Resort or Campground - Recent Budgets, etc.

 

Sunset at a Mega-Resort

This post is primarily about some pre- and during covid expenses, finding longer stay opportunities, tools, etc.  For finding short-stay locations we use Good Sam's, FMCA & the Roadtrek International Chapter, KOA, Allstays, etc.  We also have some older, printed Woodall Guides from AAA (we are AAA RV members), G marks these with our experiences about campgrounds, resorts and so on. 

The Allstay people abandoned the Android platform a few years a ago, so it is no longer our first choice.  However, it does get good reviews and if you are an Apple user it might be a good choice.

Social Media - Fakebook, etc.

I'm not a fan of social media for a variety of reasons.  However, there are a number of groups which are focused and are not public; i.e., to post questions or replies one has to be a member and the administrators screen the membership. That type of group keeps the trolls at bay and may also reduce the number of voyeurs and casual, bored internet surfers.  I do like the Roadtrek International Chapter-FMCA.  One has to pay a small annual fee to join and one has to own a Roadtrek.  The cyber-rally email system is very helpful to Roadtrekkers. One can post an email and all sorts of Roadtrek owners will quickly reply.  May not be the best choice during real emergencies.

Reservations

I should add that we always make reservations, even the morning of, if our itinerary changes. We have been doing that since we began RVing in 2013.  It is surprising how many think they can just drive up and get a spot.  Based upon our discussions with  other RVers and personal experience, the larger the rig the more difficult it may be to find a campsite.  With the 21 ft. Roadtrek we have called for a reservation, been told that there are no openings. But, after explaining the small size of the RT (no slides, etc.) we were told, "Oh, we can accommodate that" and were given a small pie-shaped site, or whatever. 

Our Approach to RVing - longer stays with in-between treks - Costs

Our approach to RVing is to stay at a few sites for longer periods, and connect those stays with shorter treks of a week or a month.  In this way we are, for all practical purposes "full time RVers". Doing this requires a financial commitment to a resort or campground, or several. We get the same site each year. This approach may not be the cheapest; we seldom boondock. However, we reduce our daily costs because most campgrounds and RV resorts offer discounts for long-term campers. Check the quarterly or semi-annual and annual prices to the daily or weekly rates and you can make  a cost comparison.

For example, our annual lease at a "mega-resort" which includes a covered site, shed, etc. is about $15.60 a day. We do pay an additional amount for electricity consumed at about $0.1329 per kW including taxes. 

Our other long-term location is about $14.75 a day.  It includes a large deck and a pond location.  Electricity is extra at about $0.14 per kW including taxes.

Doing a little arithmetic, using this approach and $16 a day which includes an allowance for electricity,  our annual cost for a nice site throughout the year is about $5,840.  For a six month stay in one of our campgrounds the cost would be about $2,900 plus electricity. In other words, the rents are about $490 a month.

Of course, most campgrounds do include electricity in the daily or weekly rate for short stays.

We do pay additional for in-between treks.  This is in the budget.  I'm not sure what the actual daily amounts will be in 2021.  I budget $40 a night.  Some campgrounds have been less, and some more.  As KOA members we get a discount and a few free nights each year. As Good Sams members we also get discounts.

CCP Covid Experience

We began doing this "long-term base" approach in 2014.  It was really nice to be in a full-service resort when the CCP Covid occurred in 2020.  We were prepared and we could stay for as long as we liked.  The summer site in Michigan experienced issues with their demagogue of a Governor "Whitmer" or "Witless" as I  prefer.  In campgrounds in which everyone lives in a completely self-contained rig I considered Gov. Witless' onerous rules to have been completely and utterly stupid. The campground owner petitioned and was finally "granted" the ability to open.  Oh, and it was reported that Gov. Whitmer did send her husband to get the boat at the "closed" Marina.  Closed to the rest of us, that is! 

We normally head to the North in April or May.  But in 2020 we simply stayed at the annual site for another month or so.  We didn't have to travel until the CCP Pandemic had begun to wane.  The issues were primarily confusion with a myriad of rules in states and the "fear factor" of other travelers.  Some campgrounds delayed opening until June 2020. We simply stayed put, took more bicycle rides, hikes in the nearby National Park and so on.  

We missed the museums and live entertainment opportunies.

We have internet wherever we go so we were in great shape.  We're both good cooks and bakers so we did a lot more of that, and restricted our restaurant visits to a few which had stable customers and staff. In other words we took the approach that:"the higher the number of transients, the greater the covid risk".

