Nosy Neighbors and Judgement after New RV and Truck Purchase

[Crabman]

I think many folks ignorant to the RV industry/lifestyle also think any RV MUST cost big bucks, when in fact there are a bunch of them in the 10-20K range. I`ve had one family member tell me, man you are doing OK you`ve got a 70K RV when in fact it cost about 15K

[llilith]

Originally Posted by tnchuck100

In circumstances such as these I have been confronted with "Man, I wish I had your money!". To which I respond "You don't understand. You can have money or you can have this. But not both!"

That usually ends the topic.

Great reply!

[BigJohnD]

We had the same comments. Were full timing in our 30's, 2 kids at the time, very nice rig. Got the lottery question asked a few times. So, the short story. Wife worked her tail off as an R/N while I was offshore, we put a butt load of money down building a small but comfortable house, so initially had some equity. Decided to full time. Sold house, paid cash for the rig and hit the road. Wife became a stay at home mom and home schooled kids, and I still work offshore, which allowed us to live anywhere. Got out of full timing, and since we downsized rigs, paid cash for the one in signature. Now, out of full timing, still don't own another house yet (due to uneasy oilfield right now), but we still have the "stuff", but hardly any bills. We're not wealthy, we just know how to manage every dollar we make. We're kind of opposite of most, our whole life revolves around the RV and hobby thing. So much that our last house was the LAST thing on the budget, and our next house will be too. We figure in the RV, truck, travels and hobbies, and then find a comfortable spot for a house after all of the fun stuff. A house is just a place to sleep and eat, an RV is for enjoying life. Just ask my kids which one they'd rather have.

[Raven]

Just bought a htt this month. Towed it once and decided we needed better tow vehicle ( yup, we're THOSE people, the ones who did it backwards) anyway, so just bought new SUV this week. Coworker says "you must have won the lottery"... To which my response was: " if I won the lottery, do you think I'd still be working here?"
That was the end of that discussion

[djtho1]

Why do we feel the need to justify what we do and our purchases to other people? Why is it OK for other people to walk up and say "how did you buy that. Did you win the lottery?"? I'm afraid my reply would have been short not politically correct. It's none of their business and I might feel the need to explain that (gently the first time, then not so gently). Anyway, congrats on the new rig and enjoy it guilt free!

[Jayson 197]

You work hard to earn your income, so please enjoy your new TT and TV.

[Plowtoy]

I tend to look at the glass half full... I might take it as a compliment. Your neighbors and family must see that you are doing well for yourself.

I rarely get those kind of compliments as we never purchase new toys or vehicles. We don't borrow money (except for our house) so our stuff is pretty well used by the time we can save for it, but its ours.

[mothernaturesson]

Lots of great posts from people that have worked hard and managed their money responsibly, maybe we forum members can teach congress a thing or two. LOL

[AV3NGER]

I have a retired couple that live across the street from me. Husband was a former mayor, wife a former teacher/principal. They have a comfortable retirement life. They bought a brand new Cadillac about one month before I bought our new RAM, in April. My next door neighbour joked " I like what you and Goerge did, instead of cleaning your cars after the hard winter, you just went out and bought new ones!" LOL

Exactly like the OP did. After upgrading the truck I traded in the trailer for a larger one.We've received many comments and remarks, some congratulatory and some jealous comments. I had one guy say "If I had your money I'd burn mine!" To which I replied "That would be one BIG fire". We're not rich, we just spend and live and enjoy life the same as most of you commenting here. We work hard for our money. Just like tnchuck100 said, you can have these or money, you can't have both.

Enjoy your new TV and TT. I know we are.

[tylersdad]

Originally Posted by llilith

So, we bought a new Ram 1500 truck and a TT in the past two weeks. I've had two different neighbors come over and say things like "wow did you guys win the lottery" or "we want your jobs". This bugs me. Has anyone else experienced this after making their new RV purchase?



It's not like we even paid full retail for these items, we got a great trade in for our existing truck (which didn't have the towing capacity we wanted). I negotiated really good prices on both items. In fact, they were about 30k together, which we financed. In the scheme of things, it's not a big deal, since it only amounts to $180 more in payments. We both work full time and budget our money carefully. At full retail, it looks like we have 56k worth of equipment in the driveway now, but that's not the real story.



I almost feel guilty - like I should apologize for having these "luxury items". Especially when people make comments like I mentioned above.



Does anyone else have this issue after making this kind of purchase? I feel like people think it's frivolous and extravagant and that there is judgement all over the place - even from family and certainly from neighbors.



