Are you thinking of making the jump to full-time RV living, but not sure how much it *actually* costs? You’re not alone! There are so many people who have embraced this way of life and continue to enjoy all the amazing things it has to offer.
As exciting as it can be, there is still a lot of preparation that goes into making sure you’re ready for such a big change. One of the best ways to get started is by creating a budget and tracking your expenses with our free full time RV living cost worksheet.
This helpful worksheet will make it easy for you to stay on top of all the costs associated with your mobile lifestyle. You’ll be able to track everything from fuel and camping fees, to repairs and maintenance. The worksheet also includes a section to list your income and expenses so you can make sure you’re living within your means.
First – Let’s Talk About Two Misconceptions about Full Timing
The first step, even before the budgeting worksheet, is to change your mindset – if you’ve camped for vacation before, that “vacation” spendy mindset can be hard to break.
First misconception – “It will be cheaper than a mortage payment!”
Unless you live in a fancy house, or an area with a high cost of living, it is very unlikely that your RV life will be cheaper than a “sticks n bricks”. There is more than just campground fees and a camper payment, after all (just check out all the rows of expenses in the worksheet!)
There are many talking points regarding this, but in an effort to not sound like a negative nancy, let’s move on.
Second misconception – “It’s so easy – just stay as long as we want, leave when we want!”
In the year 2023, it can be fairly hard to find spots available for long periods of time (monthly rates are usually WAY cheaper) without booking months ahead of time. This lifestyle requires more planning and flexibility than “normal”.
For a more in depth dive to the various costs associated with full timing, check out this full timing budget breakdown article.
How much does it cost to full time RV?
There is no way to even ballpark this question, as there are too many variables. Between campground rates, expectation for your RV lifestyle (IE… are you traveling often, or moving monthly) and what debt you already start out with, the cost varies a bit!
Creating an accurate budget customized to your own specific situation is essential if you want to be successful in this lifestyle. It will help keep you on track financially, and give you peace of mind knowing that you have the means to cover your living expenses. Plus, having a budget in place will also help you keep track of your savings and investments for the future.
Here are some sample budgets from around the web (for more references)
- Costs for Full Timing With Kids + Healthy Diet – Nomads with a Purpose did an excellent breakdown of the costs associated with their healthy RV lifestyle
- 7 Sample Budgets of Typical Fulltime RVers – This is a great round up of seven different styles of full timing all in one spot!
- Budget for 2 Adults Fulltiming – This applies to alot more people than mine, since it doesn’t include kids.
- Budget with dry camping and solar – This budget is by far the cheapest, but they have ugpraded their gear to solar, which allows them to boondock and save TONS of money on campground fees
- More varied living budgets, from a baby family to retired couple – I love this roundup too, as they broke down their own budget as well as include lots of others!
How to Use My Fulltime RV Living Budget Worksheet
I created a sample budget using the worksheet as an example (in case you’re more of a picture person!) below. This budgeting sheet breaks down the aspects of monthly RV Living into 3 separate sections and checks it with your planned monthly income.
All you do is fill in each section (starting with Table A) and input your totals into Table D to check how your budget looks with all your anticipated costs.
If you are more of a digital note taker, or just love Excel/Google Sheets, Nomads in Nature created an excellent Cost of Living Calculator here. This can be an easy way to plug in numbers since the math is done for you through google sheets!
Section A – Monthly Camp Related Costs
Fill in all of your budgeted costs that apply to you. This includes all costs specific to RVing including
- Campground Site Fee
- Power
- Sewer
- Water
- Wifi
- Camper Payment
- Vehicle Payment
- Groceries
- Disel
- Entertainment
- RV/Vehicle Insurance
Section B – Other Miscellaneous Costs
These items aren’t RV specific, but more like “life” costs such as subscriptions, insurance, and savings.
- Memberships (monthly – if it’s a yearly, just divide by 12 to make it easier for budgeting purposes)
- Health insurance
- Personal Subscriptions
- Medical Needs (vitamins, treatments etc)
- Savings for Repairs + Maintenance
Section C – Total Costs
Find your final amount of money budgeted to go out here – there are a couple of lines to add in other costs that weren’t already covered.
Section D – Total Costs
Drumroll….. now let’s see how much money you have remaining when subtracting your budgeted costs from your income. Don’t be discouraged if it’s not as much as you thought, there are many ways to full time RV cheaper than you might know!
Download Your Printable Fulltime Budget Worksheet Now!
In the future, I may also make this editable, or able to be filled out on computer. I’m such a paper person though, so I tend to stick to that! =D
With this being free, I request that you do not claim it as your own or try to sell it. Thank you!
Download Budget Worksheet Here
And now that you know your costs, check out the fun stuff – like how to make your RV feel more homey!
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