Hi folks.  I'm so glad we found this site.  Being a full-timer has been my dream since I was about twelve years old.  My aunt had a Winnebago that we'd go on trips with her in.  She also used it as a guest house when we'd all stay at her house.  I remember thinking how awesome it would be to live in it, and only it.  She told me that was her and her husband's retirement dream.  I was hooked. 

For all my working life, i've thought I'd have to wait until retirement to finally begin living this dream, but that's not the case now.  I have a pretty decent Aesop retirement plan at work.  I currently have about 300 grand that will be mine upon retirement.  Actually more by then.  I'm only 43 right now.  BUT... if I quit this job and work somewhere else for three years, I get the whole thing at the end of that three year period.  In the meantime... i have to start over again at a new job, but i'm quite experienced in my career of printing, and shouldn't have the the worst time finding a job. 

Now I know that i'll be penalized a ton for touching the money, so I only plan on using what I need to get the fifth-wheel and a new tow vehicle.  I hope to put the rest in an interest bearing account which I've been told could garner me at least 1-1200 a month.  And that would be at a very safe interest investment.  Our plan is to workamp for the rest of the money we need to live the life comfortably.  Me and my wife, CeeJ, are both photographers.  I'm sure that we'll have more opportunities to make money with our photography on the road, than we do here at home.  I'm also looking into other ways for us to have a steady stream of income that I can do from the comfort of the road.  Thanks to this site and the large community of people who are already living the dream... i don't think that should be impossible.  

Anyway, i'll be visiting the site on a regular basis, as we continue our plans.  Right now we're only in the early planning stages.  I'm just beginning to market myself for a new job in printing.  We get a new rate on our Aesop shares in December, and it's expected to go down.  Not a lot... but still, i'd like to find a new job by then, so my current share value is locked in.  

Let me know what you think of our plan and any advice you have to share on our plan will be welcomed greatly.  

Thanks,

Ken 

If this retirement plan is like any of the normal plans then the tax bite can be more then you seem to be expecting.

To put this money into any thing that generates Interest Income you can use RIGHT now means a total withdrawal.

This will have two tax effects.

1.  Taxes on the money this is large enough that your going to be at a pretty high tax rate.

2.  Possible penalties on the early withdrawal of the money, and just to rub salt in the wounds most any credits or deductions that you may have or qualify for will be lost or reduced because of the effect of the increased income.

I hope your talking to a good tax person who both understands the type of plan you have the money in and your goals.  I've seen people when I was doing taxes and while I was with the IRS just get killed after taking out 100,000 from a retirement account then finding out that they owed over 30,000 of it in taxes.

