Can I really full time on $2,000 a month

[sandsys]

1 hour ago, Zulu said:

When someone says "I'm doing it", try to find out more about their particular situation. Everyone IS different. For example, Becky of Interstellar Orchard fame is a full timer, but I also believe she is a 20-something -- very different than a 60+ guy.

Go to http://www.cheaprvliving.com and see how many others are doing it. The owner of that site is a 60+ guy.

Linda Sand

[Zulu]

53 minutes ago, sandsys said:

Go to http://www.cheaprvliving.com and see how many others are doing it. The owner of that site is a 60+ guy.

Linda Sand

There's no mention of "health insurance" in his "budget".

Judging from this statement of his "I am young and healthy so I am working as a campground host in some beautiful places," I'll guess he has no medical insurance. 

[trailertraveler]

50 minutes ago, Zulu said:

There's no mention of "health insurance" in his "budget".

Judging from this statement of his "I am young and healthy so I am working as a campground host in some beautiful places," I'll guess he has no medical insurance. 

In the past, he stated that he would pay the tax penalty rather than buy health insurance. Now that the penalty has been lifted, I have no idea what he is doing in regard to health insurance. He stopped his blog a little over a year ago to focus on his You Tube videos. His website is monetized and if you use the Amazon link from his website he makes money on your purchases.

[Zulu]

36 minutes ago, trailertraveler said:

In the past, he stated that he would pay the tax penalty rather than buy health insurance.

So, bottom line, he has no health insurance, which IMHO is nuts even if he is as he claims "young and healthy".

[Kirk W]

16 hours ago, Zulu said:

Your question -- "Can I full time on $XX,XXX?" -- comes up on RV forums fairly often. 

Many people will say "Go for it!", "Wish I were you", etc. I suggest you ignore these. Many times they aren't full timers and really don't know the costs involved.

Agreed!  If the questions is, "is it possible for someone to live in an RV on $2000 per month?" the answer is definite yes it has been and is being done. But that does not mean that you can do so. And there is also a major difference between managing to survive and traveling about the country in comfort and having fun. Before you believe that you can do what someone else is doing, make sure you know in detail what they do and how they do it.

[Twotoes]

Well first you have to figure what it is costing you now to live in a house. Things like food and personal supplies will be the same. You have to pay a mortgage or rent and you will most likely have to make a RV payment so that balances out. Your homeowners or renters insurance will be a LOT cheaper than expensive motorhome insurance. You need to add in the cost of fuel for the motorhome. Now add in the fees to park your motorhome in a RV Park for a day,week or month, and most monthly park fees do not include electric so you may still have some utilities. Repair expenses are usually more for a motorhome over several years of ownership compared to a home.  Then add in tire and battery replacement. I think you are catching on. Depending on your situation you can get buy on $2,000 but what are you spending now in you home and what is and will be your quality of life in a motorhome with the same outlay of money?

[eddie1261]

On 4/13/2018 at 3:58 PM, sandsys said:

Go to http://www.cheaprvliving.com and see how many others are doing it. The owner of that site is a 60+ guy.

Linda Sand

That 60+ guy also makes $72,000 a year from Youtube income, gets donations to a Patreon account, and makes money as an Amazon affiliate.

Edited April 16, 2018 by eddie1261

[eddie1261]

"Live", or "exist"? There is a difference. If you have to park in a big box store parking lot on the 17th and sit there for 2 weeks until your money comes in on the 1st because you have no money for fuel, that is existing. If you are good with sitting in a lawn chair staring straight ahead because you have no money to do things, that is existing.

There was one youtube video of a widowed woman who has $600 a month in Social Security to live on. She lives in her car, eating gas station sandwich type food because she has no way to store food or cook it. She has to tightly budget gas and tends to go from driveway to driveway sponging off people for a month at a time. Is that living or existing?

How do YOU live? You eat expensive dinners in restaurants every night? Do you drink? Smoke? How is the gas mileage in your RV? How often do you plan to move? Are you going to boondock or stay in RV parks? What do you do for entertainment? 

Those are the questions that will determine the answer to that question.

