How Do You Afford the Cruising Lifestyle? What's Your Story?

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Bobbyewe

'Remember. Wherever you go -there you are!' George Carlin

Actually, that saying originated a very, very long time ago with Zen Buddhism.

[stevebein]

check out David Clark in the Slocum Society. He wanted to be the oldest to circumnavigate and made that record on his third try, including two sinkings. As an older man,he had $500 a month Social Security and his clarinet. He would sail from port to port, and when he arrived would find a bar which needed entertainment. He gave a free performance trading it for dinner. He was usually hired and then refilled his cruising kitty so he could go to the next gig. He finished his record at age 76., over 13 years ago, is still performing and enjoying life. His story has lessons to learn. He was short on money, but had a marketable skill and good personality. His plan worked. While his goal was not continuing cruising, his lessons are worth learning.
I am lucky to be a friend.
Also, check out Lin and Larry Pardee and their books. Their motto, go small, inexpensive and go now.
There are so many world cruising capable boats available that yo can make your dream happen now. My only suggestion is that, when ready, you should buy your boat and live on it for a while before cutting the dock lines. On the other hand, there are a lot of cruisers who just decided and went. So, asking for information seems like permission. There are young and old cruisers. All have their own story and all have opinions. Listen, evaluate and decide what and who you chose to learn and retain, then build on it.
Good luck

[jreiter190]

When I was 18 I went to work for the government ,went to a foreign country and killed a lot of the inhabitants. 50 years later, the government gives me a check each month. That supports my simple lifestyle. In the years in between, I worked on ships and yachts. Simple , yes?

[Tessellate]

I have to disagree with the people who say your 20's are the time to have fun and not worry about working.

At 22 you're quite young to be experiencing burnout already. Although I guess it's all a matter of perspective - someone in their 60's would probably say the same thing about me, a person in his lower 30s.

Google for "Mr Money Mustache" and read his latest blog post "If You're Not Getting Rich in Your 20s, You're Doing It Wrong."

He's a genius of our time and his posts are information gold if you care at all about reaching early financial independence. Your 20s are the most important time to work your ass off because it compounds for the rest of your life.

Yes you could go cruising now for cheap, maybe for 10 years or even 20, but what's your exit plan? Since you still have at least 50-60 years ahead of you, at some point you'll probably want to take a break from cruising. It's possible to scrape by in life with no money, living off the government or otherwise, but most people probably wouldn't like the lack of freedom that entails.

[Tessellate]

Also:

It sounds like you're already a good saver, but you say you're tired of saving and it's too slow. This feels like an inconsistency in your story because good savers usually *enjoy* saving. Saving itself is a reward, and they receive lots of positive reinforcement from saving. Hopefully you'll come back and post a followup here because it seems like there might be more to the story.

"I want to make money instead of work for it."

That statement really set me aback. How do you think money is made other than through work? Read the Mr Money Mustache article, and contrast it with the article he makes fun of - where a millennial says you don't need to save and you don't need to work hard to make money. And then decide who you agree with.

[Sailor647]

I am so sick and tired of hearing 20- and 30- somethings bitch about how hard it is to work and save money. Get over it. Life is work. Being successful requires work. Owning a business requires work. Getting an education requires work. Living in the US (the easiest country on the planet in which to go from nothing to riches) requires work. If you chose to work at something you don't enjoy, that's your choice. Stop bitching about it.

[FamilyVan]

Well, there are opportunities for balance though. A good career might be one that afforded the opportunity to float around 6 or 8 weeks a year plus week ends rather than work like a slave until you burn out.

If you like working 70 hours a week from age 20-65, good for you, most would rather have some balance though. I see nothing wrong with a young person seeking balance in their lives.

One thing I did take with me after quitting my first career was a Federal Pension, which means one thing I don't need to worry about is where my moneys going to come from when I hit 50.

Balance is good. If he can sail now, why the heck not? I took a year or two off at 34, I enjoyed it, let me refocus and find a more balanced career. If the OP hit a wall at 22, I see no reason to keep suffering.

If the economy he lives in is so fragile he can't take some time off at 22, then I'd say he's screwed no matter what happens, so enjoy.

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[thinwater]

Originally Posted by unlimited

Hi everyone,

Glad to be here in the community! I am sure you have been asked many times, "How do you afford the cruising lifestlye?" I'd love to hear your story of how you accomplished your dream.