Mallo

I'll look into this more, but the guy that is helping me with the financial planning of this, is quite exceptional at it and a very trusted friend. I wish I wrote down the type of account that he said I need to place the remainder in to garner the interest. I'll ask him again on Monday when we return to work. He said that I'd be nailed for anything I used toward the purchase of the tow and the fifth wheel. I have three years to plan accordingly for that. I'm figuring that if I put away 10,000 a year, i'll be okay with that. I'm not worried about losing a chunk of it to pursue the dream. Not at all. I would rather lose half of it and be able to use the other half to get what I need. Y'know? Anything beats this lifestyle. I haven't woken up ONE day in the last ten years and been happy with what awaited me. Well... on work days I mean. I used to love my career. Things got stagnate and our company has shown they have no respect at all for senior guys that have given their lives for the place. I can't tell you how much of my children's lives I missed to give them ridiculous amounts of overtime when THEY needed it. Now... they do anything they can to screw us. NO overtime at all anymore. Ridiculous raises in our health care. Implementation of rules that we never had that are only meant to cut people's hours or benefits. And generally, just a lack of respect, which is hard to tolerate when you've been such a large part of their success. And don't get me wrong... i know times are tough, and I DO appreciate that I have a good job... but i look back at what I've missed in life, and what I will miss if I stay there, and just can't justify it anymore. I have one good thing going for me from that place and it's a pretty decent AESOP plan. I can sit back and wait until I'm too old and crippled to enjoy it... or wait until the plant goes out of business and I get nothing... or quit now and get the 300,000. Worst case scenario, I took it all and got whacked up to 90k for doing so. I'd still have enough to buy what we need to pursue the dream. I figure we have enough talent with our photography to continue to make money with that while on the road, and if we really ever needed to... i could always make a base camp somewhere and get a printing job to tide us over for awhile. No problem with that. I'm sure it would re-light my original love of the job to work in different places for short periods of time. CeeJ also has many different talents she could put toward earning money while on the road. Don't get me wrong here. I do appreciate the heads up. It's exactly what I was asking for. I just want it clear that I've thought this out for quite awhile and the pros greatly outweigh the cons. Even if it means losing nearly 100,000 dollars. There's almost no other way I can think of, short of winnig the lottery, to be able to live this dream while i'm still young enough to enjoy it. No disrespect to anyone in their sixties or more, but I just know that I won't have the best quality of life at that point for me. Judging by my family and just the things that already hurt and have had to be surgically repaired, i can't see me doing the things I want to do as a senior citizen. I don't want to just pull into a campsite and sit in my lounge chairs, y'know? I mean... i want to do that too... but AFTER I hike the Appalachian Trail, and The Grand Canyon... and countless other spots of great adventure. So that's the plan. I'm hoping my financial guy will figure out ways to protect the money a little better so that I can generate income from it while on the road. An extra 1500 a month won't hurt. Sorry it was long... but I wanted you to see that this isn't just a whim. I've thought it out greatly and just can't see me and my wife SUFFERING through our days this way anymore, when we both know what we want and actually have a decent way to achieve it.

We watched the RV 2009 show tonight. Not impressed with it. They didn't seem to give much attention to 5th wheels, which is what we're pretty sure we'll go with. The prices on the 5th wheels they featured seemed inflated. From what I've seen in my research, we should be able to get a very nice one from 30-50 grand. I'm more interested in spending the bulk of my my money on the tow vehichle. We intend on long periods of hiking and camping, and aren't really concerned with flat screen tv's OUTSIDE our camper. LOL Even if I was ridiculously wealthy... i couldn't see myself purchasing something with some of these un-needed frivolties. But hey... to each his own. But... unfortunately, this is all still a ways off. Three years minimum, AFTER I quit the current job. So i'm just engaging in the obsession part, where I try to learn everything I possibly can about this endeavor. And for that, I thank you all here for aiding me in that goal. This place is a wealth of information. I know nothing but real experience will prepare us for this life, but having access to such a wealth of information will make us much more comfortable when we finally depart. :D

I am not a financial planner but I do know you will take a huge hit if you withdraw funds from that account without rolling it into some kind of tax deferred account.  This is just a thought, why not buy your RV now and live in it until you retire?  You could sell your house and take the one time tax break and leave your retirement account intact.  Even if you had to  borrow the money until you could get everything in place that would be much less of a hit than dipping into the retirement account.  Just another idea for what it is worth.  Good luck with whatever you decide.

I'd love to buy an RV now, but I don't have the money or credit rating (i don't think anyway). We have considered financing everything we needed and make the move to NYC for the three years until the aesop becomes available. In fact... that would actually be cheaper than living in Queens, where we plan to move. I'm pretty sure that my credit isn't good enough for this amount of a loan though. I would guess that I'm looking at 100 grand for a tower and fifth wheel. It actually has been a long time since I've had any credit mistakes (from first marriage). So this might actually be something I should give more thought. Just thinking out loud here... i could just purchase the fifth wheel and find a perma-site in New York, once I find another job. Then in the three years, it would be nearly be paid off, and I wouldn't have to blast my aesop money so much. I'd only be taxed on whatever i took. By then, I would only take enough to buy the tow truck. That would be a lot better. I will look further into this. Thanks.

100,000 for a tow dog and fiver?

Sure if your going new new.

But a couple of scenarios for you.

