Hurry folks, the fulltiming Class of 2012 is now forming! Lot's of things on the checklist: Factory tours, LOW conferences, RVCG membership, ditching our junk starting now. It'll be here in no time, but not soon enough!

I don't know if it will ever get here! I am so anxious for it to happen. FIVE years! Oh well, that gives us lots of time to finish rehabbing our home and then selling it and getting rid of 40+ years of accumulated stuff. We plan on doing a LOW before we head out. Think we may do some work camping but just want to get out there and follow the "blue lines"

Karen

I started doing research in August 2001 and went to my first RV show in Sept 2001. It's not too early.

Also, you may want to do 4 LOW conferences. That's how many it takes to fit in every class, I think.

Enjoy, Cilla

Our original plans for retirement were to work until health forced us out of the work place (dumb).. After spending a week or so with with some close friends that retired about 3 years ago, I started calculating when we could "comfortably" get out of the rat-race.. 5 years is the mark... Jennifer is resigning a high-pressure position with a retirement plan funds management company in about a month (stress related exacerbation of health problems) and during the next 5 years I am pouring money into my retirement system (Federal Courts) and investments. Full timing wasn't on the horizon until recently although we do love our "camping" days and vacations.. but now it is what all my investigation, analyzing, etc, are centered on... when 2012 arrives I will be 67 she will be 53, I will have worked for 49+ years for the Fed (USAF 24.5 years, retired 1987, 24.7 years with the courts), so that is enough fun in that chapter of our lives.. time to open a new one..

Anyway, as this is my second post (been lurking for longer than my account creation date shows), I guess it serves as a partial intro and desire to say; we hope to joining the Class of 2012.

Hi Class of 2012...

Hang in their folks! It was five years ago that I took my husband's hand in February on a beach in southern Florida and informed him that he "forgot to dream" and asked him what he wanted to do when he retired. From then on it was fasten your seat belts and full steam ahead! We started to fix up the house for sale -followed by buying a great 5th wheel, and just completed the sale and divesting of everything for a March 30th retirement and fulltime launch date. It'll be here before you know it...

Happy planning...

Lorrie a/k/a "Good2Go"

I'm there! I can retire with medical benefits at 55, that's May 2012. It looks like the money will be in place, so I will have freedom! I actually enjoy the research. 'Til then, my dog and I will camp in the little tent camper and backpack. I hope to see some of you, but I'll just irritate you with questions.

Chuck & Emo
A '57 Boy and his '03 Dog
'04 Subaru Forester XT
'01 Kamparoo Cub
Lots of backpacking and day hiking stuff

Class of 2012 - I'm in!

Like everybody so far, just a little early to go yet. I have two kids in college and will get them both out before seperating from work. 2012 is it though, they have both been put on notice to be finished by then.

We'll be starting the remodeling work on the house this fall and hope to have it all done soon enough so that we can enjoy it for a little while before we sell.

My better half has started going through some of her stuff and thinning it out. But at the pace of her progress I think she should have started 5 years ago when we decided to fulltime. I do have to give her credit though, she is a pre-school teacher and has decades of teaching aids that she has collected and stored in our basement (enough stuff to fill the whole 1,000 sq ft). At least now I can see furniture I did not even remember we had down there.

I've got my TV and I've got my 5er, now all I need is a little time and we'll be foot loose and fancy free.

I guess we are a pretty small class for now as it has been 5 days since I was the last post to join the class of 2012.

I'm sure we will get bigger as time draws closer, I have come to learn that long-range planners are in the minority. So maybe we'll pick up a few new members in a year, or two,,,, or three,,,,, or four.

But to get back on topic - we got another load of junk out of the basement and I scanned another stack of photographs. This scanning business is slow work, glad I have five years to get it all done.

We had one yard sale last summer; staging stuff for another one this spring. We are moving some stuff to our 5er (we keep it in a campground about 40 miles south of us) even tho it won't be our fulltime unit.. as I look at things we think about purchasing, I think almost as much about resale value as I do current usefullness... We are not planning on any major purchase of large expensive items for the next 4-5 years (my truck will easily last that long and our car is a 2007 so it should make it).. basically starting the "downsizing" now rather than waiting until it becomes a rush..

Bill,

It is funny you should mention major purchases. I am already "coaching" my wife to try and get five more years out of everything. I keep telling her we will upgrade to the latest television technology when we get the next 5er. And I have her thinking about not replacing her recliner chair (it really does need to go to the landfill) because she will get a brand new one with the new 5er. And we have already got 10 years out of the van without any problems so "lets squeeze another five out of it" I say.

She is beginning to look at me sideways, you know that look, the one where the head is slightly angled away from you and the eyes all the way to the side and sort of squinted while locked in a gaze at you.

She is putting up with it for now but I better find something that I have to sacrifice pretty quick or there is gonna be trouble.

Yep, when I mention not replacing/adding stuff to the house, I get reminded of the wood working tools (shop tools - saws, benches, etc) I just had to have... well at least I got them all before we decided and don't have to "give up" something to get that next "sander"..lol..

Hi Class of 2012!
Include us in!! We have been working at fulltiming since 2003. To be honest it has been
a very slow road & we have a longggg road to go.! I have started getting rid of items and have started selling them on online auctions and at the flea market. We have made a dent but have ALOT to get thru yet!
We still have a house to pay off, a truck & rv to buy and stashing $$ into the retirement & savings funds!
We have been thinking about going to the LOW conferences in Ky next year.
Since we are only 44(hubby) & 47 (me) we will still have to work full time or at the very least 9 months out of the year & take 3 months off. Anyone out there in the 2012 class going to have to do the same?

Hi everyone. We are the class of 2012 Too! My husband Chris and I (Dana) have been camping for years. we talked about FTing but didn't give it much thought until this winter. Now we are clear! We have our last daughter to get through college and will take early retirement from our jobs (that will make us 56). Our big realization is time and freedom is what we want not more responsibility. Oh what's a LOW conference? Dana

Dana, Congrats on your first post. Look forward to keeping up with your preparations for switching to the full timing lifestyle.

Do you already have a rig that you will use to start your fulltiming? Our plan is to start with the rig in my signature line and then change to a different 5er a year or so after hitting the road.

Like you, we have our youngest that we need to get through college and then we are off!

We don't have our ft rig yet. Looking at a Big Horn as we want a king bed. Can't find many manufactures who make king beds and are 33 feet.
Currently we own a kiwi hybrid trailor and a dodge 1500. that gets us around Michigan, but nothing long distance.

Have you been to a Life on Wheels conference?

dana