Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by justwaiting

It is something of a paradox that someone who preaches economy should be so extravagant in reposting their own posts. Perhaps we need a new thread "posting on 500 words per Month". This i believe would assist those people trying to cruise on $500 a month keep down their download costs while staying in touch with CF.

Easy Peasy... just need to get banned once a month n its cracked...

[w1651]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Easy Peasy... just need to get banned once a month n its cracked...

Okay let's get back on track here.

Good News Everyone!
It's about to become March so the Marine Flea markets and swaps are starting in full force here in Sunny Florida. Get a copy or go online to Florida & Southern Sailing Information - SOUTHWINDS | Sailing & Cruising - Florida - the South to get the dates and places to get things on the cheap.

I am about to report on my Conyplex contest 33 this month. Ive been varnishing using Aces Spar Varnish (considerably more reasonably priced) and the results have been great.

For more I'll be posting with pics on Conyplex Contest 33 thread later.
Again that link is.

Florida & Southern Sailing Information - SOUTHWINDS | Sailing & Cruising - Florida - the South

[Nemo55]

Where i live British Columbia Canada myself and my daughter spend around $250 per month for Groceries and Personal hygiene items, and believe me we are not going without.
Of course i do 90% of the food preparation and cooking i hate using the dish washer, and i recycle like mad.
This food bill includes $30 per month for Fresh Dog food (ground fresh chicken or turkey) i dont mean to sound borish here, but unless you are eating Prime Rib every second night and boozing yourself silly,,i dont see how anyones food bill can be more expensive than mine.
Personal choice i guess.
I have had to seriously curtail my spending habits since i was put on the Disability pension, but i am making it work,and i see it getting even cheaper once i am aboard boat full time.

[NorthPacific]

Nemo, that is fantastic. Costs in the North are very much higher then. 400 to five hundred would be our food for a month and I would be happy.

[Blue Crab]

I can see we have some newish posters aboard this thread. A few observations:

1) The repetitive questions from having not read all pages results in Indy re-posting previous "answers". It's my personal pet peeve and cross-to-bear that people post on CF without reading the whole threads. I say it's unseamanlike.

2) Many do not know that per Indy, this is his "blog", rather than another thread in the forum. This is apparent when reading Indy's extravagant posts. I have often wondered why Indy chose this forum rather than just post to a real blog as so many others have and do. I assume Indy is writing a book along the lines of Hiscock, the Pardeys, Hal Roth, and the others. Indy has a great deal of good info, and he's a smart guy, and a circumnavigator so he has real street cred with me. You know there's a but coming: but his approach has alienated many posters and resulted in vast rehashing of the sos.

3) Many readers dislike the naysayers opining one can't really live on $500 a month. I think that is true and I'm a low-budget guy with a 25' boat. I have more than $500/mo available and spend virtually every penny, and have a long want list. My "need" list is shorter. Every million years or so, I go out to eat. Yesterday, I had 3 real tacos and 2 Coronas: $11 bucks; hardly an expansive meal.

Last week, my courageous dog Nosy, of beagle lineage, had two broken teeth removed: $172 bucks. Throw in my cell phone bill and I've spent over 2/5 of the mythical monthly outgo. No dog? Well, life happens. Say someone steals your oars. Or your bike. You should have locked those oars but you tried to save a little dough for food. Or beer.

4) In my experience, the few people who actually can live extraordinarily cheaply do so in a way that most of us don't want to live. Maybe they're mystics, or vegans, or yogis, or all three combined. And they're not downoading books on their Kindles. The other side of that coin are the boat bums on the derelicts. The boats didn't start out that way but maintenance suffers from lack of funds and the boats fall apart, as they say, one day at a time.

5) Do your homework and be realistic.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by tgzzzz

I can see we have some newish posters aboard this thread. A few observations:

1) The repetitive questions from having not read all pages results in Indy re-posting previous "answers". It's my personal pet peeve and cross-to-bear that people post on CF without reading the whole threads. I say it's unseamanlike.

Read every post in the thread? Lol! life is too short

IMO their is much value in repetition from differing sources, folks always have a different slant - even if the message still the same......otherwise it's simply listening to a longggggggg lecture .

[callmecrazy]

so, you're saying it can't be done comfortably while owning a dog and paying an outrageous cell phone bill? Duly noted.

I pay $45 a month for unlimited data/cell usage (which can double as an internet connection for the laptop). Anyone in the US can do the same.

$11 buys a fifth of rum and 3 days worth of taco fixings.

Dogs can't help pay the bills... if you require committed companionship, get a girlfriend.

