This course consisted of a series of anecdotal tales and tips about full timing. The instructor has been full timing for 8 years, and has authored several books on the subject. His presentation style is light, pleasant and humorous.
The biggest problem as a full timer is a constantly recurring decision: Where are we going next? Some of the most pleasant destinations are the ones you didn't expect to find. Don't like your neighbors? Okay, move.
If you want to go full timing, don't wait! Too many people wait until normal retirement age, and then he or she dies. Usually people defer full timing because of financial concerns. Yet a closer look shows that it simply costs far less to full time than to maintain a house. Major expenses include fuel and campgrounds. Fuel is controllable though, as you don't have to drive hundreds of miles every day. Stay a while. And campground costs are controllable too. Don't spend thousands on a membership campground. Buy a used membership for around $300, such as in Coast to Coast. Read the fine print carefully, and be sure to get a membership which is transferable. That will get you very low cost nightly options. Also, in regular private campground ask about weekly or monthly rates. Often you can stay a month for the cost of about 8 "days" worth of stays. If you look carefully, you'll find monthly rates with full hookups for under $70/month plus electricity. But you may not really need electricity -- you may have your own electric company on your roof in the form of solar panels.
Of course there's a cost in solar system, but if you're committed to using the system, it will pay for itself many times over. Savings on electricity can really add up over time.
Buy local food. Eat lots of fruit in the Northwest; lots of grapefruit and oranges in the southern states. And clothing costs go way down. How often do you need a suit or formal gown? Maybe never, other than weddings and funerals. Most full timers have one semi-formal dress outfit. The rest is jeans, shorts, tee shirts and the like. A two week's supply of clothing is about all you need. Just pass a laundromat every two weeks.
How much does full timing cost? It will cost whatever you've got. But if you have $500 to spend every month, you'll make it fine. If you have $3,000 per month, you can spend that too. Instructor notes that his income is about 1/4 what it was when he was teaching at the University; but his checking account is about 10 times what it was then.
The "First Year Disease": You go out there with the idea of seeing the whole US in the first week. Some quit after a year saying they're quitting full timing because they've now "seen the whole U.S.". But most full timers, after many years, will feel they've only begun to scratch the surface. The crucial thing is -- slow down and smell the sagebrush. The slower yout take it, the more likely you'll live long enough to really see a lot more of the big picture.
What about mail? Send it to Texas, I'll get it. Why Texas? We belong to Escapees, which has one of the good mail forwarding services. FMCA is another, but the various services don't all work alike. If you're checking into mail forwarding services, make sure you understand how the system you select works. Escapees may be favored because they'll discard junk mail if you request, repackage, send priority mail for small fee, and will mail to a general delivery of your choosing -- and they'll send it on the date you request it be sent. FMCA sends on a fixed day of the week. Relying on your local post office, or friends/relatives to forward items, is simply not a reliable system. Strongly advise hiring a mail forwarding service if you're full timing. It's around $55 per year, plus the cost of a priority package, usually $3 per week. Other professional mail forwarding services advertise in RV magazines, usually in Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Florida. All these services offer a "street address", not just a post office box.
TX, NV, OR, FL, SD, WY are the most favored states for full timers.
This leads to deciding where you want to have your "official residence". As full timers, you have the option of having your residency any where you want. Why anyone would choose California is incomprehensible. Look for no or low sales tax, no income tax, low registration fees, low insurance costs for vehicles, low state inheritance tax. His address and residency is in Texas, but his fifth wheel is registered in Wisconsin. Wisconsin was willing to register it, though many states resist registering a vehicle which is not housed in-state. Get a drivers license and register to vote in the state where you have created your "address". Attorneys will tell you there is more that needs to be done, and more cautions. But that's attorney talk. [Editorial comment: This sounds to us as if the risks associated with bona fide residency are understated, and that RVers who fail to consider the "attorney talk" are doing so at their peril].
Drivers license -- some MH drivers have problems. The big ones. Check drivers license rquirements by weight, as you may to have to have a Class B non-commercial drivers license. Tow vehicles with GCVW rating of over 30,000 pounds require a Class A non-commercial license. Figures it won't be long before RVs will have to go through commercial truck weigh stations, where checks will be made of overloaded rigs, proper license, proper registration.
Telephones: Cell phones can be expensive. But if you're disciplined to use it only for outgoing emergency calls it can come in handy. And don't ever give you cell number out to anyone. [Note: The new AT&T "One Rate" plan may change this, as will satellite telephone service in due course.] Many clubs (e.g. Escapees) have voice-mail system that operate via 800 number as well as a local area code. Only give the 800 number to close friends. If the others want to pay for the long distance call to your voice mail, let them pay for the call.
Full timers need to realize that mail doesn't have to be there every day, and telephones don't need to be accessible on a 24 hour basis.
Money: Not a good idea to carry more than you need for daily requirements. Otherwise simply use the ATM's for cash requirements. Usually it's about $1.50 transaction charge, though some stores don't have a service charge b/c they simply want you to come into the store. But be cautious. Go in daylight, and watch for suspicious persons. If you asked for a receipt, be sure to take it with you.
What do you do with the house? You're paying a bundle in taxes and insurance. You have equity in the house, yet you're paying taxes, insurance, etc. The new tax laws are very favorable to capital gains when you sell your home at an appreciated price. If you have a house to worry about, why not get rid of it? And what are you going to do with all those belongings? Often the wife objects to disposing of furnishings, particularly where the wife spent a lifetime working in the house. Some day you're going to die, and the kids will fight over who gets what. And they'll end up getting stuff they don't want. If you have an emotional attachment to your belongings, give themt to the kids now, where you can see them enjoy it. That way you can make sure the kids get the items they want, and you can see them enjoy it. Remember, you have very limited space for things, and your new house is already full. Whatever's left, sell it for whatever you can get for it, take the cash, and enjoy something else. Many people put lots of items in storage, and pretty soon they can't even remember what it is they stored. Why not give it up now, and be done with it.
Eventually one spouse will die. How are you going to deal with it? Urges going through the mental steps of what you're going to do. Expect to be temporarily insane, and the more you loved the person you lost, the crazier you're going to be. Don't make quick decisions, like selling the rig, or moving back into an apartment. Don't make important decisions for at least two years. Clear out his or her possessions from the rig, as you don't need the torment of those reminders. But don't get rid of the rig. You may find as a single, RVing is not for you. But for many RVers will find RVing as a single can be a wonderful lifestyle as well.