Why? Well, let me tell you a bit about myself- I am a 22 year old in-between drop out student who studies electrical engineering. It used to be my passion and all I wanted to do was start a company that designs innovative consumer electronic products. For the past 5 years I have been trying to launch my dream, while juggling school AND work. Even though I have saved up my first 6 digit sum, pouring all my heart and soul and all the constant working really took its toll on me, emotionally, physically, and mentally. I got so fed up with life + toxic family relationships (which sank me into depression & PTSD), that I decided to do something crazy, something out of the "norm" that I had never done before - to go island hopping in the Caribbean on a sailboat (cat). After a month in paradise, I fell in love with sailing and now want to create that worry-free, being-in-the-present lifestyle for my future (hopefully on a gunboat cat). I am tired of constantly working so hard. I am tired of saving money. I am tired of working for money. Saving money is too slow. I want to make money instead of work for it. And I know there's gotta be another way.

So what's your story? How did you make it?

Just hysterical.

"22 and just saved his first 100K." OK.

"Wants to sail on a Gunboat." Why should I care?

"Saving money is too slow. I want to make money instead of work for it. And I know there's gotta be another way." Oh, please.

---

Sounds like you want everything for nothing. I'm sorry to hear that it hasn't worked out.

Plenty--most-- of the folks on this forum have succeed in some way, either by work or by adjusting expectations to reality. I used to work harder and had more money and less time. Now I work less and have less income, but savings and more time. I have a cat, but not a Gunboat and not new. I love my wife. I am content.

The best you can hope for is to learn to love what you do, hopefully something you are good at. That thought has sustained me financially and emotionally, and continues to sustain me. It is NOT the boat that brings happiness, or the dream of cruising, but just being happy in your own skin.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

Hmmm,- When I was 22 I began constantly working hard at a job I loved. I was pleased with working for money, slowly saving money and spending less than my income for 32 years. There may be other ways, but this way works if your work is a pleasure. My work still allowed for cruising at times and living aboard my boat was an economical advantage.

Many successful cruisers are not cruising to escape, but are cruising in harmony with their vocation. 'best of luck with your plans!

Eloquently stated. If at 22 you feel the need to escape from work, you need different work (or a different attitude), not a boat.

Work is a key thing in life. It should be a source of fulfillment. If a genie appeared tomorrow and offered to send me back to my 23rd year with enough money to spend the rest of my life playing around on a boat, on the condition that that's the only thing I could do with it, and I would have to give up my career - I would refuse. However nice it would be to be 22 again!


To answer the direct question - like Hudson, I work and cruise. Living on a boat is not significantly different from living on land, cost wise. There are budgets for every pocket, from hundreds a month to infinity. Just like on land.

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[DefinitelyMe]

Most of the people on this forum are a little more advanced in years than us younger folk and are now enjoying the fruits of their considerable labours earlier on in their lives. Or, they are clever enough to have figured out a way to work and cruise in the long-term. I'm 31 and in a similar position to you. My story? To put it succinctly, it's not a sustainable lifestyle for me. I take a month or two off here and there and do deliveries on other people's boats or i quit my job every few years and go cruising on my own for a slightly longer period, then find another job when i get back. Sometimes this takes a while, but since i live on my boat i never need to worry about not having a home.

I'm about to embark next month (if my boat survives this damned hurricane that keeps edging toward us...........) on my longest cruise yet - a circumnavigation over the next 3 or 4 years - and have saved up enough to be able to live off capital comfortably for that period, plus put a bit aside in the form of a small apartment which i will soon rent out. I'll still return from cruising in 3 and a half years with no money, no job and few qualifications but i'm not worried about that. I have been fortunate enough to have travelled extensively, often with little or no money, and have found that these things have invariably sorted themselves out in the end. I guess what i'm trying to say is:

1) $100,000 is probably not enough to cruise sustainably in the long term.
2) $100,000 is more than enough to cruise for a considerable time, and in my opinion you should do so.

I should mention that i've had the fortune to have sailed extensively since i was 7 years old and have cruised about 50,000 miles already, so i know the lifestyle suits me. I also have a good boat and have spent 8 years re-building it (in-between sailing it!) as well as working as a marine contractor and doing extensive work on all sorts of boats, so i'm able to do all the maintenance (or major work if necessary) myself. I would particularly advise you to go sailing now rather than continue to work if you have not previously lived a cruiser's lifestyle for a period of time beyond the month in the Caribbean.