1.  If your looking for a full timing fiver you're looking at a fairly heavy rig.  This tends to lead to the diesel trucks (tends but doesn't require).  Now the new diesel engines have lost a lot in fuel mileage because of emmissions.  If it was me I'd look for a two or three year old Dodge Cummins or what I have a pre 6.0 Ford (2000, 2001, 2002, or early 2003).  (I'm not a Duramax fan one of those guys will have to sing out) the newer Dodge doesn't seem to have the transmission issues the older dodges had and the older Ford doesn't have the engine problems the newer ones had. (if you go with the 7.3 Power Stroke you will need to upgrade the transmission cooler)

2.  The truck builders / companies are hurting there are great deals right now on both new and used trucks.  Also the RV companies are hurting so the prices there are good.  When you look at what is in Congress now with the Carbon tax.  That is going to have an effect on all prices everything new will have to be more expensive.  If you can swing it buying now and moving out of your place you have may be a better way to go.

Mallo

I am going to seriously look into that. Again, it would have to be purely on credit, as I really have nothing of value at this time. I rent, not own. But if I could swing the loan on these, then it would still wind up being cheaper than renting with all utilities. There is a perma-park located right by where I work. The land rental is super cheap. I'm hoping that the prices are still good in 3 years. That's why I've gone with 100 grand as a ceiling. I don't plan on getting a fiver that is outlandish in fanciness or anything, but i'm betting a new diesel is gonna be around 50 g, no matter when. I'll probably go used on both items. The more I can leave to garner interest to live off, the better. Then the less I would have to workamp.

Don't know if it is possible but if you could borrow from your retirement fund and then pay yourself back it might save you some money.  Just be sure to repay the loan and in three years you should have most  of it payed back.

dewwood wrote:

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Don't know if it is possible but if you could borrow from your retirement fund and then pay yourself back it might save you some money.  Just be sure to repay the loan and in three years you should have most  of it payed back.

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Yeah, if it was a 401 K, i'd be gold.  But it's an Aesop.  We're an "employee owned" company.  LOL  What a joke THAT is.  But we do get shares and the company has been immensely successful.  So I've acquired a real nice chunk already.  I've been in the program for about 12 years and already have 300K.  The deal is... you can take 25% of it at 55 and another 25 at 60, then the rest at 65.  BUT... you have to continue working there. 

So... there's always the possibility that our share value will go down if I stay 22 more years, y'know?  It might also go up.  I could retire at 65 and be a millionaire.  In fact... that's probably likely.  BUT... and this is the huge part for me... I don't want to retire rich and too broken to enjoy life.  I've already had a few minor health concerns and i'm only 43.  I'm a big guy that was a hell of an athlete "back in the day", and my body is paying for it already.  Will I be able to hike the Grand Canyon at 65, when I can barely make it down the street now?  LOL.  Okay... that's a bit of an exxageration, but i'm not in the best shape.  So... if I quit the company I work at now, and get a job for three years in printing somewhere else, I'll get the whole 300K in three years from the date of termination. 

I'm young enough and with enough experience that I don't think finding a job in printing somewhere (hopefully new york), will be too problematic.  In fact, i'm looking forward to enjoying my chosen career again somewhere else.  I totally understand that I'll be taking a big hit on taxes, but i think it's worth it to pursue this dream.  I can't tell you how much I've wanted this for nearly my whole life. 

I'm hoping that I can find a decent rig in three years that won't deplete me too much and that I'll have enough left to invest and make a monthly stipend off of.  That, along with workamping and my photography sales, should keep us on the road until my body is too broken to continue.  Hopefully, taking on this life will help me fight off that inevitability.  The reduction in stress alone... should be a tremendous value in that. 

Thanks for the input.  I wish that option was available to me. 

