How much money to cruise fulltime?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

25k less tax and possibly a higher rate of tax taken again if you cruise foreign lands

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Not the other country, your country.

Assuming USA citizen, then no higher rate of taxation if in foriegn lands (as I have been for 15 years now).

[smbdyiam2]

ego= look in mirror.

do you waste money now? do you party alot?
Housing = boat. Utilities = fuels. Food = food. Same expenses just different names.Lifestyles = lifestyles. So what do you spend money on now? What about partner? Partner lifestyles = Partner lifestyles .
Some expenses change. Some life styles change. If you change is it permanent? Can you go back? Do you want to go back? Still comes back to
ego = look in mirror.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Market has been good. So even though I have spend all that money on the spreadsheet I still have most of what I started with, which is a plus as I didn’t plan it that way. But, that is a different thread.

While it may be repetitive, I don’t think it needs to be a different thread, I think it’s very relevant.

Only thing I’d add has been said many times before, if you only have say $2,000 a month to spend, you’ll spend $2,000 a month, cause of course that’s all you have.
An issue a I see it is having a cruising kitty, developing a budget and regularly blowing through that budget, that may not be sustainable long term.
Make that number $5,000 a month and you may spend it, depending.
Our cheapest months by far was the ones in the Bahama’s, because I won’t do tourist traps, it’s not why I’m there, and we brought the majority of food and other consumables with us.
However for many that travel from one tourist destination to another and have to be in a mooring ball and go in for dinner and drinks every night where all the other “white” people go, and I do not mean that to be offensive, but they can spend $20 for a hamburger and $5 for a coke easily and that doesn’t include alcohol. Or good food, good food will cost much more.
But stay in the family islands and eat with them, and it’s much, much cheaper and I believe more real too.

This month is going to be tough for us, our Son is unemployed and we have been “helping” him, the daughter in College’s car needed repairing to the tune of over $1,200 and our oldest cracked a tooth and couldn’t afford the root canal and cap, and my Father would roll in his grave if I let her loose that tooth, so we are living very, very cheaply ourselves this month, I’ll borrow from next month and the month after and continue to live cheap before I tap that kitty, cause once you do that, it’s gone.

In my opinion you need to have a budget that allows you to put into savings s amount every month, my goal is save $500 a month, that has so far covered every expense has occurred until this month, it was the perfect storm, but those happen too.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I don't really feel that marina costs are the budget busters. Based on my limited 3 years the budget busters are the boat and medical. Everything else is pretty easy to control and plan around.

An extra $1500/mth for us if using one in our part of Australia.
+ easy access to bars and restaurants and and and would have us spending more again.

[Steven UK]

invest that money in the stock market with good Dividend paying stocks 500k @ ~3.5% = 17500usd p/a (div payments alone), if your the same type of cruiser i am firstly you could buy a new boat every year and secondly you will come back wealthier than when you left.

get yourself TDAmeritrade (was Scottrade) move your money over and put it in Blue Chips, and 'bob is your uncle'...!

if you need help investing i'll do it for a fee...

p.s. if i had invested in insurance before Dorian i would be cruising now...

Regards Steven

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

An extra $1500/mth for us if using one in our part of Australia.
+ easy access to bars and restaurants and and and would have us spending more again.

I understand and aren’t looking to argue. The months that I have been in the most expensive slips I’ve stayed at have also been months under budget. This is because we got tired of the same bar after a while and just stopped gong so the dine/drink out budget paid for the marina.

The only rule is - it’s going to cost you somehow ever if you dont understand yet how

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by Steven UK

invest that money in the stock market with good Dividend paying stocks 500k @ ~3.5% = 17500usd p/a (div payments alone), if your the same type of cruiser i am firstly you could buy a new boat every year and secondly you will come back wealthier than when you left.

Mmmmm. Clearly I’m missing something.

US$17500 pa is close to $1500 a month. A new boat every year and still money left over? After living expenses paid for?

Sailorboy posted spreadsheets that indicate average costs of three times that much and no new boats or added wealth. I’m puzzled (or perhaps just stupid?). I have a resource of a little over US$2k a month and I can barely afford to maintain my boat without working part time jobs.

