How Much Do You Have?

A reader who is considering fulltiming wrote yesterday to ask me if the RV lifestyle is more or less expensive than living in a traditional house. I was reminded of an interview I did for MSNBC several years ago, when they asked me how much it cost to fulltime. I said that it costs as much or as little as you have. There are people in Los Angeles who can’t make it on a million dollars a year, and there are those who get by on $10,000.

RVing is the same way. We knew one couple who had a $5,000 a month income whose car and RV were paid for who got off the road because they said they couldn’t afford it. We also know some who do it on $1,500 a month. It’s all about your lifestyle. Some folks go out to dinner every night, play golf, and go to a lot of high dollar attractions. Others live more frugally.

Overall, except for RV payments or unexpected repairs, fulltiming can be a very inexpensive lifestyle if you do it right. There are many, many inexpensive and even free campgrounds around the country, not to mention fairgrounds with RV hookups, and many Elks and Moose lodges also have RV parking for their members. In addition, there are many places where RVers can volunteer a few hours work a week in exchange for a free spot, such as state parks, historic sites, wildlife management areas, and even lighthouses.

As fulltimers, you can also control a lot of your expenses by taking advantage of weekly or monthly campground rates, traveling less if money is tight one month, or workamping. So, the standard answer to “How much does it cost to be a fulltimer?” is, “How much do you have?”

I got word yesterday that Angie Carr is stepping down as Executive Director of the Escapees RV Club and moving into the role of Marketing Director. Angie’s message said that the club’s day-to-day operations will continue to be handled by Teresa Moore, Escapees Chief Operations Officer.

Terry and I spent a quiet day at home yesterday. Our friend Jean Damon stopped by to bring Terry a traditional Philippine lunch and to wish us Happy New Year. I dealt with some e-mail, and got a lot of writing done. Terry baked a couple of loaves of bread, and then made a delicious Mexican dinner of shredded pork tacos, homemade refried beans, and home fried tortilla chips. It was yummy!

We’re leaving the Orlando Thousand Trails preserve today and traveling 50 miles back to Three Flags RV Resort in Wildwood for a three week stay. I hope the Verizon internet service is better there than it has been here. Last year the 4G service here was excellent, but this year it has been terrible. When we were at Three Flags a few weeks ago we only had 3G, but it was pretty good. Hopefully it hasn’t gone down too much now that all of the snowbirds have arrived.

Thought For The Day – We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true. – Robert Wilensky

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