Eric Holen

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.

This month has been a little more difficult than normal with balancing finances.  It started with an unexpected $450 bill for Potter to have some surgery.  That followed with almost $160 for an air conditioner repair.  In addition to the unexpected expenses, Yvette and I were trying to set aside money for a short trip to El Paso.

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.

• Had a great time camping this past weekend with friends at Potters Creek on Canyon Lake. Here it is August and it was our first group camping trip of the season. Hoping to squeeze at least one more this year. Even though I wore sun screen, still managed to get burned on my shoulders and knees. Our friends brought out a personal water craft (PWC). Found out that 42 mph is the fastest my mind and heart would allow me to go.
• After a great trip, got home to find out the air conditioning had gone out again and it was 84 degrees in the house. After removing the panel, I confirmed the capacitor that had just been replaced 11 days ago, went bad. I called San Marcos Air Conditioning and they were out in just a few hours to replace the capacitor under warranty. The technician assumes that since we had not been running the AC very much over the weekend, it was a bad unit. He replaced it with two capacitors, one for the motor and another for the compressor, to distribute the load.
• Talking with the AC technician produced one of those “ah ha” moments. When I asked about installing a new AC unit, ours is 7 years old, he stated that they generally start around $7000. That put things into perspective for Yvette and I. While we continue to reduce our debt, we need to start building a home repair fund for major repairs as our home gets older.
• If everything goes as planned, Yvette’s mom should be permanently moving back in with us next week. After her being here for the month of July and gone in August, we are looking forward to having her move back. We anticipate that she will be taking El Paso trips, for a few weeks at a time, every few months since that is where her family is located.

Today, Yvette, her mom and I spent the day hunting down and buying school supplies for one of Yvette’s co-workers. It was interesting for me on two levels. First, last year I spent a day with two young girls getting them school supplies while their mom was away on a trip and their dad was laid up at home due to a cardiac condition. Second, it reminded me of the financial struggles I went through during my first marriage.

Yvette had found out that one of her co-workers, a mother of two, was depressed because she didn’t know how she could afford school supplies for her two children. Yvette took it upon herself that she and I would purchase most of the school supplies for the two children. I didn’t have any augments since we do not have children of our own and after having bought (and reimbursed for) school supplies the previous year, I know how quickly they could add up.

I remember the financial struggles I went through during my first marriage. At that time, our local supermarket would not run your credit card unless you charged more than $25. So my then wife and I would make several passes through the supermarket charging just under the limit to ensure that we had food to feed ourselves and our daughter Megan.

While I have some of the worst buyer’s remorse, I did not have any problems spending money on school supplies. Even Yvette’s mom jumped in and bought some supplies on her limited budget. It was nice to be able to give back and give thanks for what we have been blessed with.

• Yvette and I were in the gym at 4:50 am this morning, the first time in at least a couple of months. It felt great even if my body told me I wasn’t strong enough to do my old dumbbell routine.
• Almost a week and a half with Yvette’s mom staying with us. The transition has been a lot smoother than I originally thought. It will be strange when she heads back to El Paso at the end of July.
• Wanted to go camping with friends this weekend, but it couldn’t happen. Looking forward to our camping trip at Canyon Lake in August.
• Closing in on a year of maintaining my weight at or below 160 lbs. A couple of weeks ago, Yvette finally made me donate the last of my big clothes that I had been holding onto for just in case.
• Had a great time meeting with friends for dinner and drinks last week. Wish we could do it more often.
• Pleased that we paid off another bill this month as we work towards becoming debt free, except for the house. It is a slow process, but Yvette and I are making progress every month.