Month 21 Expenses of Cruising and Living on the Boat

[wolfgal]

thanks Sailorboy. it is always very reassuring for me to see the months in which you do not need spend a lot on upkeep/repairs.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by esperando

Bad news: If that is what it costs to go cruising I am probably out.

Luckily for lots of us it's not

That's what it costs to cruise in a very expensive country - lots of the world you can have a great time living on the hook, eat wonderful local fare and get excellent fresh food down the local market without spending anywhere near that much.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by esperando

Good news: Great info, nice to have it real life;

Bad news: If that is what it costs to go cruising I am probably out. Sure, you can go on a full peanut butter, but if you can't have some fun nights out, seems you miss a lot of the local life.

I feel I provide enough details for each person to be able adjust my spending to their planned cruising style. It’s up to each person to decide if after doing so they want to be practical or delusional.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by esperando

Good news: Great info, nice to have it real life;

Bad news: If that is what it costs to go cruising I am probably out. Sure, you can go on a full peanut butter, but if you can't have some fun nights out, seems you miss a lot of the local life.

Assuming you stay in the US, once housing costs are discounted, the cost to cruise are the same as living in land.
I say once housing costs are discounted assuming you will live at anchor, but it’s very easy to spend a house payment staying in Marinas.

The wild card in my opinion is debt, going to be real tough to cruise with a pre existing debt that you have to service.
But cruising as far as I can see really is no different expense wise than Retirement, if you can retire and have a boat, you can cruise, can’t afford to retire? Cruising is going to be tough, in my opinion.

This is not to say anything for those that intend to take time off of work or save up to go with the intent to coming back to work, this is for those that leave with no intention of returning to work.

[slowneasy]

Originally Posted by conachair

Luckily for lots of us it's not

That's what it costs to cruise in a very expensive country - lots of the world you can have a great time living on the hook, eat wonderful local fare and get excellent fresh food down the local market without spending anywhere near that much.

Conachair,

Sorry if you have stated your location in other posts, but I'd be curious to hear what areas you are cruising in.

[Kayaker]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

We have an ACA silver plan and take just enough out of our 401K each year to qualify as income for the maximum subsidy.

Health insurance is a huge unknown for me. Would you mind if I ask what age group you are in? I'm trying to get a sense for how much a couple in their late 30's will pay for insurance.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by slowneasy

Conachair,

Sorry if you have stated your location in other posts, but I'd be curious to hear what areas you are cruising in.

Currently refitting in a boatyard in the Algrarve, Portugal. Previously around atlantic spain/portugal, S America, Carib. Anywhere where all the anchorages haven't been turned into marinas tends to be a better bet for the budget.

I've actually got all outgoings for the past few years on a tablet app, must graph them out one day to make sure I'm not talking rubbish

[slowneasy]

Thanks for the information. We are still in the planning stages and its good to get different perspectives to work from when planning our own adventures. I appreciate everyone's willingness to share.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Kayaker

Health insurance is a huge unknown for me. Would you mind if I ask what age group you are in? I'm trying to get a sense for how much a couple in their late 30's will pay for insurance.

I’m 58. If you go to healthcare.gov there are tools etc to find your pricing

[chuckr]

You really need to roll them up by year - gives a better look

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by esperando

Good news: Great info, nice to have it real life;

Bad news: If that is what it costs to go cruising I am probably out. Sure, you can go on a full peanut butter, but if you can't have some fun nights out, seems you miss a lot of the local life.

Not sure what you are talking about. You have to live someplace and some of choose to live and travel by boat. We have been out 11 years and miss very little if anything. We have travelled almost all the Carib, Med and Black Sea and we do it on Social Security only until this past winter when SoulMates need a lot of work.

we have put out our cost data every year for the past 9 years -
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ta-197309.html

The question is is your posting just an excuse for not cruising? We have heard many of them just like yours - a reason not to come out vs how can we make it happen.

[sailorboy1]

Turns out rain is a budget saver. If it rains enough you don't take the dinghy ashore where the money spending dens are :-)