Made the decision! But what about timing? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

dlynnt2 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Made the decision! But what about timing?

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Deborah,

If you haven't read through all of the entries on the RV-Dreams.com home page, you need to. Howard and Linda (creators of RV-Dreams.com) have a lot of valuable information posted on this site. They have written articles that should help you with your concerns and timing issues.

This is not a lifestyle that you can start without a good income/pension or big savings, especially if you finance your RV. You'll see that most fulltime RVers spend an average of $2500 to $3000 per month when no problems arise. Add an RV repair or medical problem and the costs can skyrocket.

Good luck with your new journey.

dlynnt2 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks so much! I'll check that out. I'm still doing lots of research, so it's nice to have a place where I can get real answers and direction. Thanks for the estimate too! That really helps.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Since you are looking at an internet business, you would probably benefit from looking at http://www.technomadia.com/. Cherie contributes here on RV-Dreams, but they also have great information on internet on the road, and some nice Youtube videos like "Realities & Myths of Full Time RVing" off this page - http://www.technomadia.com/video/. Their video interview of full time RVers are also very educational.

dlynnt2 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks so much! I'll check those out!

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome again. You didn't say what your ages were. I only ask for health insurance and SS and possible pension reasons which would affect our responses. Please don't post your personal finances but give us an idea of where you'll be when you start.

Sherry

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

You do need to put a savings aside. While most of these rigs will last with proper maintenance, most folks do swap rigs or buy into condo's or houses when the time comes. Being able to pay down or buy outright goes a long way.

dlynnt2 · RV-Dreams Community Member

@WestWardHo..I'm 44 and my husband is 38. We don't have health insurance. We try to do everything as naturally as possible and count on God to keep us healthy. We rarely have to go to the doctors and health insurance is outrageously expensive. So we normally just use cash for doctor visits and any meds. We only have a small 401K and no "pension plans". Hope that helps.

@Alie & Jim Carrilite..I totally agree with setting aside a savings account! Thanks for the reminder!

Camper Chronicles · RV-Dreams Family Member

You know that is a very interesting question. The answer sorry to say varies from couple to couple. Since I can't tell you what will work for you I'll share our experience. On e we made the decision we put together a plan. I am a big planner can't help myself :). It included being debt free, buying a new truck and RV, decal uttering our life, and figuring out how much money we would need to make while on the road. These steps involved TONS of conversations, starts and stops, moments of fear and elation...pretty crazy really. Plus the more we learned things changed and we modified the plan. One thing though we stayed true to the goal and slowly things started to come together. As we checked things off the list the dates firmed up and we felt more and more solid about what we were doing.

Our current date is Dec 2014 but and it's a big but we need to sell the house first. So to some extent we have worked the plan but also life works us :) hope that makes sense.

It's ok to take your time but keep pushing ...take care we are all here for you

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

dlynnt2 wrote:

...Now that we've made the decision...what should our next move be?
Thanks for any advice you can give us!

Your OP and follow-up response suggest some romanticing of the lifestyle. While any of this can't happen without that key first step, the time for pragmatism and research is at hand to sucessfully accomplish the dream. Yes, you can do this on a shoestring budget. Budget is the operative word. You need to take a hard look at your desired lifestyle and then figure on what it costs for you to live that way. Be honest. Be brutally honest. Most financial pundits will argue that you need 4-6 months expenses set aside in a separate emergency fund. These same pundits will also recomend 12-16 times your income in retirement savings accounts. Most on here will recommend that you start the RV lifstyle without a rig payment and be debt free. Rig/vehicle/credit debt payments add to your expenses and therefore cut into lifestyle options at any given budget level. A paid for rig means peace of mind as you own it outright and in the event income is reduced you still have a place to live in and not worry about the bank coming to get it.

So what does all this mean? Lets use the low end of the previously cited budget range of 2500/month.(ergo 2500/mth income to cover)

1. You'll need 10k to 15K for an emergency fund

2. You'll need 360,000 in retirement savings (2500/mth income to cover expenses x 12 months x 12 multiplier(low end of the range recommended) = 360,000). You may need less if your SSA or other retirement income is adequate.

3. An RV rig and outfitting costs are all over the map and only you can determine what you either like, want or can afford. Add that number in.

Add it up, if you have more, great. If not, you've got some saving to do. If your planned internet business takes off, it may well be the ticket to success and therefore you might not need as much to get started. Get an estimate of your SSA in retirement. There many ways to earn income on the road. Don't ignore health insurance. It will be your undoing. The lower your financial preparedness, the higher the need for all types of insurance. One major expense can easily put you in the poor house. Plan for that contingency.

All this is crudely based on 2500 per month budget. Your mileage will vary as the say. If you can do what you want on less so much the better for your your financial requirements to be achieved. Don't be put off by the numbers. It can be done once you put your mind to it if that is your goal. Howard & Linda have excellent info elsewhere on this site to help guide you. Google sample RV budgets. Many excellent posters on here are living on much less. Others have made smart choices prior to hitting the road and are well positioned to fulfill their particular dream. Some are struggling due to circumstance or bad planning. That isn't knock on them, just a fact. I am certainly in no postion to judge the good fortune or the predicament of others save to say that I have been at both extremes.

We, personally are using a higher number because it suits our planned lifestyle, but we also have excellent pension plans that will allow us to the things we want to do. We also have equity in our house and various IRA's and 401k's. We'll be liquidating other assets as we draw near our planned date in 2019. We are also working hard to wipe out all non-mortgage debt ASAP. We can do all this because we have budget and stick to it. We still live and vacation and entertain. What will our rig and outfitting it costs be? We've computed an approximate number based on the rigs we've seen and liked at RV shows. We might get a gently used set-up, or not, time will tell but we have a price range in mind that works for us.

After you've done your homework(what, you thought school was over?) you'll have a set of numbers that is either doable for you or not. Remember, this lifestyle isn't for everybody and only you can know if the dream is doable for you. No shame if it isn't. Sorry for the long post, best wishes finding the path to your dream. smile A million questions? Ask away!

-- Edited by biggaRView on Tuesday 18th of March 2014 07:39:27 AM

-- Edited by biggaRView on Tuesday 18th of March 2014 07:51:56 AM

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Trace wrote:
You know that is a very interesting question. The answer sorry to say varies from couple to couple. Since I can't tell you what will work for you I'll share our experience. On e we made the decision we put together a plan. I am a big planner can't help myself :). It included being debt free, buying a new truck and RV, decal uttering our life, and figuring out how much money we would need to make while on the road. These steps involved TONS of conversations, starts and stops, moments of fear and elation...pretty crazy really. Plus the more we learned things changed and we modified the plan. One thing though we stayed true to the goal and slowly things started to come together. As we checked things off the list the dates firmed up and we felt more and more solid about what we were doing.

Our current date is Dec 2014 but and it's a big but we need to sell the house first. So to some extent we have worked the plan but also life works us :) hope that makes sense.

It's ok to take your time but keep pushing ...take care we are all here for you

X2