Not to be presumptuous, but I thought that some of you full-timers and some of you wannabees might get a kick out of hearing what one couple is doing to prepare for their "debut" as full-timers come the fall of 2009. Yes, that seems like a long way from now, but we have a lot to accomplish.
Sandy and I reached our decision in early August of this year to become full-timers in 2009 when she can retire. It is too early to sell the house, but not too early to begin selling some of the stuff we have accumulated over the years. Once we each parted with something "treasured" it became easier. We are busy eBaying almost some of every day and banking the proceeds.
Because we plan/hope to be on the road for 5 years, it doesn't make economic sense to pay storage costs on anything large for such a long period of time as well as paying to get it to the storage facility and then moved from Illinois to a state where rain does not turn to snow.
I've also devoted considerable time to surfing the web and learning from several good web sites some of what we will need to know once we "jump on the bus."
Next year we will attend a Life on Wheels class in Iowa. I figure tht is not too early to begin learning what we don't know and what we need to know. Plus, we both feel the opportunity to meet and talk with Rvers will be invaluable and provide us with lots of helpful information.
Speaking of information, we are open to any and all suggestions you want to pass along.
So that's whre we are at. Howard and Linda have provided great insight into full-time RVing and I get my daily fix from his excellent journal entires.
Have a great day, we look forward to meeting some of you at campgrounds in this beautiful country.
George and Sandy
aka: foxriverguy
Racerguy said
10:19 PM Oct 23, 2006
You are on the same time frame as my wife Linda and I . She is retired now and I will be in spring of 2009. As you are, we are now selling our " stuff ". Have been e-baying for extra income for a couple years, but seems kinda strange to be selling our " stuff ". 2 years sounds like a long time but I think we will both find it will go pretty fast considering the many things that need to be done. Good luck and maybe our paths will cross some day.
Doncat said
11:43 AM Nov 9, 2006
Racerguy wrote:
You are on the same time frame as my wife Linda and I . She is retired now and I will be in spring of 2009. As you are, we are now selling our " stuff ". Have been e-baying for extra income for a couple years, but seems kinda strange to be selling our " stuff ". 2 years sounds like a long time but I think we will both find it will go pretty fast considering the many things that need to be done. Good luck and maybe our paths will cross some day.
We are also planning (and wishing) for fulltiming, however we have more time to prepare. I cannot retire until 2012! I may have to just quit my job, sell my house and go for it!
-- Edited by Doncat at 12:44, 2006-11-09
Tmcblane said
07:23 PM Nov 10, 2006
We spent not quite 2 years getting rid of things but still had a bunch to do at the end. Even though we planned on when it would be seems like we just didn't do enough prior. It gets easier to dispose of things as the time gets closer.
You will love fulltiming, the freedom is fantastic. 2009 is not really all that far away. Goals are nice because you can see the time coming and it makes the excitement all that much greater. :)
Tylersamma said
04:15 PM Nov 16, 2006
Believe me, that 5 years will fly by faster than you can imagine! We have been preparing for the past 5 years and are now in the final months, still with a lot to do! My advice for you at this time would be to carefully consider each and every purchase you make, be it clothing, appliances, house furnishings, whatever. Will you need it fulltiming, or will it be something else you will need to get rid of when the time comes? Also, there are quite a few books available that are written by RV Fulltimers. Check out RVBookstore.com. I have read several of them 2-3 times. Keep a notebook handy and take notes. Review those notes periodically to see how you are progressing in your planning. We even made a general time line 5 years ago that we check our progress against. Now we have a new time line, targeting month to month, rather than year to year. Good luck and have fun doing your research!
You are on the same time frame as my wife Linda and I . She is retired now and I will be in spring of 2009. As you are, we are now selling our " stuff ". Have been e-baying for extra income for a couple years, but seems kinda strange to be selling our " stuff ". 2 years sounds like a long time but I think we will both find it will go pretty fast considering the many things that need to be done. Good luck and maybe our paths will cross some day.
We are also planning (and wishing) for fulltiming, however we have more time to prepare. I cannot retire until 2012! I may have to just quit my job, sell my house and go for it!
-- Edited by Doncat at 12:44, 2006-11-09
You will love fulltiming, the freedom is fantastic. 2009 is not really all that far away. Goals are nice because you can see the time coming and it makes the excitement all that much greater. :)
Believe me, that 5 years will fly by faster than you can imagine! We have been preparing for the past 5 years and are now in the final months, still with a lot to do! My advice for you at this time would be to carefully consider each and every purchase you make, be it clothing, appliances, house furnishings, whatever. Will you need it fulltiming, or will it be something else you will need to get rid of when the time comes? Also, there are quite a few books available that are written by RV Fulltimers. Check out RVBookstore.com. I have read several of them 2-3 times. Keep a notebook handy and take notes. Review those notes periodically to see how you are progressing in your planning. We even made a general time line 5 years ago that we check our progress against. Now we have a new time line, targeting month to month, rather than year to year. Good luck and have fun doing your research!