[Greenhand]

You can't live cheap and simple on a gunboat. If you want a gunboat, get to work, save in every vehicle possible, take advantage of retirement savings and retire early.

If you want to get away from it all, get something smaller, simpler and cheaper.

[Dave22q]

see if I got this straight. 17 year old drops out (studies part time) and earns enough to bank 100,000 by age 22. now he wants to know how to get rich while sailing full time. question s- what were you working at? who was paying your living expenses? it is one thing if you have some recognition as a freelance whatever. then the answer is easy. if you don't work at your contacts soon you will have no work. every freelancer I've ever known admits that selling is a hudge part of their days. how to mix that need with full rime sailing is simple YOU CANNOT! time to get real sonny. the sailing bum life may look great but look forward 10 years to obsolete skills, no current contacts and not much hope of a decent income.

[JRM]

What I've learned along the way is that this cruising thing is more a mindset, you don't have to sail off into the sunset to live it. We have a boat, we do weekend and summer trips. I play with the boat after work as a form of decompression therapy. I took a shot at singlehanding to Hawaii and had enough misadventures for a lifetime. You don't have to leave it all to leave it all, because it's all in your head, and it'll only follow you. Cruising is a way to enjoy your life, not run away from it.

That said, the wife and I both work to fund our habbit. She's a teacher and so gets the summers off. I do shift work so I can trade around to get long spells off. We live pretty much debt free except for our dirt home. That's the real trick, to earn and pay as you go, and don't try to borrow your way ahead. As Admiral Akbar says, "It's a trap!"

Good luck. If you can learn to take joy in a good days labor, you'll never work a day in your life. No matter what you do.

JRM





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[LLCoolDave]

Well, I was working on a well thought out post when my browser crashed. Here is the short version. Do anything you want in your 20's except get someone pregnant or get pregnant. You can't recover from this. You can recover from anything else.

You don't have allegiance to anyone except yourself. Of course there is a flip side to this coin that says, "Do no harm." A great way to sail is to crew on other people's boats. You could do this for a couple years for $6-10k per year. Don't rush into buying your own boat. The downside of your time off is your skills could be obsolete after a couple years.

Also the Op essentially said he "wanted something for nothing." i.e. money That is young naivete which I think we should forgive him for. We were all young once.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is not safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. ~ Helen Keller

Also check out this book http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Un.../dp/0812992180

Fear is a big determinate to taking the leap you are talking about.

[unlimited]

Wow, thank you all for such amazing, incredible, and caring responses! I'm truly grateful to have found this community and it means a lot that you care and are willing to share your experiences.

Originally Posted by PuttingDoctor

What we don't know is where you are currently location wise so this might limit some of the suggestions. Welcome to the group, now go put some more info into your profile

I didn't expect the response, but have now updated my profile with more information - thanks PuttingDoctor.

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

Many successful cruisers are not cruising to escape, but are cruising in harmony with their vocation. 'best of luck with your plans!

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Eloquently stated. If at 22 you feel the need to escape from work, you need different work (or a different attitude), not a boat.

Work is a key thing in life. It should be a source of fulfillment.

Hudson Force & Dockhead - I agree. Depending on the circumstance, getaways may be viewed as an escape; but it may also be viewed as a way to recharge/draw inspirations from. It really hit home when Dockhead said work should be a source of fulfillment. While one may work for money and not be fulfilled, thus needing an escape, I personally believe being fulfilled leads to joy & harmony in one's life. That's why I created this post. Searching for fulfillment could be a lifelong process, and an even harder process when it leaked to 0. While I am searching for it and trying different things, I also need to move forward with life and 'survive'.

Originally Posted by impi

It really sucks when one is working so hard and it just seems to be taking so much effort without much return, but at age 22 to be in your 'first 6 digit saved' you really ought to be proud because you are achieving so much more than most people your age. I know we all hear of the computer boffins who make gazillions during their young years, but in the greater scheme of things they are very few and far between - we do not hear about the majority who live from 'hand to mouth' - so - you have done well and by the sound of it you deserve to have done so too. It may be an 'older guys saying', but I would really encourage you to sit back and look at what you have actually achieved here - 'count your blessings'.

