Am trying to figure out if I have enough money to workamp... - RV-Dreams Community Forum

rheadabovewater · RV-Dreams Family Member

Am trying to figure out if I have enough money to workamp...

Janeen · RV-Dreams Family Member

Robbie,

I can 'hear' your desire to ditch the good life for a better one. Me too. Your pluses are that you only have yourself to worry about, you have a guaranteed income for 18 months. (did you check into the unemployment regulations? Most on UE are required to check in on a regular basis that they are looking for work complete with a signed off sheet from prospective employers) If you leave the area for long that could negate your UE. Look into that.

There are many opportunities on the road for income. I cut hair and am planning on doing some of that for extra spending money on the road. Do you have any mobile skills?

Do you have family as a back up? Is there a home base you can come back to in an emergency? We are fortuante to have either friends or family in 30 states. (Big Italian family, didn't believe in birth control! Ha!)

I think you have enough in reserve to make this work but do you have a back up plan?

I worry about a woman traveling alone. Are you mechanically inclined? If you decide to boondock are you comfortable with weapons? Do you have a means of self protection?

Money isn't the only issue to consider.

28K could hold you for only 2 years if you didn't get the unemployment or after it stops. (Assuming the gov't doesn't run out of money and the check bounces!) Half joking there.... However, you're young and skilled. You could spend 1 year running around the country looking for where you want to settle. Then camp at a long term and work until you have more money to go on again. That's kind of our plan. Hubby has 2100 guaranteed income a month but I'm 16 years younger and able to work at anything as well as write short stories for romance mags and books. That's my dream but we can live on his $$ until that pans out. I'm a gambler so I say go for it if you are okay with stopping and working for a while in a year or two. Hopefully it won't be as hard to find a job in a couple years. I'm counting on that being in the auto industry right now I figure I'll take off and let the big boys do what they're going to do and I'll test those waters in a few years if needed. Otherwise I'll cram my backside in a sit down job and bite the bullet.

You could do the same and it sounds like you have an education too. You'll be fine. No matter what you chose just get lots of research done and make an informed choice.

rheadabovewater · RV-Dreams Family Member

Janeen, thanks so much for your reply. I'll answer inline below, in bold letters:

Janeen wrote:
I can 'hear' your desire to ditch the good life for a better one. Me too. Your pluses are that you only have yourself to worry about, you have a guaranteed income for 18 months. (did you check into the unemployment regulations? Most on UE are required to check in on a regular basis that they are looking for work complete with a signed off sheet from prospective employers) If you leave the area for long that could negate your UE. Look into that.

**Yes, I am checking into that now.

There are many opportunities on the road for income. I cut hair and am planning on doing some of that for extra spending money on the road. Do you have any mobile skills?

**Hmm...well, I'm an executive assistant. I have excellent clerical skills. I have thought about temping at offices in whatever area I end up in. Can I advertise somehow in an RV camp that I can do typing or writing for anyone who needs it?

I also am a painter and I do botanicals. I've thought about possibly doing some quick paintings on the road and selling those. Are workampers allowed to do sell things from their RV's?

Do you have family as a back up? Is there a home base you can come back to in an emergency? We are fortuante to have either friends or family in 30 states. (Big Italian family, didn't believe in birth control! Ha!)

**I think one reason I want to do this is because I have family in opposite sides of the U.S. My sister and niece and others are in Tampa, and my two children (22 & 31 y/o) are in Washington state. I'm basically alone here in CA, and that has been my dilemma over the past years since my kids left home - where do I go? What state do I end up in?

If I had an emergency, I could always go to Florida and stay with my sister, who is more stable than my kids right now.

I think you have enough in reserve to make this work but do you have a back up plan?

**Florida is cheap to live in, but I honestly don't want to live there full-time. However if something catastrophic happened, I could live there.

I worry about a woman traveling alone. Are you mechanically inclined? If you decide to boondock are you comfortable with weapons? Do you have a means of self protection?

**I am pretty independent but I wouldn't say I'm mechanically inclined. If something breaks, I will always attempt to fix it myself first. I don't have a means of self-protection, but I am comfortable with weapons.

28K could hold you for only 2 years if you didn't get the unemployment or after it stops. (Assuming the gov't doesn't run out of money and the check bounces!) Half joking there.... However, you're young and skilled. You could spend 1 year running around the country looking for where you want to settle. Then camp at a long term and work until you have more money to go on again.

**Yes, I'm thinking that too. But even if the economy improves, there's age discrimination in the workplace. I don't feel I look my age, but it's still much more of a struggle at 57 than it was at 35.

You could do the same and it sounds like you have an education too.

