justRich

Two questions; 1) Part time RVer. Our properties own us. 2) I don't think about it. Or care. Opinion: I suspect that a few full-timers are in good financial shape. And others are financially precarious but are "livin' the life". I'm very careful about forming opinions without more information. I simply don't know.

Well, that last post sparked sadness. They (usually motorcyclists) say that the difference between wearing a helmet or not is whether or not the funeral is open casket or closed.

Caretaker.org : This might be useful for travelers that like to park themselves for any period of time and collect pay. Advertisers usually seek full time caretakers for wealthy individual properties, lodges, ranches, etc . The most recent one is for a ghost town. 😊 I follow them on Twitter as the Caretaker Gazette (@Housesitter).

Thanks Vern. Another useful site where Onan's are discussed is this one: https://www.smokstak.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=1

Good question. They are not listed. To my knowledge, everything on board the camper is covered. This includes laptops, electronics, etc. I'll speak with my agent about the upgrades to truck, tow and camper. Healthcare Directive. This is one that stays with the camper. Passport - doesn't do any good at home - it's in the camper.

Last week I photo documented all the "add-on" upgrades to my insured vehicles. Solar panels, auxiliary braking system, SuperHitch, SuperTruss, etc. etc. Easily $5,000 or more in non-stock upgrades. Packaged the digital photos in a zip file and uploaded them to my Google cloud space. Once and done - just in case.

I strongly recommend reading this article: https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/newbie-articles/9-lessons-from-a-truck-camper-accident/?singlepage=1 The author's rig was T-boned on the highway. Good tips.

Eagle Cap / Adventurer located in Yakima, WA.

We have the old unlimited Verizon plan and have used PdaNet for years. But no longer. If you're a Costco member, take a look at the Moto G8 phone. I have an older Moto G4 phone and it has built-in wifi hotspot (free - nada - no charge). It's simple as pie. If you have the Verizon unlimited data plan you can simply activate the Moto G hotspot and presto! - you've got your wifi hotspot. (Of course you have to set up your wifi password first.) I've been using this system for about two years with my older Moto G4. DW purchased the newer Moto G8 phone and it works the same (the phone itself has newer and some better features though). There maybe other phone manufacturers that provide the same service provision, so it's worth a look. PdaNet is dead. Correction: PdaNet is not defunct. It's only dead in the sense that there is no need for it on newer more capable phones.

I've known this guy (telcoman) for almost 14 years and have "caravan" traveled with him on his first Mexico tour about 5 years ago (or was it longer)? He knows travel and I would recommend his expertise. He probably hesitates to capitalize on this forum for commercial purposes, so let me do it for him. The organized caravan seems expensive but it is a good value. All the work is done for you except the driving. The Mexican Auto Club (called Green Angels) accompanies caravan travel - providing emergency service if needed, and blocking traffic in the more urban areas to allow passage of the caravan. While one cannot pick the group that travels in the caravan, everyone is like-minded when it comes to RV-ing, exploration and adventure. It's a lot of fun and the more I think about it, I might do it again next year. Here's the website: https://www.mexicorvbuddies.com/index.php See you on the road. . .

I think that the above is good advice. There's plenty of land available in Washington but it's expensive. Low cost land will be far from where the jobs are. Build a house? So you want to become a "developer"? The hated word "developer" is how you will be viewed by most municipalities - if what you want to do is clear the land and build a house. (been there, done that). Be aware that in Western Washington, most raw land is covered by forest. You would have to cut down the forest. If you leave trees standing, your house would soon become mildewy, moldy or covered in leaves or needles. Eastern Washington is developing rapidly and may have jobs. Land is cheaper and flatter - more desert like with blazing hot summers and freezing winters. You would find living in an RV very expensive due to heating and cooling expenses. I'm sorry, but your proposal question is a bit of a fairy tale. Unless one has a ton of money, real estate knowledge and desire, it's not a good idea to become a builder/developer. Focus on your profession, keep expenses low as possible, and save for the future.

Your article quotes Michael Kitces, a widely respected guru to the financial planners. Kitces further writes on his own blog additional supporting evidence (with more in-depth analysis than most are willing to read): In other words. . .you'll could be leaving a lot of money on the table by strictly adhering to the 4% rule.

