Tuesday, December 2, 2008

We'll get the hang of this... soon I hope!

It's been an exciting, fun, and exhausting week.

How did we spend our Thanksgiving last year? Oh yes, we traded up for our current RV, a 37' Damon Challenger with 3 slides while we were in Yuma, Arizona camping with my parents. Little did we know just how that little detail would change our lives -- forever -- just one year later.

But change is good. Through change we grow... explore... expand... and enjoy. And that's what we are doing.

So how did we spend our Thanksgiving this year? By turning our lives inside out and changing everything we knew as "normal" because of that little detail last year at Thanksgiving. I'll explain more about going full time, retiring, retrofitting the RV and our adventures to come. Just keep watching this blog for updates as we begin our new life "on the road!"

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Can things get any more hectic?

I'm back, for a few minutes anyway!

Yesterday I received a wonderful message from a fellow full-time RVer and he was right in what he told me.

Don't worry about the market being down and not making as much money on the house as we would have last year. Instead we should celebrate that it sold in 30-days and has fit exactly into our time schedule. She is right on!

We are truly grateful that it sold so fast. In fact, this Sunday, November 30th, we're moving into our new roving home with our two Chihuahuas, Capt. Jack & Jesse James. I'll include a photo of both as soon as Jesse (who looks like a snow cone with his big collar on to keep him from licking his stitches after being neutered) is back to normal. He also had four baby teeth removed but he is taking it like a champ.

Yesterday we rented a uhaul truck and moved stuff out of storage to begin the next phase of our new-life-transition... the estate sale. As I said before, our children took what they wanted from our household items, so now it's time to sell what's left. We are getting really excited now.

IT IS REALLY HAPPENING!

Plus as Bob was cleaning out the attic and the storage shed in the back yard he found about 10 boxes of old tax returns so I'll be doing a lot of shredding... again. I paid my 8-year-old granddaughter, Corynn, to help me last time. I wish she was here now -- I could use her help.

First I have client work I must attend to, then I'll continue on with our preparations. We have our lot in a nearby RV park ready to move into.

For Thanksgiving weekend we'll be getting all the final touchups done on the RV. It needs to be thoroughly cleaned inside and out. Bob has a handy pressure washer so he'll be cleaning the rig from roof to tires while we can hook up to our own water... still. Weather permitting of course.

We've also been busy getting all of the medical check-ups and procedures done so when we hit the road we don't have to tend to these interruptions for a while. Our new life involves starting a new job together (which I'll go into to detail about more later) and we will probably be very busy traveling and learning starting in February.

For this Thanksgiving we truly have much to be thankful for. We are healthy and we have our two precious traveling companions, and we have each other. Life is good.

Till next time,

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Well that didn't take long...

... the house selling that is. Yes, it is sold. The official phrase is we're "under contract." The offer has been made. Counter offer accepted. The inspection was yesterday and I can't think of anything serious that needs fixin. As I said in my last post, if we'd have done this last spring we'd have made more money.

No matter, we sold our lovely home in 30-days so we're not complaining. If I could give you one very important bit of advice when it comes to selling your house -- it would be to do your homework!

Don't go with the first real estate agent you come across unless you have thoroughly checked them out. Here are some things to look for:
  1. Is their #1 goal to sell your home or to just get your listing (there is a difference).

  2. How long has he/she been selling homes?

  3. What is his/her track record? (Beverly sells 92% of her listings -- and it does not take her long because she markets aggressively)

  4. Does he/she just come out and put a sign in your yard or do they tell you to get out a pencil & paper and give you specific directions on how to get your house "staged" properly so you'll make the most money possible in the shortest time?

  5. Did he/she tell you exactly how to keep the house up while on the market?

So now we have about 1 month to get our estate sale ready. We're moving our rig into an RV Park just down the street on December 1st. We'll stay there until we go to our first job with our new company in February. The nice thing about this job is it's not a regular, full-time job. Bob and I get to work together, part-time, and travel is part of the deal. Win-Win!

As soon as the dust settles around here I'll give you more details... there should not be much dust since I've been thoroughly cleaning 1-2 times a day while waiting for the house to sell.

Waiting to get on the road,

Vicky & Bob Heron (& Capt. Jack)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

P.S. Our little Chihuahua Capt. Jack is not quite as enthused as we are about this move into the RV. He's taken several short jaunts in it with us and he's unimpressed with this moving house. He's a timid little fellow so we're thinking of getting him a brother or sister. He loves playing with other Chihuahuas and is less timid when he has someone to play with. I'll keep you posted on this development...

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Go with your gut!

