I came across an article in the personal finance section of U.S. News & World Report, "10 Resolutions for Retirement Readiness." Depending where you are in getting ready for retirement, some of the tips may apply.
If you are still working and plan to do so, the first few will help you build your retirement savings. Page 2 offers tips for those closer or who are at retirement's door. The last three tips, particularly, apply to RV retirement. Tip 8 is to downsize your lifestyle. Living the full-time RV lifestyle can be one way to do that. Depending on your choices, the RV lifestyle can be less expensive than staying in a stix 'n brix house, especially if you have no RV payments.
Tip 9 is to delay your retirement date. Working on the road or even volunteering accomplishes this. While you are not adding as much to your funds as you would had you stayed in your regular job (if that is even a choice), but you are either avoiding or minimizing the amounts taken out of savings. And, you are reducing your expenditures.
For some of my most effective ways to reduce RV expenses, come to the f/ree Webinar on Wednesday, December 16 at 8 ET/5PT, "Five Insider Secrets to Living a Frugal Life of Freedom in an RV."
The last tip, #10, is to develop a nonfinancial plan of how you will spend your time. Many activities and hobbies work with the RV retirement lifestyle. Here are just a few:
- Visiting friends and relatives - you may even have more frequent visits yet still have the privacy of your own "home."
- Genealogy- find those family sites as you travel.
- Geocaching- this can be good exercise depending on how strenuous a geocache you pick. (George searching for treasure)
- Volunteering - from building houses with Habitat for Humanity to helping at a national park or other government agency or helping with disaster relief, opportunities abound.
- Beading - or other craft or art work.
- Writing and photography- start a blog, write your family history or work on that novel you always
wanted to publish.
- Gold prospecting- Join Gold Prospectors of America or stake your own claim!
- Run your own part-time business from the RV road. Internet via Wi-Fi is available in many RV parks and places we travel so we can stay in touch.
These are just a drop in the bucket but can give you structure, exercise and fun things to do in your RV retirement.
Are you ready? If not, you have some direction. Hope to see you out on the RV road! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak
Comments