Thursday, September 28, 2023

MENU

How hard is it for you to make ends meet each month?

Is it a struggle for you to pay your bills each month? Or are things going really well for you and paying the bills is no problem at all?

We’re curious (excuse us for being nosy). It may take a moment for the poll to load, so stand by.

Chuck Woodbury
Chuck Woodburyhttps://rvtravel.com
I'm the founder and publisher of RVtravel.com. I've been a writer and publisher for most of my adult life, and spent a total of at least a half-dozen years of that time traveling the USA and Canada in a motorhome.

Comments

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe to comments
Notify of

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

17 Comments
Newest
Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Cindy
2 years ago

Due to unexpected major repairs I have had to cash in my retirement. We now try to live on SS and it is very stressful.

Joe White
2 years ago

We are well situated financially, smart that I stayed in the Army for 28 years and now with SS supplementing my pension we pretty much travel when and where we want. Most military bases have RV parks on them and if on the route we choose we use them. MacDill AFB in Tampa has arguably the best RV park we’ve ever stayed at either on or off bases.

Donn
2 years ago

We are now retired and we do not live on the road or full-time RV life.
We are able to pay our bills but we often face the reality of making ends meet but having little left over. We squeak by monthly. Later on, as we become more aged, I suspect we’ll face ever increasing debt. We should’ve planned better.

Steve
3 years ago

Overall we are in pretty good shape. We will figure on SS as part of our monthly income, but we paid for it, we all deserve it. We also have a reasonable reserve savings and everything is paid for or will be in 2-3 months when I retire. I think we will be fine, just need to stay healthy!

Mitzi Agnew Giles
3 years ago

I had a 403B at work, it’s a 401K for nonprofits. My health was totally shattered (working for a majorly dysfunctional hospice plus a wrk related accident kept me off work fo), and I figured out if I dropped my workload to 2 or 3 day a week we should be okay. I did resign to enter the nursing pool, I had placed my health insurance to continue under COBRA. (which meant taaping my retirement savings in the 403B) And my work didn’t use me. They were so shorthanded even with pool nurses that I figured my 2-3 Days /wk would be guaranteed and that would cover my cobra. Well, despite their constant overload of staff with being too shorthanded they refused to use me at all. When they called me to terminate me after 90 days of never being called back, I was able to quote chapter and verse from the employee manual. “It says that a worker who declines an assignment s/he is offered for 90 consecutive days shall be terminated. And I’ve slept with a lawyer for 34 years and am not afraid to use him”)
During that 90 days(actually 120 till my birthday) we lived off resources till we could tap my SS at age 62. I don’t care how dumb it is to take SS from an earlier age than full retirement age. We needed SOMETHING for living on. Until my condition got too bad I couldn’t work at all (and the work assigned me more hours than SS could use without triggering the payment retraction) It just hasn’t been possible to save any more. My $403B plan exhausted my savings last month. So now we’re attempting to live on SS alone(Yes, DH took his ss at age 62 also, 9 months after me.

We used to belong to a grocery co opt group cslled SHARE FLORIDA. For 12.$ a month u got 1or3 cuts
of meat, dry goods and fresh produce. They usually had specials with extra meat or seafood or seasonal items. Suddenly in 2011 the sponsors (Methodist and Baptist churches) rescinded the program. That is my explanation of why I am now living on an inadequate SS income. I WISH we still had SHARE. Angelfood and Bounty Baskets are not close enough to us. I’ll drive two hours to pickup $40 worth of inexpensive groceries. Unlike the gleaning crews who can only donate to HRS so the food doesn’t go to anyone not meeting official poverty levels SHARE FLORIDA allowed everyone to sign up,) I miss them SIGHHH.

Barbara
3 years ago

retired. living on S S. So its pay check to paycheck, what hurts is paying Taxes and Insurance on our stick and brick house.

Sharon B
4 years ago

If I get rid of my house in Florida I would be fine. Taxes and insurance is too much. ..and worrying about hurricanes. Been there and done that with Hurricane Andrew.
Looking at New Mexico for a possible change. I’d also be able to explore the West and the rest of the country so a pre owned Class A is looking better every day for my main home. I still may keep my small travel trailer for exploring the USA and Canada.

Captn John
4 years ago

In my 20s and 30s things were tight. Just when there was a light college started ~~ and a big wedding. Daughters are expensive. I retired at 55 and now at 71 we spend more than ever and it is easy street.

TR Kelley
4 years ago

My partner and i are full timers in our mid50s, we live well on under 30K a year. We work 6 months out of the year in Oregon; we’re festival musicians and he’s a home-builder, we own a communal farm near Eugene. We take care of our health, not obese, non-smokers, simple eaters. We have very few bills (the cell phones, the truck & the 28′ TT , both bought secondhand). We boondock at Imperial LTVA in the winter. Our expenses are low, we’re minimalists. In case of a Big Problem – we have savings and open credit cards with no balances. We started RVing 20 years ago in a beat-up Dodge van, eating beans and noodles. It’s simple but not easy. Don’t spend more than you make. Don’t carry balances on credit cards. Don’t buy toys and doo dads you don’t really need. Yes it’s cute. Put it back on the shelf. What’s more important, your stuff or your time? The older we get, the less nonsense i am willing to put up with. Minimal stuff, lots of time, few obligations. The life of my dreams includes no clocks, to-do lists or calendars, and for several months of the year, i get to do just that; meet people, see places, work on my writing. Some things you can’t change, but many choices are yours if you dig deep and really ask yourself what is necessary.

Vincee
4 years ago

Everything is fine for now. What I am a bit apprehensive about is when I retire next summer. On paper, my misses and I should be fine, However, in my current position, I receive bonuses based on performance that usually are in the thousands of dollars that won’t be there at least four times per year. Budgeting for monthly expenses shouldn’t be a problem including the RV loan and expense. But the unknown as of now is how far the leftover disposable monies will take us in our camping adventures.

Sandy Frankus
4 years ago

Pay check to pay check is fine. Big emergency is terrifying

Sharon B
4 years ago
Reply to  Sandy Frankus

Agree Sandy. Until I sell my house I worry about that.

No good deed unpunished
4 years ago

Just as we adopted two foster kids, we both lost our regular jobs due to [namesake government program] forcing layoffs. Been about 8 years of being defacto tax free due to *losing* 20-30K/year while working. No such thing as retirement or college for kids anymore.

Gigi
4 years ago

While I don’t have such a hard time meeting the bills each month my fear is of having some big expense, that would be hard to deal with.

Jeff
4 years ago

I am not sure how too answer that question right now. We can pay our bills but in the next few weeks it may be hard. The last two weeks the company I work for issued me two bad checks. Yesterday August 23rd the owner came back in and reissue us two new checks. I see on our court records that the boys have a civil case against dad. And the mom’s boys has filed for divorce from the boy’s dad.

Cat Majiv
4 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

One heck of a confusing comment. Gave up trying to figure it out. Would be better able to feel sympathy or empathy for you if you stated it in a way I could understand. But it seems to be very stressful for you, so you do have my sympathies. Best of luck to you.

Jeff
3 years ago
Reply to  Cat Majiv

My comment was this. My wife and I can pay our bills. The company I work for the boys still have a civil suit against dad. Mom and dad are getting a divorce. If I would have lost my job my wife and I would have a hard time paying our bills.

Sign up for the

RVtravel Newsletter

Sign up and receive 3 FREE RV Checklists: Set-Up, Take-Down and Packing List.

FREE