Fulltiming - Part 3

How To Prepare For Fulltiming

Once you make the decision to become a fulltiming RVer, you will need to put together a plan for transitioning to your new lifestyle. Many important decisions await you. It's important to be flexible when setting up a time frame. The planning process could take just weeks, months, or sometimes even years.

Just about every aspect of your life will be affected. You will be making financial, career, residency, communication, transportation, medical, insurance, and personal possession decisions. The change can be as casual or as drastic as you desire. No matter how much time you choose to use, the key to a successful transition lies in the planning, and good planning starts with a good schedule.

The order in which you attend to your fulltiming transition decisions will certainly vary. However, we'd like to suggest the following plan of action for making the change as orderly as possible:

Career. The first thing we suggest looking at is what you want to do with your career. If you have retired from your job with a healthy pension or sufficient income from investments, then you may be in a position to pursue the "permanent vacation" approach to fulltiming. Go, have fun, and enjoy your new adventure. You're in for a great time.

However, if this is not the case, you will have to decide if you will be continuing your career full time while on the road, or if some type of part-time, partial, or seasonal "workamping" approach will best meet your needs. Once your budgetary needs are determined, the role work will play in your fulltiming pursuits will become clear.

Budget. Knowing what you will need to live on will impact whatever work decisions you make. Creating a budget involves knowing what expenses you will leave behind and which ones you will acquire when on the road. You may be able to eliminate your mortgage, homeowner's insurance, gas, heating, water, and electric bills, as well as repair and maintenance costs. Once on the road, though, you will be responsible for new expenses like RV and auxiliary vehicle costs, operating costs (fuel, tolls, parts, and maintenance), and other traveling expenses. A fulltiming budget can be broken down like this:

• Day-to-Day Expenses - food, fuel, maintenance, attractions, entertainment, communication, propane.
• Periodic Expenses - medical, dental, clothing, repairs.
• Regular Expenses - RV and car payments, life and medical insurance, RV and car insurance, taxes (personal-property, sales, and income), and shelter (campgrounds, resorts).

Some fulltiming aficionados feel you can lead a not-too-Spartan existence on the road for as little as 20 percent of your current income, but many feel that old habits are hard to break and fulltimers will spend close to what they did before entering the lifestyle.

Part 4 > Establishing Residency