Wanting to Join the Ranks of the Nomads

[TexasAnnie62]

Hi All!

I'm so excited to be part of this group and learning from each of you.  I don't want to have to reinvent the wheel and look forward to the sage advice of those who have gone before.  

I'll be 57 this year and have just come upon the concept of this lifestyle and it has certainly sparked my curiosity.  I feel that this is the life that I am meant to live and that I've been searching for the last 15 years!  I'm hoping to have transitioned from my apartment to a mobile unit of some kind by the end of the year.  I'll continue working full time until I'm able to collect SS in 5 years and will put the money that I"m saving into my 401K and savings.  

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the choices to be made in order to make the transition.  Of course, having limited funds makes the choices more difficult.   I'm hoping to have about $5K to $6K to either purchase or use as a down payment on a vehicle.  Should I pay cash for the best vehicle I can afford at the time?  Since I plan on working another 5 years, should I perhaps finance something newer for that time frame and then have something perhaps more reliable?  


Decisions...decisions...

Looking forward to hearing any advice and learning from all!

Warm regards,

Annie

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Annie to the CRVL forums! 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.

highdesertranger

 

[RoamerRV428]

HI!

if you are definitely working over the next years then getting something a bit newer with a small payment that can be finished by the time you are full time on the road might be a great decision for you....if you have a certain vehicle in mind etc. you can easily walk toward that and get everything paid off in good time.

have you camped before thru your life?

I think it is a very smart idea to get the best vehicle you can. Any repairs you can get slapped with can hurt the wallet so going with a newer purchase could be a very wise choice. You have some time to decide tho, let us know which way ya roll

 

[ckelly78z]

Get something nicer now, and do some practice runs. By the time you want to head out on the road for good, you will have all of the bugs worked out, and should be much more comfortable with the transition. Good luck.

 

[B and C]

Welcome. Have you done much camping?

I would suggest you do some close weekend camping with what you have now. It will give you a better idea of what you want and need. It will also let you know if this is really for you.

 

[TexasAnnie62]

Great advice from all. Thanks!  I was thinking it was best to get the best possible at this time so thanks for confirming.  I've not camped much in the past.  What attracts me the most to this lifestyle is the freedom.  I will be doing some camping in the next few weekends to see what I might need in order to make this work for me.  I'm considering getting a Ram 3500 high top van that is totally empty in back and begin renovating a little at a time.  This is so exciting!