Cruising on $5,000 / Month

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

. . . To spend $5000/month you would have to avoid all the fun places and focus on the part of human culture that cruising is supposed to be escaping from.
I live on board so when you say $5000/mo I think of spending that for the time I am on the boat. . .

???? "avoid all the fun places" ??? Not! But I suppose different people have significantly different definitions of "fun places." Enjoying the Antiqua Race Week from the deck of your boat, participating in some of the races as crew and the parties thereafter; renting cars and exploring the mountains, valleys and waterfalls, volcanoes, etc.; eating in great restaurants where for maximum money they give you minimum quantity of food - but every bite is orgasmic; and much more all takes money, lots of it. Granted there are at least as many events and opportunities to visit "fun places" for very minimal money, but - with $5K/month you can pick and chose between the whole spectrum rather than just having to limit yourself to only one.
- - In my definition of "cruising" it is not "living in a marina" and working everyday versus living in an apartment/house. Cruising is cutting free from such things and actually moving by boat all over the oceans and islands and continents. Sailing is a weekend out on the water or a week or two going somewhere nearby then returning to your "home" marina/dock and then back to work. So the $5K/month is more properly described as $60K/year and includes all your "earthly" costs not just the operation of the boat and your immediate daily activities. It is every "nickel" you spend for the whole year for everything.

[wolfenzee]

My definition is of cruising is not living in a marina either, I am not cruising now, just getting my boat ready so I can cruise..on considerably less than $5000/mo and yes if I try hard enough I can find ways to spend money from a boat. There is a difference between a $5000/mo budget (the most you will spend) and trying to find a way to spend all of $5000 every month while cruising. I did spend $2500 on a three week cruise once..but I stayed a marina and ate out most nights and hired a professional photographer as crew and for a one on one photography workshop....

Originally Posted by osirissail

???? "avoid all the fun places" ??? Not! But I suppose different people have significantly different definitions of "fun places." Enjoying the Antiqua Race Week from the deck of your boat, participating in some of the races as crew and the parties thereafter; renting cars and exploring the mountains, valleys and waterfalls, volcanoes, etc.; eating in great restaurants where for maximum money they give you minimum quantity of food - but every bite is orgasmic; and much more all takes money, lots of it. Granted there are at least as many events and opportunities to visit "fun places" for very minimal money, but - with $5K/month you can pick and chose between the whole spectrum rather than just having to limit yourself to only one.
- - In my definition of "cruising" it is not "living in a marina" and working everyday versus living in an apartment/house. Cruising is cutting free from such things and actually moving by boat all over the oceans and islands and continents. Sailing is a weekend out on the water or a week or two going somewhere nearby then returning to your "home" marina/dock and then back to work. So the $5K/month is more properly described as $60K/year and includes all your "earthly" costs not just the operation of the boat and your immediate daily activities. It is every "nickel" you spend for the whole year for everything.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Marina visit for 2 days per month and HOTEL accomadion to properly wash Nicolle in big luxury turbo spa bath

I presume you would still shower on the swim step with bilge water once a month cuz you are a real sailor -

At least splurge a manicure for yerself once a month mate...

BTW - This thread ain't working for me. I gotta run now and start a, "How to cruise on $20,000 a month thread."

Let's see $500 for boat & costs and $19,500 for rum...

[wolfenzee]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

....BTW - This thread ain't working for me. I gotta run now and start a, "How to cruise on $20,000 a month thread."....

Or something we all might be able to use like $500/month

[RainDog]

I am amazed and perplexed how a thread that started so light and fun got so heavy and dull. Is it really so hard to just relax and have fun with it?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by RainDog

Is it really so hard to just relax and have fun with it?

Money is a serious subject.
For most folks the whole damn cruising thing revolves not around the weather but it totally and utterly revolves around and continually collides with money.

If crusing was about a salty old dog in a Sou' Wester I'd be fine. But saltiness is about 2% of the day to day actuality.

It is interesting to note that there is the same amount of agression showen in the $500 per month thread as the $5,000 per month.

On the bright side: I am enjoying this thread! I want to emulate the problems of someone on $5k instead of the problems on my budget!

[barnakiel]

I would walk into the nearest bar and order two sodas - one for each of us!

;-)
b.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I would walk into the nearest bar and order two sodas - one for each of us!

;-)
b.

Among the best answers to my question so far (and no cheap shot is intended).

I freely admit that while I'm no where near rich, I make a very good living and only don't make more because I choose not to.

Really now I started this as something to talk about enjoyment of cruising because money always becomes the complete focus. I started sailing a little over 2 years ago ONLY to someday cruise. And in the 4-5 years I have researching the ins and outs of doing it have been amazed at all the negative crap people say about it. Yes I can live crusie on $500/mo, but then I could live on $500/mo if I was willing to place all my "things" in a shopping cart and live under the freeway bridge ( and thoseof us who aren't should thank whomever they aren't)!

My current plan calls for spending $1500-2000/mo total depending on how pissed off I am at the end of the day. I fully know that people always find a way to spend whatever they have and if I had the $5k/mo I would always be happy in spending it!