We both did a lot more writing.  G got her book published and I doubled my "creative writing" work which is related to finance.  So, we had a lot to do.  What's that old expression?  "When life gives you lemons make Lemonade". 

On the other hand, I reduced my blogging because there simply wasn't anything new going on because of the closure of various venues and our reduced trekking.  I don't think it is all that useful to post a sunset photo each day.  LOL.  I did spend more time at a social media site I administer.  This was in part a consequence of Roadtrek's bankruptcy, closure, re-opening and the termination of the Chevy based 170, 190 and 210. We had all been cast adrift.  I gathered a lot of PDF files and uploaded them for the group.  For a time, Roadtrek's website was down and there was limited support.

Summer in MI was pleasant but the beaches were over-run with escapees from Illinois.  Chicago was a mess.  We avoided weekends at the beach and frequented some of our favorite restaurants.  They call it the "Michigan Wine Trail" for a reason and the beer and wine flowed freely. 

Dining and Grocery Expenses - 2019 versus 2020

As would be expected, comparing 2019, a pre-covid "normal" year to the 2020 covid year, our dining out budget was reduced but the grocery bill increased. I've compared 2019 to 2020.  Here is the difference in our out-of pocket expenses for those categories:

Total Dining + Grocery (includes some household): 2020 is 0.46% greater than 2019, no real change..

Dining:  2020 is  40% less than 2019. 

Groceries: 2020 is 50.30% greater than 2019.

Gasoline Expenses - 2019 versus 2020

The total of all gasoline expenses, comparing 2019 to 2020 was less in 2020 than it was in 2019. This is attributable to the average price of gasoline and fewer miles traveled via RV in 2020,

2020 was 23.4% less than 2019. 

Budgeting and Finance Tools

I'm a Quicken Premium user.  We use it to track all of our finances and to construct our budgets.  I've got data going back to 1994.   The Quicken data was the source for the Dining, Groceries and Gasoline expenditures for 2019 and 2020, above.

I suppose I could expand the budgeting into a long post. 

 Original material http://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/

How We Made our Adventure - Finances

 

Summer Lily Pad

Roadtrek - our travel machine

Mondo-Condo

Our winter lily pad

 

 Finances and related decisions

Nothing in planning is automatic. When we began designing our plan more than two decades ago, we had to put together "the framework for the plan" and we had to determine how to finance it. We also had to pay the bills for the two decades in the interlude before we could hone and execute the plan.

There were all kinds of constraints. Income limitations, work, kids college, paying off debts, saving, and so on. We had obligations to meet, and that included retirement financial planning.

To meet all of the obligations,  it did require that we take steps to live below our means. The financial obligations were at cross-purposes. So G and I lived for a time in a small apartment at about $650 per month; we then went "upscale" at about $770 a month; heat included. We then bought a small condominium which was half the price our "friends" were buying.  WaHoo! Living Large!  But we also had lower debt,  lower real estate taxes, lower heating and cooling costs, lower HOA fees, and so on.

We did want our own place (my home was surrendered in an earlier, nasty divorce, and it was promptly sold at a large discount and then torn down to make room for two homes). But, there were the current realities to deal with. We scrimped and saved so we could buy a small, inexpensive condo; we needed somewhere to live for 10-20 years prior to retirement.  That decision allowed G and I to devote a substantial amount of our time to productive, income producing work with minimal time devoted to home maintenance and related expenses.   When the children graduated from college I gave each a $5,000 "grubstake loan" to get them started in their road to independent living. G and I continued to work, and save and plan.

13 years after beginning the formulation of our plans G and I had began putting the major pieces into place. That included 1) What we were going to do, 2) How we were going to do it, 3) When we were going to do it, 4) Where we would do it and 5) How we were going to pay for it.

Some of our friends and acquaintances were quite surprised by our speed, once we began to execute.  But because of the years of planning the gun was "cocked and loaded" and in December, 2013 when we pulled the initial trigger, the pieces fell rapidly into place.

Looking at Costs

Here are the 2020 numbers. The costs of each of our "lily pads" is in percentages. These numbers don't include health insurance, cell phones, website fees, etc. which are not directly attributable to any specific location.

