My husband and I have been going through some trying times lately and I am thinking it is time to throw caution to the wind and do something totally outside the box. FULL TIMING!
The thing is we are in a bad place financially. My husband is in a job he is not enjoying and it is not paying the bills. We can not really afford the house we are renting to own. I have tried a few business ideas that have failed. Basically what I am saying is we *currently* have no savings and no credit cards (and bad credit to boot).
My husband works as security for a major retail store so he can not take his job with him. I am looking for a new work from home internet based job but it is slow going.
Do you think we could get by workamping for our lot and hook ups and hopefully food money and then both working a small online job to pay for insurance, gas, etc? We would of course save some money and put our next tax refund into savings as well.
Is that a totally unreasonable scenario?
TxYellowRose said
06:45 PM Apr 26, 2010
No way am I going to say yea or nay (only you and your DH know yourselves and your lives), but just give you a couple of things to keep in mind:
Do you currently have a rig? If not, how will you purchase one?
If you get a used rig, there may be repairs needed up front and down the road. Of course, that can be true of brand new rigs, too.
If you work online...and depending what state you work in...there will be personal income tax...and perhaps no tax taken out of online wages. You will need to budget for tax payment.
If you have not done so already, you might really want to research the full-time lifestyle...pros, cons, good, bad...before making a decision.
There will still be expenses, jobs to be found and kept, stresses, and "stuff" happening. That being said, it can be an interesting and rewarding lifestyle.
Or at least I've heard...we are making the jump later this summer.
I bet some others will chime in with suggestions and advice much wiser than mine; again, just a couple of things to consider.
Good luck with whatever you decide!
Racerguy said
09:25 PM Apr 26, 2010
Every scenerio I ever ran showed full time RVing basically costs the same as living in a stix and brix.You just trade one expense for another. I suggest you look at Howard and Linda's budget page and just Google RV budgets. This will give you an Idea if you can do it or not.My belief is there is a misconception that full time RVing is an inexpensive way to live. Can it be done,yes there are those with very frugal budgets but for the most part there is not a big savings to be had.I think there is a couple that post on here that get by on very little and are quite happy,maybe they will chime in.Do your homework .
GENECOP said
12:32 PM Apr 27, 2010
It can be done, working and living on the road is certainly an option, i disagree that living on the road costs the same as a house that you own, i dont talk from experiance but i have read about people who full time and get by on $1500 to $2000 a month, that would be a trick in a stix and brix. Maybe the change is what you need, a fresh start, a new experience, G
azrving said
02:36 PM Apr 27, 2010
GENECOP wrote:
It can be done, working and living on the road is certainly an option, i disagree that living on the road costs the same as a house that you own, i dont talk from experiance but i have read about people who full time and get by on $1500 to $2000 a month, that would be a trick in a stix and brix. Maybe the change is what you need, a fresh start, a new experience, G
I agree! The RV has to be cheaper than the S&B! We spend $3000+ per month to live in our house.
There is the mortgage, property taxes, electric, water, sewer, trash pick-up, repairs, insurance, cable, internet, phone, etc. I have crunched the #s too and I find that we can live comfortably on the road with 1/3 the income we have now.
We plan to do a lot of "boon docking" and will probably stay in one spot for 2-3 weeks when we do rent an RV space, which will let us take advantage of lower rates. We also have our TV and RV paid for so there will be very little overhead when we hit the road.
If you decide to give it a shot, I hope it all works out well and you are happy with your new lifestyle. Take care.
MW
crunchymom said
02:43 PM Apr 27, 2010
Thank you for your honest thoughts.
Right now our basic bills are $1650 a month and our income is 1770 a month BEFORE TAXES. My husband's commute to work costs us about $50 a week in gas plus about $20 a week when I need to do errands. So right there we are already running in the red with out even talking about food, clothes, pet food, my husband's meds, supplies ect. Other than a car payment (that we want to get rid of) and personal debt to relatives (with no binding terms) we have no debt. As you can see we are used to living on very little. I guess the fear that we would only have about $10,000. in the bank is what would worry me most. Of course that is several months of income for us, so maybe. Oh and we live in an income tax free state and would be keeping our residency there because of that and the great homeschool laws :)
Thanks again for being honest!
The Bear II said
04:21 PM Apr 27, 2010
Take a look at these articles regarding Extreme Saving.... it's a technique many have used to be able to get out of debt or save for something they want or get into fulltime RVing:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/10/pf/saving/frugal_living/index.htm
http://www.43things.com/entries/view/1190457
http://articles.webraydian.com/article7775-Fighting_Debt_With_Extreme_Savings.html
Many folks find the courses offered by Dave Ramsey very valuable and have made it possible for them to turn their lives around. Here's Dave's website:
http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home/
Good luck....
