Full Time RV Living: Financial Planning & Budgeting Advice (For Beginners)

Full Time RV Living: Financial Planning & Budgeting Advice (For Beginners)

Budget & Finance, Plan & Prepare, RV Life

If you’re asking yourself: How much does living in an RV cost? Better yet, How do you plan for all the Cost of Full Time RV Living? And, What should you even include in your Full Time RV Living Budget? Then this video is for you! This is How I Calculate the Cost of Living in an RV and some of my Full Time RV Living Expenses! This is NOT a breakdown of my Full Time RV Living Cost. I’d consider this Financial Planning Advice for creating your full time RV budget or Budgeting Basics For RV Beginners (Part 1)! Consider me your RV Financial Advisor in this episode where I’m sharing RV Expenses and Budget tips for full time RV living! Because let’s be real, if you want to START FULL TIME RV LIVING DEBT FREE, then STOP listening to Dave Ramsey and READ THIS!

P.S. I also made you a video to go along with this (scroll down to watch it)

Getting Started in RV Life: Budgeting & Financial Planning Basics

Welcome back to another episode of RVersity with Blogging Brandi!

Today, we’re talking about getting started in RV life and financial planning. I’m walking you through that process, step by step.

My Background in Financial Planning

Before I started RVing—before I quit my job—I was actually doing financial planning for individuals. Then, I moved over to institutional investing.

I also have a finance degree, so if you’re wondering how I know what I’m talking about… well, that’s how!

I used to work for a very prestigious company—Bank of America Merrill Lynch—and then I quit my job to start my own business.

Eventually, I decided to dive into RV life after a series of unforeseen circumstances (but for the better!).

If you haven’t seen my full story, check that out after this post.

Budget Basics: Where to Start

So, let’s dive into the budget basics and what I would tell you to do if I were in your shoes.

You can do this digitally (on the computer) or on paper—I actually like to do both!

I personally go through this process every single month (sometimes even a few times a month I recheck this).

These steps will help you fine-tune your finances and figure out your actual budget.

Step 1: List Your Income Streams

Start by writing down every source of income:

Job income
Business income (if you own a business vs. working a job)
Savings you can pull from
Investments like 401(k), pensions, or other accounts

Think about any kind of money you have coming in (or that you might have coming in).

For example:

If you have a paycheck that comes in at $1,000/month, then you can estimate your annual income based on that ($30K, $50K, $60K, $100K—whatever your number is).

Step 2: List Your Expenses

Next, write out your living expenses—these are the things you must pay to live day-to-day.

Some of these will be must-haves, and others are wants that you could live without.

Examples of living expenses:

Bills (utilities, subscriptions, etc.)
Credit cards (balances, minimum payments, interest rates)
Loans (personal, auto, student loans)
Mortgage, RV payment, or rent
Car payment (if applicable)
Cell phone
TV/Streaming services
Insurance (health, RV, auto, etc.)

Write down what you owe, minimum payments, and interest rates for each.

What are your living expenses? If you said, I have, have to make these payments every single month or annually or whatever, what is that number?

Questions about RV LIVING COST?

Step 3: Figure Out Your Daily Cost of Living

Now, calculate how much you actually need daily to survive.

A lot of people will tell you to plan for retirement or 5-10+ years out, but let’s be real:

You’re not promised tomorrow.

So, I like to think in terms of days, months, and one year. You gotta prepare to at least start that way, because then none of the rest of that even matters. If you can’t make it six months or a year, then why does it matter? Five months, 10 years out.

Ask yourself:

How long could I survive if everything stopped today?
If your job ended and you were only making minimum payments, you’re just getting by, you’re not paying stuff off, you’re not doing anything lavish.
how long could you last?

This is what I call runway money—how long you can survive on what you currently have (savings + income).

Is that:

A week?
A month?
6 months?
A year?

This exercise gives you a financial snapshot of where you are right now.

Once it’s on paper or on-screen, you can make money moves—adjust, eliminate, or add based on what you see.

🚨 PSA: No matter what happens, always make the minimum payments on your credit cards, your loans, and your bills! Let me repeat: ALWAYS make your minimum payments. That is the worst mistake you can make when it comes to your finances! You don’t want your credit score to suffer or have anything bad happen because you can’t fix it that fast. That’s on your credit for seven years. 🙈

Step 4: Eliminate & Reduce Expenses

Now that you’ve listed your income and expenses, it’s time to reduce or cut out what you don’t need.

Ask yourself:

Is Netflix a necessity? (Probably not.)
Is Hulu a necessity? (Nope.)
Is TV a necessity? (Nope.)
Is Internet a necessity? (Yes, probably!)

Pro tip: Sometimes, getting just internet costs more than a bundle with cable (weird, I know!).

In my condo, I never had cable—I used free channels via antenna or streaming instead.

Even in my RV, I only use free channels.

These little daily choices add up and can get you closer to the RV lifestyle you want.

Ask yourself:

Does watching that TV show mean more to me than going out and exploring on the road?

Step 5: Increase Your Income

Once you’ve reduced expenses, the next step is to make more money.

Some of this may come from cutting expenses, but you can also:

Sell things you don’t need (especially if you’re preparing for RV life).
Downsize your belongings (less stuff = more space, freedom, and mobility).

I actually made a video about downsizing your life (I’ll link it below), where I go step-by-step through my process.

I also teach this in-depth to my students—if you want to work with me an dhave questions you can CONTACT ME or get started NOW by Joining RVersity!

When it comes to increasing your income, prioritize selling things that will give you:

Space
Freedom
Mobility

Related:

🎬 Let’s Review: Watch The Video…

Quick Recap

Here’s a summary of the steps:

List your income streams.
List your expenses.
Figure out your daily cost of living.
Eliminate or reduce unnecessary expenses.
Increase your income.

This is the foundation of financial planning—whether you’re preparing for RV life or just managing your current life better.

🎁 [DOWNLOAD] My RV Living Budget Spreadsheet to Start Budgeting For RV Life!

Final Thoughts

I’m Blogging Brandi from RVersity – A University for RVers.

Be sure to:

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Thanks for reading (and watching)!

Love you. Bye!

More About Me:

If we haven’t officially met, Hi I’m Blogging Brandi an EX-Corp Kool-Aid Drinker, born to be Creator, Digital Nomad & Female Entrepreneur! (aka Female Digital Nomad Entrepreneur or Nomadic Entrepreneur) Because Sometimes I’m RV Living and Sometimes I’m NOT!

Now, I help other creators who are tired of feeling stuck, unaccomplished, and even maybe an outcast from the rest of the world’s idea of “status quo” become confident in reaching their financial goals and gaining their independence — by following in my footsteps learning how to communicate, use their story to build their personal brand, and share the skills they have buried inside of them to start their own online business as a digital nomad — ya know, instead of a working a “normal 9–5 or shift job” 😉

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Updated: August 7, 2025

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May 11, 2022