What’s your retirement plan? Here are a few tips from a retired couple who are full time RV living it up, and a glimpse into the RV camper lifestyle.

Steve and Mona Liza Lowe retired early at the beginning of 2012, sold their house in California, got rid of almost all their belongings, and started full time RV living. They’re pursuing their dream of traveling the U.S. and Canada for several years, and seeing what they can see.

“This journey of ours is about living a dream, living simply, and enjoying every moment of life,” says Mona Liza about full time RV living. How’s that for a retirement plan?

I’m particularly interested in their BC and Canada experiences, since I live in Vancouver! Their blog is called Lowe’s RV Adventures, and you can look up the different provinces and states they’ve been to via the Categories in the sidebar. Full time RV living seems to suit Steve and Mona Liza, and their retirement plan is living up to its reputation. Their photos are stunning – such as this one of Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia, Canada. Follow their blog and live vicariously through them! I know I am

Here are six tips to give you some insight into what goes into preparing for full time RV living. Then, I list a couple of resources that will help with your retirement plans.

6 Tips for Full Time RV Living

If you’re thinking about living in a camper full time and traveling North America, check out these tips for full time RV living from the Lowe’s blog. Your retirement plan needs a bit of preparation!

1. Get ready to downsize. “Between January and February we managed to sell, donate, give and trash our possessions,” says Mona Liza. “Due to limited space and weight constraints I couldn’t take all my shoes, my purses and clothes! I have to choose wisely taking with me what I only need and what fits in the limited storage.”

2. Emotionally prepare yourself to give away your possessions. Me, I love to declutter and lighten the load. I’ve always travelled lightly, and think that less is more. But, most people accumulate stuff and have a hard time letting go of their possessions. Full time RV living requires a healthy dose of simplicity – it’s a retirement plan that requires two free hands! “Downsizing and simplifying sounds crazy and terrifying,” says Mona Liza. “But it turns out letting go is truly liberating. It is not emotionally easy, but I know it can be done. Shedding of stuff from a big house to a motorhome was quite emotional.”

3. Think of full time RV living as liberation. Steve says, “From my perspective, it is hard to describe the incredibly liberating feeling of getting rid of almost all of our personal possessions including our home, and starting over in this new situation. Daily life is so simple now, and even though I must clean and maintain the motorhome and car, it is such a joy to have so little to worry about on a daily basis. Incredible!”

Mona Liza and Steve Lowe, in front of their RV “Betty”

4. Get used to saying good-bye if full time RV living is your retirement plan. “Living on the road also means bidding goodbye not only to family and friends, but also to the people that you have relationships with,” says Mona Liza. “I made my last appointments with my dental hygienist, my masseuse, my hair stylist, my periodontist, my eye doctor, our landscaper and our neighbors all of which were sad to see us go but happy with our new beginnings.”

5. Start saving for your retirement plan early. This isn’t just a tip for full time RV living; it’s a tip for all retirement plans and all people! Mona Liza and Steve had stable technology careers, and were good at saving money. They also tried to invest their money wisely throughout their lives. “Once we were married, we worked as a team to save for an early retirement,” says Steve. They didn’t know at the time what their retirement plan was (they hadn’t planned on full time RV living when they started saving for retirement). “We do not have children, and of course we realize the huge costs of raising kids would have delayed our plans,” he says. “We lived below our means (no new cars, few meals out and reasonable vacations) during the first 10 years we were together. Anyone with financial discipline can do what we have done, if they start early in their career.”

6. Develop a budget to support your retirement plan – and stick to it. When Steve and Mona Liza decided to pursue their dream of full time RV living, they developed a detailed budget to support their retirement plan. “We then continued working until we had saved enough to pay off all of our debts, and until we believed my pension would fund our budget,” says Steve. “Having a sizable emergency fund is crucial in this lifestyle, since many major repairs on a motorhome can run into the tens of thousands of dollars (just like with a home). We will also continue to save into an account that will allow us to take “side trips” overseas or an occasional cruise (I love taking cruises!).”

If you’ve decided against full time RV living but want a new beginning, read Starting Over at 50 – What Are Your Assets? It might help you develop a retirement plan that’ll work for you.

Resources for Full Time RV Living as a Retirement Plan

Full Time RV Living Retirement Plan
The Complete Book of Boondock RVing: Camping Off the Beaten Path by Bill Moeller. Ever feel frustrated by crowded RV parks? Yearn to camp out in the wild beside a babbling mountain brook or before a remote panoramic vista? Bill and Jan Moeller have been doing just that for more than thirty years, and The Complete Book of Boondock RVing is their complete guide to camping without hookups (aka “dry camping”). This book for full time RV living will ensure your comfort, convenience, and safety when camping in the boonies, teach you how to conserve and manage electricity, water, and waste, and to establish reliable communications, and more.

Retire to an RV: The Roadmap to Affordable Retirement by Jaimie Hall Bruzenak and Alice Zyetz. Are you considering full time RV living? Is this retirement plan for you? Can you afford to retire AND travel 365 days a year? Retire to an RV provides you with the information to help you make this decision. It not only combines the authors’ knowledge, but also 41 solo and couple RVers have contributed their experiences in all aspects of RVing through out the book. This book address key questions about full time RV living as a retirement plan.