Whether INDY believes this is HIS thread or not is absolutely irrelevant. Anyone can post here at any time, for any reason (pertaining to the topic). Nobody should be expected to read 194 pages consisting of mostly droll and arguments just to answer a single question or make a comment.

People don't have to become monks or yogis to live on $500 a month. I make a grand total of $1000 a month and still eat meat (and eat very well overall), drink on a regular/limited basis, pay rent, drive a car, keep a cell phone, and have insurance. And yet, I'm still able to continually buy parts for the boat and also stow money in the bank for the future. All on about a $650 a month budget. I can live exactly the same while cruising, minus the $200 a month rent.

This week I spent $200 on a new depth sounder. In the next week or two I'll be buying a $350 anchor. How can I afford these things? because I live on $500 a month, I save money from each paycheck, I know how to maintain a working budget, and I excel at finding the most bang for the buck.

It's really not that difficult, and personally I don't find it uncomfortable at all. The only thing uncomfortable is the boat repair stuff, but eventually that will end and the cruising will begin.

[Nemo55]

My kinda people...

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

so, you're saying it can't be done comfortably while owning a dog and paying an outrageous cell phone bill? Duly noted.

I pay $45 a month for unlimited data/cell usage (which can double as an internet connection for the laptop). Anyone in the US can do the same.

$11 buys a fifth of rum and 3 days worth of taco fixings.

Dogs can't help pay the bills... if you require committed companionship, get a girlfriend.

Whether INDY believes this is HIS thread or not is absolutely irrelevant. Anyone can post here at any time, for any reason (pertaining to the topic). Nobody should be expected to read 194 pages consisting of mostly droll and arguments just to answer a single question or make a comment.

People don't have to become monks or yogis to live on $500 a month. I make a grand total of $1000 a month and still eat meat (and eat very well overall), drink on a regular/limited basis, pay rent, drive a car, keep a cell phone, and have insurance. And yet, I'm still able to continually buy parts for the boat and also stow money in the bank for the future. All on about a $650 a month budget. I can live exactly the same while cruising, minus the $200 a month rent.

This week I spent $200 on a new depth sounder. In the next week or two I'll be buying a $350 anchor. How can I afford these things? because I live on $500 a month, I save money from each paycheck, I know how to maintain a working budget, and I excel at finding the most bang for the buck.

It's really not that difficult, and personally I don't find it uncomfortable at all. The only thing uncomfortable is the boat repair stuff, but eventually that will end and the cruising will begin.

[Morganministry]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Read every post in the thread? Lol! life is too short

I agree. The thought of reading 2909 posts before leaving a comment is ridiculous.

Although I have read all of them. (forgotten most) But only because I joined the thread early on.

Scott

[avb3]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Nemo, that is fantastic. Costs in the North are very much higher then. 400 to five hundred would be our food for a month and I would be happy.

Living just outside of Edmonton, AB, as a single I spend 95-150/ month on food and personal hygiene items.

I found making choices like no processed (other then ham) foods, and learning how to make inexpensive cuts of meat tasty goes a long way and helps a lot. Last month I actually only spent $93 (yes, I keep track).

Want to make meat go further? When I buy chicken breasts, I will cut in half. To make it "look" like a lot, I will pound out that half chicken breast flat, spice it, stick it under the broiler, and it will fill up half the plate, but in reality it is only half a chicken breast.

Frugal and healthy

I'm not a little guy... 6'4" and 228 lbs. Mind you, I bake my own bread, make my own noodles, and buy bulk stuff if on sale, and only if on sale. Oh, and I don't drink alcohol, so that helps tons too.

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by avb3

Living just outside of Edmonton, AB, as a single I spend 95-150/ month on food and personal hygiene items.

I found making choices like no processed (other then ham) foods, and learning how to make inexpensive cuts of meat tasty goes a long way and helps a lot. Last month I actually only spent $93 (yes, I keep track).

Want to make meat go further? When I buy chicken breasts, I will cut in half. To make it "look" like a lot, I will pound out that half chicken breast flat, spice it, stick it under the broiler, and it will fill up half the plate, but in reality it is only half a chicken breast.

Frugal and healthy

I'm not a little guy... 6'4" and 228 lbs. Mind you, I bake my own bread, make my own noodles, and buy bulk stuff if on sale, and only if on sale. Oh, and I don't drink alcohol, so that helps tons too.

