people is medical insurance in their new RV lifestyle. We can all agree that changes have happened in the last year and many things are now differ...

The Junkman · The Junkman

Just finished a cost eval of the following .. This is a 2013 RAM 3500 and 2015 Drv Lexington. Full replacement first 5 yrs.. then agreed value / liability / comprehensive / collision / bodily injury / property damage / $1k ded.. National Interstate American Adventure / Blue sky Progressive Good sam ...

Luvglass · Luvglass

For anyone using National Interstate for your RV insurance, you might want to take a look at Nick Russels blog http://gypsyjournal.net/blog/ and see what he's going through with them after his rig was burglarized. It's sounding like a horror story. Start with the entry on Dec 16 and come forward....

PIEERE · PIEERE

I came across this on Facebook and it may be of interest to the Solos. starting out On less the 10K$'s dollars. Elio Motors.com is coming out with a micro-vehicle in 2015 and taking orders now. The cost $6800.00 for an enclosed vehicle that is based on the old Isetta; a three wheeled car with the 2 wheels...

Celeree · Celeree

While traveling, I use wi-fi when available instead of purchasing my own internet service to save money. Yet, I am leary of checking my online bank accounts this way. I know my bank is secure and encrypted when I login, but is that safe to do so bouncing off a parks wireless internet? How do you han...

