Hey guys I recently saw on TV a show about a family of 14 living in an RV. Whoa did you just read correctly? Yes they travel from city to city, enjoying the outdoors, living life far from the norm. It is a Dad, Mom and 12 kids all ranging from ages 20 – 1 year old. From what I saw on the small TV segment they seemed happy to be road tripping for an indefinite time. This is an amazing contradiction to question the bigger is better house lifestyle. Do we really need a 4 thousand square foot house in Arizona to live a happy comfortable life?
Personally I would prefer having a decent sized home with a bigger than average back yard. Why because I am happiest when I am outside moving around. After watching this special I am considering living a year in an RV road tripping after retirement. Mind you I do not have the stats if this will reduce your annual expenses or not. My fellow blogger at canIretireyet.com said in a post once that it does reduce expenses from his experience, so please take his word for it because he already achieved financial freedom.
After all these details about living in RV tight spaces, enjoying the outdoors, and reducing expenses. Would this sway you to maybe give the RV lifestyle a shot? If you fit the personality I say go for it, as adventures can only be had once you begin one. Personally I would do it just to avoid the crazy property taxes NJ has and pocket the savings to help give me an extra buffer against inflation in my nest egg. When I retire in that first year, I can probably save about 15 grand because taxes in my state are now in the 7-12K range for an average house and they are headed up in the future. The only downside is I would have to sell the house, and then buy another one when my adventurous RV life comes to an end.
Let’s recap what RV Living is about:
Do you really Need 4 thousand square feet of living space?
Do you enjoy the outdoors?
If a family of 14 can go RV road tripping, how about your family of 4?
Do you want to reduce your cost of living? (Home must be sold to save on costs or do not renew Rental lease)
Do you want to see new cities and states aka experience new things?
Do you like to drive?
Can you work from a computer like me aka Blogger or Telecommuter?
Can you pay in cash for a good used RV?
IF you answered yes to a few of the questions, I believe you are ready for the RV lifestyle just like the family of 14. The one downside is finding a good reliable used RV, because getting a new one is Insanely expensive. On top of the expense to purchase it, they drop in value dramatically the first year. Maybe you can rent one for a few weeks, then stay in hotels, and rent another RV again when your ready to move to another fun city and do it all over again.
Resources for the Family of 14 living in an RV:
What can you take away from RV living?
Rich Uncle EL
We really want to rent an RV (or buy one) and travel the country with it. They are just so expensive if you have to buy for a house as well though!
I agree, how about waiting till your mortgage free, and it will help with the costs to buy. I believe it’s best to focus on one big financial goal before working on the next one. Hope that helps.
Those taxes seem so high to me! I’m hoping it’s the market difference and not my lack of home owner experience. We want to take a summer to travel cross country before the husband graduates. I’d be okay with an RV!
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They are very high, and by the time I get ready to do the RV life I predict it will be 15k a year. Homeownership in my state is slowly getting out of reach.