[amazing story]

I am pretty sure this lousy cycle you find yourself in will change for the better - take your time before buying a boat - there is nothing wrong with having a dream and a goal - if anything it brings purpose and meaning to what otherwise is a slog. The great thing for us is every new day - every new day brings along with it new possibilities and hey, we never know when there is a 'big break' for us
...
I hope this provides some encouragement and in the meanwhile, I am sure you will keep taking time out to sail, perhaps get a boat of your own - learn, understand the systems, build knowledge and so on!
For one - I hope to see your dreams come true

impi, I sincerely appreciate your encouragement, words of wisdom, and for sharing your personal experience. It truly means a lot and I do need to count my blessings more often. I'm glad to have made it this far, but I know I can always do better

It's amazing to hear that you've come so far, having the courage and boldness to move to a new country at 25, and made it work in SA even with the challenges above your head. Not easy. One thing that keeps us going is our mentality, our state of mind. It could make you or break you. When our core is shaken, that affects us as a whole - the way we look at things, the way we deal with things, the way we go about life, as well as our energy physically. Did you ever encounter these periods? Perhaps we can chat more through PM!

Originally Posted by zboss

I would not encourage you to seek escape at this juncture - you will only find yourself sinking deeper. Going cruising is a reward not an escape.

Originally Posted by Tessellate

I have to disagree with the people who say your 20's are the time to have fun and not worry about working.
...
Your 20s are the most important time to work your ass off because it compounds for the rest of your life.

Thanks for the advice zboss, Tesselate. I know for certain now is not the time to get away from it all, but time to build a foundation for a greater future. That's why I made this post - to gain perspective, see how others have done it, and to devise a plan moving forward.

Originally Posted by hamburking

Life is less expensive than you think.

Well said hamburking! It really doesn't take much; all goes back to the topic of fulfillment and what brings joy to an individual Great quote.

Originally Posted by Frenchfry

Check out Sail Loot - Money to Cruise the World.
Podcast based interviews with cruisers and how they make it work.

Thanks Frenchfry! That's a very good resource to keep in mind. Hopefully I can draw some ideas from it!

Originally Posted by jreiter190

When I was 18 I went to work for the government ,went to a foreign country and killed a lot of the inhabitants. 50 years later, the government gives me a check each month. That supports my simple lifestyle. In the years in between, I worked on ships and yachts. Simple , yes?

Haha, sounds quite simple. Life can really be as simple or as complicated as one wants...

Originally Posted by Tessellate

It sounds like you're already a good saver, but you say you're tired of saving and it's too slow. This feels like an inconsistency in your story because good savers usually *enjoy* saving. Saving itself is a reward, and they receive lots of positive reinforcement from saving. Hopefully you'll come back and post a followup here because it seems like there might be more to the story.

I am a good saver and am quite frugal as well. I only spend on the things I need. However, saving to me is not a reward, but a means to an end. I can forgo all the fancy meals, eating out, movie nights, concerts, etc for something that brings meaningful happiness - good company, cooking with friends, etc. With that being said, saving is too slow. How many years would it take to save for a $mil catamaran? Alright, say I accomplished that savings after 50 years. By this time I'll be 70+ years young, having worked all my life (there's no guarantee that I'll be alive)... Now, what about living expenses as well as boat maintenance expenses?

Originally Posted by Tessellate

"I want to make money instead of work for it."

That statement really set me aback. How do you think money is made other than through work? Read the Mr Money Mustache article, and contrast it with the article he makes fun of - where a millennial says you don't need to save and you don't need to work hard to make money. And then decide who you agree with.

The internet is filled with tons of noise. If Lauren is fine living her life on the edge, constantly spending, so be it. But that's not me. Why not save, and make more money? Best of both worlds. Then, money-making can automate itself and become a passive activity.

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

I'm about to embark next month (if my boat survives this damned hurricane that keeps edging toward us...........) on my longest cruise yet - a circumnavigation over the next 3 or 4 years - and have saved up enough to be able to live off capital comfortably for that period, plus put a bit aside in the form of a small apartment which i will soon rent out. I'll still return from cruising in 3 and a half years with no money, no job and few qualifications but i'm not worried about that. I have been fortunate enough to have travelled extensively, often with little or no money, and have found that these things have invariably sorted themselves out in the end.

Wow, that's very exciting DefinitelyMe! Are you sailing alone? Congrats on saving enough for this journey and I'm sure you'll have an incredible experience. This is something I'd love to do in the future as well. For me, I forsee returning with nothing in my pockets (but instead bursting with experiences) and the constant cycle of working then taking time off to be a slight problem for myself. That's why I want to exit the rat race!



Thanks again for all the comments and ideas folks. I'll respond to more in a bit. Happy Friday