**Actually I don't, but thanks for saying that. I went to the School of Hard Knocks.
Thanks SO MUCH!

Roberta

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Could you give us some idea of what your $2792 projected monthly expenses are made up of? Seems rather high to me. Life on the road should be much cheaper than in a home and your projections are rather close I think.

rheadabovewater · RV-Dreams Family Member

Absolutely. This is what I figured out; please let me know if I'm off on any figures:

PROJECTED EXPENSES ON THE ROAD OR IN AN RV PARK
Per month:
850 campground fees
255 RV payment (may be more)
8 RV club dues & camp memberships
100 RV insurance
20 pet food
250 Health insurance & copays
100 Propane & hook-ups
35 Personal property taxes on RV
100 Visa bill
150 Insurance and maintenance on VW (my toad)
350 Food
125 RV maintenance
300 Gasoline for RV and/or VW
80 Cell phone
70 Internet/broadband connection

Total: $2793

THANK YOU!!! : )

retread · RV-Dreams Family Member

Roberta,
We wish you the best to sort out the practicality of the RV life for you. Since you asked for opinions - we're more than happy to oblige - we're just FULL of them!

Reviewing the monthly expenses, we think you could get by with a less expensive monthly budget for campground fees. The rig you're thinking about will be fairly easy to park and will fit nicely in back-in spaces (which are always cheaper than pull-throughs). You'll need to be adept at removing that VW from the back to park - but that's going to be a necessity for you anyway! With your expressed independent spirit and 'can-do' attitude, we're confident that you'll have no problem! Also, workamping greatly reduces that monthly budget item (based on stats only - we don't have practical experience in this area!)

It's a small trim, but since every little bit helps - look hard at the cell phone/internet items. Most of the campgrounds have had WIFI available. We purchased an air card and have used it occasionally, but it's become more of a back-up. Our monthly cost is $150 - but that includes 2 cell phones with AT&T. Our plan would cost $110 for only one phone. Check out Howard's latest journal entries on 'tethering'. This might provide an avenue to save a few dollars. If you were in a pinch on budget, I would consider forgoing the internet and plan on using campground access or local libraries/Starbucks outlets.

Lastly, we're HUGE fans of Dave Ramsey and agree wholeheartedly with one of his first and foremost recommendations: establish a contingency fund. His recommendation is to have 3-6 months of your monthly living expenses ALWAYS in reserve. Of your cash on hand, you could apply more toward the initial purchase while still preserving your contingency. That would allow you to reduce the monthly payment for that RV.

On a side note, with the income of $1800 and current monthly expenses of over $3000, sooner might truly be better than later to preserve as much of your assets as possible. We don't know how quickly you can extract yourself from at least part of the current expenses (break lease, sell a house/condo) - those things don't happen all that quickly. That contingency fund that we referenced above is what's going to keep you going in the meantime, but it will be whittled down by maintaining those current expenses until you can make the 'break'.

Keep your pencil sharp! Seeing your post reminded me of sitting in the middle of our living room on top of drop cloths. I was perusing this website like a madwoman and making frenzied notes while my dh was painting the ceiling (step one of prepping the house for market). It was so great to work out a plan that made this dream DOable. Six months later, we were on our way! We're so giddy with the liberating feeling that we want EVERYone that has the same desire to be able to do this! Howard, Linda and all the contributors on this site greatly enhanced our ability to put everything down on paper to confidently make the leap.

HTH, Linda and Craig

hogans1947 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have been full-timers for 3 years. Workamping is a great way to save your own money. We live 5 months a year on the beach in So. Ca. FREE !!! There are many opportunities to workamp in just about any part of the country. We could do a lot more but this works for us at this time. We work in the gift shop, sell firewood and basically are available to answer questions and that's it. Very fun !! Just completed a coast to coast trip and visited with 7 friends from high school, an aunt and uncle, spent 5 days in Ky. where we lived for 12 years and are now spending 2 months in Il. where we grew up. Not only did we get to renew friendships with wonderful people but saw our incredibly beautiful USA. We would do just about anything to have this freedom. It can be done for a lot less money than a stick 'n bricks but you must be disciplined. I am also a big Dave Ramsey fan !!
Brenda

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Roberta,

Your insurances and maintenance sound high. Where are you planning on taking residence? Some states are much better than others. Also you might be able to eliminate the property tax.

Your propane is very high in my experience. Also your food sounds high for one person, Are you spending that now? As someone else mentioned, if you work camp you can drastically cut that expense.

Another point, are you set on a motor home? $30K doesn't buy too much and you may have maintenance issues.

Just some thoughts.

rheadabovewater · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate your comments.