Topic		Started By	Replies	Views	Last Post
	Travels Without the RV (Preview) Recently a few people have been kind enough to post their 2015 budget/expenses. Lee & Trace and Dave & Diane both presented very clear reports for others to use in planning. One of the comments from Dale & Ruth about budgeting for vacations got me to thinking. An unmentioned benefit o...	Russ Ranger	7	4308	04:08 PM Jan 13, 2016 by Russ Ranger
	First Years Operating Costs posted (Preview) Hi all, I have posted our first years operating costs. Because others shared their information to help me make my decision, I wanted to pay it forward a bit. Tons of detail..probably too much lol. Anyways if interested you can check it out at http://camperchronicles.com/2016/01/09/first-y...	Camper Chronicles	5	4088	12:21 AM Jan 11, 2016 by NWescapee
	HSA (Preview) How do i open a HSA account? My employer doesnot offer an HSA. They have HRA and FSA accounts but i don't think those are HSA thanks jim	wannabe	12	4307	07:19 PM Jan 4, 2016 by SuzieQ
	SS Tax (Preview) During early retirement, do you pay SS tax, Medicare Tax when drawing from Roth IRA or 401k etc? I pay those on earned income but i am not planning to work during early retirement thanks jim	wannabe	1	2908	05:51 PM Dec 30, 2015 by SuzieQ
	Rainy Day Funds (Preview) I wonder, what are the appropriate amuonts of Rainy Day funds to have when full timing? How much do you set aside? I am thinking of three categories... 1. Health/Medical for 2 people -this is to cover deductible amount before the insurance kicks in 2. RV+Car/Truck+trailer combo - this is to be used fo...	wannabe	8	3943	08:35 PM Dec 29, 2015 by Barbaraok
	Solar install - Home Energy Credit? (Preview) Started working on our Federal income taxes today, didn't take near as long as last year when we sold the house, donated boatloads of "stuff" to charity etc. One more big advantage to this full time RV life However, I do have one question that some of you might have dealt with when you had sol...	NWescapee	5	3510	03:53 PM Dec 17, 2015 by BiggarView
	Extended Warranty company - Trying to get them to honor our contract (Preview) I really feel like we're getting the run around right now from our extended warranty company. One of our sealed bearings, which is covered on our plan, failed, so we need a new axle, etc. I knew the tire and wheel wouldn't be covered, although I was hopeful since it was collateral damage and we had just...	NWescapee	8	3354	11:11 AM Nov 10, 2015 by NWescapee
	Long term care insurance long term care insurance healthcare (Preview) Good morning or afternoon... depending on your time zone. There are a lot of postings on the forum about RV, vehicle and health insurance (all important), but a search didn't turn up anything on long term care insurance. After seeing what my mother went through with my father (Lewy body dementia), my...	Second Chance	13	5783	05:54 PM Oct 20, 2015 by SuzieQ
	RV Insurance - Replacement Coverage (Preview) In 2005, we insured our RV with National Interstate Insurance. They offered and we took what's called Full Replacement Value, a fixed dollar amount was set for that value. We expected that as the gap between the Full Replacement Value and the Fair Market Value of the rig widened, our premiums would...	FreeToRoam	4	2529	02:28 PM Oct 3, 2015 by BiggarView
	The dreaded .... How much did it cost ? (Preview) Just wondering how you handle the "How much did it cost?". I know we have a unique Rv and we have been blessed to be able to be at the right place at the right time. We never want to appear rude, so my DH usually answers more than "2 shiny nickels". The reality is we would never have g...	Talensnana	41	14588	10:41 PM Sep 3, 2015 by TRAILERKING
	Full time trailer Insurance (Preview) Just got stick shock for Full Time insurance on a new 5th wheel got a quote for almost 2,000.00 with a 500.00 deductible from American Adventure. Was not expecting that, OMG what do you guy do for a deductible? This is a lot more than i was pay for hose insurance! Is this rate out of line? I do get full re...	Bobc	15	4036	09:16 AM Aug 29, 2015 by BiggarView
	RV Maintenance Costs - A Two Year Perspective (Preview) We've just finished our second year and I thought it might be time to report back on our maintenance costs during our two years. We travel in our RV only half the year with the Winters spent away from the RV in Mazatlán, Mexico. The first year we circled the USA and put 11,000 miles on the RV. This last y...	Russ Ranger	5	3416	08:15 AM Aug 21, 2015 by sdman
	Does an RV lot make a good investment property? RV income investment (Preview) We're looking for ways to invest some of the equity from the home we just sold so that it will bring us supplemental income. Does anyone out there own an RV site that you rent out to other RVers? We'd like to know: 1) Does it make good money? 2) Is it reliable income? 3) How difficult or easy is it to manage fro...	Lovinlifer	2	1854	10:36 AM Aug 14, 2015 by Lovinlifer
	Saving for retirement while full-timing? (Preview) Hello all, My husband and I are seriously contemplating diving headfirst into full-time RV life. We are chefs, currently live in the great little city of Buffalo, NY. I have many questions, but the one we are talking about right now is, how many full-timers, of working age, are doing this without a re...	Deborah452	11	2134	03:22 PM Aug 6, 2015 by Camper Chronicles
	Final Tally - cost of the truck breakdown and engine replacement (Preview) 2 months ago I shared our experience of our truck breakdown and needing to be towed and some of the frustrations that accompanied that entire experience. So thankful it’s all behind us now. http://rv-dreams.activeboard.com/t59959323/rapid-change-to-our-non-plans-our-first-experienc...	NWescapee	7	2421	11:33 PM Jun 10, 2015 by soos
