Greetings and salutations,My wife and I are retiring at the end of this year and plan on becoming "Long-Timers". The amount of time we'll spend traveling will obviously be influenced by finances. A few years ago (before grandchildren)we had begun preparing to go full timing and several very generous people forwarded me their actual expenses for a year so I could make an educated guess on what it would take. I understand everyone is different in how they fund retirement from Social Security only to scraping by on $100,000 a year. If another group of very generous people could forward me their current expenses and a brief description of how the travel, I'd greatly appreciate it.Thanx,Jim & Connie

My wife and I travel from WA to AK each summer and then winter over in WA with a mid winter escape of 6-8 weeks in Jan/Feb. We have a truck camper and trailer which is loaded with a small car and ATV. We generally boondock which keeps camping fees to a minimum, our park model in WA is paid for and dues for our winter campsite are only about $85/mo plus electric and propane. Fuel is a major expense during our summer travels and we adjust other spending to accomodate. We have had little difficulty getting by on about $50,000 annually. However, our income is structured so that it is income tax free. Something to keep in mind.

These folks post their expenses on their website:Technomadia

Here's another site with expenses shown for 10 years of fulltiming.www.rv-dreams.com

With no debt we spent about $33,000 a year. We usually spent at least a month in any given RV park and never boondocked. While in transit from park to park we used Passport America member sites that were 1/2 price for PA members-. PA membership cost was about $45 per year.

One thing you may consider is volunteering at state or federal facilities. There are many opportunities than are often fun, easy, and in great locations.Usually you will get a campsite with water, electric, sewer for about 30 hours per week of easy, fun "work."

Annual Budgets? | Good Sam Community

gatorcq
Explorer
Feb 01, 2016
No Debt, live on $50K, travel wisely. Have fun. Enjoy life as it comes along. you decide what and how you want to live.
quasi
Explorer
Jan 31, 2016
Thanks to all for the input. Becky ~ Congrats on your lifestyle choice. We've considered workamping but I'm not sure how many seasons we have left. We'll likely keep our home base and travel 6-9 months a year for as long as we can.

Thanx,

Jim
BeckyIO
Explorer
Jan 31, 2016
I am a young solo full-timer, on the road for 3 years now. In 2015, my cost of living was $15,693 or about $1,308 a month. Might not be as applicable to you two, but helpful for other younger folks who're looking to travel. I work-camp for a living so my travel style is several months in one place working (national parks in the summer, Amazon.com in teh fall), and then "vacation" time at the start of the new year January - April.

If you'd like more details or to see my numbers for every year I've been on the road, they're here: http://www.interstellarorchard.com/2016/01/29/2015-full-timer-cost-of-living-and-income-report/
rdmike
Explorer
Jan 28, 2016
We spend 25k for 6 months in the US. Fuel, CG, propane, servicing, food, extras from attractions to? Seems 25 to 30k for 6 months very easy to do.
DownTheAvenue
Explorer
Jan 27, 2016
One thing you may consider is volunteering at state or federal facilities. There are many opportunities than are often fun, easy, and in great locations.

Usually you will get a campsite with water, electric, sewer for about 30 hours per week of easy, fun "work."
Clay_L
Explorer
Jan 27, 2016
With no debt we spent about $33,000 a year. We usually spent at least a month in any given RV park and never boondocked. While in transit from park to park we used Passport America member sites that were 1/2 price for PA members-. PA membership cost was about $45 per year.
the_bear_II
Explorer
Jan 27, 2016
Here's another site with expenses shown for 10 years of fulltiming.
www.rv-dreams.com
mbutts
Explorer
Jan 27, 2016
These folks post their expenses on their website:

Technomadia
tonymull
Explorer
Jan 27, 2016
My wife and I travel from WA to AK each summer and then winter over in WA with a mid winter escape of 6-8 weeks in Jan/Feb. We have a truck camper and trailer which is loaded with a small car and ATV. We generally boondock which keeps camping fees to a minimum, our park model in WA is paid for and dues for our winter campsite are only about $85/mo plus electric and propane. Fuel is a major expense during our summer travels and we adjust other spending to accomodate. We have had little difficulty getting by on about $50,000 annually. However, our income is structured so that it is income tax free. Something to keep in mind.

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