We survived the cold and I even had time to fish a bit. My mom gave me a new rod and reel combo for
Christmas and it really did the trick.
We also visited Horseshoe Bend National Park to learn its
history and hike the trails.
While we were in the area, we made appointments to get each
of our sons new Air Force dependent ID cards.
Since they are fulltime college students, I had to personally go with
them to Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL to accomplish this. We are so glad that we traded the 2 door Jeep
Wrangler for the Grand Cherokee. With
only one vehicle, we need the flexibility of four doors and a comfortable ride.
Of course, the trade didn’t do our budget any favors.
When Pattie and I began planning this full-time RV
lifestyle, we sought those who have been doing it for years to answer
our many questions. “How much does the full-time RV lifestyle cost?” was an
obvious question. The answer is
different for everyone. You can
full-time RV for very little by Boondocking, minimizing travel, and
workamping. You can full-time RV for as
much as it cost to live in a stick and bricks home with a mortgage and utilities
if you travel frequently, stay in commercial campgrounds, and dine out
often. Over the 18 months, we have had
our good budget months and our not so good budget months. Some of that is due to our own agenda and
some due to unexpected expenses. We call
the funds we hold back for budget overages our War Chest. With the War Chest running low, we began
considering options for restocking it.
Some common threads we found in our research to RV full-time
efficiently were:
1. Begin with little or no debt – There will be
enough pop-up expenses along the way and you don’t need debt on top of those.
2. Build up a War Chest of funds that are separate
from retirement accounts and long-term investments that you can quickly access
to address the unknown pop-up expenses
3. Eliminate or minimize fixed expenses – These are
storage fees for anything you keep, telephone/data costs, Satellite TV/radio
fees, and insurances.
4. Minimize recurring expenses – campground fees
(pay for a week rather than a few days, use discount programs, Boondock, stay
away from prime season parks, etc.), groceries vs dining out, and fuel.
5. Find a
workamping job and stay put for awhile
We have pretty much done items 1-4, so we began looking at
item 5, workamping. It is really
surprising how many opportunities are out there. Most workamping jobs offer a free full hook-up
(power/water/sewer) and some add cable/wifi and use of resort facilities. They normally want 20 hours a week for a
couple to get the free hook-up and will pay for hours worked over that. While we were browsing the various options, I
came across a post from a couple that just wanted someone to be caretakers of
their 30-acre farm in north Alabama for a few months. I called and found out they have a coach
similar to ours, were retiring soon, and wanted to take a lengthy trip but
needed someone to watch over their place.
Pattie and I drove up to meet them and see the farm. It is in a beautiful area of North Alabama
among the mountains with its own pond stocked with bass, brim, and catfish. The owner has a garage/shop capable of
housing a large RV and a full hook-up.
He said we could stay for free, just look after the place. I asked him to make me a list of jobs that he
would like us to do around the farm. We
agreed and told him we would be on-site late January. This would save us about $1000 a month in
campground fees, allow us to look around an area that's on our short list for
investment property, and give us a chance to get back to a gym on a regular
basis.
We arrived late January and had about a week to go over
things with the owner before they departed.
I was able to help him finalize wiring and brakes on his Jeep they will
tow. He gave me a list of things he
would like us to work on while they were away.
Before they left, Pattie and I went out to celebrate our 30th
Anniversary at Grill 29.
The food was great and we enjoyed reminiscing about our journey to this
point.
About the same time all this was going on, I received a call
from an old friend who thought I would be a good hire for an air traffic
control consulting company. We spoke and
after a little discussion, they offered me a job and said they are perfectly
happy with allowing me to work and maintain our mobile lifestyle. So, we went from being free and easy to working
a farm, working a job, and working out at the local gym. Don’t worry about the mule, load the War
Chest!
Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!
RV Tip: Make sure your sewer hose is unhooked and drained completely before freezing temperatures. Don't really need to explain why.
