Anyone have regrets about having gone full-time?

My plan is to spend my last red cent while taking my last breath!

I have reared three children, put them through college on my dime, the youngest (DS) is currently a senior at UT Austin. The older two (DDs) are on their own and doing well. They don't need nor want our money or house as a legacy. We put strong heads on their shoulders, provided them with love and a caring home. They will carry that with them always.

DW and I are hunters by nature but my current career is keeping me in farmer mode for now. Love my job! Even so, we do not foresee ourselves going nomad.

As far as my real estate as an investment, I'm not seeing it. What little appreciation I realize is swallowed up by interest, rising taxes and upkeep. It's way too big for empty nesters but we're holding on to for now.

Peace

Not a full-timer yet, but sure glad I made the decision to retire at 53. I work part-time (when I want and how I want)free lance from home and travel throughout the year. I hate S&Bs with a passion. We will have our house on the market soon and once it's gone it's gone. We have a couple of rentals but at this point they don't provide income. We will have the money from the sale of our house plus a total of three pensions in six more years. One is already in effect and pays all the bills. We're frugal people and I never see us owning an expensive rv of any type.

That said, I wouldn't trade all the four and five month trips we have had so far. All it does is create that fantastic "wanderlust". We want more. Now we are planning a six month tour of the coastal U.S. and the Canadian border. The more we do it, the more time we spend away from home.

Now when I think of home repairs and constant updating, I think about how that money could go to something more important like more world travel. We are now thinking about a Class B to tour Central and South America before we're sixty. Not that life ends at sixty, but then we want to rv in Australia, Africa and Europe.

We have met so many cool people in our travels in Mexico. Funny thing is, they are all over 70 and there are lots of them. It's that desire to discover more. It's something in our humanness.

You can't live without money, but no one knows the certainty of the future. We have worked hard, and still do sometimes, we did a little planning, maybe not as much as others but our needs are few.

My biggest need is to sit outside and see the sunrise and the sunset. Enjoy my happy hours, a good meal , daily walks and exercise. A little bird watching and some hiking. Visiting friends and family.

I have friends who say they can't travel because they have to take care of their house. Ball and chain. The only chain I want is the break away from my TV to my TT.

We half timed, used the Motorhome all winter. Giving it up for a couple of reasons. First, even our 44 footer grows very, very small after a few months. Even though we owned a site in an absolutely fantastic resort, we eventually missed having a home and the room to spread out. The other thing was everyone else also had wheels and friends turned over a bit quicker than we would have liked. The sense of community was not as solid as with a traditional neighborhood. We made lots of friends, but they were kind of short term friends, not a bad thing, just different. We also felt like if we took a traditional vacation with planes and rental cars, it was somehow being dishonest to the RV. Winter locked us in to a relatively small geographic location (southern California and Arizona, South Texas and South Florida), without the ability to go from one to the other easily. Airline travel, on the other hand opens up the whole world. It might be a lot different if we could travel spring, summer and fall, but we can't.

No Diane , I wont ~~~~~~~~~

CKNSLS, it seems that you equate going full-time with being irresponsible. Perhaps there are some who may be, but there are irresponsible home owners as well. Owning a home does not automatically make a person more responsible than the nomad who pursues his dream.

Genetically, there are two types of people...farmers and hunters. The hunters are always on the move...pursuing their "game." I think it must be that the full-timers may have inherited the "hunter" gene.

You seem to be a farmer....needing a plot of land...staying and nurturing it....leaving it for the next generation to "farm"... If you only use your lifestyle and point of view as a standard, it is easy to judge those who don't have your outlook on life. This is because we are all so prone to judging others by our own standards. This is where harmony in life breaks down...when we live a life of using ourselves as the perfect standard. Everyone is right in their own eyes...

If we were all hunters or all farmers, there would be no balance. The hunters "initiate" and the farmers keep it "going!" I learned this from a book, "ADD, a different perspective." Great reading!!

You are wonderful for what you have chosen to do!! But so are the nomadic hunters!! They have a different call on their lives!!

In conclusion....judge not, so that you will not be judged, because when we do, we will be judged in the same way! This is where we all fall so short every day!! If we lived by this saying, there would be so much more love, understanding and acceptance in this world!

:)

First, I am sorry to hear that your mother passed w/out enjoying life. That truly is a sad reality for many people. I hope my parents do all they can to spend the last penny they have as they breath their last breath doing something they enjoy!

MookieKat wrote:
The pursuit of money/wealth is NOT a quality of life. If we follow our heart, our dreams, and do what we love, the provision will follow, because each of us was created for a divine purpose. And when we fulfill that purpose, we will not only find true satisfaction and joy, but the provision as well.