So....it sounds like I'm too high on many things, which is good news. Meanwhile I've discovered that although I have an excellent credit rating, because I don't have any history of buying a house, it will be difficult for me to get a loan over $20,000 - and I'm unemployed, which is a bit of a problem ; ) So basically, it will be impossible to get financing from a bank and I'll have to get financing from the company that's selling me the RV. The place I've been going to here in San Jose is willing to possibly lend me the money to buy, if I only take a year and a half to pay it off (which is doable for me).

Fred, you made a comment about what I'm buying....right now I'm leaning towards a Class C 2002 Itasca Spirit 29N with 22,000 miles - price is $32K.

Linda & Craig said: "On a side note, with the income of $1800 and current monthly expenses of over $3000, sooner might truly be better than later to preserve as much of your assets as possible. We don't know how quickly you can extract yourself from at least part of the current expenses (break lease, sell a house/condo) - those things don't happen all that quickly."
Yes! Living in this house is costing me a fortune each month and the longer I stay here, the faster I'll go thru my money. I agree, I have to keep as much cash on hand as possible in case of emergencies.

Fred, not sure yet where I'm planning on taking residence. Today I decided that I should get an RV asap, and if I need to get a job in this area, I will move to Half Moon Bay in a beautiful RV park called Pelican Point. I checked it out today.

Thanks again, Roberta

-- Edited by rheadabovewater on Sunday 7th of June 2009 10:52:19 PM

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

What you are planning is doable if you have a flexible spirit and a can-do attitude. You will not have much reserve for "mistakes", though, and maintenance on a motorized RV can eat you up if you do not plan carefully.

We have been on the road for 9 years. We workamp for 5 months a year average. With 2 people and a dog (she counts, too :)) we average $26K a year in ALL expenses except for taxes and a fund for buying a new rig. All our posessions are paid for, though. We do not feel we skimp on anything. And Danielle says I have far too many toys......(what does she know...)

SO I believe your costs are on the high side - which is good. It is relatively easy to find a workamping or volunteer job - even for a single - which will mitigate your expenses a great deal.

OUr nightly expenses - over the nine year period - average just over $5 a night. We do boondock and impose on relatives for free parking from time-to-time. That along with workamping keeps the costs down.

The key in your situation seems to be what you have already identified. Get rid of fixed expenses like a house that have no long-term payback for you.

ahoweth · RV-Dreams Family Member

Roberta:

After reviewing your plans and your planned budget, I too think you may be a bit high on several of your entries. Having experience as an executive assistant, you might be able to get hooked up with a temp agency where ever you are. This you could do for as long as you might need the cash. The suggestion to locate in a state different from California could possibly reduce your tax burden significantly.

As a full timer, what it really boils down to is just what lifestyle do you want to pursue?

Eating out is expensive but lots of full timers greatly enjoy doing that.
The more you move around the more fuel you will have to buy.
Where you chose to park can greatly affect your expenses. There are less expensive parks and more expensive parks. It just boils down to where you feel the most at home. Some parks make you pay your own utility bills, mostly electric, others don't.

Maintenance on a Fifth wheel trailer should turn out to be a little less than on a motor coach, either class, but to move you will have to purchase a truck to tow it.

As far as various maintenance issues are concerned, ladies can certainly do most anything a guy can in that area. Also, I have never been without assistance in an RV park when I start working on something. Lots of guys out there to give you advice and maybe even physical help. Of course there will eventually be issues where a service tech will be required.

Just my 2 cnts.

rheadabovewater · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you so much! I really like your suggestion about registering with a national temp agency and working for them wherever I go...it's definitely something to think about.

TXRVr · RV-Dreams Family Member

All of the spreadsheet and cost accounting numbers in this thread make my head spin…and I have an advanced degree in Business.

I have a couple of comments.
1-   Why the heck would anyone want to live in a place where you're not happy when there are so many less expensive and other wonderful places to live in this country?
2-  An RV affords one the flexibility to live in any location. You take your belongings with you and don’t have to commit to a mortgage or rental agreement.
3-   Let’s not confuse “work camping” with a full time job. Work campers typically have supplement incomes and don’t need a full time, year round job. However, either one can be accomplished when living in an RV.

Perhaps you should be concentrating on which goal is most valuable in your life- safety and security or giving the RV thing a try. A goal not attempted is a goal not accomplished.

-- Edited by TXRVr on Friday 12th of June 2009 08:44:20 AM

Tylersamma · RV-Dreams Family Member

Many businesses are now offering the option to work from home. When I retired in 2007, my replacement was not competely trained in my job (accounting), so I was kept on as a consultant for several months. I was able to work with her while on the road while still enjoying our travels. With a good internet and cell phone connection, it was quite simple really. If you decide to line up with a temp agency, you might ask about this.