Issue 10: Full-timing in an RVIssue #10 - June 9, 2010 But first, an update: Platinum Mastermind Group Started on June 7th!The long-awaited Mastermind Group got started on June 7th, facilitated by Karen Burke of Mobius Coaching. I know it's going to help me accelerate the growth of my online business. Karen is planning the next Mastermind group. Please contact her directly (978 844 2555) if you are interested in taking your business to the next level. And now back to the scheduled programming... Roll with it baby!Spring has sprung here in New England and I am beginning to see more and more RVs on the road, bearing license plates from all around the US, from Florida to Arizona to Minnesota. I can just imagine the complete freedom it affords you. Cost of LivingI wrote this series of articles to explore the alternatives for lowering your cost of living. How does full-timing in an RV look from that point of view? Frugal RV Travel is a site that explores this concept in detail.First of all there is the cost of the RV itself, whose size will depend on the number of passengers. If it is only one person or even a couple, you might be able to get by with a basic conversion van. I have looked at prices on RVs and they can range from $8000 for a used conversion van in perfect condition to over a million dollars for a super-duper bus that can house a big family! The choice is yours. Then there are the recurring costs of living, from food and fuel to RV maintenance and insurance. I keep coming across $1000 per month in total expenses (such as here and here). I have no personal knowledge of how much full-timing costs and I am just taking these figures at face value. What is important to note is that these are your total living expenses since you don't have a house to maintain & pay all kinds of related expense (such as property taxes, utilities, maintenance, insurance)! CommunicationCheap RV Living has a lot of information about full-timing. The articles are written by people who have first-hand experience with full-timing, and most articles seem to be from 2008-2009, which make them quite timely.Here is one article in particular that is chock-full of information about staying in touch - from mail and internet to banking and TV. The main drawback of full-timing would be losing touch with friends and relatives. As cell-phone and internet technology evolves, it is only a matter of time before we will have seamless broadband wireless connection across the US! This is really exciting to me. CommunityAt first glance full-timing would seem like a problem for people like me who love to join communities. Naturally solutions have evolved. Good Sam Club bills itself as "The World's Largest RV Owners Community." They have clubs of all kinds that one could join.Escapees is another established network catering to RVers with a focus on the full-timing set. Then there are permanent RV "camps" run by the Bureau of Land management in the Southwest US which sees huge numbers of "snow-birds" from the cold North every year. This article talks about one such camp in Quartzsite, Arizona. I am sure camps like these develop communities organically. The ChallengeTo me there are two real challenges when I think of full-timing. The first one is simplifying our lives so that we can actually have a good life in an RV. It is a great & worthwhile challenge to tackle - and one that jibes perfectly with the message of Financial Freedom Guide.Manisha and I have taken a few significant steps towards this. All our finances are electronically handled. All our documents, photos and music are electronic. (And of course they are automatically backed up every day!) Once we are able to access a reliable broadband connection roaming the US countryside, we have the potential to be completely free and totally connected at the same time! The other challenge is developing community. I need people to hang out with. And frankly speaking, I will feel safer on the road & camping in the middle of nowhere if I am plugged into a community. I am sure we will find kindred spirits once we start RVing, and clubs like Good Sam Club will be useful resources. RVing has the potential to free you up in so many ways and at a fairly low cost too if you are able to make the trade-offs. It gets my vote as the best way to lower living expenses. Update on My ProgressAnd here is my latest personal financial update:
Jars UpdateThe Jars System is billed as the world's simplest, easiest and most effective money management method. My wife and I started following it recently, and I plan to publish them here every month. Here are our numbers for the last quarter (compared to the percentages recommended as targets):
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