Bob and I recently joined the Escapees (http://www.escapees.com/) organization. Now that the house is on the market and life is a bit slower finally, I've had a chance to begin reading the SKP forums and I've discovered a big item we should have done differently.

Simply put, we should have sold our house well before my husband's targeted retirement date. I'm not sure I could have gotten Bob to do it 2-3 years ago, but we regret we did not do it last spring. The market has changed so much since then. I'm afraid we've missed our prime window of opportunity.

Last spring I was ready to get going on this. Get the house sold and move into the RV. Bob could work on his current job until he was ready to retire. He just was not ready. Try as I might, I could not convince him to reconsider.

On the forum today I noticed many people have become full-timers several years before officially retiring. I wish we'd have joined SKPs earlier and read this useful information. Even though I know our house will sell soon, we could have made $10k to $15k more if we'd have acted sooner.

All last spring my gut kept telling me "this is the time to do it -- sell the house and begin full-timing." I know if Bob could have read the inspiring stories posted by other members, he would have felt more confortable with the pre-retirement change. I should have paid more attention to that little voice screaming at me to do it now! I should have followed my gut feelings.

If you are considering going full-time, I suggest you join the Escapees organization and devour the message forums. Lots of great advice and experience in those posts. As I said before, you can never have too much information at your fingertips. Escapee members appear to be very friendly and genuinely want to help each other. We're impressed!

Enjoy life, work, and traveling,

Vicky & Bob Heron (& Capt. Jack)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

So you want to go RVing full-time -- What about money?

When my parents, and their generation, decided to become full-time RVers, or to become "snowbirds," most knew how they were going to swing it financially.

Before I continue... just what is a snowbird? You see, my parents decided 22 years ago to keep the old homestead, our family farm in Illinois. But, they hate staying there in the winter months. As a matter of fact, many seniors and retired people living in the northern "cold winter weather" states are affected by this affliction.

The cure is to get in the RV and head south... to Arizona, Florida, or South Texas.

My parents went to Yuma, Arizona 22 years ago and have never looked back. Every year in late October or early November they pack up their home on wheels and go "on the road again." To Yuma. They love it there. Mom plays her keyboard and sings in "jam sessions" with other musicians. Dad just loves to listen to her work her magic!

Then in late March, or early April, they get the itch to come back home to roost. And there they stay until they repeat the whole process. We joined them for the trip to Yuma last year and was bitten by the RVing bug!

I'd say if there was a golden era of retiring in an RV it was the last 20 years. Before gas went up to $3.00 and $4.00 a gallon. Before pensions were lost (for whatever reasons). Before social security was in jeaopardy. Before RV park lot rent exceeded lot rent in a mobile home park.

So what are boomers to do about going on the road in an RV and driving blissfully off into the sunset? I'm glad you asked...

Before I answer that question, I'd like to share with you a trend I'm starting to see. People in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are deciding they want to experience the RV lifestyle too. With cell phones, wireless Internet, and home schooling, any couple or family with children can enjoy the traveling lifestyle. As a result, it is exploding.

The solution to all of these scenarios is to work as you travel. There are all kinds of jobs. Many are explained in the books you can buy explaining the full-time RV lifestyle.

One in particular sounded very appealing to us. And we found it quite by accident. You see, before we put the house on the market, we needed to find a place to park the RV. We needed it to be close since Bob is not retired yet.

While we were searching for the right RV park to move into, we found a great way to pay for our retirement and travels. I'll tell you all about it in my next post. Until then...

Enjoy life, work, and traveling,

Vicky & Bob Heron (& Capt. Jack)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Exciting Life-Changing Journey Begins

A few days ago I told you we were going to share insights into how we made the decision to become full-time RVers, how long we planned it, and how we got started. We also want these insights to make it easier for you. Some things along the way could have been planned a bit better. Hopefully our insights will help your transition into the full-timing RVing lifestyle a little easier.

First, there are a lot of good books on this subject. Read them. You can never have too much information when you're making a lifestyle change as substantial as this.

I think I bought about 6 or 7 books. If you don't know what type of rig will be best for you, these books will help guide you in this decision. We already knew we wanted a Class A motorhome. In fact, as I said before -- the purchase of our current motorhome inspired us to make this life change sooner rather than later.

So aside from the type of rig you want, what other things need to be considered?

Bob, my beloved soulmate, is 63-years-old this year. I just turned 54-years-old. With gas prices between $3.50 and $4.00 per gallon, we knew we should plan on working part time to help supplement our expenses. Another factor is we'll soon have to pay for health insurance.

