How Long Did You Save to Go Cruising?

[anotherT34C]

I work at a National Lab and do 3/3 or 4/4, with 1.5 months off a year. The Lab is on LI, NY, which is a pretty rich cruising ground for three seasons a year.

The pay is much less than $150K/yr, but I get to cruise for a few days every week. You can arrange to take your vacation time as sabbatical (in other words, 3 months off every other year). Not a bad gig, actually... just to consider.

The two downsides...

1. expensive. Every 3-4 days, you have to find a mooring or dock for 3-4 days while you go back to work. This adds up (because I'm still paying for my empty home slip, in addition to constant transients).

2. you never really get into the cruising groove, unless you're on sabbatical.

[FxdGrMind]

3yrs WOW. amazing. I've had to create a 4 year plan. However I've been working my whole life... well since 13 (paper route). I too have realized that my "dream" job has turned into the job from H. E. double hockey sticks. I wish I could muster the resolve to stick it out longer, but as others that I work with are planning on leaving too, it's going to be a disaster in the making. If I were to stay, I would never have a life as I'd end up on call 24/7/365 due to the brain drain that will occur. I've spent 10 years fixing things so that I wouldn't have to work 24/7/365 as I did initially when I started this job.

I admire anyone with a "Plan". It denotes thought, foresight, effort and most of all "Desire".

I'm 44 this year, My plan is to be ready by the time I'm 45, house paid off, all bills paid off, savings and investments such that I can manage to have an income that is 1/2 of my current income, as all my bills will be just what I need on a daily basis, no house/boat etc payments.

To be honest, if I had a wife and kids, this plan would never even come to the point of possibility. I don't make that much and live as a frugal bachelor, with few needs.

I think you make your plan to suit your needs, if that means you make a plan for a 1month or 10 yr Cruise... it's all up to you.

Mine will be a 1 year experiment, with the chance to alter it so as to make it as long as I desire. But I do intend on keeping my home to come back to when I'm done cruising.

Best of luck to you all with your plans and cruising desires. Like my friend says, "Dreams are Free" and I add to that by saying "May your Dreams come true".

Cheers and happy sailing.

[ViribusUnitis]

Originally Posted by FxdGrMind

I admire anyone with a "Plan". It denotes thought, foresight, effort and most of all "Desire".

You might think it denotes such, but honestly, I'd disagree. I've never been able to "live in the moment" except for a couple of moments at a time. Even then I find myself stressed, and in need of a plan to party!

Conciquinces, and downsides have ruled my life. I can't really goof off, and not care about anything. I've always lived to build a goal some time in the future. I have to be going somewhere, or I'm completely miserable. It doesn't matter if I'm in heaven, I have to be going some where. No matter how good life is, it must ALWAYS be getting better.

In otherwords, it's as much a curse, as it is a blessing. The easiest way for me to destress my self, is to build a plan for the future. Sometime as simple as a plan and a schedule for cooking dinner. And it doesn't matter as much if I don't follow it or not, just as long as there is a plan.

Oh well, it takes all kinds to keep this world turning!

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by ViribusUnitis

In otherwords, it's as much a curse, as it is a blessing. The easiest way for me to destress my self, is to build a plan for the future.

Interesting thoughts.

One thing I have noticed in life is that there are lots of self help books, courses, management courses on planning, goal setting etc. Theres even computer games to help. But theres very little the tech flexablilty.
You seem to have great planning skills, maybe you ned to find the elusive teaching adis that will give you the flexabiloity to really enjoy your strenghts of planning

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

hang on... you have 2 different concepts here...

How long does it take to save? Its your whole life! Every dollar in asset ever earned is harnessed to make the cruising thing happen. Its not cheap. It takes every available cent.

3 years to save: Save every last possable cent... every one. Why? Cos it takes every available cent

Im Doomed...


Osirissail:...6/6 Sabbaticals...that's our plan....Need a stronger economy though for that to happen...Im not making enough in 6 months now to float the other 6..

[rebel heart]

It's been crazy watching our 6 year plan become a 5 year, then 4 year, then 3 year, now 2-and-some-change-year plan. For a while it just felt like a pipe dream, but things are really coming together. We've been saving, have re-rigged, I've learned *a lot* about working on boats, we're comfortable living on her, and I can read the weather now.

For non-boat stuff, the time has been well spent:

- loaded up the retirement funds for later
- pushed a little further into our careers
- saved up a bunch of money
- got in great physical shape / running and lifting weights and eating clean
- have done some grand things land-based like sports, running, sky diving, etc.

There was a guy on here a long time ago that said something along the lines of "if you're not happy now, you won't be happy out there. Sailing a boat around the world will be the hardest thing you've ever done and if you're thinking it's going to be the solution to all your problems and make you happy, you're wrong. Get happy now."

As of right now though, we could leave pretty much whenever. Ideally we'd like to keep working for another year or two in order to pay some bills off completely so they're not hanging over our heads when we leave. And there are (of course) some boat improvements that would be nice as well. But nothing that would keep us from at least exploring Mexico or the California coast.

But again, we're having fun with the time here. We love our lives and we're looking forward to doing more by trying a circumnavigation; it's not an escape or solution to any problems.

[Reckless]

My wife and I have a 9 year plan. We are in our mid 30's, both earn a decent living and have 3 kids, we started our family young and out kids are , 12, 15 and 16.
The kids although they love sailing, packing up and cruising the world is our dream not theirs, they want to visit but not live the cruising lifestyle.
And we have decided to wait until our Youngest is 21, depending on his path he will either be in school or finishing school.

The decision to stay until they are young adults was more for their support than ours, both my wife and I didn't have strong parental support at that age and want to be there for our kids, so they can hopefully get a better start then we did.

This plan puts us in our mid 40's when we leave, our plan is never to return to the "regular" way of life.
We will have a cruising budget double what we expect to live on, I have also factored in a nest egg for if and when we ever return. We have a small cottage on some land which we built that will serve as a retirement home in the event of a return to dry land. If not it will stay the family cottage to be used by our kids and their families as they grow.

Our retirement income is taken care of through government and personal pensions, as well as a decent RSP plan.

We have spent the last couple years evaluating our lifestyle, we spent the early part of our life trying to "keep up with the Jone's", Big house, fancy cars, expensive family trips, closets full of clothes we only wore once. That all came crashing down about 5 years ago when I lost my business. The house and the cars were sold, I went back to working for someone else. We went from a 5200 sq foot home to a 1200 sq foot home, from having 3 cars and a motorcycle to 1 car. The expensive family trips, turned into weekends of camping and doing things around the house.

That was when we realized how much happier we were with less, my bills are 10% of what they used to be. We now save money, rather then running out to spend it.

You only live once and only owe it to yourself to be happy with how you are living.

When our life changed, we discovered ourselves and our true friends.