Tag: RV

May 16, 2024 – What Happened, How Should I Feel?

May 16, 2024 /

There she is, this is the actual RV that I attempted to purchase. In a fit of luck(?) I was denied a loan. OK, that is the bottom line. But now let us get into the story of it.

Last week, I wrote about looking at RVs. In the week that transpired, I found one that I liked the price and would fit the immediate needs. That is, a place to stay for a month while my wife goes through a medical treatment where we have to stay close to the hospital. As I wrote last week, I am really kind of taken by the class B (converted van) type of body. While what is pictured below is a class C.

This was a 2007, had under 50,000 mil and was in really good shape. The best part was that the price was $28,000. I liked it a lot for our upcoming trip even if it was not exactly what I would have liked. My wife and I were really impressed when we saw it. She told a couple of her friends that we were looking at RVs and one of them asked if we wanted to split it. She immediately said yes and was ready to start pursuing it.

I don’t want to give off negative vibes. These are good people and the women are deep friends. In my mind, I was thinking “no, this is not what I want”. Despite the cost of ownership being split, I didn’t want to have to worry about I want to do this so you need to pay half or I really didn’t want that even if you paid for it all.

I have talked about being frugal before. If it were up to me, I would probably have piles of money. Of course, we have a yin and yang in our marriage and the financial side leans away from my yang quite a bit. I was definitely worried about taking on another obligation with my wife’s future. If I didn’t want this for her, it would be a hard no from me.

While I was wrestling with this, I prayed. I asked God for a sign on making the right decision. I started softening a bit after I didn’t get any sign I could see in the proceeding days. I started thinking about splitting the cost was really as safer starting point. I really didn’t want to commit, but I wanted to please so I said yes.

We were denied by the loan application. How does that feel? Relieved actually. I wanted this for her and I kind of wanted it for me. But all of the work getting ready to park it, the extra financial burden, the sharing aspect that I did not want actually makes me feel relieved.

I don’t know why we were denied. I suspect that it may be that my wife is on FMLA leave and not making any income, but you know all of the variables that go into that. I figured it was a slam dunk once we filled out the paperwork. God thought otherwise.

I won’t deny that there are some other emotions involved. The second one being shame. We started making plans with people and sharing what we are doing to now have to back track. I also won’t deny that I think we have too much debt. For me, any amount is too much and I wish that we had none but that is the whole yin/yang thing again. For me, that is a little shameful as well.

The third emotion is worry. What if there is something that caused this? I am waiting for the denial letter and then I will check my credit to see if something is amiss. We will need a new(er) car in the next few years and I make a lot of money per month. Not being able to qualify for a modest car sized loan is concerning.

End Your Programming Routine: Too often I only talk about success. Granted I don’t have that many, this is definitely a failure. I probably should have stood with my gut and said no from the get go. I am definitely weak when it comes to putting my foot down financially and I haven’t done a lot of it for many years. Thank goodness God has my back.

May 9, 2024 – Don’t Blink, Summer is Coming

May 9, 2024 /

This is going to be an unprecedented summer for me. Of course, it is going to be centered around my wife’s treatment. We are going to have to temporarily move to Portland to be near hospital. It is looking that is going to be mid-July and run through mid-August to be optimistic. I knew this in general terms which is why I haven’t even tried to do any sort of gardening this year.

If I look at it objectively, it is no different than me travelling for work. I have been gone for nearly months at a time many times in the summer. Not only will I have to be working but I will also have to be a health-care support person as well. I am going to do my best to keep doing what I am doing now, We’ll see if AltF4 has to go on hiatus, kind of like last year.

One of the options to stay in Portland is to park an RV. We have battered the idea around a little bit. I grew up around RVs and I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I hate camping in an RV park. I don’t like the proximity to people. To me RVs shine when you want to do something else. When hunting or fishing, it is sure nice to pull in and not have to setup camp. Indoor lighting makes it much easier to get the most out of your day outside. It sure beats a tent when the weather turns sour as well.

For me, I think the ideal setup would be a class B RV. This is essentially a converted van. I feel like this would allow me to reasonably get off the pavement. I could see weekend excursions to fish coastal steelhead or a week long deer hunt. Add a trailer hitch bike rack and figure out a place to stow the Kayaks and this is pre-canned adventure. This really is not the vehicle to park for a month and work and heal. It is too small to really live in, we would need to live out of.

I would like to hold off a little bit. I don’t think it is the right fit for spending a month. I also feel like we don’t need extra expenses nor do we have a place to park it. That being said, this is my third reminder that life is fleeting. Once we get through this business in Portland, it may be a good idea to make some changes regardless of prognosis.

The primary downside of class B RVs are they are expensive. The one I really want costs around $200,000. Even used ones are running $40K on up. The more ubiquitous class Cs can be found much cheaper used but that is not really the format I want for the type of recreation I want to do. These are the perfect pull into the RV park for a couple of days. They may be much more suitable for parking for a month as well.

The truth is, we probably need new cars much more. My pick-up is 21 years old and my SUV is 14 years old. So, it is hard to justify an occasional vehicle when we really depend on a reliable vehicle. But, this is the same story that has held me back for years on looking at boats too. Once again, I am going to defer this.

End Your Programming Routine: The reason I titled this the way that I did was that if you want to make reservations somewhere you are running out of time. Memorial Day is right around the corner. I was thinking about it in context to RVs so if that is your jam you better get on it. It is hard for a fiscally conservative with an uncertain economic future to pull the trigger. That being said, we only have one life to live and sometimes it changes without our input.