How much money do you need?

tick59 · 26-12-2007, 09:33 PM

How much money do you need to go fulltiming? I work as an HGV driver have a morgage and a motorhme.The morgage will be paid when i am 65 six years to go. I dont wan't to work untill i am 65 but i suppose i will have to. I would pack it all in tommorow if i could afford to do it. But with no income how could I ? The wife is also of the same mind. Our kids are grown up and live there own lives and are not botherd about an inheritance my parents left me nothing so why should I leave my kids something?

moandick · 26-12-2007, 10:24 PM

I reckon it might cost more than you believe - but from my four years experience it is roughly this:-

per month..... £500 site fees at least and you may have to pay extra for Electric
£600 food and drink
£100 servicing, mot, maintenance
£100 RV Insurance & road fund licence
£200 fuel - obviously dependent on milage
£100 car costs, at least

In total approximately £1600 per month without too many luxuries

Very broad ball park figures but not too far out, in my humble experience

Then again I haven't included a clothing allowance for the missus

Dick

kijana · 27-12-2007, 09:46 AM

Mo and Dick have much more experience fulltiming than we do - we've just celebrated our first full year.

But our costings agree very closely with theirs. We have kept careful accounts, and reckon our first year has cost just over £20,000.

Where possible, we've tried to exclude capital items from this figure - so it doesn't include equipment bought as a one-off.

Our breakdown would differ a bit from Dick's. We spend less on campsites, since we spent summer in France on aires, and tend to stay long enough on campsites in Spain to get good discounts (we're paying just over €300/month + electric here on the Costa del Luz). But we seem to spend more on food & drink: this despite the fact that we rarely eat out and never drink in bars.

So I think it would be unwise to assume that just because it's sunny & you live in a motorhome that you can do it for peanuts.

Having said that, there are those who have far greater experience than I who say you can, so I can only relate what we've found. I guess if you wildcamped all the time & ate beans on toast every day you could spend a lot less!

As to selling your house to fund your travels, that's what we did, & sod the kids. They're around 30 now, so even if we only last another 20 years they'll be 50 odd before they see any inheritance. And if they haven't made it on their own by then they've left it too late!

Bruce

Supertractorman · 27-12-2007, 10:03 AM

As an HGV Driver why not do a bit of casual Driving in your travels to make a bit of cash. There are many companies looking for Holiday Relief Drivers and some even may have a far corner in the yard where you could park up. I intend to use my HCV / PCV this way as long as I can especially leading up to Christmas when the extra cash would be handy and its those long dark nights.

David

johnsandywhite · 27-12-2007, 10:51 AM

As a Full-timer and a retiree of over 11 years with one more year to go before I receive the basic State Pension I am still keeping my head above water and in the black. I have 2 houses, one of which still has a mortgage. We receive a small rent from each of the 2 houses by renting to family. I have a small miners pension that I have been receiving since I was 50. I reckon we have around 8000 to spend each year. Any capital I have has been used over the last 11 years to buy RV's, Motorhomes et al. I still have a small amount left in Isa's and a PEP. We live a good life travelling Europe and the USA. It is NOT a BIG Holiday. It is a way of life. We have seen many sell up and go to live in Spain. They act as if they are on holiday. Usually within 2 or 3 years, they have spent up and gone back to the UK or are struggling to find work to carry on the lifestyle.

May your travels be many and your troubles be few.

freakylady · 29-06-2008, 07:27 PM

hi
am just trying to figure out the cost of partial full timming - ie three months or so over the winter spent in southern france...

would you still stand by the figures posted above or has the credit crunch changed those figures?

and how frequently do you move around? whats a typical week cost?

thanks

Marrwyck · 29-06-2008, 07:55 PM

Hi everyone.

Well we decided to buy a Motor Home & give Full Timing a go.
At the grand old age of 46 & er indoors a tadge older, never ask a lady her age, lol.
I gave up being a Class 1 HGV driver & she gave up her job, we have sold everything we owned & have just passed the 2 month stage.
I'm really careful & can survive on all basic needs buying only what I class is required to survive.
I use all our resources to the best of their advantages & to their full potential.

This isn't a holiday, it's an opportunity to travel & do what you want.
I feel it can last as long as you want it to & if you don't know it's because you never asked, if you knever asked then you don't know

We were both fed up with the rat race & we decided to do something about it.

Who know's, tomorrow may never come. But hopefully not until we've travelled europe & been back to the USA

Whatever you decide, enjoy it & relish the experience.

thehutchies · 29-06-2008, 09:12 PM

Have a look at this family:

blog

travelling and living on 25,000 US dollars a year

artona · 29-06-2008, 09:17 PM

Hi

Where was it first written that a man who has a penny more than he needs is a happy man. No reason why it should not apply to fulltiming.

stew

Thepips · 29-06-2008, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artona

Hi

Where was it first written that a man who has a penny more than he needs is a happy man. No reason why it should not apply to fulltiming.

stew

Annual Income £20, Expenditure £19/19s/6d, result happiness.
Annual Income £20, Expenditure £20/0s/6d, result misery.

Dickens. Mr Micawber I think

Regards
Doug