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SaltyMonkey · 21-07-2010, 11:18

daleM - The median cruising age appears to be between 35 and 55 years old. Younger cruisers tend to be fresh out of college and take a break on a shoestring. After age folks tend to stay closer to home because of "catastrophic" issues such as cancer etc. Seems everyone has to come back to shore once in a while to work and regroup, or in older folks there comes a time to move off the boat. Sure there are outlier cases, but the majority is what it is.

The common tag line, which I think is really flippant and bad advice is, "Go as soon as you can" when the real line should read "Stay out as long as you can"

SaltyMonkey · 21-07-2010, 11:22

Yes and the 80% interest that you pay off on the CC doesnt cover the added to principle from the interest itself daily. Your principle will still rise even though you think you pay off 20% of it.

kb79 · 21-07-2010, 11:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Yes and the 80% interest that you pay off on the CC doesnt cover the added to principle from the interest itself daily. Your principle will still rise even though you think you pay off 20% of it.

i just checked my statements from the last three months. i was wrong actually - my minimum payment represents closer to a 50% reduction in principal, and my principal has dropped (albeit not by much) for the last three statement periods.

this is a nuanced point, hardly relevant and i'd let it go except that the point you're making is just flat wrong and it irks me in light of your previous posts.

let's not waste everyone's time on this tiny irrelevant detail - if you'd like to discuss this specifically any further, please PM me.

SaltyMonkey · 21-07-2010, 11:55

that's fine kb. I think you pretty much have all the opinions and feedback at this point.

zeehag · 21-07-2010, 13:00

i still donot understand why everyone thinks one must be wealthy in dollars to own boats and ail---lol--i didnt know that factoid until i was grown, and i was taught to sail in my earlier years..the man who taught me was aa farmer and happened to have obtained a sailing boat of national historic treasure status for 50 dollars or no dollars, as he was in right place at right time. i bought my 41 formosa for 10k instead of 40-8-k as i was in right place and right time. one doesnt need a high income to maintain a boat iuf one remains outside of worst marine and others charging 400 percent markuo because boaters can afford this,..LOL...cruising doesnt take lots of money unless you are a marina sailor--then it costs money for the privilege of sailing from one boat jail to the next--yipes. not freedom, except the freedom to choose marinas.....i prefer to choose areas to anchor and see real sealife..marina life is what one desires to escape from, not to..lol.....shoot--i dont even drink alcohol--i couldnt survive in a marina !!!! how does one get the water from the hose to the boat without a jerry jug!!!! yipes....only occasionally do i enjoy marinas--there are a few i loved in florida's west coast---lovely places and friendly .... lots of unlimited water for showers and laundry ..LOL..the advantage of marinas..LOL....but i truly prefer the anchor to the dock....just as long as i dont feel bottom of sea under keel or rudder ..LOL.....at 0300..... with a big wind...... and LIGHTNING!!!!!!! lol...sailing is fun!!!!
while we were sailing the gulf, we spent roughly 500-600 per month on foods and such--for 2--that wasnt bad--and that was in continental usa....LOL...go figger....we used his boat for that..i dont know the price he paid for it-wasnt a huge amount, he is a good shopper--was under 20k.....boat is 37 ft sloop.

pras · 21-07-2010, 14:16

The more I learn the less I know; however, I can tell you that after the first year of cruising you will be able to answer your own original post. We are in a very, very similar situation as you (age, boat, work, etc...) and have just returned to the states after our first 9 months of cruising. We will be refitting the boat and heading further south in the fall and then coming back to start our next adventure on land. My mantra is to live each day like it is the last but plan for the next day in case it is not. Good luck with your adventure and do not forget to have a great time.

chris_gee · 21-07-2010, 15:13

The original questions were "if i'm rich (which i think i am - making 3x the median income in the richest country on earth makes me, in my opinion pretty damn well off) does that mean all you guys are too?

if not, how the hell is that possible?

