5 Ways To Save The Most Money Living In An RV
5 WAYS TO SAVE THE MOST MONEY LIVING IN YOUR RV.
Want to become a full-time RVer? Here are the top 5 ways to save the most money living in your RV.
- Pay cash for your home on wheels.
The main draw to full-time RVing for most people is the financial freedom that comes with not having a house or rent payment. Most people may not have the luxury of paying cash for a new rig, especially if you want a new unit.
We’ve purchased two used travel trailers since becoming RVers and have had little to no issues. We have found that RV repairs pale in comparison to the cost of home repairs.
If you find yourself in the position to pay cash for your new home on wheels, especially if you’re making the switch for the first time, I recommend buying something used. Let’s face it, things can and will go wrong as a full-time RV traveler, and the more cushion you have for those emergencies, the better.
- Make sure you have some money put away for emergencies.
If you decide to pay cash for your new rig, you should be able to put more money away for RV maintenance and repairs. There is no getting around this one; even with a warranty, there are still things you will need to come out of pocket on.
- Establish a monthly budget
We like to “overbudget” each month to ensure we don’t overspend. Less money going out for bills means more money in our savings. Following a budget can be challenging for couples and families. One thing that has worked for us is keeping our income earnings separate and splitting everything we pay for in half, even though we’re married. That way, we’re equally responsible for budgeting and more mindful of our monthly expenses.
- Get a campground membership.
Campground memberships can save you a lot of money per year. For example, our monthly rent expenses when we lived in our last cost around 2,000 a month. We purchased a Thousand Trails pass for less than $900.00 for the year (can stay up to 14 days out for 7) and split the rest of our time at Army Corp of Engineer parks for less than $2,000 for the entire year. These campground membership examples are just one of the many options for saving money full-timing in an RV.
Thousand Trails offers lifetime memberships where you can stay up to 29 days at a campground, and you don’t need to be out of the system. Living in an RV campground yearly or seasonally is cheaper than paying rent or a mortgage. Most campgrounds cost 450.00–900.00 a month, depending on the location.
After purchasing our RV, we lived at a campground for a year for $500 a month plus our electric bill. Living at one campground for the year cut our monthly bills by more than half. We were able to use the money we saved that year to buy a used truck for cash and build up our travel savings.
- Become a seasonal workamper
If you aren’t retired or working remotely, a great way to make money while traveling is becoming a work camper. Our first workamping job turned into a long-term stay in the Florida Keys, and we loved the area. We plan on working for the winter season next year in Florida and then traveling again in the summer.
There are tons of articles and groups on social media where you can learn more about workamping jobs. I love listening to the Workcamper Show Podcast where they interview full-time RVers and work campers from all walks of life.
What it takes to be a full-time RVer is not a one size fits all situation, but we hope you found this article helpful and wish you good luck on your journey!