Shoestring Sailors (Cruising on $500 per month - part II)

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by zeehag

local mexican fella has em. we sniffing around with pesos...and beer...

Bingo...know the locals and your life gets SO much better on SO many fronts!

[Vino the Dog]

Zee,
Here is a link to Bob's recent blog post. His email is at the bottom.
http://rhfotografo.blogspot.mx/2013/...-you-love.html
take care,
Steve

[zeehag]

tthankyou....wow he does awesome shots!!!

[SimonBUK]

Excellent thread and so were parts of the previous one !!

I'vd been thinking about starting cruising and getting my own boat, have been wondering whether it was possible to cruise on $1300 a month. Sounds like from reading everybodys post (well most antway) that its do-able !!

Some great advice and tips in here, only about 50 pages in on the last thread so i'll make a single tea bag last a few cups and read on !!

[onestepcsy37]

can't talk to cruising in the uk or europe, but on this side of the pond it's definitely possible. i know folks who do it on that or less. we do it on slightly more. although it helps to have a boat that's equipped and ready to go so the only boat expenses (hopefully) will be maintenance.

[SimonBUK]

Oh yeah, i am currently in Asia and that is where i intend to be for the next few years, very reasonable costs for living out here !!

[mausgras]

Originally Posted by SimonBUK

Oh yeah, i am currently in Asia and that is where i intend to be for the next few years, very reasonable costs for living out here !!

I agree but only if you live on the hook. A half decent marina will cost $500+ a month for anything bigger than 35ft.
On the other hand if you can push your income to around $1500 a month you can live like a king in very nice surroundings.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Springbok]

Slight correction. Cruising on $500/month was started on 10-11-2010 with 34771 views and 337 replies. The thread was later hijacked and called Cruising on $500 per month and was mainly off the topic ie boat building etc so David this is actually number 3. It was a reality in 1995-2002 but probably is not feasible today unless rediculously Spartan.
Clyde

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by SimonBUK

Excellent thread and so were parts of the previous one !!

I'vd been thinking about starting cruising and getting my own boat, have been wondering whether it was possible to cruise on $1300 a month. Sounds like from reading everybodys post (well most antway) that its do-able !!

Some great advice and tips in here, only about 50 pages in on the last thread so i'll make a single tea bag last a few cups and read on !!

The essence of low budget cruising.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by Springbok

It was a reality in 1995-2002 but probably is not feasible today unless rediculously Spartan. Clyde

Hum, Well of course people living on $500 a month are not going to be living the high life. Its a given that at the $500 a month level, your cutting out most of the fluff for sure. But its not ridiculous until about $400

It is possible to live on $500 a month and still have a diverse lunch and dinner menu. Of course knowing how to cook goes a long way there. Which when I think about could be part of the issue.

Many guys seem somewhat culinary challenged and spend money on processed/ frozen foods. But if purchased wisely, I can eat well for about $170-$180 a month, in northern California to boot, where food costs tend to be higher then the national average.

Of course it depends on a whole lot of things. A small OLD sailboat 30'-34' (not a powerboat) with simple systems. Non-drinking/non-smoking sure helps. No medical insurance, No car, No land side storage, etc. No or one/two marina visits a month (depending on location) Do ALL your own maintenance. Cruising locations become somewhat limited. Though one could cruise the lower 2/3's of the eastern US for $500 a month if you avoid marinas I guess it all depends on the person, and their wants and needs.

It's possible and not all that hard either. Gee I'm doing it with a cat (furry kind) and have everything I need. Solar for power, 120V Fridge (oddly uses no more power then many 12v units on the hook), internet mifi thingy (how else can I annoy the fine folks here) That's my one luxury by the way. A small netbook (low power), led and CCF lighting. Propane stove and heat help too.

Sure I'm avoiding eating out and clothes shopping is limited to the better goodwill's. But I really don't see myself roughing it. I stay up on boat maintenance and I even have boat insurance. Mind you my boat only cost $11k when I purchased it. Having the right boat really is important. Buy the wrong boat and it can cost too much for repairs. For example, my boat came with all stalock standing rigging. So replacement cost is a spool of wire and some cones. So choosing a inexpensive (gee is there really such a thing) boat is important.

For $1000-$1300 a month I would be living like a queen. That opens up more cruising choices for sure. One still needs to pick the right boat, Too big and overnight slip fees, fuel and haul outs start to ding you. But $1300 would be easy even for a guy that drinks a little and buys frozen pizza

[David_Old_Jersey]

I think "ridiculously Spartan " is a point of view - .likely applies to many, but nothing applies to all.

Clearly Sailorchic has put a lot of smarts into her decisions .......imo much to learn from folks like her, even if 'your ' budget is bigger..........my point in creating this thread (the original got locked and the OP INDY wandered off) was not so much about folks literally going for that 500 figure but learning from each other and cherry picking ideas that work for them, even where budget higher.....plus simply pointing out that 100k plus of boat and $5k a month of income is not compulsory.

Of course it helps (lol) to live on a very low budget (afloat or ashore) when you have no choice (few have the self discipline otherwise)..........but unfortunately all too easy to live below maintanence cost of stuff and self .

[Springbok]

Hello David. Your comments re learning from others to sail/live on a budget are very relavent, asd are Sailor Chics comments on how she budgets today. 1995-2002 we had a Yamaha 33 fully kitted out for cruisig ie 12v fridge, gas cooker, solar panels, windcharger, tv and video etc Neither I nor my wife smoked or drank alcohol which helped re budget. I did fish but we ate well and went to any cruiser barbeque etc also bought diesel etc and managed fine as a couple on $500 per month whilst living/cruising in Caribbean for those seven years. My reference to Spartan implies I do not think it could be done easily as a couple today with rverything more expensive. We were always on the hook, no marinas etc
Clyde

[sailorchic34]

Actually I would agree that everything is getting more expensive. Now a days I don't think you can cruise the crib or many places, anywhere near $900 even. Prices are just too high. My costs are just for me and the grumpy cat, floating between SF bay and Stockton. Alas only a few hundred miles to play in. Though the weather is nice and fishing is not bad at all. Not that I fish. Can't seem to catch the self cleaning fish yet.

I could probably cruise the lower 2/3 or the east US coast or some of the US rivers. That's my goal really. Quite modest. Don't think even my modest retirement will allow me to do much else. But it beats working, and I'm doing it now.

Of course I hear folks cruising on $5000 a month and I'm trying to figure out how they do that.

[Mike OReilly]

I don't know how close I can get to the mythical $500/month level. I do know when we leave in a few months we will have to live as frugally as we can. We have some pertinant skills, and I've learned a few things here, but in reading (and participating somewhat) in these threads I've understood two important points:

#1. While not impossible (bow to sailorchic34), it is clearly very difficult to live a low-cost cruising life in the USA, Canada and anyplace closely associated with western tourism.

#2. The true frugal cruisers probably aren't spending their limited resources logging into Internet forums .

[onestepcsy37]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

internet mifi thingy (how else can I annoy the fine folks here)

i'm curious as to which wifi thingy you use and how you pay for it. i bought the virgin mobile hotspot one black friday (thanksgiving weekend sale) for $40 at a walmart. i then pay $20 for 1 gig of data for up to 30 days. but now i see that walmart is offering another service which apparently is related to the tracphone system and is even cheaper, and, according to the service area map, has wider coverage.