For well over a year now, Yvette and I have been bouncing around the idea of purchasing a camping trailer. We love camping and are getting a little old for using a tent, so on the surface it seems like a good idea. We even rented a camper a couple of times and really enjoyed the comfort.

However, when I dig a little deeper into the financial side, I wonder if purchasing a camping trailer is the right decision. When we retire, we do plan on buying a trailer for traveling. My current thoughts are whether we should buy a trailer now just for camping.

We have been looking at camping trailers in the 18 – 21 foot range, which is small enough to be towed by our current SUV.

Assuming $17,000 for a new camping trailer at 10% interest for 10 years, Yvette and I would be paying out $225 a month or $2,696 annually just for the loan. On top of that, we would likely see another $100 monthly or $1200 annually for insurance, storage, maintenance, and the registration. Combined, those costs come out to $3,896 annually.

Now, after a little research, I found that I can rent comparable campers in Austin for under $125 per day. That means to just break even, I would have to use our camper for 31 days a year versus renting.

In the last 12 months, Yvette and I have rented a camping trailer for 7 days and tent camped for an additional 2 days. That’s only 9 days which is still way off from the 31 days needed to break even.

Granted, there may be conveniences to owning our own camping trailer, but financially, it doesn’t seem to make sense at least for now.

The trip grew out of a plan of Yvette’s to keep me from going back to work for two days when we returned from El Paso on Wednesday. That day, we had stopped at the visitor information center in Ozona for a break and lunch. There we picked up some travel brochures including one on Enchanted Rock. Yvette knew I wanted to go since I had previously downloaded a copy of the park map. So when we hit the road again for the last leg home, she threw out the idea of going to the park on Thursday or Friday. Thursday ended up being a sleep late and catch up on grocery shopping, so Friday became the day.

This morning started out with me making a good breakfast to get us started before we hit the road for the 134 mile drive to the park.

We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather for climbing. It had been raining and overcast so it was relatively cool for a summer day.

After checking in at the park, Yvette and I started our climb up the summit trail. It wasn’t long before she realized and started to vocalize how difficult the climb was for her. I tried not to laugh at some of the comments that came out of her mouth.

When we were about two thirds of the way up, it became pretty steep and we had to zig-zag up the slope. We would take about 20 or 30 steps and stop so Yvette could rest. I could tell that her will was starting to break down when she hinted that I should go ahead and that she would catch up. Instead, I stuck with her and we continued slowly up the rock face. It didn’t help that I never broke a sweat or showed any signs of exertion during the climb.

We finally reached the top and it was then that I could tell how proud Yvette was of herself.

Yvette’s struggles reminded me of the time that I tried and failed to climb Grouse Mountain in Vancouver during a business trip in 1997. I failed because I was severely overweight and out of shape at the time. I have vowed that when Yvette and I take our Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver, that I will attempt and succeed at climbing Grouse Mountain.

Yvette has her own struggles, but today, she really showed how she overcame to reach the top.

All of these challenges reminded me of one of Yvette’s and my financial “backup plans”

It would have been very easy to have started hitting up a credit card when money started getting tight.  However, that would have hurt all of the work that Yvette and I have put into reducing our debt and not using credit.  Another option would have been to dip into our emergency savings account.  However, we have been reserving that for large unexpected expenses.  The solution, Wal-Mart gift cards.

A couple of years ago, Yvette and I started stocking up on Wal-Mart gift cards during the good times.  It started with one card that we received as a Christmas present.  We didn’t need anything at the time, so we stuck the gift card in a drawer.

Later we figured out that having Wal-Mart gift cards tucked away made a lot of sense.  While it would be better to have the money in a bank account, having the gift cards gave us another option for handling expenses without using credit during tight months.

How does it start?  First, during the good times, purchase a Wal-Mart gift card for $10, $20 or even $50 and then stick it in a drawer.  Repeat the process as needed to build an emergency stash.

Then when times are a little tight, pull out one of the gift cards.  Wal-Mart gift cards never expire.  In addition, they can be used for all of life’s little emergencies.  Need a tire for your vehicle?  Need milk, eggs or bread?  Need some medication?  All of those can be purchased at Wal-Mart.

Whatever situation you are in, make sure you have a “backup plan” for getting your through the month without depending on credit.

Growing up, my family always seems to have a cat in the house. It wasn’t until my parents were divorced that we got out first and only dog, Crystal. Unfortunately, Crystal got out and we never found her.

In June 2008, the year after we got married, Yvette showed up at my office with a small puppy. Her co-worker’s dog had puppies and they were trying to give them away to loving homes. It only took me a minute to fall in love with one of the puppies, who I quickly called “Buddy”.

That evening we went to PetSmart where we bought his food, bed and other supplies. Yvette laughed at me because I was pushing him very slowly in the cart to avoid “shaking dog syndrome”.

As much as I love Buddy today, I can’t forget the time he bit me on the nose when I was trying to play with him while he was eating (bad idea) or the time that Yvette wanted to kill him after he chewed up her eye glasses.

Buddy has traveled with us from our mobile home in El Paso, to our apartment in Austin, back to our mobile home, and finally to the our current home.

As I type out this blog post, he is asleep on a dog bed not seven feet from me.

Buddy is getting older. Due to a cataract, he is blind in his right eye. He used to be able to see and bark at dogs on the television, but not anymore. His left rear knee, which has given him problems since we was young, doesn’t work ¼ of the time. He has a skin condition which requires us to put lotion on his chest. Finally, we have an ongoing challenge with keeping his ears clean. With all of his issues, I could not be happier that after 12 years, he runs around the yard and barks like a dog half his age.

Still, I can’t help but notice that he can’t get on the couch without assistance or that he misses the potty sheet on more than one occasion.

Yvette often acknowledges that while we have three wonderful boy dogs, Buddy is my son.

My hope is that “My Buddy and Me” will continue for as long as possible. I love you Buddy.