[whatsnewell]

The only unexpected expenses we have had were on the T-Bird.....we've only driven it 3,000 miles in the past year, but it has been in the shop once in Elizabethtown, KY to have the alternator replaced ($600), and just recently here in Chiefland, FL to have 2 coils replaced ($400). On the Newell I budgeted $1500, but have spent around $800.....$350 (approximately) to replace the water pump and coolant back in Tyler, TX last February, and then the service at Choo Choo Express Garage for $428. We have actually found we can live for much less on the road than at home. Our major recurring expense is diesel, but we can control how much we spend each month by how many miles we move each month. We have utilized a lot of "courtesy parking" (free) at the homes of friends and relatives, and our 11 week stay at Amazon.com was free.....they pay for the camping spot. We haven't filled up our diesel tank since October 3rd, and only put in about $200 a month ago on our way down to Cedar Key.....we don't expect to have to fuel up again until after the Keys....so sometime in mid to late February. All that being said, we have probably averaged about $600 in diesel per month, but that will go down this year by about 1/2. We only fill up with propane every 3, or 4 months, and it is usually under $150. We have to eat whether, or not we are in a sticks and bricks home, or on the road. The main difference is we do eat out a little more than we used to, and we have eaten out a lot here in Cedar Key....there are just so many great places here serving food at a very reasonable price. The nice thing about working at Amazon is that now our diesel fuel is outside our normal budget for the next two years.

Basically, everyone who goes on the road has to decide what kind of lifestyle they want to live, and figure out how that will fit into their budget....we live very comfortably on between $3500 and $4000 per month.

ADDED: We have no debt, other than the mortgage on our home in Ontario, CA, but it is being leased out, and the lease payment covers the mortgage payment (interest, principle, insurance, taxes). Our other expenses (DirecTV, XM-Radio, Cell phone, auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance) we would have whether we lived in our sticks and bricks, or on the road, so I have not included those expenses. What we don't have anymore is a gas, water, sewer, trash, or electric bill anymore.....where we lived that amounted to $400-500/month.