This helped us to make the big decision to sell our house. It went on the market yesterday. We have a lovely and highly skilled realtor named Beverly Pironti. Her website is http://www.beverlypironti.com/. In 2004 she sold two houses across the street for full asking price. One went in eight days, the other in 27 days. We knew we wanted to keep her in mind for when we decided to sell (in 2004 we had no idea when that would be).

Right after she closed these two properties, Beverly sent out a postcard to our neighborhood announcing those house sales and how quickly they sold. I stuck that card away "just in case."

When the time came and we decided to sell the house, we couldn't for the life of us remember her name. We called our former neighbor (the Internet is sure helpful in finding people) to get this realtor's contact information. They could not find it anywhere.

As luck would have it, as I was cleaning out clutter and getting rid of "stuff," I found that postcard.

Now before I tell you why her houses sell so quickly, I'm going to share some of our mistakes with you.

1. Interview more than one realtor and ask good questions about how you need to prepare your house and how they will market your house for the quickest sale at the best price. We almost went with a realtor who was a lot less experienced. She was a lovely person, but she was not as knowledgeable about how to really move houses. She told us some brief things to do.

When I found Beverly's card I thought we were about to sign on the dotted line and list with the first lady we interviewed.

Boy -- was I wrong!

Which brings me to our next mistake...

2. Allow plenty of time to get your house in tip-top condition for showing. If you scrimp here it will cost you later.

Beverly came in and said to get out a paper and pencil and take notes. I'm going to tell you what you need to do specifically to get your house ready. She said right now "you're not ready."

Before she became a realtor, Beverly was an interior designer. And it showed! She told us to do things I never would have known to do -- or even thought of. I can't tell you specifically since these are her secrets to success. But suffice it to say, she gave us a week and a half to get our to-do list completed. It went well beyond touch up painting and cleaning off the countertops in the kitchen (de-cluttering).

All summer I told family members that we were putting the house on the market September 1st. Well... we did not start doing anything until mid August. Big mistake!

It takes time to sort through and decide what to dispose of, what to give to kids (if they want it), and what can and will go in the RV. Basically, our challenge was how to go from over 1900 sq. ft. of space down to 444 sq. ft. This includes when all three slide out rooms are extended. A lot has to go. Of course, there are certain things that must go in storage.

For example, I have my own copywriting and marketing business. So I have client files and lots of stuff I've accumulated over the years. When we decided to full-time it, we decided we'd enjoy doing work we could do on the road. Something we could work on together. Something that would take us to new places and help pay our expenses. We found it!

So I tossed (shredded) all of my old client stuff, our old tax stuff and about anything else I could get my hands on. Just kidding. We went through closets and cleaned them out. I finally got it through my thick head that I will not be a size 4 again, or size 6, or size 8. But that's okay, the Salvation Army got two big loads of really good items. It was alot easier than getting ready for a garage sale. Now all we have to do is give a value to all of the donated items and deduct it from our taxes.

If we would have started getting the house ready earlier, we wouldn't have been so rushed and exhausted. I'm happy to say that now we are enjoying our beautifully staged and uncluttered home. Why didn't we do this sooner? (Beverly says she hears that a lot :-))

Stay tuned for my next post as I share with you how I found the "perfect fit" for us job wise.

Please feel free to comment on these posts. I'll be looking at each one. If you have specific questions I'll be happy to answer them. Soon I'll get Bob to join in and share some important information about how to get your rig ready to go. He's working on a project right now that will potentially give us a couple of miles per gallon in mileage which will be a big help in that behemoth. We'll be testing it next weekend. I'll have him give you all the details, I promise.

So keep watching, better yet -- click on the link to follow this blog as it is updated.

Vicky & Bob Heron (& Capt. Jack)
How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Welcome to our new "on the road" blog!

It all started with trading in our RV for a newer, larger one last fall.

Let me start at the beginning...

I've [Vicky] been an AVID RVer all of my life. It all started in the late 60's when my parents turned the bed of our pick up truck into a makeshift camper (of sorts).

You see, my Uncle Bob had recently purchased a brand new truck camper and from then on, my parents had the fever.

After a miserable, rainy weekend in the back of a pick up truck with a tarp over our heads (talk about primitive) my parents decided we needed a few more ammenities.

So, they bought a used Tour-A-Home truck camper. It looked okay, but the first rainfall had it leaking like a seive. Plus, Dad had to reinforce the upper bunk (you know, the one that hangs over the truck cab and kids love to ride in -- this was before seat belts were a law) because it was about to form its own entity.

