PJay Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Barry You are married to a VERY WISE lady. Sounds like you have a good life any way! PJay PS I hope you are warming the weather up there, as we are coming up for New Year, and it is always so much colder and wetter in the Dales Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Just had a look at what we spend per year and yes it is circa £11k, interesting. However, we save on water by licking the plates clean, though splash out (no pun intended) on clothes washing as local river is tidal! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 PJay - 2013-12-12 6:15 PM Barry You are married to a VERY WISE lady. Sounds like you have a good life any way! PJay PS I hope you are warming the weather up there, as we are coming up for New Year, and it is always so much colder and wetter in the Dales Its pretty mild right now and not been too bad so far. I think we will be heading for the coast for Christmas and New Year so enjoy the Dales. I cant make up my mind about full timing anymore to be honest. It was always the dream but as you say we dont do bad. Im 47 though and I think its time I had a long term plan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorhomelifer Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 We have lived full time in our motorhome for the past 11 years. Mike keeps a log of our spend and records every item of expenditure, including tax, insurance, servicing, food, fuel, sightseeing, campsites, ferries, etc, etc. Without taking expensive holidays and trips away from the van, but allowing for eating out in local restaurants and coffee shops (not high end touristy). If you put aside money to cover the van costs you should allow £1800 per month. We have met people that manage on £1000 per month and they achieve this by rarely eating out, and limiting stays on campsites and keeping mileage low. You really do have to account for all your spend to get an accurate picture. There is more on budgeting and full timing using the following link, http://www.motorhomelifers.co.uk/our-budget.html I hope this is useful, Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Ali, good to have some real world figures, but those very digures are going to crush many aspirers. 1800 a month (net, remember) is going to take a minimum income pf around £25k. For a single earner on a pension for many this is way above levels acheivable. I am very fortunate in that i have a really good occupational pension and i know that many would be amazed to think that is the figure youre talking about to live moderately well in a tin box. I also realize that you have included every penny of your expenditure and many venturing down this road are not as precise in their budgetting. I am assuming that you have no property to manage/run or have you sold up and are renting out or using the cash to finance your lifestyle? I must have missed the obvious line in your blog telling us all how your husband finances this lifestyle as you have been doing this for a while and so i take from your photos that you are too young to be retired? Also, i picked up that you would dearly love to help Mike as you are not currently contributing. My wife retired from the Health Service but was not in it long enough (nor on sufficiently high salary) to get much back in a pension, so, we are sort of in the same position in that we are living on one pension. As i said, a £25k figure would exclude many from this type of existance, tho i do reckon it can be done for less, but 'comfortably'? I dont know.......yet ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 25k sounds pretty high to me 8-)................but there again I am a born again skinflint :D.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Hi Ali, welcome to the madhouse - your blog makes interesting reading. It looks like you are around the same age as me (50), so being able to do this from what I assume was 40 is amazing! Hawcara - 2013-12-12 7:03 PM Just had a look at what we spend per year and yes it is circa £11k, interesting. However, we save on water by licking the plates clean, though splash out (no pun intended) on clothes washing as local river is tidal! :-D Joking aside, it is nice to know that someone ELSE only spends £11k a year as we do ... prepare yourself for the onslaught from Footy though!!! :D Barryd999 - 2013-12-13 11:14 AM I cant make up my mind about full timing anymore to be honest. It was always the dream but as you say we dont do bad. Im 47 though and I think its time I had a long term plan! You'd better get a move on then!!! :-D I 'retired' from work nearly 2 years ago at the age of 48, my hubby did the same 4 years ago at 51, a lot of planning was necessary to be able to do so along with saving for the previous 8-10 years - originally we were planning to sell our home to do this and get a cheaper property to be able to live off the proceeds until my hubby's (reduced) work pension kicks in at 60. Fortunately we haven't had to sell it though (which is good as we still live in it! *-) ) as we managed to save more than we expected to over the 8-10 years plus unexpected modest severance payouts have certainly made it a bit more 'comfortable' for us too (even though I'm trying my best to spend it at present - see my 'spending bug' thread! :$ ). Wanting to 'retire' and wanting to go 'full-time' in a motorhome are two different things, often combined, but not usually at such a tender age I think. As a general rule, wanting to 'retire' in a 'bricks and mortar' home and not work at all is something that needs careful planning, saving and thinking long and hard about. Wanting to live full-time in a motorhome but still working is a less 'risky' option and could work even at your 'tender' age if your job enables you to do this. Wanting to do both would be more difficult though as you have to fund your 'lifestyle choice' somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 bolero boy - 2013-12-13 8:21 PM Ali, good to have some real world figures, but those very figures are going to crush many aspirers. 