Loans on RV's ... gulp

[goducks]

The upside where everyone pays cash for an RV is that very few would be able to and that would free up huge amounts of camping spots.

[1jeep]

I'm in the same situation as BarOneRanch. early 50's and thinking in 5 years we will buy the exact one we want and use it while we can! Money, well you wont be buried with it and never know when your time is done on earth. No we don't overextend ourselves with huge loans, our rv loan was for 12 years and was fairly small monthly $$.

I watched my parents work all their lives, retire and bought a new rv and truck, then a year later one got ill and its been parked since.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by buffalobillh

This is a great thread. Thanks for all the thoughtful responses.

We are also trying to pay down debts in preparation for retirement (I'm 49, she's 44). My kids are older and gone, but hers are in elementary school (yes, I know... WTH was I thinking? LOL). Retirement might come at the earliest for me in 5-10 years, but a REAL retirement with kids out of the house in 10 years. Either way, we want to be as ready as possible.

We got our TT on a 6 year note (5 years left), and 4 years left on our F150. The current plan is to pay down those notes for a while, save cash for down payments, then get a bigger truck and a TT or 5er for the wife and I and have them paid off by retirement. House note should not be a factor in retirement, so having an RV note in retirement might not the biggest concern. Still, I'd rather have as much paid off as possible before retirement. My thought is that being debt-free in retirement, in addition to making life generally easier and more worry-free, it would be much easier to make truck or RV repairs, take care of the house (if we choose to keep it), travel more, or get a new truck or RV if necessary. My thought has always been "less debt = more freedom." Any thoughts?

Yep,...what WERE you thinking??

Retiring in 5-10 years is a good goal if achievable. You did not, and don't need to , articulate how that would be achieved but remember that any tax deferred savings will bite you with a penalty prior to 59 1/2. There are ways around that but that is another topic.

One of the biggest keys for us to retire at 55 was being debt free and having an adequate income. We did as you mentioned and tried to foresee what we wanted and what we would be doing so we could prepare. After accomplishing the above 2 items I think the biggest thing for us was having the house paid for. In my world DW said she would not live, or be left, without the main house or one equivalent that wasn't paid for......security, and I totally understand it. She did not want the possibility of something happening financially that could leave her homeless or something.

Your observations about being debt free making things easier in retirement is on the money. I spent a lot of my early married years struggling to make ends meet and juggling payments and thought I would do that until I died. Being debt free is a RELIEF and gives you so much more freedom. YOU get to call the shots on what happens vs looking at a bank balance or check book. I wish every single person on this forum that is trying to reach that point Godspeed and good luck.

[Pmedic4]

Originally Posted by 1jeep

I'm in the same situation as BarOneRanch. early 50's and thinking in 5 years we will buy the exact one we want and use it while we can! Money, well you wont be buried with it and never know when your time is done on earth. No we don't overextend ourselves with huge loans, our rv loan was for 12 years and was fairly small monthly $$.

I watched my parents work all their lives, retire and bought a new rv and truck, then a year later one got ill and its been parked since.

We were there, saved hard for retirement, putting my money into tax deferred investments. Now to sit there and save money in a separate account, just to pay cash for our new RV doesn't make sense when you consider the best return in a separate account wouldn't be better than the interest rate we got on our loan.

Also gambling on your health, as you point out. Being older, realistically I see my DW and I have 10 years to enjoy this new RV, and if we'd waited say 5 years to save the money, at best we'd have 5 years, when I'm almost 70 to enjoy it, and that's not counting those unforeseen circumstances you point out.

If I get to use it these next 5-6 years, I'll be happy. Much better than sitting at home thinking we'd be able to do it in a couple of years.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Nasramike

I think it's great that a person can get carried away with something so much that he is ready to take out a loan.

Welcome to the forum. You posted to a thread that hasn't had any activity for 4 years.

[dutchmensport]

Nasramike,
Welcome to the forums.

Just like everything else that people do, RVing is a chosen lifestyle. For some it's a hobby, for others it's their livelihood, and for others it's their entire world. Part timers, Full timers, week-end warriors, transient travelers, permanently parked, or seasonal camping, pop-up, travel trailer, fifth wheel, truck camper, Class A, B, B+, or C, well all have one thing in common, and that is, we all love this lifestyle at every level.

Like everything else in life, it's all a matter of how important it is to you, depends on where you spend your money.

[Rocketsled]

I'm kinda glad the zombie thread was resurrected...

We bought a 2017 Trailer in 2019...paid (are paying) $30k plus interest minus downpayment on a trailer that MSRP'd for $55k.

COVID threw all of that all over the place. I've seen the same trailer for sale for $10k more than we paid for it, this year. The fact it's got the extra AC and Generator apparently makes it a hot commodity.

But that's irrelevant to this conversation:

We have a 10 year loan on the trailer and pay crazy amounts of money on insurance and storage and maintenance because there's a good chance my wife will have to deal with Alzheimer's, and frankly, we want to have some good memories prior to and in the early stages of retirement while she has the health to do so.

It has nothing to do with interest rates and money management and fixed incomes and has everything to do with maximizing the memories while we have our health. She's making the right health choices and doing things to stave off illness, but the fact remains, I've seen a LOT of people work their entire career to either Die before they retire, or get 2-4 years before their health makes all that savings moot.