First week back

We returned to home base a week ago yesterday (Saturday). The week has been mostly spent catching up on things gone undone since we left on June 13.
We had to stop at the post office to pick up mail and tell them to resume delivery. Yard work was a big part of the week. Even though the area has had record temperatures and little rain, the grass still managed to grow. Then there was putting the house in order and grocery shopping. I also started removing and replacing the wiring harness and dash in the Dodge.
But mostly we have been staying out of the heat and doing what needs to be done inside.
Today that meant HTML and organizing the website and adding new pages. We added pictures to our Dodge 2500 page about the dash removal. We also added a yet to be completed Monthly Budget page.
Since we are constantly reviewing our finances, we thought a pre-launch budget would help with showing how much it really takes to be ready to go on the road. Starting with September 2011, we will keep a running total of our income from all sources and expenses primarily related to full time preparation. We expect to be able to save $1000 a month for the next 10 months. That will be used to upgrade the Dodge, make any repairs / improvements on the Coachmen and pay for several trips--including our summer June--July excursion to Yellowstone in 2012. We will be saving the same amount in 2012-2013 that will be added to our "retirement fund."
I am also contributing $240 a month to a retirement fund that we will liquidate when we leave in 2013.
We will have an Excel spreadsheet uploaded to the Blue Road Blogger site detailing how we are doing.
The only variable expenses we have are groceries and fuel. Everything else is fixed to within +/- $10.
You may have also noticed on the blog and the website we have added a "DONATE" button. This is via PayPal and is connected directly to our Great_stuff_4_Collectors account. This is the name we use on eBay. If people feel comfortable donating, the money will be deposited in our PayPal and will then be documented on our Monthly Budget sheet. All donated funds will be used for fuel expense unless the donor designates another use such as for overnight stay, truck repair, or that occasional night out.
When we begin our full time journey in 2013, we will be doing so with the idea that we will continue to work for the source of most of our income. We will not have a six-figure nest egg. We will barely have a low five-figure start-up fund to get us through the first year.
Is this crazy? Possibly. But we have decided that it is no crazier than staying in one place, working paycheck to paycheck, and knowing we will never get ahead enough to retire comfortably. So we might as well increase the chances we can come out ahead financially by going on the road and working several seasonal jobs each year, while cutting our overhead and cost of living as much as possible.

We are figuring that being on the road will reduce our housing costs from $700 month to $500 or less. This would include utilities like water and power. If we can find work with a site included (a $700 monthly savings!) or nearby, this will reduce our fuel cost to near zero--except for the fuel we use to get to the next work site. We are currently spending close to $250 each month for our two vehicles during the school year. That means we will be starting off saving nearly $500 each month just by going on the road full time.
SO even as we sit and re-energize from our maiden voyage, there seems to just as much to do now as there was in May as we prepared for our trip.

Tim and Mary