wheelman16
Boulder City, NV
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Joined: 04/09/2009
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Thank you, good advice and perspectives. To someone who mentioned enough money to upgrade car and or RV. Before I retire I plan to sell my 2002 Camaro and upgrade to a little newer and more practical car to tow as well as maybe not much newer but a good quality DP if I can afford it. I will use part of what is left in my 401k from this sinking economy to still owe nothing and some left over for the unexpected and repairs. Once again, thanks for the tips. Bob.
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MrWizard
Van Nuys, Ca
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Joined: 06/27/2004
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wheelman, go for it, you will be surprised at how little it costs to live the mobile life style,
some can spend $250k on a coach $60k a year but that is because they want to and have it, NOT because they need too. those that can have more disposable income, but we 'all of us' who full time enjoy it. there is great variety of things to do and ways to live. 50K a year is NOT a must have
Options, always have options, and the journey goes much smoother
....
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Polishnurse
Schodack, NY
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Wheel man, I have some friends that do it on less then $15,000 gross income. There home is paid for, there car and RV are on payments. It's how much you want to do it. But I still stand on the emergency funds, never know when something is going to give up on you. Bill
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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Joined: 07/22/2007
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How much does it cost to eat out one evening? It depends. 
I see a few I swear they must be FT'ing on $8K a year. Try it. It is a reversible decision.
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s & s
Michigan
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Joined: 02/08/2004
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Wheelman16,
Finally someone at my level as well. I've been reading some of the posts the past few days on retirement and going on the road and have just been astounded at some of the figures that have been thrown out there. Some have pretty luxurious life styles (I guess). At what I was reading I was really rethinking my plan to go and try it but this post has just revitalized me. Our house which runs approx $1200 per month including payment, taxes, ins. and all utilities would be out of the way as soon as we could sell it. Other than that we are debt free. I know what it takes to live on now at home so I can't see how with a modest plan it can't be done on the road. As far as maintenance costs I think that's kind of a wash because you would have them if you were at home anyway. Never know when something pops up. The biggest thing is health insurance. I have Cobra for the time being but will have to seek something other down the road. Hopefully the govt. will come up with some kind the affordable health plan for everyone. Well thanks for the kick in the pants to get me up and running again and I will pursue what my wife and I have been thinking about for a while now and get out and see the rest of this beautiful country before it's to late. Be Safe and Happy Motoring!!!!
Steve & Sally (S & S)
Houston & HiTee (Our Little Poms)
Heidi (Forever In Our Hearts and Never Forgotten)
04 NEWMAR MACA 3778 W22
05 PT Cruiser Convertible 5 speed
"Never try to outsmart your common sense"
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Buck62
Charleston, South Carolina
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Joined: 04/28/2005
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s & s wrote:Wheelman16,
Finally someone at my level as well. I've been reading some of the posts the past few days on retirement and going on the road and have just been astounded at some of the figures that have been thrown out there. Some have pretty luxurious life styles (I guess). At what I was reading I was really rethinking my plan to go and try it but this post has just revitalized me. Our house which runs approx $1200 per month including payment, taxes, ins. and all utilities would be out of the way as soon as we could sell it. Other than that we are debt free. I know what it takes to live on now at home so I can't see how with a modest plan it can't be done on the road. As far as maintenance costs I think that's kind of a wash because you would have them if you were at home anyway. Never know when something pops up. The biggest thing is health insurance. I have Cobra for the time being but will have to seek something other down the road. Hopefully the govt. will come up with some kind the affordable health plan for everyone. Well thanks for the kick in the pants to get me up and running again and I will pursue what my wife and I have been thinking about for a while now and get out and see the rest of this beautiful country before it's to late. Be Safe and Happy Motoring!!!!
We have friends that are retired and living in their RV full time. They stay long term 5-6 months at a time and try to pay $300-$500 a month plus electricity. Now for this price you are getting a basic full hook up site with few amenities some do not even have a pool. We have other friends that live in park models in a campground again low expenses. Both like their life styles but, it is not for everyone. This is just living as inexpensive as possible and not true RV'ing so it is not a life style I would embrace. Health insurance will be the biggest expense and will continue to go up each year. Health insurance can be a real financial burden even on people that have large retirement funds. We have met quite a few full timers that have furniture and personal treasures in storage and plan to have another stick home when they are too old for RV'ing. You need to think about the future when your RV'ing days come to an end. What it really comes down too is what your life style expectations are. Today there are many non Rv'ers that live in mobile homes and have a low expense life style. Others prefer to live in stick built homes and would never even think of living in a mobile home. It just comes down to what your expectations are for the life style you want.
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kknowlton
Wisconsin Border Country, IL
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Gale makes some very good points. The planning that has been appropriate for the past 20+ years is probably not going to be quite what's needed for the coming 20+ years. However, being debt-free is huge, and health insurance is huge (and may get huger).
One thing to keep in mind if you're looking into AZ is taxes and fees. I don't know what NV charges to register vehicles & RVs, but AZ has very high costs for that, as my parents learned when they moved there. Do your homework on whatever state(s) you're considering as far as their taxes & fees go, compared to what you're used to, and bear in mind those will likely go up as well.
Good luck to you! Hope you can make it work out to your satisfaction.
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Jayco-noslide
Galesburg,Il., USA
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Joined: 11/24/2004
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I think you'll get ideas all over the place on how much you should have to retire. We looked at retirement like we looked at geting married over 40 years ago and having kids- If you wait till you can "afford it" the day may never come. That doesn't mean to be foolish about it and not even think or plan. We have a take-home pension income of approx. $3000 per month plus some unearned income on investments and a modest investment portfolio and we workamp in the summer and take home about $5000. We spend around $3000 per year from the investments. We have a stick home, a 10 year old 5th wheel and a 10 year old truck. No debt. We do not even have a quarter million in investments. We live well and RV a lot but spend carefully. We do not have enough to guarantee against every possible catastrophy but have good med insurance. I retired 9 years ago at
57 1/2 Hope this helps.
Jayco-noslide
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RV-1/2n-FUN
FL.
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Joined: 03/30/2003
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Sounds like you should have no problems. ENJOY.
Work for $60,000/year, I wish!
Guess we might never be able to afford retirement.
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MCIman
Reynoldsville, Pa
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We plan on retiring at 62, if we can afford healthcare. Hubby has already had a heart attack at 49, but no damage so is doing well. We have a nestegg, but no where near a million and if we wait for that much, we probably will never retire. We are debt free too and this coach we are doing as we go, so no loans or anything, I think we will be able to make it on our pensions and social security. I may work a little longer than he does, just for the insurance, we'll see.Good luck on your decision, sounds like you have a plan to me!!
We may not have it all together, but together we have it all! (almost)
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