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Old 11-19-2014, 11:29 AM   #1
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When to start?

My wife and I are both 57 and are wanting to begin the journey of becoming full time rvers. My question to everyone out there is do you recommend buying your rv before retirement or waiting until retirement. my financial adviser recommends to wait another 7 yrs to retire and I wish to retire in 5. They say to wait on a purchase of an rv till retirement to use the money I would spend now to help build ret. fund. I just wonder would it not be better to buy soon and have rv mostly paid for by age 62? We will have SS benefits and 401k, pension, at 62. My wife is disabled so will not have a ret. fund. So like many on here we will need to budget according to our fund. its just been bugging me which route to go, buy now or later?
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Old 11-19-2014, 11:44 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yankeetom View Post
My wife and I are both 57 and are wanting to begin the journey of becoming full time rvers. My question to everyone out there is do you recommend buying your rv before retirement or waiting until retirement. my financial adviser recommends to wait another 7 yrs to retire and I wish to retire in 5. They say to wait on a purchase of an rv till retirement to use the money I would spend now to help build ret. fund. I just wonder would it not be better to buy soon and have rv mostly paid for by age 62? We will have SS benefits and 401k, pension, at 62. My wife is disabled so will not have a ret. fund. So like many on here we will need to budget according to our fund. its just been bugging me which route to go, buy now or later?
Financial advisers are all about saving you money. RV's are all about spending your money.

The only way to justify getting the RV before retiring is if you will use it, and if you are willing and able to spend the money now. Have you owned an RV? What would you look for? Can you find the deal you want now, and will it still be the deal you want when you retire? We bought our "retirement" RV 5 years early, and it was worth it to us to be able to use it during the 5 years. There is a saying about buying your last RV first, but I have not figured that out yet, either!

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Old 11-19-2014, 12:41 PM   #3
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Yes we've had a 30' TT but did not use it very much. Looking to get into 35+ 5er, and hope to use it for about 4 weeks a year til retirement, then go full-time. Not sure about if what we would buy now would be what we would want in 5 yrs. We have looked at many floor plans and have chosen a couple we think would work for us to retire in. So if I'm hearing you right your recommendation is to wait for awhile.
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Old 11-19-2014, 01:00 PM   #4
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Yes we've had a 30' TT but did not use it very much. Looking to get into 35+ 5er, and hope to use it for about 4 weeks a year til retirement, then go full-time. Not sure about if what we would buy now would be what we would want in 5 yrs. We have looked at many floor plans and have chosen a couple we think would work for us to retire in. So if I'm hearing you right your recommendation is to wait for awhile.
Thanks for the update. No, my recommendation is to do what you want. If you have chosen a couple of 5ers you think would work for retirement, all the better. Do you have a truck capable of handling a 5er? There is a Full-timers forum on this site, check it out concerning using a 5er for this. I have only FT'ed in a class-A, and that only lasted less than a year. Now, we have a very small house on 5-acres in Colorado, and travel whenever we want, where ever we want. This is what works for us today.

Like with most things in life, RV'ing is ALL about the money. My wife and I have had so many wonderful times in our coach, we think it offsets the expense. Others think we are crazy. That part is up to you!

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Old 11-19-2014, 01:02 PM   #5
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I also have about 6 years until retirement. We're using this time to sell stuff and downsize. We still don't know if we'll keep a home or not. I'm enjoying looking right now and if something too good to pass on comes along then who knows I might get one earlier. It's hard to justify spending the money early on something that's going to sit and depreciate, and deteriorate to some extent.
Maybe now would be a great time to travel without the RV and see other parts of the world that you won't be driving to. Then by the time you retire you will have seen all the other parts of the world that you wanted to see.
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Old 11-26-2014, 05:49 PM   #6
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HI,


Just a suggestion, but why not take whatever you think you could make as a MH or RV payment and bank it for the next 2 to 3 years. You will then have a nice down payment for the new or newer rig. Kind of what the retirement advisor is suggesting, but if you already have a TT then there is no hurry really.


Getting the rig 2 to 3 years before you retire would allow you to get used to it before you go fulltime. I figure next summer we buy our MH. I retire 2 yrs later and we have time to get used to it and get the kinds out of it maybe.


Good luck either way, everyone looks forward to retirement.
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Old 11-27-2014, 06:22 AM   #7
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I watched my parents work there whole lives working everyday saving for there retirement then bam there health went all too hell dad first then mom from taken care of dad.
I said that will never happen to me. Huh, in 04 I hurt my back something terrible. I was able to work up till I was 56 and had to quit. Been a real pain. I manage with pain meds. I bought my MH 2 years later and I have been happy ever since. We go every chance we can. We plan on going full time next year. Every thing I own is paid for.
I say buy now and get her the way you want so your ready to go if and when you can retire.
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Old 11-27-2014, 06:34 AM   #8
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Not really the person to talk to about "going full time". But I would tend to not want to buy a brand new unit and hit the road the next day. At the least, I would give it at least 6 months or a year from when you happened to buy a new 5er, to when you actually full time. Chance to get the bugs out, get to know your new RV.

As far as when to retire. "As Soon As Possible" You have your health...all the money in the world can't replace that. It might help it along some.

Myself I plan to retire in about 18 months at age 53. We will not full time, but will do many 2-3-4 week trips including Alaska in the summer of 16'. I knew in my middle teens "I will Stop Working" before age 55. It's just something I had a goal to do.

No matter if I had a net worth of $20k or a $million We will just live the lifestyle that our funds afford. Could dump the whole nest egg on a 45' pusher, but were perfectly content with our 26' hybrid...

