Do you track your expenses and use a budget? Whether you’re preparing for an RV or already hitting the road, a budget is a helpful tool. It will help you decide if travel in an RV is feasible, and it will also help you stick to your spending plan while you travel.
Before traveling by motorhome
Can you afford a full time RV or even a snowbird? Completing an RVing budget, while not exact, will help you make realistic decisions. If you don’t already have an RV, you can get a rough fuel estimate using 6 mpg for RVs; up to 10 for a diesel engine. Major insurance companies that provide full-time RV insurance will give you instant quotes or an overnight quote on their website to use as a ballpark figure. And you can use camp directories to get a rough idea of camp costs. It seems that the campgrounds charge an average of $25-30 per night, although you can certainly pay more. You can also use discount camps and memberships to lower your costs.
The address you choose will also affect your budget. Your address is your tax address. If you are traveling full time, you can choose an address that is most advantageous to you. Taxes, insurance, and vehicle registration can vary greatly from state to state, so this is an important decision.
In the path
RVers are lucky in that they can adjust their budget much more easily than stix ‘n brix dwellers. Here are some examples:
- Housing costs or RV park: If you find you spend too much, you can stay in less expensive RV parks and stay at a water/electric site instead of one with full hookups. You may park overnight in a Wal-Mart parking lot where permitted. Boondocking (offline camping) on public land or rest areas, where permitted, may be free. Many RV parks offer discounts for extended stays. Stay for a week or a month in one place and you’ll not only get a discount, but also save on fuel costs.
- Propane: Adding a more efficient catalytic or ceramic heater to your RV and using it instead of the installed heater saves propane costs.
- Food: Food costs can be controlled by eating out less often and in your food choices.
- Other purchases: Purchases are often smaller due to space considerations. Some RVs stop exchanging gifts with family members or reduce what they spend. Unique items from your travels make great gifts that don’t have to cost a lot. Or, the family may appreciate frequent postcards or phone calls in lieu of gifts. With a more casual lifestyle, jeans/shorts and t-shirts are suitable for most occasions.
Prepare for emergencies
Inevitably, there are repairs and other emergencies that take a chunk out of the budget. If possible, have an emergency fund or spend a little less than the allotted amount and set it aside.
A roadside assistance program comes with a monthly fee, but you pay only if you need to get a tow or change a tire when you’re far from civilization. Read the fine print to make sure you cover such eventualities.
Also set aside money for platform replacement or when you can no longer travel.
control spending
Develop a method for tracking expenses. A spreadsheet on your computer is a good way to track and analyze your data. You can set up your spreadsheet by category and then sort to get totals for each.
Tracking your expenses will bring some insights. We don’t think about the small amounts like stamps and laundry and Starbucks. For example, when you see your cell phone and internet access totals each month, you may be asked whether or not you can cut back on that expense. Since spending is all about options, you can see if your spending matches your values. Staying in touch, for example, may be high on your priority list, while eating out may be a low priority. You can make adjustments more easily when you know where the money is currently going.
One method that has worked for me to stay within spending limits in each category is the envelope method. This tool is recommended by Dave Ramsey, creator of Financial Peace University (http://www.daveramsey.com/) The cash for each budget category goes in an envelope so you can see what’s in there. When that envelope is empty, you have spent your allowance for that month
Knowing that you can easily adjust your spending in various categories helps you stay within your budget.
add to your income
If your expenses exceed your income, then it might be time to find ways to increase your income. Working (working on the road) or volunteering can bring in extra money or effectively give you more money by providing a free RV site. Some RVs run part of the year; others work until they accumulate a certain amount of money; and still others settle down in an RV or RV park for a while and get “real jobs” outside the park.
Working and volunteering gives you even more flexibility. You often get free “perks” when you work, like free admission to area attractions and discounts on laundry or propane. Since you don’t travel all the time, fuel consumption also decreases. And having time to get to know an area and explore it at your leisure gives depth to your travels.
Unless you stay in expensive RV resorts and eat in fancy restaurants, life on the road is generally much less expensive than staying in a house or apartment. It’s also much easier to adjust your spending to stretch your money. RVing is a life full of new experiences and adventures. Use a budget and track your expenses as tools to get the most out of your travels.