In my case, I still live in my house on a fixed income, and I am making it WITH a mortgage. What will change for me when I hit the road is that I trade a mortgage and utilities for fuel and parks when I stay in them. The mortgage and utilities come to about $950 a month, so if fuel and lot rent when I opt to pay a park come in at $950, I will live just like I do now.  Make sure you keep ONE large credit card at $0 for repairs. You lose a transmission and you are toast if you can't afford to fix it.

Edited April 18, 2018 by eddie1261

[sandsys]

3 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

That 60+ guy also makes $72,000 a year from Youtube income, gets donations to a Patreon account, and makes money as an Amazon affiliate.

But he didn't do any of that when he started. And he wasn't eligible for Social Security yet either. And most of the people he shares info with (to and from) don't have a lot of money either. Beside, wouldn't you want to learn how he pulled off all of that?

Linda

[Coleen]

On 4/15/2018 at 5:27 PM, Twotoes said:

Well first you have to figure what it is costing you now to live in a house.

I think that is an excellent place to start! Of course, I don't know how it will be for you. But, I can tell you, that our expenses went down in every budget category when we moved into the RV full-time.

Things changed within the budget categories. Examples: In "communications," we no longer had a home phone bill to pay each month, but there was the cost of mail forwarding. In "utilities," we no longer had a city water bill, but we did have hot water and electricity expenses at the laundromat. For us, RV insurance was significantly less than our home-owners insurance. RV maintenance and repairs for us come in considerably less than traditional-home maintenance and repairs. In some budget areas we only saved a little, while in others, we saved a bunch.

As for quality of life, ours increased when we moved into the RV full-time.

[eddie1261]

54 minutes ago, sandsys said:

But he didn't do any of that when he started. And he wasn't eligible for Social Security yet either. And most of the people he shares info with (to and from) don't have a lot of money either. Beside, wouldn't you want to learn how he pulled off all of that?

Linda

Actually when he started it was right after a very huge workers comp payout. That was (I believe) 4 vehicles ago, so he makes enough money to have bought 4 new (to him) vans. It's not hard to do when people send you free stuff in exchange for your positive review. Youtube shill is a popular occupation anymore.

[rollindowntheroad]

I currently live on less than $2,000 a month.  I manage an apartment community, get a free apartment and the company pays my electric.  What I have been doing is putting what I would be paying in rent and electric in savings every month, been doing that for the past 6 years.  What ever I want to full time in I will be paying cash for.  I did buy a Jeep Wrangler a couple of months ago for a toad.  I will have that paid off by the time I retire.  I don't eat out a lot.  I don't plan on traveling all the time when I retire.  Stay in one spot a month or so then go to another spot for the same amount of time.

[sandsys]

4 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

Actually when he started it was right after a very huge workers comp payout. That was (I believe) 4 vehicles ago, so he makes enough money to have bought 4 new (to him) vans. It's not hard to do when people send you free stuff in exchange for your positive review. Youtube shill is a popular occupation anymore.

I've been reading Bob's blog since 2008. My memory says he hit the road years before he got the WC payout because I remember him finally getting it. And not all his campers were vans. Right now his primary camper is a box trailer in which he finished the interior himself. Bob does not "shill" for anyone. He does recommend products he has tried and liked. And he tells us about products he tried but didn't like. I, and many other of his readers, appreciate that. Apparently you don't and that's OK. But, please, don't tear him down just because you don't like him.

Linda Sand

[bigjim]

While there are exceptions to the rule in general to qualify for WC something negtive had to happen to you and I would guess that is not the way the majority of people want to get money.  I didn't get WC but had serious life changes including inability to continue my employment. I would rather have the good health.

[eddie1261]

15 hours ago, sandsys said:

 Bob does not "shill" for anyone. He does recommend products he has tried and liked. And he tells us about products he tried but didn't like.

So when he gets all that free stuff, he returns what he doesn't like or sends them a check for what he does keep? Accepting merchandise in exchange for positive reviews is the very definition of shill. I believe his current home on wheels is a converted GMC Savana van.

