The Plan.....

So, we want to be full timers - but how?  Well, for us that means planning, planning and more planning.  Our youngest was about 12 at the time so we built a plan around a ten-year time frame, just about enough time that both kids should be finished with college and making their own way.  Of course we had to put some financial order in our house so that the funds would be there to support an early retirement.  Professional help was sought and we got ourselves a financial planner.  Definitely one of our better moves.

We also graduated from the pop-up to a 5th wheel RV in 2003.  This is where we lost the kids, they said; "Dad, this isn't camping any more, it's a condo in the woods."  They got out the old tent and sleeping bags and went back to roughing it with their friends now that they were licensed drivers and could get themselves around.

All the planning in the world back in 2000 could not foresee the economic crash of 2008.  Even the pros at our financial planner were slow to realize how bad it was going to get and how quick it was going to happen.  We worked with them to preserve our investments but not before taking a hit.  And what ever happened to the 4-year college degree???  My oldest took nearly six!!
Here we are, as I write this, in the 12th year of our ten-year plan.  And it looks as if it will be at least another full year before we achieve all phases of the plan.  Not lamenting, that is just the way it is.

Plan details (in order):

• Build funds to support early retirement (ongoing throughout plan)
• Get two kids educated, employed and self-supporting
• Sell home
• One day after check from sale of house clears, announce retirement
• Spend one year in current 5th wheel to better understand what we need in our full time rig
• Buy full time rig after one year of full timing in our "old" rig.
• Enjoy

The upset in the economy put a huge magnifying glass on the lending institutions of this country.  Re-interpretations and severe tightening up of banking regulations made it impossible to execute the plan in the order originally devised.  These changes in the banking business required us to essentially turn the order of our plan upside down.  To be able to buy our full timing rig (unless we just paid cash for it) we would be required to have a full time job and own a home.  So instead of buying the new rig last, a year after retirement, we had to buy it now, before doing anything else.

Done!  In May of 2012 we spec'd out a New Horizons 37' 'Majestic'. 

Ours is under construction and is scheduled to be finished the first week of August 2012.  We will make the 1,200 mile trip out to Kansas to pick it up as soon as we get word from the factory.  Pretty exciting!

Back to the plan.  Now the order is:

• Build funds                           (in progress)
• Get kids on their own           (done)
• Buy full time rig                   (done)
• Sell the house                       (done)
• Work at least one more year (in progress)
• Retire                                     (at least a year away)
• Spend a year in old rig          (never gonna happen)
• Enjoy                                     (soon)

Immediately after buying the new rig we got serious about selling the house.  Three Realtors wanted nothing to do with us at the price we wanted to list the house for.  And each of them told us to prepare for 200 to 300 days on the market if we use their suggestion and start with a list price $65,000 lower than what we had in mind.  A fourth realtor said they did not care what we listed it for, go for it.  Just have a plan to lower the price every time 30 days passes without an offer or showing.

We went for it with the go for it realtor.  Fully expecting very low interest in our property at our price we were pleasantly surprised, shocked really, that we were getting two and three showings on some days.  One month to the day we listed, we had an offer on the house with a closing date one month away.  As things sometimes go, this first offer did not pan out after more than a week of haggling.  It took about 8 days to get back on the MLS active list so we lost a solid two weeks of showings.  However, sometimes things work out for the best; the first couple that looked at the house after it got back on the active list made an offer.  And their requested closing date happened to be on exactly the same day as the first offer.  This one culminated in a close, 83 days from listing to check in hand!

Whoa, we gotta get out of the house, and fast!  We thought we had months to gradually work off all the stuff in the house and move things we were keeping for the kids into storage.  What was planned for months of transition now had to be done in a week.

Truck loads and truck loads went to storage, the kids came and got all they could take for now and literally dozens of truck loads were hauled to Goodwill.  Evidently we had become somewhat pack rat-ish after being in this one house for 22 years.  Never mind the mountain of stuff we left at the curb for "recycling".

But it was done, we were out and the house was ready for the keys to be handed over at closing the next day.  The plan, after 12 years of incubation, was suddenly becoming reality.