Info RVers Can Use

Do you have an extra key stashed somewhere outside of your RV, maybe one of those magnetic Hide-A-Key gizmos, so you can get in if you are ever locked out? I know a lot of RVers who do, and we had one for our motorhome, too. Of course, it can be a problem if you do lock yourself out and can’t remember where you hid the Hide-A-Key! I have known people that it has happened to.

I was reminded of this in a post on the Living the RV Dream Facebook page the other day when someone talked about heading back to his motorhome from the campground shower wearing a robe and encountering his wife headed in the opposite direction. I don’t remember if the wife locked the door or their dog did, but at any rate he got back to the motorhome and found himself locked out. Then he had difficulty finding the Hide-A-Key, and described how it was quite a sight to see him searching for it while trying to use the robe to protect at least a little bit of his dignity. That’s the kind of thing that usually happens to me.

One friend of ours, after experiencing this embarrassing inconvenience, had an extra key made which he has attached to a leather thong that goes around his neck, and anytime he leaves the rig to go to the bathhouse to shower or to the pool he first puts it on, just in case. Something to think about, unless you want to be known as the campground’s crazy exhibitionist!

A question I get quite often is how much money we should carry when we are traveling. Most people, including us, pay for everything with a credit card that gives us a cash back bonus or a discount on purchases, then pay it off at the end of the month. But we also always carried about $500 in cash, because if there’s ever a power failure or some kind of natural disaster, you might have every credit card in the world in your pocket, but no business where you are at can get online to process purchases and you can’t get an ATM to work.

And, believe it or not, even in this world of e-commerce and direct deposit and plastic money, there are still some small shops and businesses around the country that don’t take plastic. Blow a radiator hose or lose a fan belt in some backwater town on a two-lane road in the middle of nowhere, and you might be glad you have that cash when the only guy in town who can get you back on the road doesn’t take credit cards.

If I were asked to name the single best all around resource for RVers, it would be the Escapees RV Club. Besides their excellent mail forwarding service, friendly RV parks, amazing rallies, Birds of a Feather groups, and everything else they offer to make your RVing life easier and more enjoyable, they also have an excellent webinar series of live broadcasts focused on helping current and soon-to-be RVers deal with all kinds of issues, from maintenance to insurance, to just about anything else you can think of.

They are kicking off their 2018 webinar series with information on how to fund your life on the road. The first webinar, Making it Work: Earning a remote income, is scheduled for 4:00 PM CST today, February 28, and will cover a variety of ways to turn your talents and interests into income, through capitalizing on hobbies, networking opportunities, and more.

The next seminar, Making the Connection: Building a business with mobile internet, is scheduled for March 7 at 4:00 PM CST, focusing on internet options for RVers, with tips for maintaining a mobile connection and creating a travel-friendly business.

On March 13 at 4:00 PM CST, the third seminar in the series will be Making Memories & Income: Using photography for your travels & income. Attendees will learn how they can turn a hobby they love into an income, and get a lesson in basic photography to help take their snapshots to the next level to create stunning images.

The last webinar in the current series is Making Money Across the Country: Navigating state income tax laws as you travel. CPA Tim Ewing, owner of Quest Business and Accounting Services and a fulltime RVer himself, will discuss how state income tax laws vary by location, which can make life quite confusing for working RVers.

All of these webinars are free and open to everyone. Live seating is limited to 100 attendees, so ensure you log in early to secure your spot!

A lot of you do your online shopping by clicking this Amazon link or the Amazon Search box at the top right sidebar of this blog. We appreciate that, because when you purchase an item on Amazon any time of the year from one of our links, we earn a small commission, which helps us offset the cost of publishing the blog.

Thought For The Day – The safest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it in your pocket.