It's been discussed a bit in this thread, but I think there's a lot of people who can't understand how much cheaper it is to make everything from scratch. Not only is it cheaper, it's about 1000x's healthier. I don't have an oven or broiler, but I still make my own breads and tortilla's and I make my own sauces from fresh stuff instead of buying canned. But for the most part, I just eat really simple. A piece of meat and some veggies on the grill is a meal fit for a king. People hear the phrase 'beans and rice' and they think of something auful, but having lived in New Orleans for so many years, I know a thing or two about making beans and rice one of the best meals in the galley And then I mix it up even more, using quinoa, barley, lentils... Everytime I make a soup it blows my mind just how delicious and healthy very simple ingredients can be. Then there's always egg's n toast, or PB&J. But with the various stir-frys, and everything else I regularly eat, I have yet to find a plateau and I remain on budget most every week.

I do occasionally eat at restaraunts, but I'm never happy with the quality of food and always tell myself I'll never do it again

[Nemo55]

Ever since my Cardiac adventure,,i have eaten a healthy heart diet, and i swear i have put on over 50 pounds,,i am now looking towards dieting and lots of walking.
Like Callmecrazy, I make all my own sauces, marinades, soups, stews, Baking, etc etc,,,and i love my own food which probably accounts for the weight gain and that takes care of My University enrolled Daughter as well.
I know it will be a challenge when i move aboard boat, but i am looking forward to adventures in Maritime Cooking,,,,

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

It's been discussed a bit in this thread, but I think there's a lot of people who can't understand how much cheaper it is to make everything from scratch. Not only is it cheaper, it's about 1000x's healthier. I don't have an oven or broiler, but I still make my own breads and tortilla's and I make my own sauces from fresh stuff instead of buying canned. But for the most part, I just eat really simple. A piece of meat and some veggies on the grill is a meal fit for a king. People hear the phrase 'beans and rice' and they think of something auful, but having lived in New Orleans for so many years, I know a thing or two about making beans and rice one of the best meals in the galley And then I mix it up even more, using quinoa, barley, lentils... Everytime I make a soup it blows my mind just how delicious and healthy very simple ingredients can be. Then there's always egg's n toast, or PB&J. But with the various stir-frys, and everything else I regularly eat, I have yet to find a plateau and I remain on budget most every week.

I do occasionally eat at restaraunts, but I'm never happy with the quality of food and always tell myself I'll never do it again

[Bluefuss]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

so, you're saying it can't be done comfortably while owning a dog and paying an outrageous cell phone bill? Duly noted.

I pay $45 a month for unlimited data/cell usage (which can double as an internet connection for the laptop). Anyone in the US can do the same.

$11 buys a fifth of rum and 3 days worth of taco fixings.

Dogs can't help pay the bills... if you require committed companionship, get a girlfriend.

Whether INDY believes this is HIS thread or not is absolutely irrelevant. Anyone can post here at any time, for any reason (pertaining to the topic). Nobody should be expected to read 194 pages consisting of mostly droll and arguments just to answer a single question or make a comment.

People don't have to become monks or yogis to live on $500 a month. I make a grand total of $1000 a month and still eat meat (and eat very well overall), drink on a regular/limited basis, pay rent, drive a car, keep a cell phone, and have insurance. And yet, I'm still able to continually buy parts for the boat and also stow money in the bank for the future. All on about a $650 a month budget. I can live exactly the same while cruising, minus the $200 a month rent.

This week I spent $200 on a new depth sounder. In the next week or two I'll be buying a $350 anchor. How can I afford these things? because I live on $500 a month, I save money from each paycheck, I know how to maintain a working budget, and I excel at finding the most bang for the buck.

It's really not that difficult, and personally I don't find it uncomfortable at all. The only thing uncomfortable is the boat repair stuff, but eventually that will end and the cruising will begin.

And I just spent the morning trying to explain to Telus that $190.00 a month is to much for unlimited cell and limited data

[Bluefuss]

If Nemo and avb3 were to get together and write a cooking/lifestyle book, I would pay money for a copy. In the meantime maybe just a new thread to teach me how to feed myself without boring myself to death, on a budget.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

I do occasionally eat at restaraunts, but I'm never happy with the quality of food and always tell myself I'll never do it again

The fundamental compromise with restaurant food (even the high end ones) is that the menu / plate must be designed to be capable of being made and served in fairly high volumes, and much of it within limited a timescale.....and to the tastes of many people.

Of course that means absolutely fantastic meals can be created (but not always / usually?) - but also it means that restaurant food is by design self-limiting.

The big advantage that a home cook working on a small scale has over any restaurant Chef (no matter how many Michelin Stars ) is being restricted only by own imagination & talents - with having no timescale dictated by others............of course results may vary , so not always Michelin starred quality - but can easily be better .