	Working on the road to achieve the early retirement goal (Preview) In August of 2011 we made a decision to downsize, we were motivated by several factors including the fact that with all of our travel due to art shows we were leaving a house empty 25% of the time, but still paying the mortgage and all the bills and hiring someone to do the yard, etc. etc. Another big motiv...	NWescapee	9	4011	04:55 PM May 25, 2015 by BoAndRach
	Budgets (Preview) Does anybody have a workable budget that they actually stick to? I downloaded Howard's XL sheet and have used it to track our expenses for the last two years. But all I really do is keep track of our expenses. I can tell what we've spent over the months and how much we spend for various things, but we don't u...	TheNewhalls	30	4107	08:56 AM May 7, 2015 by bjoyce
	Florida Home State Process Update (Preview) Wanted to take a minute to share our process of establishing Florida as our home state 1. We chose St. Brendan's Island as our mail service in Green Cove Springs, FL. ( After some initial issues with changing our addresses with Bank of America, we got all of our addresses changed and started receivin...	Camper Chronicles	26	4111	06:57 AM Apr 6, 2015 by TheNewhalls
	Dramatic Increase to Texas Registrations! (Preview) For everyone in Texas there is a billed in committee in the Texas House HB401 authored by Rep. Patricia Harless which would double the current registration fees for all vehicles. So for example if you own an RV over 18,000 lbs and your registration is $205 now it will go to $410. This affects everyone o...	bigboomer	0	1495	12:04 PM Mar 26, 2015 by bigboomer
	Very unhappy with Thum agency and prgressive--time for a change i guess (Preview) In 2013 we purchased full timer coverage with the Thum Agency as recommended here iirc. Folks there were super helpful and friendly on the phone and I asked a ton of questions in an attempt to get the very best coverage available. Last month my truck was stolen while grocery shopping and as it turns out...	suse1023	17	2464	01:08 PM Mar 12, 2015 by bigboomer
	Bank Deposits cash deposits traveling banking (Preview) I know a lot of banks offer the ability to take a picture of checks to deposit them, but what if you are on the road and want to deposit cash into your bank and there isn't a branch nearby? How do you go about doing that? Money Order? Western Union? Wire Transfer? Anyone have experience with that? Thank...	MPMomof3	15	3052	11:05 AM Feb 9, 2015 by wclement1248
	Article - Save $4,476 a Year by Living on the Road Full-time (Preview) I found this off the Home Feed on RVillage - http://wandrlymagazine.com/cheaper-on-the-road/ I question some of the numbers, especially insurance since most fulltimers insurance is more than $400 a year. But, still an interesting read.	bjoyce	16	3385	04:20 PM Jan 8, 2015 by bjoyce
	Healthcare in Texas , Florida and South dakota and Medicaid... (Preview) Here is the last post in that thread.. Pick it up if you like.. or not.. I do not see this as politics.. I see this as healthcare. "There are rver's that travel, And there are Rvers that live in rv's, I think? I think if you travel around florida and look at some of the mobile home parks and rv parks.. y...	The Junkman	19	3624	05:11 PM Dec 2, 2014 by The Junkman
	Purchased a New Surburban Water Heater!!! (Preview) Believe I saved a few hundred dollars!!! I just purchased a new WH from PPL an RV dealer in Houston TX. got here in about 6 days. The heater was on sale for $387.00 and $9.99 shipping. It is a 10 gal. model with propane and direct spark ignition w/110 Volt electric. Camping World wanted close to $800.00 wi...	PIEERE	3	1339	11:20 AM Nov 18, 2014 by PIEERE
	RV Insurance - Personal Property (Preview) We are currently researching insurance companies for our vehicles and 5th wheel. We received a quote from a company recommended on this site and were happy with the cost. When we asked about a rider for our jewelry, we were told that the quote did not include personal property. Question...... What ar...	Jim and Barb	25	3563	12:15 PM Sep 30, 2014 by Terry and Jo
	Medical Insurance - What Are You Doing? (Preview) What are you personally doing for medical insurance? Or what will you do when you hit the road? As I have read various threads the biggest concern for many people is medical insurance in their new RV lifestyle. We can all agree that changes have happened in the last year and many things are now differ...	Russ Ranger	21	3997	06:57 PM Sep 23, 2014 by Glenn West
	Insurance Cost Evaluation - RV / TRUCK - Fulltiming (Preview) Just finished a cost eval of the following .. This is a 2013 RAM 3500 and 2015 Drv Lexington. Full replacement first 5 yrs.. then agreed value / liability / comprehensive / collision / bodily injury / property damage / $1k ded.. National Interstate American Adventure / Blue sky Progressive Good sam ...	The Junkman	1	1758	08:33 AM Aug 31, 2014 by SnowGypsy
	Insurance problems (Preview) For anyone using National Interstate for your RV insurance, you might want to take a look at Nick Russels blog http://gypsyjournal.net/blog/ and see what he's going through with them after his rig was burglarized. It's sounding like a horror story. Start with the entry on Dec 16 and come forward....	Luvglass	10	4387	12:07 PM Aug 27, 2014 by The Junkman
	New Mode of fulltiming for under 10K$'s. (Preview) I came across this on Facebook and it may be of interest to the Solos. starting out On less the 10K$'s dollars. Elio Motors.com is coming out with a micro-vehicle in 2015 and taking orders now. The cost $6800.00 for an enclosed vehicle that is based on the old Isetta; a three wheeled car with the 2 wheels...	PIEERE	16	4885	03:43 PM Aug 10, 2014 by Talensnana
	Checking your online bank accounts (Preview) While traveling, I use wi-fi when available instead of purchasing my own internet service to save money. Yet, I am leary of checking my online bank accounts this way. I know my bank is secure and encrypted when I login, but is that safe to do so bouncing off a parks wireless internet? How do you han...	Celeree	5	2148	04:40 PM Aug 2, 2014 by Technomadia
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