Nope you ain't rich because you have a high income since your nett worth is about $55,000 not counting student loans and in two years it will be zero.
Sure to many people in the world you would be rich, but they would not have your plans.
As to the rest of us, some are no doubt rich, most likely are not. For many they are a few paychecks, or a major unexpected repair or health cost away from having a liquidity problem. Some will cruise some will not. Many will enjoy some boating anyway.
As to wealth, not all riches can be measured in money terms.
Your reasoning and decisions are yours. Not the only choices, but the ones you have made. Just like the rest of us.

kb79 · 21-07-2010, 15:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by pras

The more I learn the less I know; however, I can tell you that after the first year of cruising you will be able to answer your own original post. We are in a very, very similar situation as you (age, boat, work, etc...) and have just returned to the states after our first 9 months of cruising. We will be refitting the boat and heading further south in the fall and then coming back to start our next adventure on land. My mantra is to live each day like it is the last but plan for the next day in case it is not. Good luck with your adventure and do not forget to have a great time.

given the barrage of "don't do it" posts, i'm curious if you regret your decision to go cruising in hindsight. presumably if we're in a similar spot, you would have gotten the same negative admonitions.

Therapy · 21-07-2010, 15:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb79

so to the extent that there are any questions in this thread, here they are:

if i'm rich (which i think i am - making 3x the median income in the richest country on earth makes me, in my opinion pretty damn well off) does that mean all you guys are too?

if not, how the hell is that possible?

Could you re-word the question please.

Is "pretty damn well off" meaning rich?
I don't consider being under a bunch of debt well off, much less rich.
"all you guys" I guess if they are boat poor and that is called rich then yes.

"if not", well most seem to think that in that case it is possible because they have little or no debt.

I don't really understand the question I guess.

Owe Hansson · 21-07-2010, 15:46

kb79
Sure you are rich. We all are. We have freedom and the means to purchase a boat to go sailing for pleassure. You are lucky to have a wife that is right with you. When you get down under I'll buy you a beer.

RayW · 21-07-2010, 15:49

If you have to finance your toys, its probably not time to play.

Doodles · 21-07-2010, 15:51

All this financial talk and planning reminds me of what Sterling Hayden had to say on the subject ...

Quote:

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... "cruising" it is called.

kb79 · 21-07-2010, 15:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Therapy

Could you re-word the question please.

Is "pretty damn well off" meaning rich?
I don't consider being under a bunch of debt well off, much less rich.
"all you guys" I guess if they are boat poor and that is called rich then yes.

"if not", well most seem to think that in that case it is possible because they have little or no debt.

I don't really understand the question I guess.

thanks, therapy, for allowing me to restate the question(s). reading back over this thread, i'd agree that they were poorly worded at the outset, and maybe that's what's gotten this thread so off track.

here's what i meant:

i don't (or didn't) see how we could have done this for a whole lot less money. people have had some interesting insights into the boat price, so maybe that's an area we could have saved a little... but basically, doing this at all required coming up with $70,000, and doing it right (according to many of the posters here) would have required coming up with an additional $10K for repairs (the CC debt), an additional $40.5K for the boat, a cushion of $20k for reentry and additional year of kitty money - let's just call that $15k (forget the student loans - that's my own unique position, and maybe others don't have that problem).

that all adds up to $155,500 for a two year cruise.

i think there are precious few people out there who can put that kind of money together. i can because i'm "rich" - leveraged with a high income may not be rich to you, but i remember being a kid where my christmas present was a trip to toys-r-us where we put a GI joe action figure ($3) on lay away so that i could play with it in january. to me, the ability to take a trip that requires this much money (regardless of how it's procured) puts me in the astronomically wealthy category. agree or disagree with the definition of rich - i don't really care about the semantics. i used the word "rich" because i knew it would provoke a response, which it most certainly has.

so to somewhat rephrase the questions:

do you all manage to come up with these large sums of cash too?

if you aren't coming up with piles of money, how do you make it work?