Testimonial from Leslie
We had been looking for over a year for a motorhome for our family. Our kids are 10, 7, and 5 and we thought it was the perfect time to be “making memories” with them. We had been saving up and knew we wanted to pay cash, so we couldn’t get something over our budgeted amount.
My father-in-law kept telling us to get something nicer and we could just write off the interest as a second home. But, in order to write off interest, you have to pay interest, which we weren’t going to do!
We finally found an older motorhome that met all our requirements and was less than what we had saved — score! It isn’t pretty but it is so much fun.
I happened to win a gift certificate recently from Keeper of the Home for $100 of material from Marie Madeline Studio. Perfect timing and we are so thankful. I am ordering material to make all new curtains and pillows to make our motorhome more our own.
I forgot my camera on our first outing so I used my phone to take some. Here are our kids, sitting around the fire, on a 95° day — making memories! I blogged about that first trip here.
As for how we saved the money, first off, we live below our means. That was hard when DH was laid off for 7 months and ended up taking a job making 1/2 of what he was making previously. But God always provided. I have a small photography business that was able to keep us afloat and we actually doubled our savings during those months that he was out of work.
We use cash, shop sales, don’t have cable or even a media package on our cell phone (this shocks people the most, I think). Our cars are older but paid off and we are just normally pretty frugal people.
Leslie has been married to her best friend for 13 years and they have three great kids, ages 10, 7, and 5. They are just about to start their 4th year of homeschooling and she has also owned her own photography business since October 2006. She loves the Lord, her family, and truly loves her life. She is very blessed and tries to not forget it as she is breaking up the umpteenth sibling fight of the day. 😉
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
We also paid cash for our motorhome 2 years ago. As you are about to find out repairs on these beauties can get a little expensive. We joined a classic Winnebago club for $5 in annual dues where the manuals and everything else are available online. We also found out the websites that offer the parts you need at big discounts! This was the best $5 we ever spent! Since then through the resources of the club had we have been able to fix everything we need to ourselves. Neither my husband our I are mechanically inclined but we found with the right resources we can save the mechanics bill!
We spend a lot of time camping at state and national parks which saves on private campground fees. There are also plenty of places within the national park and sometimes state park systems where you can “work” camp. We love “work” camping as campground host. We have met a lot of great people, had a lot of fun and we camp for free! We just got back from a club member’s farm where the entire club was able to get together, laugh and have fun without spending a single dime on campground fees!
That is so AWESOME, Leslie!!! Congratulations! I am SO happy for you, especially since this is something I would really like to save up for someday! Way to go, Girl! 🙂
What an inspiring post! Congratulations on your purchase. I grew up camping and we have taken our children camping many, many times. Yours are definitely at the best age to start them camping and “making memories” – Enjoy!!
I think your motorhome is great! It looks very nice and SO wonderful that you paid cash!!!! We paid cash for a small 1984 travel trailer. It was actually pretty filthy when we bought it. With a lot of elbow grease, a little extra fabric, free linoleum and some TLC, we brought it back to life. We usually camp with my sister and her husband at a private campground on the Chesapeake Bay and most of the others there are in VERY nice park model campers and large motorhomes. My sister’s fifth wheel cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $45,000 and her’s isn’t even the nicest. (And, yes, she is in debt up to her eyeballs) Some of the other campers will ride by on their golf carts and make fun of our little camper and comment on us being the “poor folks”. We just grin and say “Hey, it’s paid for…and so is our truck!” I love rv’ing….you can’t beat it. It is SO much fun and my two boys (ages 9 and 5) absolutely love it!!!! Their friends beg to sleep in the camper any time we have sleepovers. BTW, I don’t have any extras on my cell phone either. I can call someone and tell them what I need to tell them or leave them a message quicker than I can sit and type on that little keypad with my big clumsy paws.
Yep, us too. We bought a pop up (with cash) finally last summer when our kids were 17 1/2, 15, 12 and when we go we look like the poor folk too. I still have no clue what to pack, but we make the best of it! I still say we need a pickup, but the husband won’t drive one year round! I figure the kids are aging out, they are a year older than the above ages now. And we will have it all to ourselves soon!! LOL!
Congrats on the moho!
I hope that you will love the trips as much as we do ours!
In fact, we loved camping so much that when we sold our house last summer, we took the winter off and traveled the southern states. Had such a great time that our family of 13 is fulltiming it in a fifth wheel, and will hit the road again to travel some more! No sticks & bricks again for us for a few years! 🙂 hehehe!
Love the post; I think that your MH looks great!!! Most of our favorite memories have been made camping!
🙂 I am so honored that you chose my story to post on your site (which I LOVE, by the way). Thanks for all the supportive comments here and on FB. This made my day (which happens to be my birthday!).
Happy Birthday! Thanks so much for sharing your story!
@Crystal,
Thank you :o)
What an awsome testimony that you were able to double your savings during those challenging months! Enjoy your new motor home — my husband and I were talking the other night about how much fun travelling in one of those would be.
We don’t have a media package either. We pay about $70/month for our 2 cells and pay about 20 cents a text message. I think we share 500 anytime mins. and have free nights and weekends so that is enough for us (we have “free” unlimited long distance on our land-line which is part of a cable bundle ‘We also have unlimited direct connect to each other. Yes, we do have cable. We do occasionally send out text messages, but do so sparingly and it irks me when my friends send them about nothing at all since we pay for them! They said we can add unlimited texting for $5/phone, but last month my husband has the most texts we ever had for a month(20) and is was still under $5. We looked into getting smart phones just for the PDA functions, but you cannot get them w/o buying a media plan, which would more than double our monthly bill! The man at Sprint told us to hold on to our plan b/c nothing like it is even offered anymore!!
@Christy, My husband and I both have a Straight Talk wireless plan which only cost us $30.00 a month each and it includes 1000 minutes, 1000 text messages, 1000 pictures. That happens to be more than enough time for both of us and what is great is the unused minutes rollover each month without expiring. You can also get the “unlimited” plan for only $45.00 a month each… it works great for people who like to chat alot:)
Yeah for you!! That is awesome, and it is such a difference when you pay cash for something and don’t have to make a single payment after that. No buyers’ remorse, because you took the time to decide and had the money up front, and no guilt for the purchase later.
I also like that someone else doesn’t have media on their phone either! We have a plain ‘ole package for talking, no text, no web, no frills. It would be fun, but we have better things to spend our $ on.
I love the funny photography! hehehehehehehehe Wonderful story!!!
Beautiful photography website!
Congrats!!! I think it’s a beautiful motor home! We just got back from our camping trip… we rented a cabin and oooh’d and ahhh’d over the motor homes as they drove by. We hope to some day be able to pay cash for one ourselves… we are only 2-3 months from being debt free (except for the house)… almost $23,000 paid off in 2 years! Your photo looks very restful and memory making to say the least! Enjoy!
It’s not a bad looking motor home at all–and it’s not like newer ones are any more attractive or functional! They are what they are, and I’m sure you will remember all the fun times you had and not how you got there. Good for you for sticking to your guns!
This is so encouraging to hear – and I’m sure their vacations are much more enjoyable this way!!