An Exceptional Month

We're wrapping up our month in Kansas City. Any way you look at it, it's been pretty exceptional.

Here in our old hometown, it's been a month of family, friends and food. Yes, we're pretty sure we've consumed more calories this month than usual. Many more.  In addition to the big food-focused holiday, we celebrated my double-nickel birthday. (So, I no longer have to worry about getting carded at "senior" RV parks!) We met a "kid" from our childhood neighborhood who grew up to be a fulltime RVer just like us. I started and finished a quilt for a soon-to-be grand-niece. (Or is it great-niece?) We purged ourselves of a couple of tubs of stuff we deemed no longer essential to our life on the road. That felt good! And, I didn't post a single ditty to this here blog. Until today.

Hey! We've been busy!

It's been an exceptional month for our finances, as well. Without a doubt, this has been the most expensive of the last 36 months we've spent on the road. (November 2009 was bigger. We wrote a big check for a big moose that month.)  In November 2012, we've given the local economy some pretty healthy boosts.

Here's a quick look at our big "cha-chings":

* New Jeep
* New baseplate
* Transplanting our auxiliary braking system
* Registration renewal for the moose
* Sales tax and registration for our new squirrel
* Two not-covered-by-insurance dental checkups
* A new crown (In my mouth. Not on my head.)
* Moose maintenance at Cummins Coach Care (But, the "camping" was "free"!)

As you can see, we're definitely spreading the wealth around. Add it all up and our total expenses for the month are about ten times our typical monthly spending.

That's right, I said "ten times".

A "10x" month could be a budget buster, for sure. Fortunately, we've planned for months like this. We had to. Why? Because months like this happen.

Yet, it's months like this that some folks seem to forget about when they tackle the question of "How much does it cost to be a fulltime RVer?" It can be easy to estimate the basic expenses, such as accommodations, fuel and food. Lots of people total those up and declare fulltime RVing a cheap way to live. (Of course, we busted that myth here long ago!) But, sooner or later, we all have to deal with (and pay for) big stuff.

It's easier (and seemingly cheaper) to focus on just the typical monthly expenses of living on the road (or anywhere, for that matter). But, the cold hard truth is that there are months that are atypical. It might be just one month every year or two or three. But, it will happen. Guaranteed.

Toads need to be replaced. Tires, too. Sometimes, so do engines. And, aging bodies need things like crowns, and knees and hips. And, all of those things cost money.

Did we need to replace our eight-year-old squirrel with a brand-new one? Of course not. But, that Jeep wasn't going to last forever. Sooner or later, it needed to be replaced. That's just the way machines are.

Is the point of this post to evoke sympathy for us having a pricey month? Absolutely not! The point is exceptional months happen. Our message is how very important it is to plan and budget for them.

We're sure glad we did!