1800 a month (net, remember) is going to take a minimum income pf around £25k. For a single earner on a pension for many this is way above levels achievable. I am very fortunate in that i have a really good occupational pension and i know that many would be amazed to think that is the figure youre talking about to live moderately well in a tin box. I must have missed the obvious line in your blog telling us all how your husband finances this lifestyle as you have been doing this for a while and so i take from your photos that you are too young to be retired? As i said, a £25k figure would exclude many from this type of existence, tho i do reckon it can be done for less, but 'comfortably'? I dont know.......yet ;-) I'd also agree with you on that BB. I took early retirement (so no State pension) on a redundancy package yet live on a fraction of that amount per month........in a house! I would say fulltiming can be done for considerably less and in fairly reasonable comfort though of course one persons idea of comfort will not be shared by another. Not sure when Ali's Fuel chart was last updated but some of the prices per litre are actually less than indicated. When i last went off in my van earlier this year i travelled in fourteen different countries outside of the UK. Where was the highest pump price? No prizes for guessing......UK, a very expensive country to live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 On reading various posts on here,. I gather that the early , or thinking of it retire's do not have children! When you have kids, they cost money, and it does not stop there, as the Grandchildren come along, and they need a helping hand (at University) Therefore most but not all of us that do have family , do not have as much disposable income to do this. We both worked to full retirement age, ( I worked over mine)mostly because we had careers that we enjoyed doing , and do both have good pensions, and bought our first house at a very early age, which gave us good equity when sold. as people are living longer, there should be plenty of time to do the things you want to do, and at the end of the day , money is no good to you dead.! ! intend to spend mine, and if I run out , then the state can pay for my care home!! Live and let live !! Why retire early and let some Eastern European have your job, because the Brits would sooner live on hand outs!, than work for a living wage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 PJay - 2013-12-13 11:55 PM On reading various posts on here,. I gather that the early , or thinking of it retire's do not have children! When you have kids, they cost money, and it does not stop there, as the Grandchildren come along, and they need a helping hand (at University) Therefore most but not all of us that do have family , do not have as much disposable income to do this. We both worked to full retirement age, ( I worked over mine)mostly because we had careers that we enjoyed doing , and do both have good pensions, and bought our first house at a very early age, which gave us good equity when sold. as people are living longer, there should be plenty of time to do the things you want to do, and at the end of the day , money is no good to you dead.! ! intend to spend mine, and if I run out , then the state can pay for my care home!! Live and let live !! Why retire early and let some Eastern European have your job, because the Brits would sooner live on hand outs!, than work for a living wage. The great majority who are able to retire early are in the public sector, I don't think they pick cabbages for a living, or work in a chicken factory. ;-) This from one public sector employer. The normal retirement age is 55. Early retirement at 50 is possible if 25 years or more service have been accrued. ;-) Just think about that, work 25 years, live until in your eighties = 30 + years on a generous pension, madness, my father retired at 65, and was dead at 69 but of course he was not in the cosseted world of the public sector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I am probably one of the 'youngsters' on here, as i have only recently reached the start of my seventh decade on this planet ;-) . I started working in 1971 for an International company in the fledgling IT dept (first computers installed in 1964) and left the same company in 2006 at the age of 52. By then it was a (virtually) one billion (yes, billion) pound ( turnover) company, it is now. The pension scheme was well funded and extremely well managed and i was able to take advantage of not being included in the latest massive technology refresh, so i escaped along with several others of my team. I worked for 35 years in a high tech, high stressed business and hope that i might enjoy, possibly, 30'years of retirement. I realise that this is way beyond even my childrens' expectations and they both work for the public sector, one is a teacher and one works for the fire service. If you can afford to live at home now, and manage to enjoy motor-homing trips then you can afford to do the full time thing, if you want to. The big issue is that you may not be able to afford to keep