Can you travel just on a Pension

ChiChi1 · Guru

RE: Can you travel just on a Pension

ChiChi1 · Guru

Also, the longer you take, if you are not free camping, the greater the costs of CP's. tyres and maintenance. eg To do 30000k, I would need 3 services and possibly a set of tyres. So, its best for budgeting purposes to have a rough idea of where you will be going and for how long and how much fuel you use per 100kms.

dawa · Guru

The longer you take.............................

I am going to take as long as I possibly can and CPs only in say Darwin etc

I am currently paying 800 a month in rent and power.

Will have no power bills as I am set up now for 12volt.

I plan mostly free camping so that cuts the rent way down.

Keep the tank full of fuel and stock up with food wherever you can and then if you find a great spot you can stay there a few weeks.

Oh and drinkable water.....fill those containers where-ever you can.

Of course this is no good if you're just going on a trip.....all this is for a change of life style. Permanently on the road.

fireheart · Senior Member

thank you everyone. I am looking at a complete lifestyle change. Permanently on the road, meandering this wonderful land of ours. Seems I am well in budget there. I can think of nothing more wonderful than finding a spot to free camp, waking in the morning and sitting outside watching the sunrise over a body of water somewhere and if God forgets to mow the lawn there one day then I can move on to where he has been working his magic again. I cannot wait to get out there on the road, meet up with some of you, see all the things that most only look at in books.
Safe travels everyone.

Sharon.

beiffe · Guru

May I suggest you get rid of the financial adviser as well, they are there for one thing (THEIR retirement fund).

Do your own budget and keep a record of your expenditure as you go and you will soon get an idea of how you are going.

Regards
Brian

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

Attached is 'snapshot' of my 'budget' in my Excel spreadsheet. I used it as a guide before I headed off to see if I could live on my income as a self-funded retiree. I use it sometimes to 're-calculate' my ability to live within my means for the coming year, given the experience of the preceeding year.

You will see that I camp at least 5 nights each week (sometimes 4 sometimes 6 or 7) - only stay at van parks/showgrounds/pay sites two nights per week on average. I have a washing machine in the van so do not need to use laundromats.

I also pay some expenses for my kids (RACV + mine), life insurance for myself and my son (he is hopeless with money ).

I obviously do not spend much on clothes, but I have plenty and have not had to replace much over the past year.

I budget $85/week for tucker - this includes anything I may eat - groceries, pub meals, take-away etc. I rarely have take-away and would only have a pub meal a couple of times a year.

I will probably spend even less petrol on generator now I have solar panels - haven't used the genny this year so far.

As I always say, I can control how much I spend on fuel (camp for long/longer periods), and accommodation. If I could stop eating I would be rich.

If anyone wants a copy of my Excel spreadsheet/calculator PM me and I will forward it.

Cheers

John

johnq · Guru

fireheart wrote:
I am in the process of doing up a budget of sorts for my advisor. I think I have things in check pretty much from speaking with different people. My son worked out that around $5,000 per year for fuel would be a good generous amount to start with. Are we way out of the league either way or would that be an amount for a tenative budget?

Maybe someone can comment on the Winnebagos and others.

For interest, if you assume that a vehicle will be travelling about the same as for a normal householder, which is around 20,000 km a year

and

if that was converted into towing km for (say) a turbo diesel LandCruiser and a 2500kg caravan @17l/100km,

it would amount to about $5200 diesel PA at the present $1.52 litre.

There would be two garage services, cost depends on the logbook.

Now I don't want it to become a brag fest about towing vehicles that could do better. This is an example since the question was posed.

Likewise, although fuel economy while the van is parked is lower, a lot of the time the vehicle is not operating under optimal cruising speed either (eg rubber necking and trudging around traffic), so figuring on best economy is misleading.

Overall acquisition costs being the same (a big ask), the smaller motorhomes could be the go for a solo for economy, but there may be comfort and other convenience considerations, an example being that the vans are more convenient when parked because the vehicle is free to use.

Rising fuel, servicing and other costs require that the SGN should squat more often and for longer than before to conserve the vehicle and keep the fuel and serving costs down. Also, towing a heavy van (unlikely for a SGN) multiplies the likelihood of expensive vehicle maintenance.

-That could stimulate discussion about vans most suitable for a SGN for reasonable comfort, handling and for free camping.