I know I shouldn't care what others think, but I do.

If anybody asks me, I'd just tell them that we made this a priority and are making sacrifices elsewhere.

[SmokerBill]

Just tell 'em all that your last name is actually Jones, and they really should try to keep up with you.

[homer1959]

Sometimes they are just joking, and yes I made that joke to a neighbor driving his new Mercedes. WE live in a nice neighbourhood but no one is rich, a mercedes is for sure somehting we dont see often ...smile its a normal reaction I guess,

Originally Posted by llilith

So, we bought a new Ram 1500 truck and a TT in the past two weeks. I've had two different neighbors come over and say things like "wow did you guys win the lottery" or "we want your jobs". This bugs me. Has anyone else experienced this after making their new RV purchase?

It's not like we even paid full retail for these items, we got a great trade in for our existing truck (which didn't have the towing capacity we wanted). I negotiated really good prices on both items. In fact, they were about 30k together, which we financed. In the scheme of things, it's not a big deal, since it only amounts to $180 more in payments. We both work full time and budget our money carefully. At full retail, it looks like we have 56k worth of equipment in the driveway now, but that's not the real story.

I almost feel guilty - like I should apologize for having these "luxury items". Especially when people make comments like I mentioned above.

Does anyone else have this issue after making this kind of purchase? I feel like people think it's frivolous and extravagant and that there is judgement all over the place - even from family and certainly from neighbors.

I know I shouldn't care what others think, but I do.

[Edd505]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

Something else that bothers me and is along the same vein:

Some of our friends think we "spend too much" on our "stuff". For example, when I buy something, I intend to KEEP it, so I buy the highest quality I can afford. I take care of it. I do the maintenance. I fix it when it's broken, and cry when it breaks. My belongings are not "commodities" to me.

Some of those friends who judge me for what I spend my money on don't take care of their belongings at all. It's just stuff to them to be replaced when they break it or wear it out, which happens faster because they don't take care of it. Oil changes get neglected, the cheapest tires get installed, things never get cleaned or washed, etc. And it's big stuff like houses and cars.

We may spend a little more than they do on what they may consider "non-essentials", but we plan to keep those things for a long time, and we want them to be nice, so we work hard to keep our things that way. It really bothers me when people say stuff like that and their 4 year old car looks like it needs to be scrapped, and their $200K house looks like it should be condemned ...

Sorry for the rant, but I stopped worrying what people like that think about what I buy a LONG time ago.

Exactly, take care of it and it'll last. Not everything is disposable there are a ton of how to sites to fix most everything. (Thank you You tube) I made the money and I'll decide how I'll spend it, don't care what they think. That includes family I'm not asking you to pay my bills.

[Pmp1086]

I just smile and say I have never seen an armored car in a funeral procession and I am trying to keep it that way!

[brianca2]

The way I look at it, I wouldn't care what some people say. The people that matter in my life wouldn't talk out their ***. Be proud of what you bought.

[Nighthawk 96]

We worked hard and have a good retirement. So have our neighbors. None has ever made a comment about what we or anyone else has.

[clubhouse]

We don't finance, something we are very proud of, and my neighbors know this, so when we buy something the big the standing joke is "...this is what you can do when you say no to dinner out invitations".

[Wrascal]

OK, I didn't read but the first page - so maybe others commented on this already.

What I think is YOU should lighten up, I seriously doubt they meant any belittling with those statements, rather they were just simply trying to be friendly.

But I've been wrong before. YMMV.

[Northern Jay]

We decided to quit smoking several months before we bought our camper in sig. Several months later we decided to buy the Silverado as the FordnF250 was not capable of hauling the camper around. We then waited 6 years to buy the TT. TV and Camper were paid before we paid cash for TT. It was quite a surprise when we realized how much we were spending to smoke.
Happy Camping

[spoon059]

You gotta pay to play. I have a new (used) 2015 Ram in my driveway and a new 2015 Jayco in my backyard. We towed a smaller trailer with a smaller truck before kids came. We made a decision that we wanted to continue camping with the kids and to travel around the country and let the kids experience the country growing up. We sacrificed and bought a new truck and trailer. Finances are a little tight since we have an 8 month old and a 2.5 year old, my wife works 1 day a week and I don't make great money in my job.

We are making sacrifices in other areas of our lives so that our children can have better experiences than we had. Its a personal decision, one that I am not embarrassed to make. If my neighbor's had an issue, I would politely tell them to mind their own business. Everybody spends money on something or another. Its not my place to worry about how they spend their money, they need not worry about how I spend mine.