I think work is highly overrated. I have been blessed with 6 weeks of vacation, so it affords many trips RVing...still many many places in this country I have on my bucket list. Alaska, 1000 Islands NY., Colorado, Maine, UP of Michigan.

Back to OP. At my place of employment, I have seen far to many fellow co-workers keep putting off retiring 60...62..64..if I wait till 65 my medical will be less...maybe I can hold off till 67 and get $80 more in my pension, If I can just make it till 70 I'll that will give my 45 years of service...and get a special pin from there union...Then something happens, the wheels fall off. Health issues start to creep in and full timing would be hard to do. Retire as soon as you can. period.
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Old 11-27-2014, 06:34 AM   #9
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We knew we would be doing a lot of boondocking when we upgraded. That meant we wanted to install solar. So, in addition to extra upfront time to become familiar with your new MH, buying a couple years early gives you plenty of time to add the mods that you think you might need (solar, residential fridge, upgraded inverter, etc). These kinds of things are easier to do from a home base than while FTing on-the-road. \ken
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Old 12-03-2014, 10:25 PM   #10
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Buy something used that you can afford now and use it. You can fulltime in anything if you put your mind to it. Depending on your wife's disability, think realistically. Do it while you can. Disabilities don't get better, they only get worse.
The best plan, have a paid for residence and RV. If that's unrealistic, at least have the RV paid for.
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Old 12-03-2014, 10:55 PM   #11
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Well, I've been RV'ing since I was 10 and owned my first TT at 21. Never been without one since.
We bought our first DSDP in 2000 as our retirement rig, then upgraded to the present 2002 with the intent of paying it off when we sold the stick house. Then life got in the way of our plans, DW's parents died, then my parents got to needing more care and eventually died, then the DW's daughter died. In the meantime we had moved whatever was left of furniture and other stuff to our house. Then, when the DW's daughter died we had the two grandkids to raise so we brought the business inventory home! We're still trying to get rid of all the stuff in the house!! The oldest grandson turned 21 and moved a couple years ago. The youngest is 14 (15 next week) so we have to see him through HS. Now the DW has something wrong health wise so we may never be able to go full time!
My advice after all that is to get what you want NOW while you can enjoy it! Buying an RV is never going to have a positive payback except in pleasure!

I retired at 51, but then went back doing IT contracting till that dried up. Now I just do night/evening security at minimum wage, but our income is still high due to two retirements, SS for both, of us and some annuities that we never have to touch the principal unless we want to.
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Old 12-03-2014, 11:59 PM   #12
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My wife retired a couple of years before I did and I retired about two years ago at the age of 56. We have always either been RV'ing or hiking in the Sierras and no matter how much vacation time we had it was never long enough when we were working. We did what one of the other posters recommended and that was saving the money we would have spent on a new MH while we were still working. I didn't feel that with my schedule we would be able to use it as much as I would have liked anyway. That put us in a great financial position when we were ready to buy. I started looking at MH's when I retired and spent two years researching for what we really wanted and needed. I'm kinda of one of those guys who wanted to buy his last MH first. Although I'm not sure we did, we love what we bought , we could full time in it, and if down the road we want something else we will sell (or give) this one to our kids at a great deal so we don't feel we will be losing anything either way.

As to fulltiming I doubt we ever will as we are too attached to our grandchildren, but we have and will take trips of one month or longer on a frequent basis. We are also looking for another home base somewhere out of California, but will most likely keep our California home, you guessed it, for our kids to have someday.

As to retirement if you wait until the financial planner tells you you have enough money to retire, you may never achieve the goal you are talking about here. So many of my friends keep chasing that next raise/promotion ect. that will bump up their income/savings/pension. The problem is either they keep finding new ways to spend their money, or they feel they can't take the loss in wages when they actually retire no matter how much they saved, or in some unfortunate cases they or their spouse passed away unexpectedly.

I worked hard my entire career, achieved everything I set out to do, and was blessed with a great pension. We always lived within our means and were able to buy a few houses, save what I feel is a great savings, and have all the other investments our kids might get someday, that I refered to, to fall back on if at some point inflation catches up with our income. We are not "rich" by any means but so far after two years of retirement except for the MH purchase, we haven't touched our savings and are still able to save as we did prior to retirement. If you are in the same boat, I would recommend you retire sooner than later as none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Even as good as I planned for retirement it was still a little scary as I haven't been without a job since I was 12 years old. But that check comes every month, we come and go as we want, and after all the taxes work themselves out the money difference isn't really noticable. Only you can make the decision on when to retire, but once you do you will never regret it.
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Old 12-28-2014, 07:11 AM   #13
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I bought our rev at 47, my thoughts were why wait till we retire I have more deposible income now for a highly depreciating luxury item. My personal opinion is to have my S &B paid for which it is and MH paid for and keep both because the Rv life style isn't going to last forever. You know what they say about opinions and this is mine.
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Old 12-30-2014, 10:57 AM   #14
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OP: You said you're looking at 35' 5th wheels. Make sure you have the proper truck to pull it. 5th wheels nowadays are very heavy. Also, if you already have the truck, will it still be serviceable in 5-7 years when you retire?

If you will be using the RV now before retirement then, yes, buy it now but don't go into debt to do so.

If you won't be using it now then definitely wait. If you're planning to buy used then look at them now and find some with floorplans that you would like and make note of them. Then, when you decide to buy five years later you'll know exactly what you'll want to look for.

Things can change in 5 years. Good luck. We've enjoyed full-timing for 16 years and bought our full-timing 33' 5th wheel when we took off. Eight years later we bought the 40' motorhome.
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