 

Today we went to a beautiful state park here in Pa. Frances Slocum. If you're ever in N/E Pa. you should check it out. Absolutely gorgeous. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateParks/parks/francesslocum.aspx So we walked around the RV campground and talked to a lot of interesting folks. We got a nice tour of a Durango Fiver by a wonderful couple with four kids. They don't fulltime, but they take it out every other week. It was gorgeous. It wasn't too big though. We might want a longer one. We'll see. The guy totally sold me on the fiver now. I had been thinking that a travel trailer would be okay, but now I'm totally sold on a fiver. We then got to talk to the campground hosts. What a wonderful couple. They just started full-timing it three months ago and already have four host jobs lined up to spend their first year in the life. The next two are in Florida. They LOVE it and the look on their face proved it. I've never seen anyone pick up litter before and be so damn happy about it. Guys... i seriously can't wait. It's almost depressing. We were picknicking and hiking all day and just knowing that it had to end and that THE GRIND begins again tomorrow made me ill. I can't wait to see you guys out there on the road some day and be posting my own blog about LIVING.

Thank you. Post 2112 for those of you who are RUSH fans. :D

 

It's true that you can get your credit reports free, but they charge you to get your credit score. A person can have no negative credit info on their report and still have a low credit score. If you have no credit history (because you pay cash for everything) and have little visible (taxable) income (are wealthy, have trust accounts, or are self employed with shielded or deferred income) the credit reporting agencies will consider you a "Ghost" and your credit score will be very low, even though your credit report is immaculate.

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Good point. I did pay one-time to see my FICO score, and it only cost about ten bucks or so. Now all I have to do is monitor the credit reports from time to time to make sure no bogus entries show up. It's easy for that to happen - all somebody you do business with has to do is fat-finger your address, and it will show up eventually on your credit report.

There is also always the possibilty of identity theft, and if you don't monitor your credit reports you won't even know about it until the fake account gets turned over to a collection agency. Then you truly have a nightmare on your hands.

 

In New Jersey - it is the law that you can receive your credit report FREE once a year. Maybe in other states too? Phyllis

Necro said "Guys... i seriously can't wait. It's almost depressing. We were picknicking and hiking all day and just knowing that it had to end and that THE GRIND begins again tomorrow made me ill. I can't wait to see you guys out there on the road some day and be posting my own blog about LIVING. """ All I can say, Necro, is " Don't Count The Days, Make The Days Count!!"

Try out the lifestyle.... buy an inexpensive good RV or rent one and add a couple of days off to a holiday weekend for a 3 to 4 day RV trip. Or park at an RV resort that is near enough to your job for a daily commute. I do this several times a year and it feels like I'm on the road but still working... just like many of the fulltimers with workcamping jobs. I'll stay for one to two weeks in the RV resort and commute to work. It makes for a fun get a way. Gives the job a whole new flavor. I've stayed as far away as two hours commute and still enjoyed the experience. I try to keep the commute to an hour. At one time my normal commute was an hour each way when I worked downtown, so an hour doesn't seem so bad.

Well, haven't been here for awhile, cuz it didn't seem like something we were going to do soon, at the time I joined. Well, that changed. My company was closed by corporate. People like me, who've been there awhile, got a very nice severence. I got a STEAL on a 20 foot Prowler travel-trailer in AMAZING shape. It needs a little work, which we're having a ball doing. Mostly just some TLC, nothing too serious. The roof needs to be re-sealed, but no major damage. Right now we have her all cleaned out and ready to get into some modifications. I don't like the bed system. Two couches with slide outs, then you convert the pillows, so we're ripping that out and installing an actual bed frame and full-size mattress. We'll also be re-upholstering the whole thing cuz it's an old icky green scheme that we absolutely hate. But again... we got it for a steal. A family member almost gave it to us. So with the severence, we're buying a van and making storage in it to take the essentials, and we're going full-time around the end of September. WOOHOO!!!! We have a decent nest egg to compliment my un-employment until I get the esop I was talking about earlier. Because of the closure, we'll get the esop earlier, and if all goes well, according to rumor... the company may be selling, so that would mean even more money in the esop. Something about stocks splitting. I dunno. We'll be looking to workkamp though, or just take a small night job on occassion to help out when needed. I can't wait. I've been following the RV Dreams FaceBook page almost religiously since Howard made it, and this site has been so helpful to us. I hope to make this next step in our lives a complete success, and with the site, and all of your help and advice here, I don't think that will be too hard to accomplish. You'll be seeing much more of me and my wife, CeeJ, in the days and years to come. :D