Each year we live about 6 months in Arizona, 5 months in Michigan and a few weeks at the condo.  Our contractual agreements allow us to live up to 6 months each year at our site in Michigan, and 12 months in Arizona. Keep in mind that we maintained the condo as our legal domicile and primary storage location.  We are fully aware that it is time to jettison it.  We could rent it, but I've had previous experience as a landlord and I am not inclined to take that path.  Local and our national governments, and the courts tend to manipulate landlords, to the disadvantage of the landlords.

The numbers for each location include any real estate taxes, fees, rent, utilities, insurance and repairs attributable to each location. The numbers do not include the cost of purchasing the abode, be it the purchase price of a condo or RV, or any condo mortgage.  For the Roadtrek, it includes repair costs and insurance, but does not include gasoline which is dependent entirely upon miles traveled.  The Roadtrek costs include new tires purchased in 2020 as well as other maintenance  including oil changes.

These are rounded numbers which will not add up to 100%:

Condo 38.9%

Arizona 38.7%

Michigan 13.5%

Roadtrek  9.0%

If I were to ignore the annual costs of the condo, then this is the actual distribution of costs for the lily pads we visit via the Roadtrek:

Arizona 63.2%

Michigan 22%

Roadtrek 14.7%

It is obvious that we can reduce our annual "out of pocket" location living costs by more than 38% if we jettison the condominium.  Which is exactly what we intend to do.  

We are currently looking at which state we will "domicile" in. So long Illinois!

  Original material http://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/

 

Trekkers and RVers need money to support their lifestyle

I received an email from Jonathan Clements, former personal finances columnist at the Wall Street Journal and currently owner of the Humble Dollar newsletter. Jonathan has published a new book entitled "From Here to Financial Happiness".  Jonathan's says the goal of his book is to take us to a place where we need to "eschew snap decisions and instead take the time to ponder key questions, so we build the financial life we truly want." He also says "The book takes readers on a 77-day journey that helps them figure out where they stand, what they want and what steps they ought to take."

To do the things we want to do in life it is necessary for us each to come to grips with our finances. In his book Jonathan asks a lot of questions and provides an opportunity to reflect on the answers.

Jonathan asks "Consider these 31 questions—all of which are drawn from my new book:

1. If money were no object, what would you change about your life?
2. What are your top financial worries?
3. What are the three smartest financial moves you’ve ever made?
4. What do you consider your three biggest financial mistakes?
5. How much financial help should you give a child?
6. When in your life were you happiest, what made it a happy time—and what role, if any, did money play?
7. What’s the minimum amount of money you need each month to keep your financial life afloat?
8. If you were out of work, how long could you cover expenses before having to take drastic financial steps?
9. What did you learn about money from your parents—and which of these beliefs have you adopted as your own?
10. Think of three people you know who are in great financial shape. What have been the keys to their financial success?
11. Is it important to you to drive a nice car and, if so, why?
12. In the typical week, which moments do you enjoy the most—and which do you dislike the most?
13. Is getting rich one of your overriding life goals?
14. Think about your weaknesses. Are they acceptable human failings—or are they inflicting major damage, including major financial damage?
15. Who depends on you financially—and how would they cope if you suffered an untimely demise?
16. When is it okay to go into debt?
17. Think about your life’s major expenditures, like buying homes, purchasing cars, remodeling projects, expensive vacations and paying for college. Which are most likely to make you smile and which ones disappointed you?
18. What’s on your wish list for major expenditures in the years ahead?
19. Do you believe a home is a good investment? Why?
20. What’s your net worth—the value of everything you own, minus all debt?
21. Does your stock-bond mix reflect your paycheck or lack thereof?
22. Imagine your perfect retirement day. How would you spend it—and would you be happy doing these things every day for the rest of your life?
23. Are there children—either your own or somebody else’s—whom you’d like to help financially, and what sort of assistance would you like to provide?
24. In late 2008 and early 2009, did you buy stocks, sell or sit tight?
25. How much do you pay in investment costs each year?
26. If you weren’t burdened by the knowledge of what you hold, what you sold and how markets have fared, would you own your current portfolio?
27. If you take your bonds and other interest-paying investments, and subtract all your debts, what’s your net bond position?
28. Are you on track to have all debt paid off by retirement?
29. If you died tomorrow, would you bequeath a mess?
30. When was the last time you talked honestly about your finances with somebody?
31. If you were writing your own obituary, what accomplishments would you include? In the years ahead, what further accomplishments would you like to add?" 

Here's a link to his website:     https://humbledollar.com/

Original material:  https://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/