I see all the time on RVing Facebook pages and on RVing Blogs the question “How expensive is it per [week, month, year] to full time RV or even just to set up an RV with the stuff I will need?

One place that gets very few mentions from posters is your local Salvation Army, Goodwill or local thrift store.  While I am not a spokesman for any group.  I would like to remind you that if you really want to save money while you are full timing or just setting up your new RV.  You should give them a look. 

If you want more variety than what you find on your average department store shelves. Most Goodwill stores introduce more than 2,000 new items onto the sales floor each day.  You can stop by one of more than 2,700 stores in the United States and Canada or you can even  shop online at “shopgoodwill.com” to snag basic items and one-of-a-kind finds.  You can for example take this worn out table, found at my local Goodwill Store. And with a little magic 

and turn it into this for your RV.

Wow, that is a nice looking table  But maybe you could do better.  Goodwill has a huge selection of stuff that varies per store, so if you do not see what you want at one store the next Goodwill store will have something completely different.

For example, here is a great chair find.

Which could have been left as is.  But with a little magic and some imagination could turn into this.

How about that?

If furniture is not your bag, sorta speak, then maybe clothes is your bag.  You can go to any Goodwill or thrift store and find thousands of gently used clothes for everyone in your family as prices well below even Walmart in many cases.  Remember that no two Goodwill or thrift stores will have the same selection.

For example how about this,

there is a lot of good used clothes on those tables.  If you do not believe me, then just ask these two ladies,

the clothes they have on came from their local Goodwill Store.  Looking behind them you will see racks and racks of gently used clothes.

How about the kitchen?  You could save a virtual ton of money by buying kitchen supplies at a Goodwill or thrift store.  For example how about any of the shown items for less than $10 and most under $5.

Not just one item the whole set for less than $20

I think you have seen the light.  If you break one of the items you don’t even need to cry, because its replacement is just as cheap as what you paid for the original item in the first place.

Tools for the junk drawer and for the RV can also be purchased at the Goodwill Store.  I have shown below some items under $20 all the way down to under $10 as examples of what you can find to keep the cost of getting started RVing down, way down.

For more details on the type of tools you should have with you when RVing go to Weekend RVers Blog and read “Tools of the RV Trade”.

I hope that at the least I have planted the seed to use thrift shops, Goodwill, Salvation Army and other recycle shops to save money before and during your RVing adventure.

Until Next Time