Barbaraok

After  the 1st of November, the only sure way is south to I-10 then head west.  And even then, the section of I-10 leading into El Paso has been known to ice over so keep watching the weather as you come across.    It is going to be right around 70 for the high for the next week in Phoenix.  We're running a little warm this winter.

13 hours ago, Loren said:

Where can I find a deal like you have with a $550 deed with a $89 maintenance fee. Is there a web site that gives coast to coast campground deed price and yearly maintenance fees? 

 

You can not buy C2C separately.  You have to get a home membership and C2C is including in buying into the home park.  

11 hours ago, Tahoe Shark said:

I’m with you guys. The forums are turning away from RV’s and advocating social and financial platforms more and more.  Looking forward to seeing you again in Quartzsite in a couple weeks.

Maybe the discussion will lead people to better understand how climate changes affect where they will spend their time when RVing, such as getting away from the heat by going to the PNW only to end up in  a heat bomb with tem peratures hotter than Mesa, AZ in June!      Or why wine growers in Southern Oregon are introducing bigger reds that once were only grown further south in California because of high temperatures.    Or why increasing ocean temperatures leads to more frequent and more violent summer into fall storms throughout the midwest - something no one in an RV wants to be caught in!  

I do wish more people had taken some basic physical science/earth science classes.

6 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Here's a madman theory on why we are warming more now than past decades…..

Clearly you don’t understand the difference between dust block8ng sunlight and increased CO2 leading to warmer oceans temperatures, which leads to more energy in the environment, more chaotic weather, shidfts, etc.

6 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

Scientists get paid just like everyone else.

One only wishes …

6 hours ago, sandsys said:

I hope that future generations will decide they don't want our excessive lifestyles. Minimalism rules!

Linda

How true.  We just bought a new home and are trying to figure out why we still had so much stuff we really don’t need.  And we have cleaned out every year!

Climate change is changing the weather EVERYWHERE.  

As long as there isn't warming winds that all melt all of that before it compacts and freezes hard.  That's what gives slow release come spring that refill reservoirs without flooding out valleys.    Always something to wish for - early spring warm winds are the bane of everyone who lives in a narrow valley in either the Sierras or the Cascades.   

62 mph is the motorhome's sweet spot.  After 15 years, and 160K+ miles, that's where she get 8.5 mpg - not bad for moving a 32K lb home bouncing down the road. 

Anyone using the phrase "There will never be ......." broadcasts their inability to imagine.   Most kids today do not understand the reference to "Dick Tracy Watch", but they are wearing them!   People laughed when Steve Jobs said he wanted a computer in every home,  we now have 2 computers, 2 smartphones and a tablet in ours.   My grandfather was born in 1880, lived on the Montana prairie, where he rounded up wild horses for the Army, owned a livery stable where the first cars were serviced,  helped build Grand Coulee Dam, and flew in a commercial airline before he died.  Mom was born in a Soddy on that Montana prairie in 1922 and lived to be 97.  The number of changes in her lifetime were huge.  She even flew to Australia with her granddaughter in 1999.  She never could figure out how to use a computer, but was always thrilled for us to pull up things for her to read, etc.    

I feel sorry for those who have lost the ability to imagine, to wonder at what is on the horizon and hope that the problems of tomorrow are conquered because people continue to dream and ask "Why Not?
 

Damn computers, they get so persnickety about missing or two many letters - - we always know what we mean when we type, as do the people at any place typing info in.  Why I love the strips/square on the back of things.   

Do you have the STAR in the corner of your DL?   Texas issues both, but the only one considered for ID is the "Real ID" one that has a gold star in the upper right corner.   

No humidity would be far west Texas.  Think Midland-Odessa area!

East Texas is often extremely humid!

Hill Country is roughly  Waco to San Antonio, between US 87 on west and I-35 on east..    

East Tesas starts about 40 miles east of Dallas (Greenville)  to Louisiana.   Oklahoma border on the north to Huntsville  east of I-45.  Exclude metro Houston but keep in Beaumont  

Coastal Bend, area all around Corpus Christie.

