# living yr round in my RV



## amarillogal (May 16, 2005)

Hi y'all...I'm new to this world and would appreciate friendly advice.  I hope to retire in 4-1/2 years(but who's counting)and I'm seriously, because of financial considerations, considering 'selling all' and buying a RV that I could live in full time.  I need to know more about the pros and cons to such a decision, especially about the financial part.
Thank you for any and all friendly advice...


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## Poppa (May 16, 2005)

living yr round in my RV

Well there are several folks that have their expenses on the web. 


I am using the same criteria for my retirement in the near future.

As has been mentioned previously, there are several of us who have our expenses posted on websites. To see three years of actual expenses from our fulltime RV lifestyle, visit this link.
http://www.1tree.net/adventure/full-time/whatdoes.htm
While you are there it would be helpful if you also look over the site just to see what our lifestyle is.
Then you may also want to vist the site of Norm & Linda Payne to see what they show as expenses. You will find that the two of us, although friends, have very different budgets and expenses. To see their expense summary visit this site.:
http://www.seeya-downtheroad.com/InformationPage/Budget.htm
If you do some comparisons between our two very different budgets and lifestyles, it should give you some information about where you will fall. One thing to be very aware of, both Norm and I have health insurance coverage from our previous employers. That can be a very major expense if you must purchase your own health coverage.


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## Poppa (May 16, 2005)

living yr round in my RV

Couldn't figure how to copy and paste two items at the same time.
An average RV park is about $300 per month with some being as cheap as $50 and some as high as $600 per month and higher.

If you stay in a park that has no bells and whistles, that is, no nearby tourist attraction, no fishing lake, or is located more than twenty miles to a town,,, they will be cheaper.. 

My friend stays down in Arizona each winter and pays $56 per month for a full hook-up and cable tv.. The TV and utilities are extra of course..


Here is a rough breakdown of my expenses.

Total monthly income = Social Sec. $1148.00 + Veterans disability $52.00 = $ 1200.00

Monthly expenses =

Rent .............$275 in winter / $355 in summer (just went up again this year)

My park is right in town, walking distance to everything from grocery stores to movies, to restaurants ...to .. to ..well, everything !! And Carson City is a medium size city..

Electricity ......$40.00 (+/-)

Propane ..........
Summertime ..$3.00 Wintertime ..$75 to $100 

Truck fuel .......$25 to $40 depends on how 
active I am that month

Trucks (2 of them) insurance ..
$485.30 for 6 months "Full coverage with CSI ins. company ($485.30 divided by 6 months = $82 per month)

Trailer insurance ...
$295.00 for full year complete "Home Owner's" policy with Foremost Ins.($295 divided by 12 months = $24.58 per month)

Food ............
$150.00 includes lots of steak and seafood items ... the trick ?? Make a list for the entire month and stick to it

Do not buy anything that is not on your grocery list 

Medical .... FREE ... VA Hospital, full coverage, including medicines 
This save me over $500 per month for health insurance

Phone .........$5.00 (senior rate) for unlimited local calls.

Laundromat ...... including soap, bleach and dryer cloths ...$9.00

Personal things .... toilet paper, razor, shaving cream, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, shampoo, etcâ€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦.. $2.00

Haircut ..... $8.00 ( no thats not a misprint, it only cost $8 )

Cleaning supplies .... Dish soap, room deodorant, scouring powder, etc: .. $1.00

Internet access... $9.95 JUNO.COM for full unrestricted access 24 hours per day.

As you can see I get by very comfortable with money left over for foolish things like eating out once in a while.

I don't â€œboon dockâ€œ, I winter-out in a very nice RV park in Carson City. As per my signature, you can see that my trucks and 5th wheel are ten years old.. But they both are in excellent shape.. and paid for.

I don't travel around a lot, 6 months here ... 6 months there .. But I always winter in Carson City, Where the winters are about medium ... some cold days and a lot of nice days..

The trick is not to try and keep up with the Joneses.. live your own life on your own terms. Do what you want to do... Just because the rich folks jump into their $200,000.00 motor homes and drive all over America at $5.00 a mile doesn't mean you have to.. 
You are just as much a "full-timer" as they are.. just do what "YOU" want to do... and don't try to fly with the flock when summer comes around .. 

Hope this helps

John


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## Kirk (May 16, 2005)

living yr round in my RV

Thnaks for the reccomendation of our site, John. 

Looking at John's expenses, I think the runs a pretty tight ship as well. One of the things that make budgets like that of John or my own work is the fact that we track all of our expenses, and so we know where our money goes. That is the first step to both a successful budget and also to keeping to that budget. The real key to your expenses is what you have to spend. 

John, aren't you the one who does the fire support work?


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## turnipbwc (May 16, 2005)

living yr round in my RV

I admire Poppa for geting by on $1200.00 a month. It shows you if you want to full-time you can. Someday I hope I can become a fulltimmer.
turnip42


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## janicenlarry (May 17, 2005)

living yr round in my RV

First you need to find out if you  like the life style.  Rent a unit for a trip and find out before you take any drastic steps or life style changes.


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## Poppa (May 18, 2005)

living yr round in my RV

HEY GUYS,
I COULDN"T GET BY ON A BUDGET LIKE THESE BUT I AM GOING TO TRY> THESE BUDGETS ARE FOR SOME OTHER RV"ERS THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE ROAD A WHILE>

YOU HAVE GOT TO PINCH PENNIES THOUGH


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