Greetings from Arizona where we have settled amongst the snowbirds and will be riding out the fall and winter months in the warm desert sun.

In addition to being in a warm location we have started our largest work-camper assignment to date. We made a 5 month commitment at an extremely large RV/Mobile home resort. This is a 55+ resort and by the time December rolls around there will be approximately 3,000 people on site. Our job is in the entertainment / activities department and let me tell you this place has a lot going on and it gets very busy.

Our job involves everything from serving coffee and donuts to residents in the morning to setting up and decorating the entertainment halls for parties or headliner events. The calendar is jam packed every day of the week so we always have something going on. The best part is that we will typically only work 2 or 3 days a week and since we are considered residents we will get to enjoy all of the amenities and events too. And if we work ticketed events we get to enjoy the shows for free so we are hoping to get scheduled for some of the bands and headline events on the schedule.

As we mentioned this is a 55+ resort so we were a little worried that we would feel a little out of place at times. Some of our co-workers are about the same age as us too so we have some people around that we can relate to a little more. But so far everyone has been amazing and the residents have been very pleasant and inviting. And when the music starts or it’s happy hour at the bar everyone seems to lose about 20 years because it can get wild! Of course there are always a couple of sour people, but that happens everywhere. Every party has a pooper!

As for amenities, this resort is like a city. We have a restaurant, bar, multiple pools, tennis courts, putting green, driving range, batting cages, fitness center, several different types of workshops and so much more. There is really too much to list and when you add in all of the fitness classes, events, concerts and other entertainment there is really no reason to leave the resort except perhaps to go grocery shopping. Or you can just have that delivered too!

One of the things we are really looking forward to is being able to enjoy MLB spring training games when it comes around. It’s something we wanted to do last year, but every RV park in the area is 55+ and we couldn’t get anyone to make an exception for us. So now that we have found this loophole of work-camping at the resorts as a means to becoming a resident we are in prime position to hit all of the stadiums in the greater Phoenix area. Bonus!

Alright, so let’s get to the business at hand and see how our portfolio made out with the markets having a nice little rebound.

Here is how our portfolio performed in October 2022:

(Our original portfolio goal $1.5m)

Portfolio = $1,318,721

Our Portfolio Increased By $80,697 or 6.52% From The End Of September

Year-To-Date Our Portfolio Has Decreased By -19.68%

Net Worth = $1,370,507

Our Net Worth Increased By $81,228 or 6.30% From The End Of September

Year-To-Date Our Net Worth Has Decreased By -18.52%

It’s always nice to have a positive month, but we are still in deep red territory for the year. I won’t go into the fed nonsense this month as there are more qualified people now saying the same things I have been complaining about for months on end. And quite frankly, I’m over it at this point. If you’re interesting in a recap please see our last update and work your way back from there.

As for the markets, I’m optimistic that we will see continued strength, and volatility, for the last months of the year as we move past the midterm election cycle and off of oversold conditions. That doesn’t mean we are out of the woods and I wouldn’t get too excited about the recent GDP numbers that were released either. One positive quarter after two negative quarters doesn’t mean an end to the recession. In fact, most financial institutions are predicting negative GDP growth, I.E. recession, to resume in 2023. That would be called a double-dip recession if the talking heads and government stooges were actually being honest with the American people.

I still find it interesting that these people refuse to use the word recession to describe the current environment, but have no problem warning about a looming recession sometime in 2023. You know, after the midterm election cycle. Hmmm, wonder why that is? I mean, the writings on the wall for this election cycle and they are not fooling anyone by pretending it doesn’t exist now or by trying to use the Q3 number as a shiny nickel to try and distract from the carnage.

It’s pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain or not wearing political blinders that the economy is horrible, everything is more expensive, our money has been devalued and our account balances have been decimated. Maybe it’s time to level up and stop trying to deflect and distract so we can move on and actually start to improve conditions?

Here is how we did on our spending for October 2022:

Monthly Budget = $5,000

Total spend for October 2022 = $4,972

Over/Under Monthly Budget = $28

Over/Under Budget YTD = -$2,076

Less Prepaid Site Fees = $441

Net Over/Under Budget YTD = -$1,635

As expected our spending for October was a little high as we made our journey from Oklahoma to Arizona and also incurred some planned semi-annual expenses. We managed to still stay under budget despite these expenses, the fuel prices and some unexpected expenses along our path to Arizona. Those unplanned expenses consisted of replacing our sewer hose that sprung a leak just as we were preparing our site in Texas and then while on route to Arizona we made the decision on the fly to pay for a site at an RV park. After 12 hours of driving we were tired, hungry and it was dark with the overnight temperature dipping towards the low 20’s. Not exactly good conditions for pulling off the road for the night so we thought it would be safer to be hooked up in a secure location. It’s cost us $50, but we were warm and comfortable after a very stressful day on the road so it was well worth it.

Year to date we are currently over budget by $1,635 net of prepaid site fees which we are optimistic we will be able to cover as our site fees will be offset by our work-camping income for the rest of this year and into 2023. As of now we finished the year over budget on diesel fuel prices by about $100, but the caveat is that we were not able to top off our tank before parking as we should have. It’s a long story as to why this happened, but we still may incur some expense in this category once I am able to find a place that can accommodate our rig and take it for a drive. Also prices for gas and diesel fuel in Arizona are much higher than anywhere we have been since Pennsylvania.

One thing is for sure, we are happy to finally be settled in and can’t wait to get back into a routine. The last few weeks have been so busy with cleaning, maintenance and traveling that we have been neglecting the things we enjoy, like this blog and our StuckonCamping store. Then when we finally arrived at the resort we started work the very next morning and worked two split shifts and then we worked the Halloween party as well. So we really haven’t had any time to decompress until now.

Speaking of our StuckonCamping store, I decided to start throwing up some of the photos I have taken of our travels over the years. We have only posted a couple so far, but keep checking back as I hope to get more uploaded now that we are settled in. They will be a nice addition to our store to go along with the designs we make.

Thank you as always for reading our blog. Please make sure to follow us on instagram and facebook to more updates as as life happens. Feel free to leave some feedback in the comments section below.

See you on the road…………….

Joe

P.S. If you haven’t heard we started an online store called StuckonCamping where you can get some of our designs on stickers, magnets, shirts, hats, tote bags and more! Check it out for camping, RV, Jeep and other outdoor designs! 

Our sticker designs and more are now also available on Zazzle at StuckOnCamping!

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