Can a Person (Single) Live on less than 2 grand a month ($1,700 + or -) and live a RV life style? I have no bills. Will be retired. Is it realistic for me to think I could live this sort of life. Have some money in the bank. I have a truck New and Trailer New and everything will be paid off. Yes Or No? Thanks Larry.

  On 6/4/2016 at 3:51 PM, Larry J Huston said:

Can a Person (Single) Live on less than 2 grand a month

Welcome to the forum, Larry!

Absolutely! It largely depends on the type of camping you choose (ie., commercial campgrounds vs. NSF/BLM/etc.) and your lifestyle (ie. eating out vs cooking at 'home', paid sightseeing, etc.), but it's more than doable on just about any budget. I would consider 2k a month to be a fairly healthy budget.. especially for a solo RV'r.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Yarome

Without a doubt. If you are old enough get a senior National Park pass and that will give you acess to all the Army Corps parks for darn near half price. Many opportunities for boondocking in places also. Enjoy your ritrement and new lifestyle!

Depends on your life style. Basically if you live on that amt now you can in an RB

Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!!

If you are not eligible for Medicare or do not have employer provided healthcare insurance which carries into retirement, that is likely to be the largest uncontrollable expense. As already stated, camping costs can be controlled by whether you use commercial campgrounds, take advantage of monthly rates, boondock or volunteer/workamp in exchange for a site. Fuel costs can be a large budget item, but are controllable. Other expenses are very likely to be similar to what you spend now unless you alter your lifestyle.

If you haven't already read: Anyone fulltiming on 25000 a year and How Large/small is your fulltime budget.

Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!!!

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We will do our best to advise and support you.

Your question is one of the most asked and least answered ones of those who consider the fulltime lifestyle. I fully understand where it comes from since we too went through that very delima as I considered taking an early retirement at a reduced pension to hit the road. It is very easy for us to answer you, but in reality we can only answer for ourselves as no two people have exactly the same financial requirements. There is little doubt that the amount you suggest could be enough to live on the road in your RV by many people and in my view it I too would say that you can do so. But that is only part of the question. The second question is, can you live on the road with that income and still live the lifestyle that you wish and enjoy life? There is a major difference between enjoying life and surviving and no two of us have the same standards. You need to look at what you are spending today and what it is spent upon. The things that you enjoy doing, the foods you enjoy eating, and the activities you most enjoy are not going to change just because you move into an RV and start traveling. We take our habits and our hobbies with us as we travel so it is a balancing act and each one must find their own way.

I have seen many people come to these forums to ask this question and other similar personal lifestyle questions, receive positive answers, announce that they are now fulltime, then disappear after a short time to never been seen on the forums again, and likely to have returned to the more fixed life. It really isn't as simple as determining what can be done but the important question is can you do this and enjoy you new lifestyle as you do so? I believe that to be sure you need to start with accurate records of what you are spending now and look to see how that will change when you move to an RV and start traveling. The only accurate way to see if this will meet your needs is to compare it to your budget. I suggest that you will gain a lot of insight into figuring this out by reading this column, "How Much Does It Cost" that was published 15 years ago, but still applies today.

Many do it on much less than that. You would be in control of your expenditures. For example, if the budget is tight this month, then sit at one campground taking advantage of the usually lower monthly fee and you won't be spending money on fuel. You can also eat something other than steak and eat at home all month if the budget demands it. You will find that no matter how much you have, it's easy to spend it. You can also volunteer at federal, state, county parks, some private owned in exchange for a site and utilities. If you are physically able, you may want to do that to reduce costs. Check out volunteer.gov if you are interested in that. We have been full-time for 5 years now and would consider your budget, with no bills , a very good budget to do this on.

Oh My Gosh!! Thank you so very much for all the positive answers, and truthful wisdom. WOW. 16 months to 24, not sure yet but it sounds like I can and will do it. Thanks so much Guys.

I would only add, remember you will be living in a confined space, and while sitting still, no dinners out, and no paid for entertainment, will certainly do wonders for your budget during tight times, it requires discipline. Things break, unexpected expenses can wreck a budget, so its good to have an emergency fund, for the inevitable.

Also, consider becoming a member of Escapees, a most helpful organization , and stay active on this forum, lots of great folks and good advise. No memberships required.

Carl

Glad you liked the answers. There is no way that I could live on $1,700 per

month. I am sure that it could be done but not by me. Good Luck

Have you figured your living expenses now, living in a house? Some things will be similar, such as food and entertainment, some will disappear like home taxes, or be moved over to RVing, such as vehicle and medical insurance. Your truck and RV will be paid for so you will be way ahead of the game. I think you can definitely do it on your budget.

Consider volunteering in national or state parks, national wildlife refuges or fish hatcheries. It not only gives you a purpose and fills in some time, it also gives you a free camp site and knowing you're helping out is gratifying. You are really appreciated when you volunteer, more so than a paid camp position. You don't have to do it continuously. Most want you for as little as a month to three months at a time. Do it a couple times a year and travel the rest of the time. Pick places that you really want to do more exploring. You don't have to be a 'host' in a campground. There are other opportunities depending on your skills. Many like to be outdoors so there are maintenance positions. Some like office work and prefer a Visitor Center. We did it off and on during our 16 years of full-timing and it was fantastic. Our favorite was giving lighthouse tours.

Have fun planning your new lifestyle. It's great! Hope you can do it.

So many good suggestions. Good luck and we wish you many enjoyable miles in your new adventure.

Safe Trips!