your home going while you need most of your income to live the other life at the same time. This might mean choosing between one or the other or to remain with the status quo. This will be the biggest choice that most aspirers face when looking at this life changing decision. I wish all the best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorhomelifer Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Hi folks, Yes, I know I'm very young and very fortunate to be able to live this lifestyle. We have an income from Mike's business. And no I don't have children either. The question about whether this is affordable on a pension is coming through and I think you live to the level you can afford. So if you live within your means at home then you should be able to live within your means in a motorhome. Everyone's life circumstances are different and you have to try and be realistic about all aspects of your life. Its not just the money to consider. I gave a rough ball park figure on what we spend, if I asked Mike to strip out the non essentials that we spend money on that others may not the figure would be much lower Non essentials would be eating out, sight seeing etc. I think that what you spend on the road is the same as what you spend at home except the cost of fuel is significant so if you want to save the pennies you need to stop and stay somewhere. There are plenty of ways to stay still. We set off not expecting to be living full time 11 years later. Its just panned out that way because we found we enjoyed our lives together better than had we had a regular life at home. Mike rents out properties and that gives us our income. You could rent your house out for an initial 6 months and see how you got on. I am not very good with money or planning which is why Mike runs the finances. I have other life skills though so it's very much a team effort. Magbaz travels also has a lot of full timing info and you could Google them. Mike makes it possible with careful planning but at the very start there was a leap of faith involved as we just did not know what to expect. That holds true for everything in life. Good luck and have fun! I know I can't keep up with long replies like this as it's very time consuming but I hope to have helped in some way. All the best, Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 One aspect not mentioned, HEALTH. When you have health issues, and need regular medication, then you are restricted., as Doctors can only subscribe usually 2 months worth. We can manage 3 months away max in one go, so work our holidays around that time-scale, which for us is Ok.One early trip, come home before the school holidays, then maybe another trip in September time, and maybe a winter holiday in the sun, without the van. I would never sell up totally , as a time will come when , the roaming has to stop (sadly) then it could be difficult to get back on the property ladder. i wonder if people think through their plans (dreams), none of us can see into the future, so a back up plan is needed. Not sure the kids (if you have them) would want the burden, of parents who have spent the inheritance!! Good luck to those who can follow the dream. The main thing in life, is to be happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 motorhomelifer - 2013-12-14 9:02 AM Hi folks, Yes, I know I'm very young and very fortunate to be able to live this lifestyle. We have an income from Mike's business. And no I don't have children either. The question about whether this is affordable on a pension is coming through and I think you live to the level you can afford. So if you live within your means at home then you should be able to live within your means in a motorhome. Everyone's life circumstances are different and you have to try and be realistic about all aspects of your life. Its not just the money to consider. I gave a rough ball park figure on what we spend, if I asked Mike to strip out the non essentials that we spend money on that others may not the figure would be much lower Non essentials would be eating out, sight seeing etc. I think that what you spend on the road is the same as what you spend at home except the cost of fuel is significant so if you want to save the pennies you need to stop and stay somewhere. There are plenty of ways to stay still. We set off not expecting to be living full time 11 years later. Its just panned out that way because we found we enjoyed our lives together better than had we had a regular life at home. Mike rents out properties and that gives us our income. You could rent your house out for an initial 6 months and see how you got on. I am not very good with money or planning which is why Mike runs the finances. I have other life skills though so it's very much a team effort. Magbaz travels also has a lot of full timing info and you could Google them. Mike makes it possible with careful planning but at the very start there was a leap of faith involved as we just did not know what to expect. That holds true for everything in life. Good luck and have fun! I know I can't keep up with long replies like this as it's very time consuming but I hope to have helped in some way. All the best, AliAli, thanks for the further info. Yes, messing about on here can be time consuming, try not to get sucked in, lol! Ah, thanks for the update on how your budget is funded, i didnt pick that up from your website. However, 'property magnate' is not a common piece of info attached to many avatars on here. I' m not knocking in any way but there are many folk on here with differing abilities to just get up and go, some are health related but many, im sure, are financial. Just dont see many financing their dream by 'renting out prperties' tho looking at the myriad progams my Mum watches on daytime tv, perhaps this is what we should be doing? