SAYING HELLO (in my own way) TO 2009

As I begin this 70th year of my life, I am amazed looking back (again) and realizing how fast the time has gone by. The other [revolting] development I have noticed is that each year goes faster than the last which seems to coincide with my advancing age … hmmmmm? I guess that means the older I get, the faster time will pass which brings me to this tidbit of advice we have on a small placard inside Penny the Pace: “Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave in a well preserved body. Rather to slide in sideways, with a drink in one hand, a chocolate in the other, totally worn out and shouting, holy #$%&, what a ride!” For myself, so far—so good … how are you doin’?

We have been living full time in our motorhome, Penny the Pace since 1 October 2004. However, we did not actually start rolling down the highway until after Thanksgiving that same year. Since then we have chalked up some significant additional miles on our already lovingly-used Penny. I don’t track every penny we spend and I have never shared our statistics before but have decided this year to give you a few loosely calculated numbers in case you are curious about our lifestyle and certain expenses. Of course, every RVer is different and you pretty much live the same way you lived in the sticks and bricks once you go fulltime so you must realize these numbers are very individual to the way Phil and I move through our lives. About the only “vice” we continue to embrace is our love for seeking out great restaurants as well as frequenting “Drive ins-Diners-and Dives” (one of our favorite Food Network shows) so feeding the two of us is literally the biggest part of our budget.

After our first couple years, we reduced our miles traveled annually and with higher gas prices we have been moving more slowly so our gas budget is low compared to some. We have solar panels (and a big generator) on board and satellite internet and TV so we could park in the boonies for as long as the whim held our fancy with the purchase of a blue boy (tow-able septic container) to dump the waste water tanks. However, in due course we discovered our original notion to live off the grid for extended lengths of time was not our preference so our RV park expenses might be higher than for more frugal travelers. We do belong to several RV camping clubs and Phil is a member of the B.P.O. Elks in our former home town and many Elk’s Clubs across the country have low cost RV parking, so we have gotten better over time at finding more economical places to park. Our recreational activities are a small part of our budget and include Phil’s fishing, my genealogy work and writing as well as sightseeing across the country even though it sometimes includes a hefty ticket price. Our discretionary needs are few as we are both pretty content in our own skins and doing “nothing” (reading, surfing the net, napping and watching TV), sometimes for days at a time is not uncommon in our lives, ~just like before we retired~LOL! As always, I will be very interested in your comments!

2008:

Gas purchased (approximate): 456 gallons—our mileage divided by Penny’s average consumption: 8 MPG (with prices all over the board—I didn’t keep track of the cost)
Parking Penny the Pace: $ 5,243 (about $14.50 per day or $439 a month and this includes utilities)
Daily cost of food (eating out and groceries purchased): $ 7,450 or $21.00 per day
How many times we moved Penny: 22 times
Miles traveled: 3,651

Until next time,