Living the Mobile Lifestyle in Retirement – Part 2, The Money Pit

September 23, 2016 — By Betty Fitterman Note: This is Part 2 of a 6 Part series that Betty Fitterman was kind enough to contribute way back at Topretirements’ beginning. Here is a link to Part 1. — As we approached retirement, we realized that the failing economy had done a real job on both our savings and our businesses. Up until now, money had not been an issue. We lived a great life, more padded than most, and we could always work and make more money. Then reality set in. We were living way beyond our means and dipping into our retirement. As a result, we would be retiring with just about half of what we hoped. Still, that was enough to live on, if we were careful. Our solution? Liquidate and go mobile. Sell everything we didn’t have a strong emotional attachment to, store what was important to us, and fulfill a lifelong desire to travel. We bought a four-year-old luxury RV with only 4000 miles on it, a king-sized bed, convection oven, oversize refrigerator, washer/dryer, sleeper queen couch, all-leather furnishings and a five-foot kitchen with quarry tile floor. If this was downsizing, it certainly wasn’t down scaling.

Shop RV Parts and Accessories at Amazon To see how we worked out our financial quandary without sacrificing our dream, check out the chart below. Some things in our life remain unchanged: medical/dental expenses, food and restaurants, and vehicle maintenance. We sold three cars, stored the fourth, then purchased a little tow car to pull behind the RV. Fewer cars, but the big rig costs more to maintain, so we’re spending about $300 a month, the same as before. We saved in interesting places too. Dry-cleaning, house-cleaning, cable, landscaping and newspaper delivery all went away, saving us an additional $1300+ a month. Bottom Line Is The bottom line is, while our bottom line has changed dramatically, our dream of travel while living well hasn’t. I love my mobile home, and although I long for a little garden to tend, that’s about the only thing I miss about landed living. What a surprise. About the Author: Betty Fitterman was in advertising for over 30 years before her retirement in July of this year. An award-winning writer, she was EVP/Creative Director and a member of the Board of Directors of Lintas Advertising until 1997, when she and her partner Frank DeVito formed DeVito Fitterman Advertising, which today is a successful agency serving blue chip clients like Johnson & Johnson, Ricola, ASCAP. Fujifilm and Arch Insurance, among others. To read her humorous observances on mobile living, visit her blog at http://adventuresinthebettybus.blogspot.com. Links to the Rest of the Series: Part 1: Living the Adventurous Mobile Lifestyle in Retirement Part 2: The Money Pit Part 3: The Turtle Lifestyle: Buying Your RV Part 4: Starting Out on Your Adventure Part 5: Planning Can Be Fun