I'm Buying an RV. Here's How I'm Saving Up to Pay for It

Could my techniques also help you save for a big purchase of your own?

My family and I are really into camping vacations because they are affordable and are easy to bring a dog along. We're tired of renting cabins, though, because there is a lot of packing and unpacking involved for a toddler, a baby, two adults, and an aging pup. So, we've made the decision to buy a motorhome.

Since RVs are expensive and they do not typically go up in value, unlike real estate, we will not be financing our purchase with a personal loan or an RV loan. Instead, we're saving up to pay cash for our motorhome. These are the steps we've taken to make that possible. 

1. We set a clear goal for how much we needed to save

The first step in our journey to save for our RV was to figure out how much money we would need to set aside. This let us determine what other sacrifices we'd need to make and steps that we would need to take to hit our target goal. 

We researched RVs, went to some shows, talked to some dealers, and narrowed down what model we want and what the likely cost will be. With this information in mind, we've been able to make a plan to save enough to buy it by our target date of March 2023, when we want to take a special camping trip for my daughter's first birthday. 

2. We opened a dedicated RV savings account 

We wanted to make sure the money we were setting aside for our RV isn't used for any other expenses that might crop up over the course of the year, so our next step in our efforts to save up for this purchase involved opening a dedicated savings account. We researched high-yield accounts to find the one paying the most interest and opened up an account with that bank that is specifically earmarked for buying our motorhome. 

3. I reworked my budget to look for areas I could cut spending

Since I have to save a lot of money each month in order to be able to buy an RV on my desired schedule, I went through my budget very carefully to look for spending I would be able to eliminate. 

We decided to cancel two of the three streaming services that we had subscribed to, we reduced the number of meals we eat out, and we shopped around to lower our home insurance costs in order to free up more money to save.

4. I've increased the amount I'm earning

Even with the spending cuts that we planned to make, it was going to be difficult for us to save the amount of money we'd need by our target date. So I decided to increase the amount I earn over the course of the next few months. 

Fortunately, because I am a freelance writer, I can do this easily by simply taking on more assignments over the course of each month. If this wasn't possible for me, I might look into doing some side jobs to make extra cash. 

5. I've set up automated transfers into my RV account  

Since I've cut my budget and increased my earnings enough to save what I need, I set up automated transfers for the correct amount into my RV account. 

Now I don't have to do anything but sit back and wait for the money to come in, and I have the confidence of knowing the cash will be there for me when we're ready to head to the RV dealer.