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorhomelifer Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I think the point here is that we live. Mike isn't exactly a property magnate but he is a businessman. There is a difference between living and retiring. In the figure I gave this includes setting aside money for flights back home if necessary, birthday and Christmas presents everything! And yes, health is on our side as well. We know that if our circumstances changed and we couldn't live this way anymore we can look back on our memories. Up to date world fuel prices here http://www.mytravelcost.com/petrol-prices/. Those are unleaded diesel is on a drop down. All the best, Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorhomelifer Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I'm getting obsessed with this now! If you strip it down to the basics you can do it on £800 a month but there would be no safety net if things went wrong. Now, that's all from me, I suspect you'll be relieved to read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 motorhomelifer - 2013-12-13 5:55 PM We have lived full time in our motorhome for the past 11 years. Mike keeps a log of our spend and records every item of expenditure, including tax, insurance, servicing, food, fuel, sightseeing, campsites, ferries, etc, etc. Without taking expensive holidays and trips away from the van, but allowing for eating out in local restaurants and coffee shops (not high end touristy). If you put aside money to cover the van costs you should allow £1800 per month. We have met people that manage on £1000 per month and they achieve this by rarely eating out, and limiting stays on campsites and keeping mileage low. You really do have to account for all your spend to get an accurate picture. There is more on budgeting and full timing using the following link, http://www.motorhomelifers.co.uk/our-budget.html I hope this is useful, Ali Where on earth do you get these figures, £21,600 a year to live in a motorhome ??????. I have not spent near a third of that, pro-rato on my short hol abroad and spending that money would need an income of over £27,000????? just to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorhomelifer Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 OK, we live, not exist, we travel. As I said some months it's 800 quid. And we include contingency money and travel very long distances. In 2011 and 12 we drove to Greece and turkey, back to the uk and also Russia and Belarus and back to the uk. Its not a holiday, its a way of life. The beauty of living in a motorhome is that you can tailor make your trips to fit your income. I responded to the question based on our needs, which of course will be different to a holiday. If you ask 20 people what they spend you will get 20 different answers based on their own experience and what they like to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 motorhomelifer - 2013-12-14 2:41 PM OK, we live, not exist, we travel. As I said some months it's 800 quid. And we include contingency money and travel very long distances. In 2011 and 12 we drove to Greece and turkey, back to the uk and also Russia and Belarus and back to the uk. Its not a holiday, its a way of life. The beauty of living in a motorhome is that you can tailor make your trips to fit your income. I responded to the question based on our needs, which of course will be different to a holiday. If you ask 20 people what they spend you will get 20 different answers based on their own experience and what they like to do. I certainly live too, but will admit I do not do the same mileage as constant driving can get tiresome so budgets are different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 motorhomelifer - 2013-12-14 2:41 PM OK, we live, not exist, we travel. So do we ;-)...................and intend to do it long term for a lot less than 28K :D................as they say it's Orses for Courses B-)......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pampam Posted December 14, 2013 Author Share Posted December 14, 2013 Thanks for information it gives us something to think about: I think closing the house down wouldn't be a bad idea :if renting is hazardous : and I'm not to bothered about going to sunny climes straight away what I'd really like to do is go all around the British costline just a few miles at a time and stay a few days so am not using tons of fuel ....a bit like a snail really I wonder how long it would take probably a couple of years ;I've fancied doing that since I was small but in a horse drawn van but the motorhome will do : )pp &i can live with less i used to spend money like there was no tomorrow if I wanted something I'd just get it but nowadays I really think twice ((must be my age lol)) pp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Pampam - 2013-12-14 8:57 PM &i can live with less i used to spend money like there was no tomorrow if I wanted something I'd just get it but nowadays I really think twice ((must be my age lol)) pp Welcome to the real world pp B-)....................I discovered the art of spending less...... but enjoying more a long time ago :-D............. PS.........dont let Frank (Had Enough) know 8-)................coz he'll have us burn't at the stake 8-) 8-) 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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