I could not agree more that . I do put money away for a rainy day but it is their so someday I can enjoy the same quality of life I want throughout my golden years! Thank you for starting this thread, it has provided me with some mental gymnastics and just reassured my desire to want to full-time sometime in the future!

I do not classify not owning real esate under "regrets." Regrets can come from any source....being road weary....being constantly on the move and not feeling stable enough...not being able to deal with unpredictability...not having roots with a constant nearby source of community so you could feel lonely...just to name a few off the top of my head that I can think of.

And none of these have to do with finances. I guess needing to feel financially stable could be one of those needs, but I have read that there are plenty of full-timers who are financially thriving.

My mother toiled all her life. She built up wealth and never enjoyed a penny of it. I told her to please go and enjoy the fruit of her labor. Go on a cruise...do something for her self!! She refused! She said that she needed to save it for her children. She suddenly died of a heart attack one day, while she was out in the yard all alone. She was not discovered for a few days. What a sad life! She was a miserable person!

I don't want to live my life like that. I can make a living on the road, seeing sights and going to places that I never have. I can have my cake and eat it, too! Isn't life to be enjoyed?

I grew up not being allowed to follow the desires of my heart. I was never allowed to play! I was brain-washed to study, toil, succeed, and make lots of money!!! I hated that mantra!! Everything had to do with making or saving money!! But what for?? She lived a miserable life of slavery and left a toxic legacy of chasing after what will never satisfy!!

Because of this legacy, I have had a really tough time all my life, taking vacations or going somewhere just to have fun! Everything had to be utilitarian or productive! I have had years of therapy to try to break out of that bind! I am still not completely free...but I have made progress. For me, to even think of buying an RV to travel and see the country is HUGE progress!

I am learning that playing and having fun is productive!! I DO have permission to follow the desires of my heart!!! Those desires were placed in my heart by a divine source, for a divine purpose and I need to break away from fear in order to pursue it!!

The pursuit of money/wealth is NOT a quality of life....it will not give us the love, peace, and joy that we so desperately long for! That only comes from above! If we follow our heart, our dreams, and do what we love, the provision will follow, because each of us was created for a divine purpose. And when we fulfill that purpose, we will not only find true satisfaction and joy, but the provision as well. AND...and it will enrich not only us but all with whom we come in contact!!

You know what? Thank you, CKNSLS!! Your views have caused me to think these things through, and now I am at a better place to go full-time, if I wish! You helped me to assess what was truly important and consider the "toxic legacy" that my mother left me! :)

texasclarks wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

MookieKat wrote:
Looks like this thread is going off on a tangent...about leaving an inheritance. Perhaps this should be moved to a new thread.

Maybe it is or isn't. My point being that if you go fulltiming it's because you want to and it's all about "us". You can't justify it on a financial level with lack of house maintenance, utilities, and so on. Not with real estate appreciation being historically a sound investment.

Then there is a matter of financial legacy....that owning real estate is a very effective way of doing this.

Of course, if you raised your kids, love your children/grandchildren but don't wish to leave them anything (or just a little) then I would say there is nothing wrong with fulltiming.

Let's all just realize exactly what were talking about.

Why do you care why other people justify their desire, want, or need to go full-time? Are you trying to push people into real estate as an investment instrument? Have you considered that not everyone in today's market wants to buy a house. I for one have a house and it has NOT appreciated in value over the last 2-3 years. I move ever few years because of my job therefore it is not a wise financial instrument for me to build wealth despite your pushing it down everyone's throat!

And your condescending attitude that you tacitly give people permission to full-time even though they may not leave an inheritance to their children or grandchildren is mind-boggling! Who are you to tell other people how to live their lives. Are YOU financially responsible for their future? Are YOU the one who had his (or her) inheritance "stolen" from them by parents or grandparents who decided that they wanted to live out their golden years traveling in an RV?

I hope my parents leave this world with a huge smile on their faces and with just enough in the bank that we can settle their final financial obligations and give them a great wake!

You have turned this thread into your effort to tell people that they are being financially irresponsible if they don't want to own real estate. Which was not what the OP originally asked. They asked if they had regrets about going full time. Not if they were financially happy because they are not buying real estate.

Let people make their own choices. I have seen enough from you stating that people are making poor decisions because YOU feel they don't want to own real estate...give it a break!

The term "regrets" can be all encompassing. If you move around every few years...it would be tough to own a house.

CKNSLS wrote:


With all due respect-This sounds like a statement of justification of spending your children's/grandchildren's inheritance.

Where is it written that one must provide an inheritance? We help out, when needed, but didn't expect one from my parents, rather hope they spend every dime living a long life.

Barb