I think we got off the road at the right time. When we started fulltiming in 2003 we could stay in a pretty nice Good Sam park for $25. Now it is up to $40 or $50. Diesel was $1.75 a gallon and now up to $3.60 or so. Thing is my social security check hasn't doubled over the years and the interest rates on my mutual funds have gone down some. I will miss the lifestyle and we had a great time traveling. Everytime I see a fifth wheel going down the road I get hitch itch LOL
On the other side of the coin, our full hookup Florida campsite this winter will cost about $12/day. We control fuel costs by traveling less and staying longer.
QUOTE(NYDutch @ Sep 19 2014, 10:37 AM) [snapback]38380[/snapback] On the other side of the coin, our full hookup Florida campsite this winter will cost about $12/day. We control fuel costs by traveling less and staying longer. We learned that back a few years ago when diesel was $5 a gallon. I could stay in a park for less than travelling 100 miles. Parks were $30 then and if PA a lot less.
Using our SKP, PA, GS, KOA, and federal geezer pass discounts, our park costs over the past year have averaged less than $20/night not including free boondocking nights. It is still possible to RV fairly economically.
Failing to account for inflation is one of the biggest errors people make in retirement. Even with a modest annual inflation rate of 2 or 3 percent, in 10 years your buying power will be cut by a third. I see way too many people say they have X amount of money for retirement, then divide that number by the number of years they think they will live and think that whatever that amount will buy today, it will buy in 20 years. Yet another reason a step to retirement should be a visit to a financial planner.
Granted we only camp about 40 or so nights a year, mostly weekend, we rarely pay less than $40 a night but it has been this way for awhile. I am just happy that gas this fall is down to $3.19 a gallon which helps a little.
The Mrs and I have been planning for our retirement most of our working adult life. We were invested in a few income properties while both working jobs with pension benefits and 401K plans. We liquidated before we hit the road so we are 100% debt free. Both our pensions have COLA's built in that takes a little of the sting out of inflation. We travel 6 to 7 months every year with a home base in Florida. Our moto is " THERE ARE NO ARMORED CARS IN A FUNERAL PROCESSION ". Life is short so enjoy it while you are able.
Our moto is " THERE ARE NO ARMORED CARS IN A FUNERAL PROCESSION ". Life is short so enjoy it while you are able. Love the motto.Yes life is short and the future unknown. Tomorrow never comes. We started full timing 11 years ago when I was 62 and we have seen and experienced some great things. I now have health problems that forced us off the road and I am so glad I didn't wait until ( fill in the blank ) to go. If you are thinking of getting out there do it now. Don't wait until ( fill in the blank ).
"We started full timing 11years ago when I was 62 " VERY impressive. I'll be 62 next year the Mrs 60. We only started " part timing " 6/7 months per year about 6 years ago when we both retired. We can only HOPE to continue into our 70's. Hope all is good with your health.
I have found that the cost of owning a home is more expensive then being on the road by a bunch. I am a part timer and have both a hour and motorhome. The cost of upkeep and repairs and the cost of being in a coach are not even close.
QUOTE(NYDutch @ Sep 19 2014, 11:37 AM) [snapback]38380[/snapback] On the other side of the coin, our full hookup Florida campsite this winter will cost about $12/day. We control fuel costs by traveling less and staying longer.
This lifestyle can be affordable if well-planned and researched, as well as by asking others about their favorite RV parks that are also affordable, (ie.$300-475/month). I agree with this poster, and full timing can be less costly than owning a home, something we stepped away from fairly recently. Diesel costs were eating our lunch though so decided to limit the north-south migration, and stay put longer, for at least 3 months at a park if we like it, and the area. There are a few deals out there, just have to search for them, for instance there are some reasonable Parks in the Kingman, AZ. area with monthly rates of $300-400.
I've been full timing almost 6 years and average under $10 a night. I've never paid $40-50 for a site. Now I travel the majority of the time in SW or NW so rates are a lot lower. I'm a New Mexico resident so can camp as much as I like for $100 a year in NM state parks...right now enjoying a beautiful spot overlooking a lake and running on gas just below $3/gallon. The annual pass is $225 for non residents. I'm over 62 so enjoy the half price federal parks. I recently spent a month at a nice Lubbock TX park with good security, pool for only $220month. I've taken advantage of many free, $5 night etc city parks. I even stopped to picnic in one TX town without an RV park, noticed electric plugs everywhere and asked the city mgr. if I could camp there overnight as it wasn't posted. He said sure, stay several nights if you'd like. Scenic is more important than lots of features so I've found its still a very cheap lifestyle. My maximum in one area is a month but have really been surprised how low of a rate is quoted by some parks for one month that have a daily rate I would never consider paying. I'm a member of passport America, escapees etc. so that helps. Of course when you have a couple of days of free camping it still doesn't hurt the average to spend the next night at a $25-30 good Sam park.
QUOTE(Traveling man @ Oct 7 2014, 09:41 PM) [snapback]38658[/snapback] I've been full timing almost 6 years and average under $10 a night. I've never paid $40-50 for a site. This thread began by discussing the OP's comment that the average cost of staying at RV parks has been increasing and I agree that it has. The fact that someone can find a place to boondock for free is not relevant to that discussion. There's one group of full-timers who feel that it's a "badge of honor" to claim that they have the lowest per night cost possible. We don't subscribe to that school of thought. We enjoy our creature comforts so we almost always have full hookup sites and never boondock. Our definition of full-timing does not include any element of "roughing it."
QUOTE(docj @ Oct 7 2014, 09:35 PM) [snapback]38659[/snapback] The fact that someone can find a place to boondock for free is not relevant to that discussion. Could it be that this member was simply pointing out that finding a place to boondock for free can reduce the cost of camping and make it more affordable? There's one group of full-timers who feel that it's a "badge of honor" to claim that they have the lowest per night cost possible. We don't subscribe to that school of thought. We enjoy our creature comforts so we almost always have full hookup sites and never boondock. Our definition of full-timing does not include any element of "roughing it." Again, perhaps this member has a different definition of full-timing than you and doesn't mind "roughing it" from time-to-time. It seems that he is able to get by for a short time without having all the "creature comforts" and doesn't require full hookups. I guess he just goes to a different school than you and is happy with that lifestyle. It may not be everybody's cup of tea but for him it works.
QUOTE(RTA @ Oct 8 2014, 12:35 AM) [snapback]38661[/snapback] Again, perhaps this member has a different definition of full-timing than you and doesn't mind "roughing it" from time-to-time. It seems that he is able to get by for a short time without having all the "creature comforts" and doesn't require full hookups. I guess he just goes to a different school than you and is happy with that lifestyle. It may not be everybody's cup of tea but for him it works.[/color] And all I did was point out was that he was essentially hijacking a thread that had nothing to do with boondocking, etc. The thread had to do with the cost of staying at RV parks and campgrounds; not with ways to keep your costs down by boondocking. The latter is a valid topic for a thread, but that's not what this one was about.
