RV Home Yet?

Your RV retirement dreams

If you are still in the planning stage for retirement, whether it includes RVing full-time or not, this article in the Wall Street Journal brings up some important points.

Number one - Are you and your spouse or partner on the same page? Do you have an agreed upon time table? Are you both enthusiastic about RVing? Sometimes couples are surprised to find they have very different ideas about retirement and the two don't mix without a lot of discussion and negotiation.

Not expecting the unexpected is number two. Saving up an emergency fund before retirement or hitting the road can help you deal with these.

The article also advises buying big ticket items before retirement. If you can afford to purchase your RV ahead of time and get it paid off, you'll have a lot more flexibility. In fact, for full-time RVers, starting their adventure with zero debt takes off a lot of pressure and gives you more choices for travel.

The last point suggests that you might not be able to live off the interest of your investments alone. Here RVers are fortunate in that many expenses are more under control. For example, campsites range from free to upwards of $40/night (and sometimes even more). A few stays in Walmart or using your half-price campground membership can help lower this expense. (See our article on 10 ways to save money on camping.) You can also work or volunteer for your site and even increase your income. Support Your RV Lifestyle! will tell you how.

Thinking about these things before you retire or hit the road is a good thing. I recommend this article. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Poll: Have you or will you work or volunteer in your RV travels?

Is working or volunteering a part of your travels? Whether you need to earn income- all or part - or like to work or volunteer to keep busy or to add structure or meaning to your life - let us know in our latest poll. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Play the social security game to increase benefits

To file or not to file, that is the question. Also, should you file or your spouse? What is "file and suspend" and how can you benefit from that. For a couple, the answers to these questions can make a monetary difference to your RV retirement.

Read this article in the WSJ on "How to boost your Social Security Checks," then see if you can figure out the best strategy for you based on what you read. And, check with someone at Social Security. It could mean tens of thousands in extra money over your lifetimes. It could mean the difference between volunteering for a site vs. having to working for a check in your RV travels.

If you need ideas for either volunteering or working on the road, check out Support Your RV Lifestyle! An  Insider's Guide to Working on the Road, 3rd ed. You can now purchase the Support Your RV Lifestyle Super Package, with book, companion CD and an instant download pdf file of the book. $34.95 includes postage. Separately, the package would sell for $48.85. Like us at Facebook to receive a coupon code for a $2 off discount. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Enriching your RV retirement

An article in the Christian Science Monitor suggests ways to enrich your retirement in ways that don't cost money. In fact, it could add to your funds. Considering that retirement can last 30 years or more, it's good to think about how you will spend it.

More women than men have thought about what they want to do. Answers for women often include spend more time with family or staying close to friends. Only 19 percent of men say they've spent time determining how they will rest and relax in retirement compared to 25 percent of women. Since many have not given it much thought beyond the financial aspect, this article advises you take a breather but then turn your passion into a new career. O5 find a bridge job that keeps you busy but not involved to the extent of your old career. Lastly, consider volunteering.

Becoming an RVer, whether it is full- or part-time, can offer these opportunities. You can travel awhile to celebrate but then usually there is a need for meaningful activity. Plus some people miss the structure of having a job. Then finding a Workamping position or volunteering while traveling in your RV can add purpose and structure plus some money to your RV retirement. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RVNN.TV Interview replay

This is the interview Jaimie and Alice had with Courtney Wallin and Andy McCaskey of RVNN.TV. We're the first segment followed by RV news and other stories. We had fun. Hope you enjoy it too! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

No retirement- the new model of retirement?

Lots is being written about the changing face of retirement. My Budget 360 states that many people will never retire. Others say the new 65 retirement age is 80.

According to MyBudget360:

We are left with over 75,000,000 baby boomers entering into retirement with very little saved. One out of three Americans has absolutely no money saved to their name. In 1983 over 60 percent of working Americans had some sort of defined-benefit pension plan. Today that number is below 20 percent. With the average worker making $25,000 a year the media designed idea of retirement is largely just another fantasy.

That's a lot of people that have no money saved. And, according to FrugalDad.com, most people are just throwing money at a number, with no idea of what it will take to live on in retirement. He references the ING commercial below.

Frugal Dad says a big problem is determining that number. And, then is it accurate? You may be able to live more simply than the retirement calculators suggest. (One retirement calculator is at ING. You can find others by googling "retirement calculator.")

At the ING calculator, one option is Domestic Traveler, with an estimate monthly spending of $5,600. That is assuming traveling part time in an RV and keeping a dwelling. Full-time RVing can be much less than that, many living on $2K/month or even less. When you add in working or volunteering on the RV road, that can lower your expenses even further.

Yes, articles paint a dreary picture about the future of retirement. I did come across another article in the New York Times money section that has some creative solutions for funds if you are laid off just before you retire and need some money to fill in. Again, RV retirement along with working or volunteering can be a good solution.

Many of us are where we are with not a lot of time to add to funds for the future. Save what you can and remember, we always have choices. There are tons of things to do- to enjoy life and be productive - that don't cost a cent. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Fried green beans and other Southern food

George and I tried a number of foods on our trip - lots of fried foods. It is the South. The most unique was fried green beans. With the breading and spices I couldn't taste the green beans, but they were good!

The most unusual restaurant was Mammy's Cupboard on Highway 61 south of Natchez. They serve lunch. I remembered it from a prior visit and was surprised to find it still there. Is it politically correct? I would think not. It was built in 1940 to attract customers to the Shell gas station. It has housed other businesses since then.