I am not a fan of anybody who begs for a living. Starting with the people who harass me at the end of an off ramp going all the way up to the electronic beggars on youtube and Patreon. If you need money, get a job rather than begging people for charity.

And this will end my part of the discussion. 

[rollindowntheroad]

Can we please get back to my original question.  Thank you

[NDBirdman]

I could see you doing it on 2k/mo if you own your rig and very little if any bills.  If I was to try it I would include a lot of dispersed camping.

[rollindowntheroad]

I am going to be debt free if I do this.  RV, what ever kind and toad of one is needed will all be paid for.

[sandsys]

31 minutes ago, rollindowntheroad said:

I am going to be debt free if I do this.  RV, what ever kind and toad of one is needed will all be paid for.

That will make you much happier when doing this. Then it mostly comes down to how much you spend for fuel for vehicles and appliances. Moving with the weather helps with the heating/cooling costs if you get good enough milage to not make that a problem instead.

Linda Sand

[justRich]

On 12/26/2017 at 3:00 PM, Larry said:

. . .  My first option is a motor home and a toad.

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".

 
 

[Zulu]

On 4/16/2018 at 5:18 PM, rollindowntheroad said:

I currently live on less than $2,000 a month.  I manage an apartment community, get a free apartment and the company pays my electric.

Not really. This is what I mean by comparing Apples & Oranges.

First, thanks for mentioning that you get a free apartment & electric. Not everyone is so candid.

Since you have to pay for lodging on the road, you're not really living on less than $2K a month. How much would apartment & electric cost?

Your story reminds me of some of the under 65 health insurance threads. Some under 65 folks would swear that health care costs were no big deal. When pressed, some admitted that they had access to low-cost health plans through their former job, the military, or they were just very young. For example, in 2017, Becky of Interstellar Orchard fame, who is 32, paid $18/month for an ACA health plan (thanks to a subsidy).

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

2 minutes ago, Zulu said:

Not really. This is what I mean by comparing Apples & Oranges.

Right.  I see people who are work camping and not paying for their campsite say their campsite cost is $0.  If a person is researching fulltiming costs intends on doing the same thing that's valuable information.  Otherwise, the estimated value of the of the campsite needs to be included.  Or stated differently, if I were parked in the campsite next to you and paying what would it cost me?

When I post my expense information I note that in my camping cost I'm including an estimated value of the site during the months when I volunteer and also annual dues for Thousand Trails, etc. in my camping costs.  (Also, I'll mention that I include a note that I'm not including start up costs - again, like Thousand Trails initial cost, etc.)

I wrote about reading other people's budgets here.

[Kirk W]

19 hours ago, rollindowntheroad said:

Can we please get back to my original question.  Thank you

 

Since I see no question in your first post, I would assume that you wish to return to the opening one from the thread, "Can I travel fulltime on $2000 per month?" As others have indicated, minimum budgets are a very personal thing, In addition, the locations where you stay will also play a major part as nightly rates vary across the country from as low as $30 to more than $100 per night. Monthly rates vary just as much and in some of the higher cost areas, it can be difficult to find a park with a monthly rate. Places like CA or FL are very expensive while in places like KS or NB you may find a few places that cost even less than $30/night.

In addition, your diet will impact grocery costs and those too vary widely by region of the country as do fuel prices and pretty much everything you need. What hobbies you have will make a big difference as some folks wish to play a lot of golf or attend movies while others prefer to go on a hike or take digital photographs. Most people will tend to wish to live a lifestyle that is pretty much the same as you did before going on the road. Most of us spend whatever amount we are used to having to spend. 

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

Probably the first response to the question is "what do you mean by fulltiming?"  If the answer is "live in an RV parked behind my cousin's house" the answer is probably "yes."  If the answer is "travel the country, staying in state, national, private, etc. campgrounds" the answer is probably "no."

[sandsys]

On 4/17/2018 at 2:17 PM, rollindowntheroad said:

Can we please get back to my original question.  Thank you

Sorry. Eddie and I took our argument private. Thanks for reminding us to do that.

Linda