Congrats, and best of luck on your grand adventure. I think you were wise to get an affordable rig to "test the water" so to speak. Post up some pics when you have time. I'm sure we will all love tracking your progress. I'm jealous! :) Chip

I just uploaded some pics of the RV to my facebook page, but I want to make a new photobucket account that is strictly for the RV and going full-time. Lemme make that, and I'll make a new thread somewhere with pics. Thanks folks for all the warm welcomes, advice and replies. I can't wait to be out there with you all. I almost feel bad, because at work, everyone is so depressed about the plant closing. I'm not thrilled obviously, because it isn't on MY terms. BUT... it worked out golden for me. It was like the push I needed. Granted, we're not going out with all the bells and whistles we'd like to go with, but we have a great start, and a good safety net, so i'm pretty sure we'll be fine. With all the advice I've been getting from Howard and Linda, and all you great folks here... how couldn't we be? :)

Just had to add my 2 cents and let you know how bad(and good) I feel for you.  Life doesn't always hand it out like we like but maybe there is a reason? I wish you the best of luck and keep your eye on the prize!
Janice

That's how I'm looking at it Janice.  I've long wanted to make my photography a money making hobby/career, and just haven't been able to because of work and the exhaustion that accompanies it.  I'll have the free time to devote to taking pics and learning my programs more. 

I keep saying that maybe this was the push I needed.  I really think it is. 

Heck, just start squeezing the lemons, add some sugar and water and enjoy!!!

Hi, and welcome to RV dreams! I just happened to take a peek at your FB page..we're neighbors :) George & I live in Hazleton. We have both our homes on the market and hope with the proceeds of the sales to get a motorhome and get goin' :)

Hi.  Hazleton's not too far at all.  Maybe we'll catch each other on the road soon.  We should be goin' by October.  First stop something close, maybe Rikitt's Glen.  Then we're off to New England for the rest of October, spending Halloween in Salem.  :D 

From there... it's still in the air.  Don't know where we're going to sno-bird yet.  SC or Florida?  Hmmmm. 

Hey Necro,

If you decide to snowbird in SC and need info just let me know.  I lived there for 42 years:(  I guess that's why I would do Florida:)  Take care!

Happy Camping!

Congrats on the rv and getting out there and living your dream.

Giday Necro, My experience was a bit like yours, always wanted to full time but always seemed to be to far down the track. Then circumstances change and 18 months under my belt Im loving it. Like everyone says difficulties will always pop up but now I seem to have a more flexible lifestyle to cope with them so they are less of an inconvenience and more of an adventure. Ooo roo Aussiesteve

Hi Laurly - I'm from Nesquehoning. Our plan is to go full time in 2 years when my daughter is done college. Small world, huh?

Hi Ken, You sound much like me and my husband. I am soon to be 46 and my hubby is 43. I had my kids when I was 21 and 25 so they are grown. My husband and I both work hard and are still in debt and seem to be broke all the time so our plan is to liquidate our assets (we own 3 properties) and buy the toys we want and live in our camper. We currently have a small hybrid but if/when we sell the properties we would like to get a pickup and 5th wheel to live in and have a little money left for a motorcycle and maybe a boat. Not looking for anything expensive but we are tired of working for the properties. Unfortunately they are not working for us. We make a good living but all our money goes out the door and not much for our enjoyment, lots of stress and sleepless nights. Life is way too short. So 2 years is my goal although my husband says 5. Florida is our ultimate destination. Tired of the PA winters but I do love the other seasons. The plan is in motion. I hope you enjoy your new lifestyle. Jane

Thanks everyone for all the good thoughts and wishes. We are ALMOST there now. I update where we're at in the community chat part of the forum. It's coming along very well. A few small things still to be done to the camper, and we'll be ready to ship out. Can't wait.