FullTiming - Is it cheap? What Does It Cost? (1 Viewer)

FullTimeDreamer

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Thank you for all your help on my other full timing thread. I need more help, I am trying to work out budgets but have no idea what it actually costs. I have looked at a couple of threads here but some are old, and I know prices of fuel and site fees always go up and not down. if members could be kind enough to let me know what sort of costs I might expect to live here in the summer and say Spain or Portugal in the winter.

Is there a minimum booking time to get good site rates. How much should I budget for here and abroad. I know that this is a difficult question as I could live as cheaply or as expensively as I like but I would be very interested if you could give me the benefit of your experience. What does it cost and is it really as cheap as I imagine it is. Just the saving in Council tax makes me smile widely.
 

johnsandywhite

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:Cool: Hi FullTimeDreamer. The old saying 'How long is a piece of string?'. Everyone has different lifestyles. We for instance have been living on less than £8,000 a year. One we know has said he has calculated £20,000 a year. :Eeek:

We have been on Camping Almafra, Benidorm, Spain for the last 3 years. First 12 months 4,800 Euros, second 5,300 Euros, third 2,800 plus 175 for storage, due to politics. We spend on average 30 Euros a week on shopping and spend around a £100 on stocking up before leaving the UK. We have mainly used our Mountain bikes to get around (cheap transport) and our commuter occasionally for visiting. We now have a Tow car (Toad) so we will probably spend a little more on petrol than previously. :winky:
 

Landy lover

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This so depends on your lifestyle if you eat out everynight with a bottle of wine the answer is it costs a fortune - if its a bit of cheese an apple and a fresh loaf then very cheaply - there are serious savings to be made if you change your life style - the main thing surely is to get the freedom and to live at level that you are comfortable with - my costs are fairly high because I do a lot of mileage at the moment but I always try and use the CL's and CS's - they are generally cheaper and friendlier - when abroad we try and book in on a big site somewhere for a couple of days while we search out smaller cheaper places to stay.

I know of one couple that book on year on year at the same sites for 3 months at a time going from one to another until they get back to where they started . Its really down to what you are looking for - me I love touring after a week or so I am bored

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Douglas

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If you want to try wild camping/parking then you stand to save about £10 to £20 a night, this goes a long way to making things work if you are close to your max budget.

Doug...
 

GIBLA53

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HI WE HAVE A BUDGET OF £1000 /MONTH WHICH EASILY PAYS FOR EVERYTHING OVER THAT PERIOD . We BOTH SMOKE,DRINK ETC IN GENERAL HAVE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT ,HAVE CUT THE BUDGET ON OCCASIONS TO £600 ALLOWING FOR KNOWN EXPENSES COMING THRO EG SERVICING. THE AMOUNT COVERS EVERYTHING CAMPSITE FEES ETC. ,SOME FRIENDS CAN MANAGE ON FAR LESS THAN THIS . WINTERTIME I COULD QUOTE YOU EXCELLENT CAMPSITES AT ABOUT 300 EURO/MONTH ON THE COSTA BRAVA , 375 EURO IN BRITTANY IN SUMMERTIME , £70/WEEK IN UK FOR A REASONABLE PRIVATE SITE. OTHERS MAY QUOTE FAR DIFFERENT FIGURES BUT THIS IS WHAT I HAVE ACTUALLY DONE OVER THE LAST 6-7 YEARS AND LIVE FAR FAR BETTER THAN I DID WHEN WORKING WITH HOUSE,MORTGAGE,BILLS ETC. Alan
 
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FullTimeDreamer

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Thanks for your help. I know it was a hard question but your answers have been very helpful and enlightening.

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Bulletguy

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HI WE HAVE A BUDGET OF £1000 /MONTH WHICH EASILY PAYS FOR EVERYTHING OVER THAT PERIOD . We BOTH SMOKE,DRINK ETC IN GENERAL HAVE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT. THE AMOUNT COVERS EVERYTHING CAMPSITE FEES ETC.
Not a bad figure if thats for two people?

My general expenses over a five week tour came to £1,450 which excluded fuel but included campsite fees, and most days i dined out.....it was a holiday after all!! :Smile:

As you mention you can reduce your top end figure. Similarly i could have done the same had i wild camped more, cooked my own meals, and spent less on 'touristy stuff'!
 

johnsandywhite

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Not a bad figure if thats for two people?

My general expenses over a five week tour came to £1,450 which excluded fuel but included campsite fees, and most days i dined out.....it was a holiday after all!! :Smile:

As you mention you can reduce your top end figure. Similarly i could have done the same had i wild camped more, cooked my own meals, and spent less on 'touristy stuff'!

:Eeek: This is the cost of our 3 months tour of the USA for 2 people:-

Tour Cost £ 1250
Living £ 1000
 

Wildman

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That low! Did you dine exclusively on "road kill" :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
what planet do you eat on Jim, we spend less than £300 a month to feed the two of us. Do we look as though we are starving. Different lifestyles I guess
 
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vwalan

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we usually work on a budget of 3/3500 quid for ferries fuel food etc on a 6mth tour 6wk spain 3mth maroc 6wk spain /portugal trip. it was abit more last year add a grand more . that was due to the falling pound. wild camp dont eat out drink lots cheap spanish wine. that does include bringing a few litres home and 400ltr of diesel just to put us on the way.dont buy any tourist rubbish but have a great time n meet lots of great people n see great places. shop on markets n be carefull what you buy. cheers alan.
 

Jim

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what planet do you eat on Jim, we spend less than £300 a month to feed the two of us. Do we look as though we are starving. Different lifestyles I guess

Its been so long since it was just two of us, so I've no idea, I'm sure 300 would not be enough. My dog must costs me almost £50 a month::bigsmile:

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Jim

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I'm sure I've eaten worse::bigsmile: I lived in Hong Kong for a couple of years and my Chinese friends were often getting me the "gweilo" (foreign devil) to try dodgy looking food whilst they sniggered::bigsmile:

Hey there Jim have you heard about the Korean Meatballs ? They are the dog's bollocks !! Dine on baby !!!!:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 

Norrie

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.......Just the saving in Council tax makes me smile widely.

Me too. but in Scotland the house has to be empty and completely unfurnished to reduce the tax to zero - and then it's only free for 6 months. Dunno what happens after that.
Bastids!

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Boo

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Put it this way..............my bills for the flat I had was £885 a month (not inc food n clothes n stuff)
I now pay £240 a month on a beautiful site all inclusive (ie: internet (WAP) electric, showers, washin up station)

And I now have a deteched premises (the motorhome) which I can move to as many views as I want :thumb:

Full timing is deffo for me...................I love it ::bigsmile:

Boo
 

johnsandywhite

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That low! Did you dine exclusively on "road kill" :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

:Cool: No we shopped at Walmart. The road kill didn't look too appetising:-

DeathValley008.jpg


AlienHighway011.jpg
 
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Apr 18, 2009
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Not long enough!
Mmmm nothing wrong with calf:winky:!!! not interested in dog, coyote, dingo, or whatever it is:ROFLMAO:

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