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ToddandHeather

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About ToddandHeather

  • Birthday 03/12/1965

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    130384
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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Bismarck, ND

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  1. With nearly three years passing since I posted our Budget / Expenses, I thought it might be helpful to update where we stand. Heather and I still full-time. We have upgraded our rig from The Beaver Monterrey to a Tiffin Allegro Bus (Paid Cash from Savings - Numbers not reflected in the attached Budget). We still have the Jeep Liberty as our tow vehicle. I have included our 2016 through 2018 actual expenses as well. Please keep in mind the numbers below reflect our choices with respect to lifestyle (restaurants, diet, alcohol, etc.), location (campground fees) and relocation costs (fuel, propane, etc.). We have visited 31 states in nearly 5 years on the road. We have unlimited internet across 2 mobile phones, a tablet and an ATT Mobley Device. We eat a low carb diet (lots of meat) and enjoy Vodka (me) and Bud Light (with a Hot Damn Chaser [Heather]). We divide most of our time between Ohio & The Black Hills of South Dakota (Summer) and Tucson, Arizona & Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Winter). We basically make one big loop around the country every year. As others have noted, one's expenses can vary greatly depending on where, when and how one chooses to travel - and how one chooses to remain stationary. We relocate less frequently than most full-timers, but on the flip side, our travel miles fall higher than many folks - again, because of our choice to make one giant loop around the country every year. The biggest determination of what this lifestyle costs is YOU. That's the beauty of it all. Safe Travels to you all. 2019 Budget.xlsx
  2. As Kirk Wood suggested, contact Southern Cross Corporation directly. The best time of the year is January through March as things scale up each Spring and slow down a bit every winter. Good Luck to you! IF you have questions, feel free to post them, and I'll do my best to answer.
  3. Overtime can happen, but its extremely rare. Even if offered, excepting it remains optional. We've done it twice in 2 years.
  4. Current Rates: $200 weekly 'per Diem' (campground fees) 79 cents a mile for moving your RV (this changes yearly at 25 cents above the IRS Vehicle deduction) 54 cents a mile for daily driving (exactly as the IRS Guidelines dictate - also changes yearly) $11.00 per hour starting wage Supposedly, negotiations are in place to increase the 'per Diem' rate, but we will see. Looking forward to seeing you come aboard in three years! Todd
  5. Yes. It is Southern Cross. No. I'm not PepeTheDog, but that guy is still with the company - and he's our boss. As it turns out, Southern Cross is experiencing tremendous growth and needs 90+ people for a new project. If interested, let us know. Todd
  6. For the last 18 months, we have 'Work Camped' - but not in the traditional sense of receiving a "free" campsite as all / part of our compensation. Instead, we travel the country inspecting Natural Gas Pipelines as contractors - assisting Natural gas Companies with meeting their Federal / State mandated inspection deadlines. As a result of our employee arrangement, we receive a per diem (to cover campground costs), Mileage Pay One (for our motor-home as we travel the country), Mileage Pay Two (for use of our vehicle during daily travel within our destination area) and Internet Pay (to ensure a reliable connection via mobile networks) - in addition to an hourly wage. Since we function as full-time employees, our position includes Health Insurance and 401K (However, we choose not to contribute to the 401K). Over the last 14 months, we have ONLY spent that which we have earned - allowing our 'retirement income' to remain untouched (as it grows). We have visited 25 states in this time - often staying at Moose Lodges or Elks Lodges (with full hookups), rather than campgrounds or RV Parks, in an effort to reduce costs. We work 40 hours each week delineated any way we choose (five "eights", four "tens" or 40 hours in three days - the choice is ours). While, our arrangement might not suite everyone, for us, it provides a more than livable wage supporting a very active lifestyle. Many similar opportunities to ours exist. One simply needs to think 'outside the box' when searching for these things.
  7. Last year (2015), we came in just shy of $36,000 for the year. However, we increased the budget for 2016 because of where we have chosen to spend the majority of our time - This Summer in The Black Hills of South Dakota, and this coming Winter in Gulfport, Mississippi (with a two week stint at Christmas to Key West, Florida). Due to these geography choices our monthly campground fees increased significantly for this year. Of course, we knew this ahead of time, made the choice anyhow, and budgeted accordingly. The other factor causing us to increase the 2016 budget was an anticipated rise in fuel pricing from last year's lows. January and February of this year saw fuel prices continue to fall. However, they have steadily risen since then. Looking ahead to next year (2017), we will need to adjust the budget once again - but downward this time. Although we expect fuel prices to continue to rise in 2017, our campground fees will be cut to next to nothing (again do to our geographic choices). BTW, Great thread! Good travels to you all!
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