Every year many people relocate from colder regions to sunny regions or Sunbelt states of the United States. These seasonal migrations offer the best of both worlds to these snowbirds. It is an opportunity for them to maintain ties with their family, friends, and even to familiar places while escaping from the cold wintery weather and enjoying the change of scenery. There are many advantages people enjoying as snowbirds and they have to face many challenges, especially retired people.
One of the concerns these snowbirds have is about moving with their vehicle. They always look for affordable snowbird transport services. There are companies like Ship A Car, Inc providing services for snowbirds. Ship A Car, Inc offers these snowbirds an opportunity to save more on their car shipping with a special senior discount when they book their car transport.
Sometimes you may find retirement to be a scary thing both psychologically and economically. For older people, the fear of economic uncertainty is particularly stressful. They want to escape the cold winter months by migrating to warm-weather destinations. They want to escape the cold winter, but they are not sure whether they can afford it or not. The good news is that when you are contemplating whether you can afford a snowbird lifestyle or not.
There are a few things you can do, so you can spend your winters away and afford it even with your modest budget. In many cases, all it needs is the willingness to work, some research, and planning within your financial means to make your dream of being a snowbird come true. Let’s start with what to do to make it happen.
Preparing a household budget
First and foremost, you should prepare an annual household budget with your snowbird dream in mind. You need to identify your monthly expenses and all your income sources. Also, evaluate how much you can spend on the travel budget for getting away over the winter. Remember specific costs like gas, groceries, haircuts, and others will remain in your winter escape. These costs may reduce a bit depending on your destination.
In this case, you will look for any monthly expense you can reduce or suspend while you are away enjoying your snowbird life. However, in the case of insurance and the home front, you need to do some research to make sure you are meeting the obligation you need to meet under your policy. At the same time, don’t forget to add the cost of travel medical insurance coverage when you are going away. It is a must expense no matter what your snowbird destination is.
Depending on your budget, you will get an idea about how much you can spend on your seasonal migration.
What to do next?
After your budget planning and preparation, the next thing you need to do is to –
- Choose a budget-friendly location for the winter escape
- Plan a short trip
- Consider downsizing
- Rent out the property at home
- Rent your vacation home
- Try earning extra income
- Try building up points
- Keep your costs down
There is nothing on this list that is impossible for you to do. All you need is willingness. Many people migrate seasonally for many years.
