Be Perpared to Pay if you want to Play

soren wrote:

Effy wrote:
Math is math and of course your payments will be high on a 5 year note. That's a lot to cram into a short span. That's why they offer 15-20 year notes on RV's.That's why they offer 15-20 year notes on RV's. Sure you pay a lot more in the long run but the monthly sting is less and makes actually living on a budget manageable.

While shopping for our last two motorhomes (used) we continually ran into people who were suffering greatly because they took out a long term loan on a liability that depreciates far quicker than the loan balance. It's common to find really nice 6-10 year old rigs that are overpriced, and firm on the price, since they have a 15-20 year loan, and they owe tens of thousands more than the thing is worth. Saddest of all is the widows we met who can't handle the motorhome at all. They have never driven the thing, and would have no idea how to set it up on a site. They are now alone and saddled with a stupid mistake their husband made. Trapped in a mortgage that far exceeds the value of their motorhome, and have no idea how to get out of the mess.

Sure taking an irresponsible long term loan on a steeply depreciating liability WILL make the payments more "affordable" short term, but for many, situations change, and half way through a long term mortgage, they discover that they really managed to screw themselves pretty well.

You speak a whole lotta truth here. No one can manage your retirement like you can. Be a realist, sit down and document every single buck you spend currently. Make it into a list of your current lifestyle and that after you retire. Push the list out 5 years forecasting everything from fuel costs to new cars to food to housing, insurance and doctor costs. This is hard to guess but give iot a try and don't lie to yourself. Now at the 5 year and 10 year forcast deplete you pensions by roughly 6% per year and then see what you may afford.
I did this, spent hours on it , looked for the good and the bad..... It has been 10 years now since I retired and thanks to a 3% inflation rate my list is good for several more years before hitting my cost predictions. This means we can enjoy retirement even more so. The old truth about saving for your future needs to be heeded to the nines if you want to enjoy those "golden years"