Essentials For Your New RV

Published on by Joe@RV-on-FIRE.com3 Comments

I have seen a lot of questions in different forums from new RV owners asking what items are important or must haves before heading out on their first trip. The first trip is always going to have its ups and downs. If you’re lucky, you spend most of your time getting to know your new coach and putting things away how you like them.

However, more often than not, people end up discovering small issues and end up doing some sort of DIY repairs. The experience can range from euphoric to down right frustrating.

Before you go out, it’s good to be prepared to avoid some self-inflicted frustrations. I have compiled a list of some essential and basic items that we use. Some might seem obvious. But we have experienced, seen and heard stories from people that have left home for a trip and in their excitement, forgot basic necessities. Hmmm, I thought I put the new sewer hose in the wet bay! Continue reading “Essentials For Your New RV” →

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Portfolio History & Projection

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As someone who works with numbers for a living, I tend to enjoy using and creating spreadsheets. Years ago I created several spreadsheets to track and project our portfolio. At that time the FIRE movement didn’t exist, at least to us, and we didn’t have a firm number in place as a goal to work towards. All we knew was we were saving for a retirement that was based more on age than anything else. Remember our so called “advisor” had us pegged for a late 60’s or early 70’s for retirement.

I have kept track of our year end tally for every year since 2001. When I look back, I am amazed at how far we have come in 17 years. Especially because while we have always been pretty good at saving, it has never really been a high priority for us until now. The fact that we are close to passing into 7 figure territory on our portfolio goes to show that time is just important of a factor as the amount you save. Continue reading “Portfolio History & Projection” →

May 2019 Financial Update

Published on by Joe@RV-on-FIRE.com8 Comments

The old adage in the investing world is “sell in May and go away”.

In the beginning of the month I posted a blog titled “The Stock Market Ride“. In this blog, I noted that I felt we were entering a period where people are looking for a reason to sell. I also noted that this feeling was based on the markets entering what is historically the worst time of the year as well as the knee jerk reactions the markets were having anytime tariffs were mentioned one way or the other. This observation proved to be true as the markets racked up losses in what was a roller coaster of a month.

Was this a stroke of genius on my part? Um….No! Just knowing historical trends and watching daily reactions to news is all it took to know where the markets were heading in the short term. Although I did choose a roller coaster as my image for that blog as well. So maybe there is more to this genius thing? Continue reading “May 2019 Financial Update” →

RV & FIRE = PB&J

Published on by Joe@RV-on-FIRE.com1 Comment

When I decided to start this blog, it was really on a whim. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and probably still don’t for the most part. All I really knew at the time was that we wanted to work towards living and traveling full time in our RV. We also knew that we needed to achieve FIRE in order to do it so we were not relying on 9-5 jobs to fund our lifestyle.

Now that we are just over a month into our journey it is obvious that FIRE and our dream of life on the road are like a yummy PB&J sandwich. Each part has its own delicious flavor, but when you put the two together, there is just another tasty level that comes out of the combination. Continue reading “RV & FIRE = PB&J” →

Our Favorite Camping Gadgets

Published on by Joe@RV-on-FIRE.com4 Comments

Greetings fellow travelers!! With the Memorial Day weekend upon us we have officially started the camping season. This is a great time of year and like millions of other people we can’t wait to hit the road.

I previously wrote a blog listing 10 budget friendly items that we have personally used, and in most cases, continue to use during our camping adventures. In this blog we will list some excellent items that we use around the campsite and inside our RV. Continue reading “Our Favorite Camping Gadgets” →

Champagne Plans On A Beer Budget

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As camping season begins, we are contemplating how we are going to manage our budget and still not short change ourselves on the experiences we have planned. Up to this point, we never really took budgets into consideration. When it came to vacations, our attitude was always “we are on vacation, what does finances have to do with it?”

To say I’m a little nervous about the upcoming adventures would be an understatement. We did well on our first test when we went on one of our regular Vegas trips, which you can read about here and here. The real question now is how do we maintain that momentum throughout an entire summer? A summer in which we will have numerous small trips planned to go along with a two week, six state journey. Continue reading “Champagne Plans On A Beer Budget” →

10 Budget Friendly Camping Items

Published on by Joe@RV-on-FIRE.com7 Comments

Hello everyone! Summer is almost here and that means camping season is upon us as well. We spend a lot of our time camping glamping and there are some things we just cannot do without. Continue reading “10 Budget Friendly Camping Items” →

Sometimes, It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good

Published on by Joe@RV-on-FIRE.com1 Comment

I wanted to take a moment to write a little more about our personal story. Early in our relationship we had what I would consider an amazing run of luck that would shape our financial lives. While the events were planned, the timing of those events coincided with significant runs in different markets that helped launch our financial portfolio and shape our lives to this day.

Before my wife and I got married in 1999, we had acquired a decent amount of stock in Intel (INTC). Little did we know this investment would blossom into an actual portfolio and set us on the path to financial freedom before we even considered the possibility. Continue reading “Sometimes, It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good” →

Haters On FIRE!

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I have been reading various financial articles and blogs and it appears some people just don’t get it! Or could it be something else?

The latest article I read was from a well known business publication doing a Q & A session with a so called financial expert. Continue reading “Haters On FIRE!” →

Vegas on FIRE Update

Published on by Joe@RV-on-FIRE.com5 Comments

When I last posted, my wife and I were in Vegas attempting to enjoy our time together without busting the budget. This was our first trip to Vegas since we made the decision to change our ways and focus on reaching FIRE. It was the first true test of our ability to focus on priorities and not just whip out the old credit card for whatever our hearts desired. Continue reading “Vegas on FIRE Update” →