You Don’t Have to Save 100% Before You Leave on Your Big Lap
Once you know your budget and you’ve decided whether to move your date or lower your total spend, there’s a third thing some families do that doesn’t get talked about much: they leave without having saved all of it.
This is the bit we get asked about a lot, because it’s what Tim and I actually do too. We don’t wait until we have the full pool of money sitting in the bank before we go.
– For all your Caravan and Camping Gear: Caravan RV Camping
The Sneaky Way Some Families Get Around the Budget Conundrum
This is normally the next question that comes up: living expenses are already tight, so how do you find the money to put your travel savings away on top of that? For a lot of families, the honest answer is that they don’t save it all first.
Do we believe in it ourselves? Possibly. But it has to be done very carefully and calculated. This is when a lot of families leave without having saved up all of their money, and coming to think about it, this is what we do too.
Keep an Income Stream Coming In
We depart knowing we don’t have the full funds sitting in the bank. What we do have is income that keeps coming in while we’re on the road. I work on the road, so there’s my usual income. We also typically rent out our house, so there’s a portion of that too, once a portion goes to the mortgage and the rest of it.
So there are a couple of income streams that just remain normal for us. We don’t necessarily sit down and budget for the whole trip in advance, because we know money is still coming in while we travel.
Still Budget for the Big Chunk
That doesn’t mean we ignore budgeting altogether. We do budget a big chunk of it, because it’s nice to have that backup for the what-ifs, and you need it for things like maintaining your caravan along the way.
If this is going to be you, the real requirement is making sure you genuinely have money coming in, whether that’s work on the road, rental income, or something else steady. Without that, this approach isn’t a shortcut, it’s just leaving underprepared.
Our Thoughts
This isn’t the option we’d tell every family to take without thinking it through. It works for us because we have real, ongoing income while we travel, not because we skipped the budgeting step.
If you’re considering it, be honest with yourself about where the money is actually going to come from each week you’re away, not just how you’ll cover the gap on day one.
- The 2 Ways to Close Your Big Lap Budget Gap
- 5 Ways to Lower Your Big Lap Budget Without Cutting the Trip Short
- How to Actually Save for Your Big Lap (And Stick To It)