Racerguy said
07:09 PM Apr 27, 2010
Not saying it can't be done. We each have our own comfort level.My s&b expenses may not reflect most as we have been debt free for years with our home being paid off years ago.Just don't want people to think RVing is an ultra cheap way to live and enjoy doing so.You can save by boondocking but in order to do that you will have a sizable up front expense. Living in a Rv you still have repair costs,insurance,propane,electric,phone, fuel for TV and etc.All I am saying is do your homework and figure every angle.
2fortheroad said
11:17 PM Apr 27, 2010
Right On The Bear II !! We did what Dave Ramsey suggests and it really made a difference in our situation.
Crunchymom, I have to agree with George on this one, make sure you do your homework its a big step. Its just my humble opinion but while you are working the prospect of fulltime RVn please check out the Dave Ramsey program. In most communities there are various churches that offer the Ramsey Financial Peace University.
One other point I think you need to consider. Just because you may not have a written contract, how is it any less binding that you are in debt to family and friends? Running from your problems will only create more problems. Sorry for being so blunt and we truly hope the best for you.
Workinrvers said
03:24 PM Apr 28, 2010
Crunchymom,
You can consider doing jobs outside of the campground. These usually pay better than traditional work camping jobs but of course don't include your site fees.
Here is a link to a company that hires fulltime Rver's to be "mobile" temporary managers for their storage units. You fill in for vacationing managers and fill the void when a manager leaves until new ones can be hired. I believe that staying on site until the assignment is completed is an option as well but not positive. Not sure if this would be an option for you or not.
-- Edited by Phil Bob on Wednesday 28th of April 2010 03:26:34 PM
Hdrider said
06:12 AM Apr 29, 2010
I happen to run a building supply store that just happens to be a couple blocks from a RV park. One of my good empleyee's is a full timer that is in that park. I always end up with a # of seasonal openings that a full timer wanting to stay put for maybe 3 months or so would be perfect for (if qualified). Ya never know.
No way am I going to say yea or nay (only you and your DH know yourselves and your lives), but just give you a couple of things to keep in mind:
Do you currently have a rig? If not, how will you purchase one?
If you get a used rig, there may be repairs needed up front and down the road. Of course, that can be true of brand new rigs, too.
If you work online...and depending what state you work in...there will be personal income tax...and perhaps no tax taken out of online wages. You will need to budget for tax payment.
If you have not done so already, you might really want to research the full-time lifestyle...pros, cons, good, bad...before making a decision.
There will still be expenses, jobs to be found and kept, stresses, and "stuff" happening. That being said, it can be an interesting and rewarding lifestyle.
Or at least I've heard...we are making the jump later this summer.
I bet some others will chime in with suggestions and advice much wiser than mine; again, just a couple of things to consider.
Good luck with whatever you decide!
I agree! The RV has to be cheaper than the S&B! We spend $3000+ per month to live in our house.
There is the mortgage, property taxes, electric, water, sewer, trash pick-up, repairs, insurance, cable, internet, phone, etc. I have crunched the #s too and I find that we can live comfortably on the road with 1/3 the income we have now.
We plan to do a lot of "boon docking" and will probably stay in one spot for 2-3 weeks when we do rent an RV space, which will let us take advantage of lower rates. We also have our TV and RV paid for so there will be very little overhead when we hit the road.
If you decide to give it a shot, I hope it all works out well and you are happy with your new lifestyle. Take care.
MW
Crunchymom, I have to agree with George on this one, make sure you do your homework its a big step. Its just my humble opinion but while you are working the prospect of fulltime RVn please check out the Dave Ramsey program. In most communities there are various churches that offer the Ramsey Financial Peace University.
One other point I think you need to consider. Just because you may not have a written contract, how is it any less binding that you are in debt to family and friends? Running from your problems will only create more problems. Sorry for being so blunt and we truly hope the best for you.
You can consider doing jobs outside of the campground. These usually pay better than traditional work camping jobs but of course don't include your site fees.
Here is a link to a company that hires fulltime Rver's to be "mobile" temporary managers for their storage units. You fill in for vacationing managers and fill the void when a manager leaves until new ones can be hired. I believe that staying on site until the assignment is completed is an option as well but not positive. Not sure if this would be an option for you or not.
http://www.miniustorage.com/jobs.aspx
Phil
-- Edited by Phil Bob on Wednesday 28th of April 2010 03:26:34 PM
I always end up with a # of seasonal openings that a full timer wanting to stay put for maybe 3 months or so would be perfect for (if qualified). Ya never know.