No, scratch that, I cannot afford to maintain my boat without working part time jobs.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I understand and aren’t looking to argue. The months that I have been in the most expensive slips I’ve stayed at have also been months under budget. This is because we got tired of the same bar after a while and just stopped gong so the dine/drink out budget paid for the marina.

The only rule is - it’s going to cost you somehow ever if you dont understand yet how

Well, in 4 years full time cruising, anchoring out hasn't cost us anything yet
But it has saved us $72000 in marina fees.

[a64pilot]

I can tell you from my experience that a Marina as long as your staying for a few months and aren’t paying transient fees, even if an expensive one doesn’t really seem to add that much in costs.
Your not putting wear and tear on the boat and if you primarily eat food you prepare it’s not a budget buster, depending of course on what your budget is.
If your a $500 a month guy, then a $1,000 a month marina Bill is going to eat you alive, but a Marina with power can be had for half that depending on location of course.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Well, in 4 years full time cruising, anchoring out hasn't cost us anything yet

But it has saved us $72000 in marina fees.

That’s a $1,500 a month marina

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

That’s a $1,500 a month marina

Yep
The going rate for a 60fter including live aboard fees in this part of Australia.
At least it was 4 years ago, now most likely more again.

2019 pricing below shows it has gone up closer to $1900/mth for us now.

[Mike OReilly]

My experience has clearly linked dock time to spending more money. When I'm swinging from my own hook it's pretty damn hard to spend much money. But if I'm tied to a dock, in addition to the marina costs, it means I'm also close to lots of other ways to spend more money. Restaurants, pubs, chandler, touristy places to visit, other entertainment possibilities, etc.

Speaking only for myself, I definitely spend more money when tied to a dock.

I certainly get why most people prefer to cruise this way. Indeed, it is the very reason some people go cruising. But there's no way I could do this within my limited budget. And luckily it's not why I went cruising.

[sailorboy1]

The longer I sit in one place (anchor, mooring, slip) the less I spend because the boat is only needing small things. I could save a lot of money, while still eating and drinking out, if I were to find a place to anchor out and just stay there a year.

Wouldn't have had to spend the money the last 2 months for a new sail if I weren't going anywhere (could have motored over 10,000 miles for the cost of that sail).

Lots of the "how much does it cost to cruise" comes down to what you mean by "cruising". There are boats here in Boot Key Fl that haven't moved since I was here 2 years ago. I bet they are aren't spending $1000/mo as the boat is basically falling apart around them.

[Steven UK]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

Mmmmm. Clearly I’m missing something.

US$17500 pa is close to $1500 a month. A new boat every year and still money left over? After living expenses paid for?

Sailorboy posted spreadsheets that indicate average costs of three times that much and no new boats or added wealth. I’m puzzled (or perhaps just stupid?). I have a resource of a little over US$2k a month and I can barely afford to maintain my boat without working part time jobs.

No, scratch that, I cannot afford to maintain my boat without working part time jobs.

I would say one or the other... not many people replace boats every year. my 32' boat cost (funnily enough) exactly $17500. while cruising around the Caribbean and crossing the Atlantic this year i budgeted $30 per day, $15 food & $15 beer. some days were more, some less. i have rental properties and a sizable (not $500k) amount invested in the stock market. when Dorian hit my boat which is still sitting in GTC in Abaco it was hurt. so was parked. when i got home i was wealthier than when i left. not because i am rich but because i am tight.
so now i'm working behind a desc to get repairs done or maybe just replace it.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Yep
The going rate for a 60fter including live aboard fees in this part of Australia.
At least it was 4 years ago, now most likely more again.

2019 pricing below shows it has gone up closer to $1900/mth for us now.

Which marina is that? When I first left Oz in 2011 marina fees by memory were reasonable. When I came back late 2016 they gone through the roof. I was paying $440/week in port douglas early 2017.....it does take the fun out of it.

I hate to think what they maybe when/if I return 2022.