The dream is getting closer - RV-Dreams Community Forum

RVKevi · RV-Dreams Family Member

The dream is getting closer

AllenNRuthy · RV-Dreams Community Member

DW and I have been dreaming, talking and researching fulltiming for the last 5 years. Being in our mid 50's retirement is a long way off. We decided not to wait. Our tentative plan is to put the house on the market in spring and move into our 5ver at a local campground to test our ability to live fulltime in it. We will be keeping our present jobs for a time to be sure living in the 5ver is something we can do. After that we are looking at going on the road. With no income other that what we earn we will have to work on the road which has us alittle anxious about fulltiming. We will be debt free, but the idea of health insurance is the scary part.

The other part is to clean out the house. There is soooo much stuff I cannot imagine we accumulated all this over the years. I don't know if it is possible to be ready in spring to do this, but we will be working toward that goal. I enjoy reading all the posts in this and other forums I am a member of. Everyone is so helpful . I am sure as we move forward I will asking many questions and know I will get some helpful advise.

Thanks in advance

Allen and Ruthy

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Allen and Ruthy,

First of all, welcome to the RV Dreams forums. Since you've been researching for so long already, you've no doubt learned a lot along the way. So, we look forward to hearing your comments, questions and dreams. If nothing else, the folks on this forum are friendly, helpful, and really supportive. That is not to say there isn't the occasional "alternative idea" in the forums, but that is also a method of learning.

Glad to have you as part of the forum "family."

Terry

Rob_Fla · RV-Dreams Family Member

Allen and Ruthy

We are just past our Mid-50's too and still a little way from the point where are are can retire.
The great thing for us is my job allows us to work on the road now.
We had been our our house a little over 20 years so we had lots of stuff.
It took us a little longer than expected to get our house sold so it gave us time to keep working on getting rid of Stuff.
In October we will have been Fulltime for our 1st Year and we are loving it.
We have learned a lot and are now able to put quite a bit of our income into our retirement fund.
I have a pension that I can start getting payments from in a few years when I turn 59 1/2.
At that time we will take hard look at our finances and what our next move will be.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I entered out here when I was 45...Imanaged to move right along until the past 2 years when the medical dragon reared his head.....diabeties....quad bypass....anurism....Stenosis. and believe it or not I'll be right back out there in march as soon as I finish up drug therapy fom the Exeter hospital Hep C outbreak!!!......(wonder why they call me lucky)

life is good out here .....I have found that there is nothing on the road that would not have the same outcome if I stayed at home........

As far as fianaces on the road I have created several great micro businesses that generate great income,,,so the long of the short is let the fear go and engage the mind and think your way thru it!!!!!!!

AllenNRuthy · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you all for your replies and words of encouragement. I'm sure you will be hearing from me in the future as things get moving closer to the day.

laurly · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well, I'm in my mid-50's. My DH turned 62 so is collecting SS early. We figure every 4 years we'll have a bit more income what with my pension, then my SS. For the time being we're going to workcamp to supplement. It's all an adventure! Good luck to you both!

FOSJ · RV-Dreams Family Member

Your story sounds so much like ours. After attending one of Howard and Linda's rallies, we decided we could leave earlier than originally planned. We moved into our motorhome last October to see if we could live together in such a small place! We survived and left in March headed to Oregon for our first workamping job. We are about to wrap up this job and it has been great! We saw so much of Oregon and met so many wonderful people. Amazon is on our agenda for November and December. We'll be visiting family in Florida during January. We just lined up our job for next summer in Colorado. Steve and I are living our dream! We have so many memories and have only just begun. I can't imagine ever regretting our decision. I say go for it!

shystywolf · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome to the family! I am hoping to leave the sticks and bricks for the life on the road. I found this site by accadent and I have fell in love with it. If you have questions there is an answer somewhere. Everyone on this site is so helpful and kind. With luck I will be able to get an RV in feb or march and then it is Good bye to this house and hello relaxation. I wish you all the luck in your future.

jayc · RV-Dreams Family Member

This is one of the best sites and there are plenty of folks willing to help you and answer questions.

RVKevi, have you joined the Heartland Owners club yet? It's a free site to join and also very informative.

AllenNRuthy · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you for all the responses. This really seems like a nice place to get answers to our questions as we go forward.

Joan and Steve
Sound exactly like our plan. We enjoy each other, but living in such close quarters could be a different story. When on vacation in the RV we really hate the idea of going back home, but that is vacation. We don't foresee any issue at all, but it is still a big change we want to test first. Is workamping something you need to do financially, or is it to help supplement your lifestyle? We will need to workamp to finance our life on the road which has us really looking at money issues.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

There are alot of ways to supplement your income while on the road......online sales......flea marketing......rv rallies......craft shows......pow wows.....and the list goes on!!!!!!

Creating residual income is easier than you think and over a quarterly period it begins to show up in savings........sit back and think of what you enjoy doing.......see how you can incorporate that into sales or service and begin

I have one micro business I operate on the road that on the average night in a decent campground generates 2 to 3 hundred in sales...
Granted I cant do that everynite......but I do it twice a week ..and its just a hobby that I love to do that people just gotta have one when they see them made!!

shystywolf · RV-Dreams Family Member

lol could you teach us how to do the work you do? lol I would like to find something like that. I am no where near computer savy.

aww

VanMar · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm 62 and DW is 56. We are debt free and have been for 15 years. Many a time we have thought the same as some of you....chuck it all, hit the road and hope for the best! Then, cooler heads and calmer thinking prevails and we resume life. If we took off now, we would have $600-700 per month fixed income and the rest would have to come from tax deferred investments. And with an estimated $30k per year budget, it would not last long. All we have to do is wait another 22 months. We can do that...I think...no, I know we can! Then we will have $1800 per month fixed income and in another four years, a total of about $2700. With what we have in retirement, we will be able to fulltime for about 65 years...honestly! The best part is, we wont have to touch the money from the sale of the S&B--that's our 'exit plan'.

I hope, that in one way or another, all of you who desire the fulltime life find a way to fullfill your dreams. See you on the road.

Vance

FOSJ · RV-Dreams Family Member

Allen and Ruthy,

Steve and I are in our mid 50's and do draw a retirement. Workamping allows us to offset our expenses. We started by taking Howard's budget and plugging in our numbers. Aside from the additional income, we have enjoyed the time spent exploring Oregon. Steve even joined a softball team and we had a great time. One of the guys on the team happens to be the football coach for the local high school. We attended a game last week and plan to go again. Another team member works at a resort with a great golf course. She's given Steve free rounds of golf. We've met the nicest people. There are a lot of advantages to staying awhile. For our first wokamping job, I'd have to give it two thumbs up! Check out our blog. Steve usually posts once week. It's been a great way to keep a journal. Good luck.