My wife and I became convinced a few years back that this season of raising kids was going to go by faster than we could imagine. On some days that feels like a blessing, but for the most part it’s a stark reminder that we only get one ride on this rodeo. Time flies, as they say. And the older we get, the faster it seems to go by.
That’s why we decided a few years back to trade in my sedan for a Ford Expedition and invest in an RV to lug around. And it certainly is an investment. At 11 miles to the gallon, sometimes it seems that taking a private plane would be cheaper. But we knew that we didn’t want to wait to do this until we felt like we had plenty of money and not enough time. By that point our kids would be grown and we would be eating the early bird special.
Time is the one commodity we’re all running out of. We can always get more money, but we would never get more time. Especially time with our kids, which will be here for a season and then gone forever. We decided that buying an RV would put us further off of our goal of retirement, but it would gain us a wealth of memories.
Part of the adventure of RVing is the unknown that lies ahead. Part of it is going places you’ve never been. But mostly it is being together as a family and creating memories that our kids (and the two of us) will remember for the rest of our lives. We’ve realized that’s one of our core values as a family. Togetherness, adventure, and coming away with several I-can’t-believe-that-actually-happened type stories.
In the two years we’ve owned the RV, we’ve done one 10 day trip and a bunch of weekends. But we’ve had our sights set on doing the occasional longer trip to get our kids out of Charlotte and to see some more of this great country and to touch with their hands some of the things we teach them about in homeschool. So on Labor Day we’re leaving for a nearly three-week long excursion to explore New England and experience some of the great things that part of the country has to offer. We’ll walk the Freedom Trail, explore Amish Country, eat lobster rolls and Hershey chocolate, and hunt for wildlife along the way.
In case you’re wondering, I’ll be working part-time and adventuring or driving part-time. So if you have an urgent need during those first three weeks of September, it may take me an extra half-day or so to get back in touch. But we won’t be in any jungles to speak of so I should be fairly reachable while we’re on the road.
What are the things you value most? How can you use your money to accomplish your goals and dreams? That’s really the point of financial planning – stewarding our resources in a way that helps us accomplish our goals in a way that is pleasing to the Giver of all our resources.
Take some time to think through those things that make your soul come alive. Some are totally free, and others take money and planning to pull off. If you’d like some help thinking through how to make them happen, or want to make sure they won’t affect your other financial goals, let me know and we’d be glad to help!
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