RGV, Brownsville up the Rio Grand River to Larado-Del Rio area.   .

North Texas - Corsicana up to Oklahoma border., as far west as about Abeliene

What's left is West Texas

Remember, they were going to make 5 states out of Texas at one point.    

Climate change means we can not longer depend upon what the weather is "suppose to be" like for the winter.   Just had. huge rain DAY here in Phoenix.   Much needed, but not what one would expect in December.   Every area is going through changes, new normals will have to be established.

I am sitting in the living room of my Christmas present (also my anniversary, birthday, etc.) for the next few years.   We have purchased a home in Mesa, AZ and are moving into it.   Will officially become Arizona residents on January 2nd.  Takes time to make a move and trying to do registrations, etc. during Christmas-New Years is just impossible.    So I now have a DISHWASHER, a Garbage Disposal and TWO TOILETS!   As one ages, the advantage of that 2nd toilet become more and more and more evident!  😉

One of the things that has changed is how rapidly one is able to move funds now compared to even just a few years ago, so that you can keep more of your funds working for you.   And of course, at our age once has to consider how much one wants to spend on ourselves versus setting money aside for your family.   

RV:

Several days to access money in a fund?  Really?   I put in a sell order, with proceeds to my checking account, it is there the next day if I put in the order early, or the day after if it was in the afternoon/evening.     Yes, we keep a minimum savings account linked to our checking account to avoid any bank charges and for emergency withdrawals.  It is parked money, period.  We don't depend upon that for our retirement.   

I don't remember saying that one would depend upon a money market/CD/savings account for ALL of their retirement (social security is ongoing for everyone) but rather there are a lot of people who are so scared of even index funds that they substantial portions of their retirement funds in such accounts.     

Kirk:

At our age we are not in danger of losing a job, so the 6 months of living expenses figure would be in case of what?   The world ending? Total collapse of the financial systems?   Tornado hitting the house - that's why one has insurance on the house.     Massive car breakdown - preventative maintenance and knowing it is time to upgrade limit exposure.    Illnesses, well we know that is coming and have planned accordingly.     So while having 1 month's income stream set aside, why would we need 6 months?

Parking money in a Money Market fund as part of your brokerage account is one thing, something pretty common for people to do.  Depending upon a Savings or Money Market fund to be a substantial part of your retirement funds for day to day living would have one ending up with less and less each month.   For several months it would be better to park the money in a long-term treasury fund so you would get a little interest (better than money market/savings) while waiting to use it for a purchase of some kind.   

High Yield Savings Account - 😂😂😂😂

When it comes to safety, doing more to satisfy that little voice inside you is always a good idea!

The old adage of being more conservative as one ages doesn’t work anymore.  That includes even some funds in small cap stocks with potential for large gains.   We’ve done quite well with Vanguard Funds.    Unlike a lot of people, we took our SS at 62 so we wouldn’t have to touch our IRAs.  That meant they kept on working for us.  We have taken out ALL that we put in and they still are worth more than the amount we put in, earning more each year than our RMDs!  And our other investments are also doing well, so that we are able to roll the RMDs into taxable accounts that keep growing.  

Our diesel motorhome doesn't have a "Park" in the transmission, just drive, neutral, reverse.   To shut down and drop air, level, we have to be in neutral.  If on any kind of an incline we put a chock or two out.  We had our parking brake develop a problem and started to role forward while we were in the coach, had just arrived.   Had to replace the parking brake.   Even though it now works correctly, we just chock when on an incline.   Just feels better.     

Except that's not what he did.  His "patch" would have me screaming if I was married to him!

Cutting a hole into the outside of the RV to find and interior leak?  Yikes!  

On 11/24/2021 at 9:41 AM, mptjelgin said:

The insurance information is in a database, and is checked at the time of the registration, at least for the online registrations that I've done the past many years. 

However, for state inspection you do need to show proof of insurance, and the card is sufficient. I've never had to produce the actual insurance policy for anything. 

 

And in Texas a digital card on your phone is all you need.   Not all states goes with just the digital, so we also carry a copy of the form in the glove compartment.  

Maybe a picture of the weight sticker?