If the home is paid for and one intends to keep it, it might be worthing look at a reverse mortgage. The reverse mortgage could pay the maintenance, landscaping and property taxes. Careful structuring of the RM and tax planning might let one have their cake and eat it too.

MJ did and does hold Tilray - Tilray is one of MJ's top three holdings. I don't get excited about these things, unless they totally dump and all the money goes away. None-the-less, I believe that the marijuana industry is a lot like Facebook in the early days - a lot of people don't believe that it's more than a passing thing - I think not.

There is one ETF available in the US, symbol: MJ

There's only one pot ETF so far as I know: MJ Solar power is marching forward too. Up to 22 percent efficiency test and easily applied to mass production: https://samueli.ucla.edu/dual-layer-solar-cell-developed-at-ucla-sets-record-for-efficiently-generating-power/

Apparently one major liquor company (Constellation Brands) purchased Canopy Growth and other big alcohol companies are looking into buying the other weed growers.

Part of the expense for the drive-away companies is getting their driver returned home. You, the owner, will bear the expense of getting the driver back home - an expense that is built into the cost. I spoke with an owner of one drive-away company and learned that that particular company did not have a return route that would pay them - thus the driver's return to home was part of my cost. I did not pursue the matter. (I was trying to get my garden tractor shipped to Arizona from Washington. Still haven't done it.)

Retired at 62, DW at 57 - both in pretty good shape - nothing to slow us down. We've always been worker bees. Can't seem to stop doing projects, saving and investing. But finally did a detailed analysis of our financials; expenses, income and projected income. The outcome was that our modest lifestyle will probably never eat through our incomes/savings . . .short of a devastating illness. The advisor to the advisors posted this article: Retirees Aren’t Spending The Way They “Should” - It might help with your decision.

The motor home and toad would be my first choice. Save harder though. . .my research points toward a diesel pusher - and the newer ones with more horsepower ain't cheap! I had the truck camper for years and bought the toad in preparation for eventually getting the motorhome. (I haven't made that leap yet.) We still like the truck camper for just the two of us and rarely spend much time inside of it. The toad is now "essential" to our travel explorations. We like to cook by grill, oven or stove top and rarely eat out (except for the occasional Subway sandwich stop during travel). My budget killers when we are home are Home Depot, Lowes & Costco. It's amazing how much we save when traveling and not buying "stuff". I'm pretty sure that I could keep it under $2,000 if traveling by myself - maybe even with two of us. (Health insurance costs are a bit higher since wife is still not yet Medicare eligible.) Just be sure not to be attached to an HMO as they are a hassle when "out of territory".

Good to know. Cold Brewer search.

And found this just now: Science takes on coffee - from the University of Oregon: https://around.uoregon.edu/drcoffee

CNET had this interesting post about "paper filters vs metal filters". We've used the Aeropress for boondocking for close to 8 or so years. Purchased at Amazon. But when possible, we prefer our Keurig machine for ease of use. The french press (no longer used by us) requires too much water to clean - but produces a great cup of coffee. The Target store in Scottsdale had the Aeropress on the shelf in the coffee machine department. Keurig and Aeropress - probably the best two in-home coffee machines.

How timely. . .Bitcoin dropped more than 30-percent today. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-much-has-been-lost-in-fridays-cryptocurrency-rout-nearly-150-billion-2017-12-22

I sold all my individual stocks and went to all mutual / ETF funds a few years ago. Jack Bogle and Warren Buffet are my preferred authors. The economic rebound is due to just one major thing; the decline in oil prices. Oil prices were a major blood-sucking tax on our economy. With the advent of shale oil production and new drilling, oil got killed. Our current economy is mostly due to energy costs decline. That said, I see no immediate threat to the economy other than temporary flights of panic. More serious events that could occur might be war or a 1917 type flu epidemic. Or perhaps a run-away stock market? Business is good, help wanted signs abound and the major news headlines carry sexual harassment stories. How bad can that be? If one's entire retirement is in stocks and bonds (without annuities, rentals, pensions, social security or other stable income sources) then I would be very concerned. Diversification into less market dependent income streams would be my personal preference. The "survivalist"; these people don't have a firm grip on reality. The neighborhoods I live in and the people that I know would band together and organize very quickly. "Cooperation" is our strength. Loners are just that - loners. One last thing of possible interest are the "Lazy Portfolios" : https://www.marketwatch.com/lazyportfolio And a helpful resource for testing an analytics: https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/