I just got done reading your latest journal entry and loved the "Dance" references. We are about to "Get off the Porch" and we couldn't be happier. Do we have all the answers to the "What ifs?" Heck NO!! But we have each other and we have been through tough times before---it made us stronger. Are we taking a risk, yes a hugh one. We have never done anything like this before, but we wanted to travel and see the country----soooooo that is what we are gonna do!! We have done the research, talked to our accountant, and planned as best we could to minimize the risk. Tomorrow brings, what tomorrow brings---we will meet it together and move forward together. I'm lucky, I already have the "man of my dreams" and now we are about to "follow our dreams". Once again, GREAT POST----you made my day!! Debbie
phyllen said
01:00 PM Aug 17, 2007
Hey, Debbie I am with you girl! Sounds like my story too.
Phyllis
Terri and John said
02:42 PM Aug 17, 2007
I couldn't agree more! Howard's journal entry today hit the nail on the head for me. Debbie's response was also timely. What wonderful reminders as to what put us on this path to begin with.
Terri
wmalefyt said
03:27 PM Aug 17, 2007
Oh are we ready to dance! All we have to do is sell our condo in Naples, FL. and we'll be ready to hit the road fulltime. We may be getting a late start, but we're not afraid to give it a go! We don't have all the answers either, but we're ready to get off the porch too! Send the buyers our way so we can start living our RV-Dream!!!!!!!!!!
Darrell and Judy said
04:53 PM Aug 17, 2007
Yup, Howard nailed it. What so may people don't realize is that there isn't all that much more security in that "normal" lifestyle - as a matter of fact I think we have more security now than in our previous lifestyle. One big risk that a lot of people take, and don't even think twice about it, is living with large amounts of debt. Most people are living one incident away from a major catastrophy and don't even seem to be aware of it. But they will agonize over all sorts of "what if's" rgarding the fulltiming lifestyle. They may think we are crazy, but we have far more flexibility in dealing with life's unexpected events now than we did in the old lifestyle. There are no guarantees in life rather you live in sticks and bricks home or a home with wheels. We sure didn't have all the "i's" dotted and the "t's" crossed our old lives and we aren't even trying to dot them or cross them in this live.
Tim & Robyn said
05:43 AM Aug 18, 2007
Darrell and Judy wrote:
Yup, Howard nailed it. What so may people don't realize is that there isn't all that much more security in that "normal" lifestyle - as a matter of fact I think we have more security now than in our previous lifestyle. ... Most people are living one incident away from a major catastrophy and don't even seem to be aware of it. ... They may think we are crazy, but we have far more flexibility in dealing with life's unexpected events now than we did in the old lifestyle. There are no guarantees in life...
Howard nailed it and so did you. I, like most of us here, am a baby boomer. Think about what we were all taught as we grew up... Don't worry about retirement, Social Security and Medicare will be there for you when you retire... Owning a home is the best investment you can make... Buy now with NO INTEREST for 12 months! What a deal! Think about how much money you will save!
When I look back I see that what I was taught (bombarded with?) was that there were more and more ways to have instant gratification... to have 'stuff' NOW and worry about paying for it later. There was little to no teaching about how to become self-reliant, or if it was there, it sure got drowned out by the Madison Ave. types.
Now we've got a Social Security system that is teetering on insolvency... "but don't worry... the government will take care of you (by taking it away from someone else who actually earned it)"... Or will they? As for owning a house, how many people have we seen posting here who have everything tied up in a home that they now can't sell? That big asset has become an even bigger albatross.
The way I see it, the fulltime lifestyle is more flexible, without a doubt... you take your home with you wherever you go; you learn to be more self-reliant... The problem with depending on others for your needs, whether it be government or something else, is that they also get to make the rules... they get control of your life. So in exchange for more 'security' you become less free. Plus you only get as much 'security' as the PTB decide you need, and they can change the rules any time it suits them. Once they've got you, you're stuck. For another example of that just look at all the questions that get asked about residency issues on this board and others.
If I'm living fulltime in an rv and I get cancer again, hey I can GO to the John D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, or wherever, if I need to.... My insurance would have paid for at least some of it the first time, but I couldn't afford the travel to go there then because my sticks-and-bricks lifestyle and my instant gratification upbringing were eating up all my disposable income.
You have to decide what you want, and what is important to you. Nobody else can or has the right to make that decision for you. Someday, no matter what, I'm going to depart this world. In the meantime, I have decided that for me freedom is more important than security, and that's what I see in this lifestyle.
Knowing all this now, if I were 20 years old and just starting out again would I do things differently? You bet... I played by all the rules the first time around and found out the hard way that someone else could change the rules - and it seldom worked out to my advantage. I've kept my nose to the grindstone, sacrificing freedom (but not 'stuff') in exchange for some vague promises 'later on'... but the promises have been broken, and the 'stuff' kept me in bondage for even longer.
So I will take freedom over security, thank you very much, because there ARE no guarantees of security. I don't think I will ever have a carefree life, but I can enjoy what life I have while I'm here.
Darrell and Judy said
06:59 AM Aug 18, 2007
Keep on preaching, Tim and Robyn, and I'll turn the pages.
hogans1947 said
07:38 AM Aug 18, 2007
All I can add is "Amen and Amen" !!!!!!!!!! Brenda
ken and cindy said
08:40 AM Aug 18, 2007
You all nailed it !