[zeehag]

as a disabled person, i am living on less than 2k per month. in san diego wherein everything is most expensive and boat related items ridiculously so---i plan on cruising on less than 1k per month--i see it as not a challenge but a relief, as the foods in most other places are less than here in sd, and i aleady have my heavy displacement cruiser...LOL....
i already have been cruising on less than 1k per month--lol-so i know isnt a difficult thing to do .stuff doesnt cost as much as at home--in other countries, i find native foods--from locals selling them--veggies and fruits and such and fish ---so is not nearly as pricey out in the real world as it is here. no sweat---i am aiming at 500 per month....i used to plan on 300$ per month..LOL

[gettinthere]

Hmmm, slumming on $5000/month? I guess some people can get by on that. We're trying to keep the budget under $5000/week.

[Bill S]

Isn't there a big component of "where one is" involved in the cost of cruising. I am currently working my way out the great lakes from Chicago. We are spending a lot on Marinas, as there are many areas in the lakes were there are no anchoring options. I hope this changes.

Also, it seems like there is a luck component. We had about $1000 worth of breakdowns in the last month. So I am finding it hard to stick to a busget.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by Bill S

Isn't there a big component of "where one is" involved in the cost of cruising. I am currently working my way out the great lakes from Chicago. We are spending a lot on Marinas, as there are many areas in the lakes were there are no anchoring options. I hope this changes.

Also, it seems like there is a luck component. We had about $1000 worth of breakdowns in the last month. So I am finding it hard to stick to a busget.

By the "cost of cruising" I think of round the world stuff, e.g. Caribbean, South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Africa, Med, ... the places we think of when we think of going off cruising full time.

As for breakdowns, they won't happen every month. Budgets are averages over a long period like a year. Some months you won't have any, or shouldn't.

[seafish]

Most of the posts are blow boaters but as a stink potter the 5k is a small nick out of the fuel bill...If I had an extra 5k a month I'd buy more fuel....go figure.

[svBeBe]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

G'Day Judy,

Fascinating! There must be two Australias... we've found the medical expenses here to be quite high. Not as high as in the USA, but well higher than your example. Could you tell us where that took place? Our experiences range from Tasmania up the east coast as far as Cairns, and have covered several surgeries as well as routine visits.

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Iluke, NSW, Oz

The accident occurred in Mackay Marina and he was treated in the public hospital in Mackay. The first emergency room visit entailed utilizing numerous doctors, specialists, nurses and x-ray technicians. That ER visit cost $189.50 AUD because we were not covered by the Queensland public medical coverage. All other ER follow-up visits in Mackay were at no cost because the visits and x-rays were all related to the first emergency room visit for which we had paid.

After delaying our departure for 6 weeks while the arm healed, we sailed to Cairns, where we again utilized the local public hospital. This time did not require an ER visit. We went to the public doctor in the public hospital and waited less than 20 minutes before seeing a physician and having the final cast removed. Cost was $60 AUD -- the same price anyone else visiting the public doctor would have paid if they did not have the public medical coverage.

Both hospitals told us that if we had been residents in Queensland and had public medical coverage, then there would have been no cost or very minimal cost for either visit. Of course, had we utilized private doctors and/or hospitals for this incident, the costs would have been considerably higher. However, the quality of care our grandson received was superb in the public facilities.

As to another posters comments about poor quality of medical care in places outside home country, that has not been our experience nor the experience of any cruisers we have met, including people who have suffered strokes, heart attacks and one man who required extensive surgeries in Ecuador. Thinking the US (or any other country) has the best medical care in the world is buying into media hype. It just is not true. Get on line and do some research for yourselves and you might be surprised by the mortality statistics in other countries vs. USA. BTW, I know people who have gone from the USA to Colombia for eye surgeries and also some Australians who came to Malaysia for eye surgeries. Both because the quality of care was superb and the costs considerably less than their home countries. Also know one man who flew from USA to Thailand for heart surgery. Care just as good as at home at a fraction of the cost.

As for cruising on 5k per month, of course you can do it for less and have a great time. Our best times have been spent in isolated anchorages. It just has been our experience that around 5k monthly makes everything less stressful. That amount does not allow you to be frivolous with money, but also doesn't require you to worry over the cost of each meal or drink at the local bar.

Judy
S/V BeBe

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by seafish

Most of the posts are blow boaters but as a stink potter the 5k is a small nick out of the fuel bill...If I had an extra 5k a month I'd buy more fuel....go figure.

Now that's what I love about sailing - ordinary folks can do it, you don't have to be rich. Nothing wrong with having money, but amongst the "blow boaters I feel welcome to pull up in my poxy little 29 footer beside someone else's shiny big yacht and I'm treated as an equal. Maybe it's just me but I'm not made to feel that welcome amongst the big stink boats. Maybe it's my clothes or maybe I just have an inferiority complex, but I agree it would be hard to scale down to $5000 a month with 2 big 700 hp engines under the floorboards.