The restaurant with the most food, if you ate at the Round Table, was Walnut Hills Round Table Restaurant in Vicksburg. A huge Lazy Susan in the middle rotated 20 or more dishes. I loved the okra-tomato dish. It reminded me of ratatouille. I tasted fried okra - good- and passed on fried dill pickles, one of their specialities.  l also blogged about the delicious meal served at Port Gibson under a tent with chilled strawberry soup and tomato cobbler (below). 

We did have PoBoys- the Southern version of a sub. The ones we had were filled with - you guessed it- fried food. I dabbled in crawfish a few times- it was usually fried too. Below is a PoBoy from Breauds in Natchez with fried soft crabs (at least not breaded) and a rice and bean dish that George ordered.

We didn't eat in any place as fancy as the dining rooms we saw in the antebellum houses in Natchez. Below is a table set for a feast with a punkah or shoo fly hanging from the ceiling. In the days before screens and air conditioning, a young slave would stand at the edge of the room, pulling the punkah or fan back and forth to keep the flies off the dishes and move the air.

Not everything was fried. RV friends who have settled in Kosciusko to help take care of her aunt fixed a delicious pasta salad with a choice of chicken salad or shrimp. Bev is a creative cook, adding ingredients to the chicken salad that made it colorful and extra tasty.

It was fun experimenting, trying different foods. Both George and I prefer plainer foods in much smaller quantities, though. As you can imagine, we both gained a few pounds! Southern food is indeed comfort food but it's an advantage of RV travel that you can go back to the rig and cook at least some of your own meals. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

 

Stop saving so much for retirement?

I came across an article that mentioned that the T. Rowe Price financial planning director advised that people did not need to save so much money for retirement. Instead spend it on cruises and other fun things you've been wanting to do.

There is a catch, however. You need to keep working until age 70. That way your social security payments will be much higher and your other savings will have 5 to 8 more years to grow. Plus you 5 to 8 fewer years to stretch your retirement dollars.

Eric Schurenberg, who writes for CBS MoneyWatch.com, finds flaws in this theory. One is that you may not be able to work that long. Your job could end or your health not permit you to work until 70. And, how many of us want to work that long? Since we don't know what the performance of the market will be, it is a gamble.

So how does that affect RVers? You can live on less money in an RV. If you volunteer or Workamp, you can reduce your expenses and possibly avoid talking money out of retirement for a few more years. You won't be putting as much into social security, but you may avoid taping into your nest egg for several more years.

Shurenberg concludes that

"The best retirement strategy is a balance between three sound but contradictory pieces of advice. Work as long as you can. Save like you’ll be on your own tomorrow. Live each day like it could be your last."

Sounds like good advice for RVers. Working or volunteering on the road can make be fun and take you on new adventures. It can help you live that three-point strategy. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Today is the last day to purchase the 3rd edition with CD at a special price. Sale ends today!

 

Volunteers - a powerful force

An announcement from AARP states that "Last year 22.8 million Americans just like you dedicated 3.1 billion hours of service across the country." That has a huge economic impact and allows many agencies to survive in these difficult economic times. Volunteers provide services they don't have the paid manpower for. RVers contribute some of those hours by volunteering in many ways as they travel. See "Volunteers - a force to be reckoned with" at RVLifestyleExperts.com for examples.

If you are interested in RV volunteering, you might want to look at my homestudy course, "RV Volunteers Make a Difference." It includes multiple ideas and sources for volunteering and questions you should ask before accepting an assignment. It is offered in partnership with Workamper University.

RV volunteering has many benefits. Often it helps the budget because you get a free RV site. Plus you have the satisfaction of helping an agency carry out its worthwhile mission. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Volunteer hosts- feeding at the public trough?

The headline reads, "Campground Hosts: Volunteers spend summers on government's dime" at the Camp Verde Bugle. Citing a long-time volunteer in the Prescott National Forest, the article implies that Dave Underwood is getting a smoking deal for free! The article says, "For volunteering to keep an eye on things and make sure everyone is comfortable, Underwood is provided an RV spot, complete with running water, electricity, propane and sewage disposal -- all free -- from the first of May to the end of October."

What the article doesn't say is the value the government gets in exchange for their site. Plus not all sites have such amenities. Many lack electricity and propane may not be included either. If the government had to pay an employee to do the same tasks, it would far exceed the value of the site. At even $10 an hour for 40 hours (and many hosts are effectively on call 24/7), they would pay $400/week or $1730/month plus ante up extra for benefits. Is that site worth $1730 a month? Hardly. You could live in a resort with a pool, hot tub and bocce ball for less than that. (See"What is a campsite worth?" to see how value can be figured.)

According to an AARP study, 80 percent of Americans 45 years or older volunteer in some capacity. They volunteer 8.2 billion hours a year, which is worth more than $147 billion. That's money the government and organizations do not pay out yet value they receive.

To imply that RV volunteers are taking advantage of taxpayers by getting a free site is misleading, to say the least. Sure, a site is nice and allows RVers to stay in an area they want to be in. But they are giving back way more than what they are paid. Most volunteer positions for the federal government require a minimum of 32 hours to receive a site. Many volunteers put in much more time than that. Volunteers reduce the paid workforce by handling many tasks that would have to be handled by a paid employee or go undone. Plus, these hosts are deterrents to major damage and trashing the area that would take place without an official presence. They put out campfires left smoldering or enforce the no campfire rules when fires are dangerous. I could go on. The government - and taxpayers - are getting a deal.

Does this strike you wrong too? Or do you have a different take? Leave a comment and let us know where you stand. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak