How Long Did You Save to Go Cruising?

[ViribusUnitis]

How long did you save to go crusing?

I started working 3 years ago. I loved my job up till the end of 2009. Now, not so much. A new possition, and the love is gone. I saved a good bit of money from those 2 years, but all of the money together bearly covers the cost of a new boat. (expecally when you concider my wife's tastes.)

So I've come up with a 3 year plan. 3 years to Paradice.

I got to thinking to myself. Does it take everyone this long?

If I do go curising in 3 years, I'll have only been in the workforce for all of 6 years. Possibly the only 6 years I may work out of my entire life. Something seems wrong with that.

[Hampus]

Originally Posted by ViribusUnitis

If I do go curising in 3 years, I'll have only been in the workforce for all of 6 years. Possibly the only 6 years I may work out of my entire life. Something seems wrong with that.

What's wrong with that? Seems very right to me... What's wrong is spending the better part of 45 years going to a job you don't like, just to pay the bills for stuff that you don't really need but still have just so you can be like everyone else. You probably spend those 45 years waiting for retirement so you can fulfill your dreams. If you're lucky enough to live that long, you still need to keep your health...

The only reason for working in the first place is to put food on the plate and finance the life you choose for yourself, regardless if it's living in a cave, cruising, just being excentric or living in the suburbs driving the latest SUV.

/Hampus

[Stillraining]

OK ..Wow...
I don't quite know where to start.....seeing as I haven't left cruising yet and have worked steady all but the last 2 years of my life...and that being the better part of a 35 year working carrier.... I have to say you are either immature and fool hardy with your statements or WAY smarter then I am.. one of the two...

Either way... to put away in two years enough money to purchase a new cruising boat is mind boggling to me so I must tip my hat to you sir and swallow my convictions.

Pretty much you can figure on what ever it takes you to live per month on land is what you will spend on the water...its a existence issue and a level that's pretty much a constant for people unless they make a drastic change in their thinking.

As far as your last statement...I will agree...there is something wrong with that...work is a good thing to occupy yourself with...the kicker is being able to choose what that work will be.

There are many ways to spend ones life...idle and nonproductive is the worst of them.

[Hampus]

Originally Posted by Stillraining

OK ..Wow...
I don't quite know where to start.....seeing as I haven't left cruising yet and have worked steady all but the last 2 years of my life...and that being the better part of a 35 year working carrier.... I have to say you are either immature and fool hardy with your statements or WAY smarter then I am.. one of the two...

Either way... to put away in two years enough money to purchase a new cruising boat is mind boggling to me so I must tip my hat to you sir and swallow my convictions.

Pretty much you can figure on what ever it takes you to live per month on land is what you will spend on the water...its a existence issue and a level that's pretty much a constant for people unless they make a drastic change in their thinking.

As far as your last statement...I will agree...there is something wrong with that...work is a good thing to occupy yourself with...the kicker is being able to choose what that work will be.

There are many ways to spend ones life...idle and nonproductive is the worst of them.

I hope I didn't offend you, or anyone else! That was never my intention. And to clarify, working for 45 years or however long you wish isn't a bad way to spend a life if that's what you want. What IS bad is doing something you don't want and thinking that you can always fulfill your dreams later.

I don't agree that "idle and nonproductive" is the worst way. It certainly isn't if it's what you want to do. The worst way would be spending your life doing something that you don't like or don't want to be doing, regardless of what that is. No matter which lifestyle one chooses, one should never ever be a burden to someone else.

EDIT:
And to the OP. It usually takes a lot longer than 3 years If all go according to plan, we're going cruising come june. Not for very long, but for a a year and a half or maybe for two years... I'll be 30 in two weeks and the admiral will be 35 in june. We consider ourselves to be very, very... VERY fortunate. Apart from the cruising experience this is also a break to figure out what we want to do with the rest of our lifes. That includes finding a job or a source of income that will give us the freedom we whish for and that we WANT go to every day. As Stillraining said. THAT is the real trick...

/Hampus

[idpnd]

I'm with hampus on this one, if it's security or freedom, it'll have to be freedom every time. There are lots of options in late-capitalist society. It is actually quite common for people to choose lifestyles that don't require full-time employment in financial terms.

To my mind, idleness = evil is some weird equation from the protestant work ethic. If you can find the money you need, which may not be much, in a reasonable working week (i.e. not full-time), or in some months of the year, and you can spend the rest of your time pursuing the arts, developing friendships or maintaining your boat, there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm a firm believer in life BEFORE death, and leisure before retirement..

[sailorboy1]

Well to the question I am still working. But the plan I'm working on has a 5 year savings schedule to go along with it. But that plan is based on being able to make it till 401k, pension, social security etc start kicking it. So you could say that I've been saving for 30 years now.

[Roaring Girl]

The freedom vs security debate is one that rages for everyone, but most cruisers have jumped to one side of that fence, so that's the answers that'll get favoured here.

The ideal is to find a way to earn/gain enough (and enough is subject to personal definition) while you're free. Loads of cruisers essentially do that on a pension. Or like us, they sell the house to buy the boat and have enough coming in somehow to pay the ongoing costs plus boat maintenance. The OP reckons he has enough to buy the boat, so he only needs the annual income.

How do you get the revenue? We're in a position to earn quite well on temporary contracts in the UK, so that's what we do, plus some work done for UK clients while cruising (currently western Med). We have other friends who work as carpenters/marine engineers/hairdressers/bar people etc along the way, which is lower money per day, but means they get to liveaboard all year round. (We haven't been able to since leaving the UK.) VERY few people manage it by writing.

That means acquiring the skills and/or the client group before you untie the lines but makes for a long term sustainable approach to cruising before you've got that pension.

How much do you need to live on once the boat is paid for? Well, that's another raging debate. We know people who've lived on GBP700 a month for years. We know others who struggle to live on that for a week. Only you can decide on that, and it's heavily affected by: are you happy to live at anchor for months/how often do you like to eat or drink ashore/what kind of food do you like/can you do your own boat repairs/do you want to visit the sights/what level insurance do you want to carry? No specific value judgements attached to these, but only you can decide how much you want to spend on these things.

So to the original question. Most people take far longer than 3 (or 6) years. What will you live on while you cruise? Answer that question, buy the boat and get out there!

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by Hampus

I hope I didn't offend you, or anyone else! That was never my intention.
/Hampus

Not at all...my post was to the OP ..sorry if that wasn't clear..

Its never my intention either ..FWIW...

[bloodhunter]

First gotta go along with Stillraining -- earning enough money to buy a new cruising boat in two years is absolutely amazing.
You need to decide how much you need to live on per month but given your track record another three years should give you enough of a cruising kitty to keep you for a good long time.
So go for it -- nowhere is it written that you have to be in the workforce for a given number of years. If you get tired of cruising or get low on cash you can always go back to work.

[skeedaddy]

My family and I are in the very beginning of our plans to cruise. I figure ten years to pay off our house, student loans, commercial debt while saving money to buy a large multihull. (I know monos can be cheaper, but that's not the point).

I don't want to wait, that's for sure. And given the missions work we want to do on our journey, we're passionate about getting underway. However, without some sort of divine intervention, I think we'll have to keep plodding until we get there.

Our prayers and hopes are for a departure of within the next few to five years, but I see no realistic opportunity for that. So, we hope for what we pray over while planning responsibly for a non-divinely interupted future.

The hope and prayer is fun and inspiring while the long term planning gives purpose for our ten year plan.

I can't wait to see what will really happen. I expect great and wonderful things either way!

[RickD]

We made a decision a little over a year ago. About a month ago, we set our "retirement date" for two years from now.

I have some personal work reasons for setting it at two years, but basically it comes down to these things...

1) I own my home. I can sell it when the market is good enough and fund 7-9 years of cruising, PLUS purchase a boat in the money.

2) I have some credit cards to finish paying off. Those will be gone at the end of the month or early in March (home equity loan at 5% versus credit cards pushing anywhere from 22% to 30%... I tried to tell them they need to reduce the interest rates, as I'm not late, etc... but they won't. They lose now)

3) Over the course of two years I can put away nearly 2500 more a month toward savings, my retirement funds (IRAs) and general savings.... most of this goes toward my real retirement funds which I can draw at 60.

4) I'm 53 this year. In two years I will be 55. I'm in excellent health, so is the wife. That gives me FIVE full years of cruising time before I have to dip into ANY retirement money whatsoever. It gives me FIVE full years of good health (assuming I remain in good health and good shape) to enjoy what I love to do-sail.

6) At the end of the five years we still have cash left over from our original plan and can then make the decision to continue, stop, move back home (buy a small place and continue sailing on the lakes in Colorado or some other place) or go back to work.

Either way... I could, conceivably sell the house tomorrow and be cruising in a few months (the time it will take to locate, buy and outfit a boat the way we want it) because we had the foresight to purchase a home.

The home is my savings plan.

So- can you do it in two? That is entirely up to you - no one else. YOU set the speed, you set the budget, you set the boat type and other related issues, you WORK to do the savings, and you basically bust your butt doing it.

EVERYTHING you do from this point on becomes a goal, and each little thing is a little goal.

Can you do it? That is up to you.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by ViribusUnitis

How long did you save to go crusing?

.

All my working life till I was 48.

[RickD]

I'd like to add something here.

Asking others about "What do you think" when it comes to cruising as a lifestyle is certainly one way to go - but it's a BAD way to make a decision.

I'll tell you why. I've had discussions with my kids, all of whom are adults. Some of them are "happy" for us, but for the most part they are all trying to convince us of our folly.

Certain people with whom I work think that we're idiots. A couple have offered to go along and pay their own way just to get out of normal life...

Everyone, except a couple of people have made comments that imply they are jealous of us and have tried to put a damper on our enthusiasm for this change of life.

And - that's precisely what we're doing, a change of life styles.

My wife and I have spent the last thirty years raising our children, being "good, productive members of society" - and I think that doing what I want (at over fifty years old) is MY business and not anyone else's call. No one has a say in my life or what I do.

I've worked for the government in one form or another for almost all of my adult life (either military, civilian or contractor) and if you step outside of the paradigm people frown on your change. You are a non-person to some of these people.

And you know what? Screw them. I have done my job to the best of my ability (and judging from awards and medals I've received, BEYOND the best in most cases) and for someone to sit in judgement of what I want to do - be it a "life of leisure" or "Non-productivity" is simply beyond the pale.

My advice, such as it is... PLAN your 'escape' and plan it well, look at it from every angle you can, and consider all the possibilities, problems and issues that might crop up and try to have a mitigation plan in place to get past those things.

And save. Save.

For instance, we canceled pretty much everything, cable phone lines, reduced costs on many things. We kept things we find important for now, like the internet. I do all the work on the house or cars myself suddenly (been years since I did that sort of thing). Every penny saved goes into a special account. Stuff like that.

We used to go out 2-3 times a week. We've cut it down to once a week, but we still go out. I don't buy lunch and breakfast at work anymore. I carry it in. I've saved a LOT of money doing that in just a few months.

So... when it comes down to it, don't let others decide your fate. YOU are the Captain of your Fate. Keep it that way. Don't share too much with those around you. They will try to talk you out of it and destroy your dreams.

[hummingway]

35 years ago I grabbed my guitar, a blanket and a change of clothes and stuck my thumb out to see the world. I've experimented with several approaches to living including to many years working in the corporate world. I decided that their are better ways to spend my time then doing something that leaves me feeling bereft of my humanity. The guitar and blanket thing didn't hav the appeal it once did so I bought a sailboat and moved aboard and am planning on spending the next couple of years figuring it out. I'm not in a position where I can cruise and not work for the rest of my life but that's ok with me. There's lots of ways to get by in the world. It's worth being realistic about who you are and what you want to do and what your embarking on looks like. From what I've seen, owning a boat is taking on a sizeable responsibility in both time and money. They need to be looked after if they're going to look after you.

[anotherT34C]

Originally Posted by ViribusUnitis

If I do go curising in 3 years, I'll have only been in the workforce for all of 6 years. Possibly the only 6 years I may work out of my entire life. Something seems wrong with that.

I get that. I'm a middle-class kid whose education was heavily subsidized by taxpayers (thank you all). Regardless of whether I can or not, I wouldn't feel right unless I contributed a good 20 years to the workforce.