Having an emergency fund set up for yourself and your family is extremely important no matter where or how you are living. But, when you are traveling full-time on the road it is even more important. Having a stash of cash and a couple of paid off credit cards just in case something breaks should be your first priority BEFORE hitting the road. There is no magic sum of money that you really need to have on-hand but there are several suggestions from other full-timers out there that we have come across and thought you might appreciate to learn. It should be a starting point for you to come up with a figure for you and the adventure you are seeking to explore. This goes for those living in the cars, trucks, campers, trailers, vans and luxury recreational vehicles. And it does matter if you are traveling cross country or just a few states over.
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In general, you need enough cash on-hand to be able to purchase enough gas to fill up your vehicle, at least once, (whatever your main mode of transportation), pay for food and drinks (for people and pets) for a couple of days, a night or two at a motel, personal hygiene items as well as your prescriptions you may have to renew within 7 to 10 days. Yes, having money is the bank is fine and even debit cards are nice, but a true emergency may require cold hard cash. As far as repairs for your vehicles you really should have emergency roadside assistance insurance as well as a credit card or two with between $2000 to $4000 in a line of credit available. Do not use your cash at a repair shop unless they simply do not take credit cards at all. (Now that brings up spooky thoughts.)
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The excellent thing about most campers of any variety is that you can create hidden places inside you living and sleeping areas to cache items such as cash, your originals of your important papers (only keep copies for everyday use), and even some of your more precious jewelry. They can be as simple as cutting a rectangle into your wall and placing a plastic box inside then screwing in fake light switch or electrical outlet plate in front, adding a false box in your floor, attaching a lockbox into the back of one of the cabinets or create a pull-out inside one of your bed frames. Be creative in your selection and camouflage but remember where and what they are!
If you have a worksheet for emergency fund calculations and/or management and would be willing to share it with the rest of us please use my CONTACT US form and send a couple along with any information you might wish to share about it and how you create and maintain your own emergency funding.
Check out this article from Motley Fool about Emergency Funds and the best places to keep them CLICK HERE
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