I call it feeding the "BEAST" you go to work and pay and pay and pay, in the end all you did was feed the corporate beast.
A third of your income goes the the Goverment beast (income tax,etc..), over half goes to the banking beast (financing and payments) the rest goes to food/clothing and sales tax.
All the retirement calculators are designed to make sure you work till you drop dead always trying to get to "THEIR" magic number !
Fulltiming in the RV gives you alot more choices IMHO, if your living in a economically depressed area you move, no home to sell nothing ,just move and go to work somewhere else.
Then there's life and health insurance, I dont know about you guy's, but it would cost me about half the amount my company charges to go with the online services like H&L uses ! Whats wrong with that picture ?(the beast)
I just cant seem to find a downside going full time, even if you have to work a little longer for some traveling money. The people are friendly and the scenery is breathtaking. Who said "I would rather regret the things I have done than to live with the regrets of things I didnt do" ?
Good example ,where I live (gulf coast Tx) There's a good chance we could get a Cat 5 hurricane , Guess what we will be doing ? Thats right, sipping a cold beverage somewhere safe with all my loved ones in our mobile luxury condo.
Froggi said
11:39 AM Aug 18, 2007
I know all three of those songs and never put one with the other.....they are all so true. Toss in "Live Like You Were Dying"......life is not a dress rehearsal. I plan to LIVE IT! <g>
Roz said
03:55 PM Aug 18, 2007
Greetings to all who has commented on the "dance". This appeared in my e-mail this morning from someone truly in a scary situation with his health.
I feel it goes right along with what each of you has said. Here it is~
Attitude is everything!
There was a woman who awakend one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?" So she did, and she had a wonderful day!
The next day she awakened, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?" So she did and she had a grand day!!
The next day she awakened, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a gloriois day!!!
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. She was simply extactic and exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"
Yep, attitude is everything!!!
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly.......Leave the rest to God.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.
Terri
When I look back I see that what I was taught (bombarded with?) was that there were more and more ways to have instant gratification... to have 'stuff' NOW and worry about paying for it later. There was little to no teaching about how to become self-reliant, or if it was there, it sure got drowned out by the Madison Ave. types.
Now we've got a Social Security system that is teetering on insolvency... "but don't worry... the government will take care of you (by taking it away from someone else who actually earned it)"... Or will they? As for owning a house, how many people have we seen posting here who have everything tied up in a home that they now can't sell? That big asset has become an even bigger albatross.
The way I see it, the fulltime lifestyle is more flexible, without a doubt... you take your home with you wherever you go; you learn to be more self-reliant... The problem with depending on others for your needs, whether it be government or something else, is that they also get to make the rules... they get control of your life. So in exchange for more 'security' you become less free. Plus you only get as much 'security' as the PTB decide you need, and they can change the rules any time it suits them. Once they've got you, you're stuck. For another example of that just look at all the questions that get asked about residency issues on this board and others.
If I'm living fulltime in an rv and I get cancer again, hey I can GO to the John D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, or wherever, if I need to.... My insurance would have paid for at least some of it the first time, but I couldn't afford the travel to go there then because my sticks-and-bricks lifestyle and my instant gratification upbringing were eating up all my disposable income.
You have to decide what you want, and what is important to you. Nobody else can or has the right to make that decision for you. Someday, no matter what, I'm going to depart this world. In the meantime, I have decided that for me freedom is more important than security, and that's what I see in this lifestyle.
Knowing all this now, if I were 20 years old and just starting out again would I do things differently? You bet... I played by all the rules the first time around and found out the hard way that someone else could change the rules - and it seldom worked out to my advantage. I've kept my nose to the grindstone, sacrificing freedom (but not 'stuff') in exchange for some vague promises 'later on'... but the promises have been broken, and the 'stuff' kept me in bondage for even longer.
So I will take freedom over security, thank you very much, because there ARE no guarantees of security. I don't think I will ever have a carefree life, but I can enjoy what life I have while I'm here.
Brenda
I call it feeding the "BEAST" you go to work and pay and pay and pay, in the end all you did was feed the corporate beast.
A third of your income goes the the Goverment beast (income tax,etc..), over half goes to the banking beast (financing and payments) the rest goes to food/clothing and sales tax.
All the retirement calculators are designed to make sure you work till you drop dead always trying to get to "THEIR" magic number !
Fulltiming in the RV gives you alot more choices IMHO, if your living in a economically depressed area you move, no home to sell nothing ,just move and go to work somewhere else.
Then there's life and health insurance, I dont know about you guy's, but it would cost me about half the amount my company charges to go with the online services like H&L uses ! Whats wrong with that picture ?(the beast)
I just cant seem to find a downside going full time, even if you have to work a little longer for some traveling money. The people are friendly and the scenery is breathtaking. Who said "I would rather regret the things I have done than to live with the regrets of things I didnt do" ?
Good example ,where I live (gulf coast Tx) There's a good chance we could get a Cat 5 hurricane , Guess what we will be doing ? Thats right, sipping a cold beverage somewhere safe with all my loved ones in our mobile luxury condo.
I feel it goes right along with what each of you has said. Here it is~
Attitude is everything!
There was a woman who awakend one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?" So she did, and she had a wonderful day!
The next day she awakened, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?" So she did and she had a grand day!!
The next day she awakened, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a gloriois day!!!
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. She was simply extactic and exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"
Yep, attitude is everything!!!
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly.......Leave the rest to God.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.