As far as I know I have always had a steady but modest income and I always tried to pay cash and buy new personal vehicles, but I keep my vehicles for a very long time…
My 1995 TV was paid for in cash and I still use it… my 1994 car was paid in cash and had it until it was totaled last June… I replaced it with a 2000 and at this stage of my life when it comes time to replace my van it will most likely be used, as I am no longer in need of a TV that will last me another 15 to 20 years… who knows my 95 runs great has a good body and chassis and it may carry me to my last roundup…
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
A number of years ago I was tossed out of my house with a 4-year-old daughter. I could not afford a place to live and had an RV I never wanted that was going to cost me $225/mo to store. Through talking to some friends they told me that I could likely live in the RV for that amount. They were right, about $265/mo. Problem solved for the short-term, although there were two of us living in a 26 foot ultra-light with no slides. My daughter was getting older...
A couple of years later I came into a minor windfall. I could sell the RV but I was upside down and wouldn't have enough for rent. I found a brand new RV that had enough wiggle room into it (long story) that it could absorb some of my upside down RV, give us more room, and I could still afford the lot rent. I went that route. It seemed the best bet until the housing market crashed, then it was more expensive to live in the RV than it would have cost to rent an apartment. However, RV living appealed to us and apartment living did not. It also made it easy when I had other job offers to follow them.
Life Changed again. I still owed a bunch on the RV, but it was closer to it's real value and not so horrible....but I don't really need it any more. Then another windfall. I paid it off completely, yay! It currently books at about $37,000-$42,000 depending on who you believe. At that, it doesn't guarantee that someone would give me that much for it.
Bottom line: It served my daughter and I well even though it cost a bit more than it should. When I looked at the amount of interest I paid on it I wanted to cry, but it's done now. Whatever I get for it goes straight into savings.
Totally worth it looking back. I wouldn't change a thing, we had some great adventures.
Oh, and to those who think that everyone who uses credit cards are living beyond their means...WRONG! I use credit cards for everything. Last year I earned $350 (yup, that's a lot of charges) on stuff I HAD to buy anyway and didn't pay a penny in interest. I simply buy only what I need and what I can afford. This year I'm changing everything over to pay off my credit card(s). I earn more that way than I do on my savings account. (I can get more on my checking account, but I think debit cards are the riskiest thing you could use and the bank requires 10 debit charges per month to get the highest interest rate they offer. Yes, I have to keep some money in a normal checking/savings account to pay day-to-day things.)
EDIT: It's not clear from my writing, but I have no credit card debt, I simply mean that I will use the cards to pay even my utilities which I haven't done in the past. I figure that will earn me even a few more dollars throughout the year. (I don't have any other debt either...)
* This post was
edited 05/19/12 10:23am by MaxThrust *
Mike
My computer beat me at chess, but I beat it at kick boxing!
MaxThrust wrote: Oh, and to those who think that everyone who uses credit cards are living beyond their means...WRONG! I use credit cards for everything.
X2. I use CC for everything from groceries to gas to darn near every purchase. I earn cash back, reward checks and very easy to transfer monies online after each purchase to payoff from checking acct.
I too use my CC for everything, to collect Airmiles. Just to get to Vancouver from up north is a very very expensive proposition. So..it's Airmiles and Safeway and Shell both are in the program, as is Early Bird and Rona.
I also bought my C with my CC..I didn't haggle the price, they ate the CC costs. They wouldn't give me a 40,000 line of credit..no job, eh..so pre-loaded.
Gary Haupt
I have a Blog..about stuff, some of which is RV'ing.
What just took place in this country is a direct result of credit buying beyond your means. I don't understand why it is so hard to understand, (not), financing an RV. I started 40 years ago with a tent, then progressed up but only if I could save enough to pay for the next rig. When my kids were very young, I couldn't afford one and so I did not have one, but I rented, I wanted my kids to experience RV life. I invested every cent I could, (money makes more money than I could working). Finally I could afford what I wanted, but did not owe anyone. I was fortunate not to have any really costly break downs, but still normal maintenance is very high even when you do the work yourself. Then pay some finance company or bank for the privilege of enjoying the RV is not in my lexicon. The American way of spending the future is over.
I think it's a very delicate balance. Some folks spend every dime, others save every dime. I don't think eithier way is correct.
I have seen it many times, Oh, we are going to do that when we retire, but then they are to sick, to old, can not change their ways etc. So the end up sitting in front of the TV for 15 years until they die. Or on the other hand people spend themselves into the ground, end up in a cheap apartment watching TV untill they die.
I think it's ok to finance an RV, as long as you put enough down so you can get out of it, if you have to. And second you never use your equity in the house to do so. And third even if you get laid off you still can make the payments.
I want to have a "life" but I want to sleep at night too. Seems to work for me
Jayco-noslide wrote: Posting a topic here that might be interesting or maybe not if it's too personal and people won't care to respond. The question is- How much do you owe on your RV today and about how much is it worth or would you realistically hope to sell it for and how long have you had it? We paid about $10,000 (hard to tell when you traded something in)for our 1999 small 5th wheel in 2002. Now the book value is maybe $2500-$3500.It still serves our needs well and we will keep on with it until we find a replacement too good to pass up.
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