We spent several good years in that RV. Went to Escondido, California to visit my great Aunt Ethel and Uncle Paul. I remember on the trip home we went through Las Vegas. The outdoor thermometer registered 120 degrees. That's as high as it went!

In those days, a farm truck from Illinois did not, as a rule, have air-conditioning. Neither did the camper. So we were hot!

But we did manage to have fun.

Because of this, I went on to get a truck camper of my own when my kids were little. Once we outgrew it, we bought a 22' Viking pop-up camper with two dinnettes. It was perfect for us!

Our youngest daughter, 1-year-old Bobbi Jean, needed a crib like structure to sleep in. So we took the table portion and propped it up between the seats to form a make-shift type of crib on the floor. We also bought an expanding play yard for outdoor play so she could toddle around and not get out of our sight (or into trouble).

Of course, we should have put then 3-year-old James in there. He was a mischievous child who could have put "Dennis-the-Menace" to shame. We have many memories of camping with my sister and her family in their pop-up, and with my parents in their truck camper. What fun family memories!

When we relocated from Illinois to Texas for job reasons, we sold the pop-up camper. Oh that was hard.

Finally, years later I was finally able to buy a "cream-puff" used Class C motorhome... a 28 1/2 foot Jamboree Rallye. I was living in Houston at the time. I joined Coast to Coast Resorts with my home resort in Canyon Lake -- The Summit. It's a beauty! If you ever get the chance to visit there and you're a Coast to Coast member, you gotta stay there and go tubing on the Guadalupe River.

My daughter, Bobbi Jean, and I spent many lazy days tubing down that river. Since it was only three hours from our home in Houston, we stored our rig at the resort and went up 2-3 times per month to savor all the "Hill Country" had to offer. It was delightful.

Next I sold the Class C and bought a brand new Coleman pop-up at an RV show. It came with a screen room and a built-in shower, two stoves and a gas refrigerator, and air-conditioner/heat-pump. Heavenly!

Before I continue, even though there were periods when I did not own an RV, I always had camping fever.

After I sold the Coleman, I met a wonderful man on the Internet... my husband Bob. In his bio he said he worked for an RV dealer. As you can imagine, I answered his ad ASAP!

We corresponded for several months. Flew between Denton/Dallas & Houston and visited each other. Then I quit my job and moved to Denton and we got married shortly thereafter. Turns out he was a manager at McClain's RV and one of his perks was theuse of an RV off the lot for vacations. Not bad - eh?

After he changed jobs a couple of years later, we were again without an RV. I was in withdrawal.

Last spring we decided to sell our conversion van and get a Class A motorhome. Once we made the decision to go for it, we found a 2004 31-foot Gulf Stream Ultra with two slides and hardly any miles on it. Now my Class C did not have slides so this was a whole new dimension in comfort for me.

While I was doing my thing over the years, my parents had found Yuma, Arizona. Since about 1985 or so they have been winter snowbirds. Just like the Canadian honkers, as the weather turns colder up north, they flock south to a warmer climate for the winter.

Last year, we decided to take a 2-week vacation (our first actually) and join them on the trip to Yuma and stay about a week and a half and come home. We had absolutely NO intentions of trading our newly acquired motorhome (even though you could barely walk around the bed even when the slide was out.

Now you must understand, RVers love looking -- window shopping -- at other RVs. Have you ever been to a deserted RV show? Didn't think so.

So one day Mom and I suggested we go "just looking" at RV dealers to see what the newer ones were like. Just to look... right...

Of course I fell in love with a Monaco diesel pusher that could accommodate a heavy load with ease. But the thing I really loved was it had an office area in the bedroom. And being a writer and copywriter I had to have something like this so I could work whenever and wherever we traveled.

There was one little wrinkle -- THE PRICE! It was $250,000. Unless I win the lotto, that's out of my range. Just as we were ready to call it a day and go home, the salesman said, "Do you have to have a diesel?"

When we replied no, he said I may have just the thing for you in a gasoline model. So we all piled into the golf cart and high-tailed it to the other end of the lot. And there it was, our new home. We just didn't know it yet. We knew it had great possibilities!

We spent Thanksgiving Day moving into our new gem -- a 2006 37.2 ft. Damon Challenger. It had only 6300 miles on it. The more we were in it, the more we got the "full-timer" bug.

Well, this is enough for today. Tomorrow I'll take you through our journey of deciding to actually make the transition to full-timing. How we prepared and what we suggest you do differently to be better prepared. And how we prepared our coach for our personal lifestyle.

There is so much I want to tell you... check back often as we embark on our journey. Step by step.

Vicky & Bob Heron (& Capt. Jack)


How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!