Budget Examples:

[michaelf2780]

I here people mention they live on various amount of income and have no issues but I have not seen anyone actual post their budget breakdown.  [b]SisterSue[/b] posted a budget excel sheet which is great and it shows an actual budget.  I was wondering if we can get other people to post their budget to help people tweak/rework their own budgets and to help new people.  I am one of the new people who really needs help trying to decide on my budget as until I can get my budget worked out I am stuck moving onto the next phase of my planning.

An example of my current budget:
Mortgage:  $1300  (selling house so this will disappear but I will get enough equity to buy my Van Dwelling system).
Cars: $800  (selling cars so these will disappear,  sadly zero equity and will loose money when I sell).
Food:  $400  (I enjoy eating good food and I try to find a new place to eat at least once a week.  When I Van-dwell this will increase to $600 budget)
Insurance:  $220 (not sure how much this will drop or increase)
Gas:  $200  (I drive a lot)
Credit Cards:  $1000  (trying to pay them off so paying as much as i can afford.  They will disappear when I sell the house,  I end up spending $300-400 in general expense with cc).
HELOC:  $600  (will disappear when I sell the house).
Phone:  $130
Utilities:  $400  (luckily this will disappear when I sell the house).
Fun:  Not enough and which is why I plan a life style change.
Total Budget:  $5050

My desire budget but I need help knowing by seeing other peoples budget who are Vandwelling:
Food:  $600
Insurance:  $220
Gas:  $600  (for generator for AC/Heat as well as MPG).
Phone/Internet:  $160
Auto Cost: $300 budget  (tolls, maintenance, etc).
Fun:  ??  What I am aiming for.
Total budget:  $1880
(will buy the Vandwelling with equity from Home and put solar, generator, and battery system if I can find one affordable.  Or I will convert a Highlander Hybrid if the AC/Heat works similar to Prius even in high temp areas).

[Riverman]

Welcome to the forum.... but I don't post private info online

[1shemp]

Phone;$25.Dish;$80.Internet;$51.Auto ins;$67/6mo.(just paid yesterday)Food;$400.Leaving around $1800 per month to piss away.These are my expenses while I'm home.When I travel,the cost is much higher.

[1shemp]

Oops.I forgot about my automatic monthly donation to Save the Children.Delete another $100 from piss away money.

[WanderingRose]

I am not full time, but did live hand to mouth for many years, just scraping by.

One thing I don’t see in your budget is money set aside for savings/emergencies, which happen and can have you unexpectedly dead in the water, wherever you happen to be.

Budget in something for these events, setting the money aside and leaving it alone.

If you are selling your house, I recommend paying off all of your debt, and putting away $5,000 in an emergency fund, like for an unexpected vehicle repair that could require you to stay in a motel while it is fixed.

This happened to us, about 1800 miles from home.

Don’t touch that money unless you absolutely have to, then replenish it out of your monthly income.

I try to live below my means every month, and whatever is leftover when SS comes in again gets transferred to savings. Then when I have an unexpected expense, I have money to pay for it.

Planning is good, you will be prepared when the time comes.

(This post was last modified: 05-23-2020, 07:55 AM by WanderingRose.)

[1shemp]

I planned all my life and that's why I have more money than I really need.I'm old.Time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.As Mark Twain said about worrying"I've lived through some terrible things in my life,some of which actually happened."

[michaelf2780]

When I sell my home I will be debt free other than a rental home that family rents from me. I will also rebuild my 6 month emergency fund with the equity. I am 100% disabled service connected veteran and the reason I am starting the transition to Full timing is because I finally reached a point where I can be financially independent even if I my rating gets lowered (which my doctors say has zero chance of happening). I will be applying for P&T status once my current review is finished.

I will be purchasing a new home but it will be a much cheaper smaller home in the city and will be paying cash for it. Family will live in it while I travel and cover the cost of maintenance/taxes/insurance. This way if anything ever does happen and I loose my income I will have a house to live in that is paid for. (taxes in my area is cheap). A room-mate or two will cover expenses like utilities, taxes and other small expenses. Plus I still have my rental that is paid off and earning me a little income and if needed I can sell it.

[Tony's Dream]

Michaelf2780,.....

"I am 100% disabled service connected veteran and the reason I am starting the transition to Full timing is because I finally reached a point where I can be financially independent even if I my rating gets lowered (which my doctors say has zero chance of happening). I will be applying for P&T status once my current review is finished."

I am also a disabled veteran. Once the VA has completed their review and makes a determination, it is very rare it every gets over turned. The only cases I have seen is where someone was not being truthfull in their application or it was awarded temporarily for a condition that has a good chance of recovery.

I wish you the very best in your travels.

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Michael! Your budget gives a good bit of extra cash for anything that comes up. Looks good to me! Keep us updated on your progress!

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.