We went shopping with that much available. Of course, we started actually shopping in the spring - the beginning of the camping season. So, most of the great deals that we had spotted in the winter had slipped away. So, we shopped all over Atlanta last weekend and finally decided on a very nice 2001 Dutchmen, 29 foot, single-slide trailer. We bought it from a dealer, so taxes and title fees were added on top. (In Georgia, new laws even make it more painful when buying from private owners though). As a result, our $8,000 was $800 short.
So we are, once again scraping, cashing in loose change, looking under couch cushions and eating canned soup in order to have enough money to pick up the trailer on Saturday. Well, it looks like we have managed to come up with enough enough to pay off the balance, and I still have one working kidney. (Just kidding, it doesn't work that well). OK, I have both of my kidneys, but we will need to continue scraping for the next couple of weeks.
All-in-all, I am glad that we decided to purchase the unit from a dealer. They have a very nice facility and really know their product. I feel much more comfortable about their maintenance crew over the promises of a private person that does not need repeat business and may be unloading a bunch of problems on us. One nice feature of the dealer is that they do an RV orientation class (very important for us newbies) and will demonstrate that all of the systems work within parameters. Also included in the price is an installed brake controller and anti-sway system.
Now our goal is to be on the road (in an RV park) by June 15. This gives us about 4 weeks to:
- Sell, donate or throw away any items deemed as non-essential
- Thoroughly clean the house and yard of our current residence
- Get caught up financially
Fortunately I am still working full time and will continue to do so for the remainder of 2013 (At least).
So, how did we save money over the last 9 months? Here was our strategy:
- Cut utility costs
- Cable - gone (we now use Roku) $120 per month saved
- Reduced wireless plan to minimum (we never came close to using our minutes) $120 per month saved
- Turned off the home phone (we have cell phones) $30/ month saved
- When Shauna Lee's cell phone contract expires, we will share a smartphone. I picked up a free no contract phone that gets better coverage (works better as a phone) That plan is $30/month (Still implementing, no savings yet)
- Cut food cost
- Reduced eating out to once per week
- We share an entree when we eat out
- Drink water almost exclusively (drinks are a high percentage of eating out cost)
- Cut down on meat consumption (Over time, we completely gave up meat). Meat cost was at least $50 per week. We were also able to sell a chest freezer since we no longer needed meat storage.
- This item will be an entire upcoming topic
- Ride the bus to work
- This alone saved about $3,000 over the 9 months. It also gave me a higher trade-in value on my car when I traded it in.
- This also gave me 2 hours a day to read, write and research the RV lifestyle and, oh yeah, got some good naps in
- Discontinued Gym and other little used memberships
- The world is now my gym. Weather has improved, so I can resume walking and jogging outdoors ($100/month savings)
- The dogs love the walks and runs, too.
- Multiple garage sales (We sold stuff that I would have never dreamed of. People got great deals, because we were motivated). Over $1,000 brought in and we still have a few more big ticket items that we will sell when we are ready to move in the trailer (our bed being one of them).
We also faced a lot of unusual obstacles along the way that drained some of our money, but, overall, I am happy with how much we saved. So, just a little longer, then we can begin to realize our dreams. The journey has already begun. Remember, there is no actual destination. We are finally on the Threshold of Galt's Gulch and we have much yet to learn.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings. Until next time ...
Happy Trails.
Kit
No comments:
Post a Comment