Forum Discussion

Want-to-travel's avatar
May 23, 2013

Do I have enough saved to go full time ?

I know everyone's finances are personal, but I would like opinions if you think I have enough money saved. We have been pretty certain that we are going to do full time RVing, but after reading many forums on retirement and the RV lifestyle, I am starting to be concerned whether we will be financially:) able. We are looking at going in 3 years.

Brief summary of our finances:

We own our home that we will sell when we go on the road, and put that money aside to have an exit plan down the road when health dictates that we stop. Then we will use that money saved to buy a small condo.

We have $80,000 set aside to purchase our truck and 5th wheel, and are adding $600 monthly to this account. So we should have in the neighborhood of $100,000 by then.

We have $500,000.00 right now in retirement, and are going to be able to save about 30,000 a year more for 3 years. We are 58 and 57. Neither of us have a pension plan, so we will rely only on savings until SS.

I also have $63,000 in Roth account that I figure I can use to pay our health insurance plans from 62-65 before Medicaid kicks in. DH has a few pre existing health problems that I worry about when it comes to insurance costs and we do not have any plans that will cover us after we retire. ( also a reason I want to go sooner rather than later)

I want to go as soon as DH can collect SS at 62, and supplement that income with what we have in retirement savings. He should collect about 1600 monthly. Then I can collect about the same amount nine months later, or even consider waiting on mine till 65. (We will have similar SS checks). So hopefully once we are both collecting, we won't need to use too much of our savings.

I am asking for you wonderful people's advice because you've been doing this awhile. A lot of things I read show others doing this, but with pensions, paid insurance, much higher savings, etc. So I am now starting to wonder if this would be out of our reach.

Side note, my ancestors on both sides live to be 90-100 years old....

Thanks in advance! :)
  • My only comment is to wait on ss until 66 if you can. Big difference in money. Other than that wish I had that much set back.
  • I think you will be fine. There are many ways to save money camping. Don't eat in restaurants as often, grill or cook inside the RV, cheaper cuts of meat. We find that we buy less food and waste less. We find entertainment that is free or cheap. National Parks, factory tours, museums, etc. We find cheaper campgrounds part of the time to save money. Fuel and insurance are big expenses. You can stay in one place for a month and overall save fuel dollars, plus get the monthly rate at the RV park.
  • My suggestion would be to use the money you have saved, to buy your RV now, rather than later.
    Then take a long vacation (how much time can you and DW take at any one time?), and get away for the whole time. Try and "live" the way you would want to when you do retire...don't go crazy with spending, but also don't be so frugal, that you don't enjoy yourselves.
    You will then have a fairly accurate account of what your monthly expenses will be, and you can figure out if you can make it with the money you have saved, or if you will need to supplement with additional income.
    Every year, the SSA sends out a listing of what you should be entitled to when you begin collecting you SS...so you can figure that into your plans.

    There are lots of folks who have started out with a lot less than you have, and probably don't have any "exit" plan to speak of, so you are fortunate in that sense.

    I agree that you want to go as soon as you can....you never know what might come up to ruin your plans....and even if you just take a 2-3 year "vacation", you'll still have a great time:)

    Good Luck:)
  • We have been retired for 10 years under similar financial circumstances. We are still living in our stick home but RV frequently. Your plan seems to be fairly conservative and sound. Good that you are planning an exit strategy because you probably want to return to a fixed base eventually.

    Best wishes.
  • I think your finances should be OK if you don't buy new. I would buy something about 5 years old. Right now you should be looking at 5'rs that are 2 years old to find one or maybe two models you want so they will be 5 years old when you retire and are ready to buy. And maybe at year four if a really good buy comes along, be ready to grab it.

    There's a lot more trucks than 5'rs out there, so I would't be too worried about them yet, but by deciding on the 5'r you will know what you need for a truck. All of the brands are about the same but you need to know your weights, single or dually, gas or diesel, long bed or short, etc.

    You can always change your mind later, but at that point you should have enough research behind you to really base your decision on.

    Bill
  • Whether or not you are financially able is really dependent on the lifestyle you live and if you would maintain it. If you are willing, you can cut your expenses back to the extreme - boondock a lot, get an RV that uses less gas, don't eat out. Or you can go to the other extreme - stay in RV resorts, eat out every night, buy the biggest gas guzzling vehicle you can find.

    Figure out what your base expenses will be, regardless of whether you are traveling: health and auto insurance, cell phones if needed, food, etc. Will your money last? Now figure out how much traveling will cost: gas, campsites, maintenance, etc. Inflate those numbers a lot to see where you end up. Our low end budget is $36K a year. Our high end, no expenses barred, budget is $61K a year. We figure, for us, it will fall somewhere in between. If it gets too expensive, we will camp host.

    DH and I are 46. I retire next month and he retires in January. We will then hit the road. Our finances look similar to yours in three years but we have a lot longer before SS so a greater chance to blow through our money. But, I don't want to be old and sitting in a chair saying, "I wish we had done it." You only get one shot at life.
  • No problem! The fact that you are debt free will serve you very well. You may consider buying a used fiver, too. A lot of depreciation the first year and not much advantage.
  • Not there yet but planning it in 8 years.

    Our situation will be a little different than yours as I have a couple income sources.

    $2600 a month in Pension, $130,000 in a secondary Portable pension we plan on using to buy the TH 5thW and Dually Truck with. Home we will sell along with the 401K will be the emergency fund, exit plan.

    Wife will have a SS check for approx $1000 month starting the month after we retire.

    We are going to hit it hard to increase the savings over the next 8 years and build the cushion a little bigger but it really all comes down to a couple things from what I have read here and at escapees forum.

    Costs for Fulltiming vary from $1500-$2000 a month and up, depending on a bunch of differnt things.

    How much do you plan on driving/moving? Fuel is one of the big three costs for FTing. The more you move, the more you will need for fuel costs.

    Site rent/expenses- If your boondocking or workcamping and getting your campsite free, maybe even your electric free (solar), thats $300-$500 a month savings off the monthly budget. If your not, those are costs that are one of the big three.

    Health care- There are very few good answers here other than shop around and find the best plan for your invidual situation. Having some health concerns makes taking a high deductable plan risky which is one of the few ways to save a few bucks here. It is what it is kinda thing.

    My opinion is if I could Have what you have set aside in 8 years when I hit the road, I would feel pretty comfortable in that plan. You'll have a better idea after a year and like I said, making a decision to maybe spend a few months at some of the places you visit the first year will give you a chance to evaluate the costs and not eat up the funds too fast right away.

    Good Luck, hope some of this helps.
  • Easy - way more than we had when we started this life style! Go for it and don't worry.
    John