To live the RV lifestyle means different things to different people. Some people think of it as living in an RV full-time for the foreseeable future. Others are not as long-term-oriented and are perfectly happy with keeping it to just a few weekend RV trips.
There's no right or wrong way to RV, but here are a few things for you to consider.
Start with Expenses
The first step we recommend is to figure out how much the RV lifestyle will cost you. To do that, you’ll want to add up everything that goes into it.
- RV costs - loan principal, interest and registration fees
- Maintenance - stuff happens! Save a little money every month for those rainy days when something goes wrong with the RV or when you need to make a few upgrades.
- Fuel costs - AAA.com has a good resource on average costs per state
- Insurance - you want to protect your RV, from loss, right?
- Food - we recommend breaking this down into self-made meals, and the occasional eat-out
- RV campsite fees - unless you plan on staying in Walmart parking lots all the time (not recommended) you’ll need to account for the fees to stay at campsites.
- Miscellaneous - fees to get into national or state parks, fishing licenses, etc.
Yes, it will take a little time to add these things up. But the good news is once you’ve done it once, it’s much easier to do it again in case you need to update something.
Identify Your RV Lifestyle vs. Income Gap
Now that you’ve figured out how much money it will cost to live the RV lifestyle, it’s time to figure out how much money you have to actually allocate towards it.
For example, let’s say you don’t plan on RVing full-time. It’s just something you want to do one weekend a month, and it will cost you about $700 per month. After, consulting your current income and making the necessary deductions, you should establish if you have $700 left over every month to spend on RVing.
To afford the RV lifestyle, you essentially have two options. You can either:
- Make cuts to your monthly expenses so you can afford RVing. For example, if your family eats out at restaurants a lot, you may want to consider cutting back on that.
- Find ways to make some extra money e.g renting out your RV as an Airbnb during your downtime
It does take a little time to work out your budget to determine if you can afford the RV lifestyle, but you’ll sleep better at night once you do. With a clear plan in mind, RVing can become the enjoyable and stress-free activity it is meant to be.
