Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by goprisko

Food $ 150
and PLEASE examine the below
photo to reinforce why you might do this...

INDY

No wonder the girl is so slim.

My grocery bill at home was always over $150 per month just for myself. Nicolle is pretty good 'on the fang'.
Can people really cut down on food that much by fishing in areas fast becoming no fishing zones, or need fishing licences etc?

You mention the Pardy's first boat. That sailed in the 1960's. Do you really think their budget then is relevant today?

[Mariness]

Originally Posted by Surveyor

Personally, I would fish nearly constantly. Fishing in exotic places, as well as while in transit, is a big part of why I want to go on such an adventure in the first place. Catching fish, crabs and other crustaceans could offset a lot of food costs while adding entertainment value. I would want to invest in fishing/snorkeling equipment, a couple of cast nets, a couple of bait traps and a sturdy dink with an over sized anchor. A hookah rig might not be a bad investment either.

Fishing and cruising, a perfect match and a means to achieve a realistic $500/mo budget.

Okay, I forgot about fishing. J has told me that cruising with his dad they had to throw back almost everything, caught way more than 2 could eat so they kept what they preferred, and quit trying when the fridge was full. So I like fish - that helps the budget out!

[AnchorageGuy]

Surveyor, I can comment after nearly 20 years of extensive cruising that if you plan on mostly feeding yourself from the seas, you most assuredly will loose a lot of weight.

[Eleven]

goprisko, you've obviously been around a good bit. One thing intrigues me, 'trading', not in the beads and gee-gaws line but what sort of stuff is worth carrying for trade.
Is a saw, axe, hammer and nails still a commodity that's a fair exchange for dried fish or meat, even a part of that piglet, or just some fresh fruit and vegetables.
The sort of stuff that will be of value to the receipient and not cost too much in weight or cash to the 'hungry' sailor.

[Surveyor]

Originally Posted by Waterwayguy

Surveyor, I can comment after nearly 20 years of extensive cruising that if you plan on mostly feeding yourself from the seas, you most assuredly will loose a lot of weight.

Well, I could stand to loose a few pounds here and there!

I dont plan to survive by fishing, that would be foolish. I was merely offering a way to stretch the budget....for those inclined to trying to sail away on a small pocketbook. I will fish everywhere I go cuz I love it and I love to eat fish rather than mammals. I have no desire to try to live on $500 a month whilst cruising either. $500 will barely cover my alcoholic beverages! hic....

[rover88]

Given that $500 is a generous monthly income in most developing countries, I would say that such a budget is possible if cruising in a small boat in the right places. When living in Costa Rica in the late 90s, my average food budget was $120 a month and that included plenty of meat and eating out a few times a week. A tight budget will go much further in Latin America than in the Caribbean, where much of the food is imported. It's a question of how you want to live and if you prefer to experience local cultures rather than the expensive expat lifestyle, then $500 a month would do.

[Mariness]

Well, local cultures is a big part of why we want to go -- I can sit in a marina here if that's all I want to do!
I just wonder if (alongside the caught fish) it's mostly rice-&-beans, which I can get along on if our budget needs it, or if there was room in that $500 for a little variety.

[agrainofsand]

I have a Downeast 32 cutter rig. I am almost 62 and retired. I am going to cruise the rest of my life some where it is warm. The downeast 32 @ 17000 lbs displacement will carry a lot of gear and will handle heavy seas well. It is well equiped with new Furuno Radar and chartplotter GPS, Simrad tiller pilot, 360 watts of solar panel with a 2500 watt inverter. 2 ice boxes and a small refrigerator. It also has a 8' Livingston hard double hull dinghy w/ 2.5 hp Yamaha. DO YOU THINK I'LL MAKE IT TO THE SOUTH SEAS?

[pressuredrop]

Originally Posted by agrainofsand

DO YOU THINK I'LL MAKE IT TO THE SOUTH SEAS?

YESSSSS!!!! and ill see you down there some day!

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by Mariness

I just wonder if (alongside the caught fish) it's mostly rice-&-beans, which I can get along on if our budget needs it, or if there was room in that $500 for a little variety.

Decent sauces & dried spices.

A lot of sauces come bottled or packaged or you can store the ingredients to make your own sauce. They cost very little, are easily stored and can liven up most food.

Thinking about the UK recession in 1991/2 I was out of work for 8 months and the wife was not able to earn as she was on courses. At one point we were struggling badly and cut the food budget right back. I remember our greatest "triumph" to this very day. We made one chicken do 20 meals. Like so

We bought lots of root vegetables - onions, carrots, parsnips, etc, herbs like parsely and grains like rice and barley. These were are relatively cheap compared to meat.

The breasts covered 4 meals, 1/2 a breast per meal which we did with a home made sweet&sour sauce, onions & rice. The legs were stripped for curry which made another 4 meals. The remainder of the carcass and meat was boiled then barley, root veg, onions, leeks, parsley and celery were added to make a big pot of cock-a-leekie soup which came out at 12 portions and was usually eaten with bread. We froze the soup in portions of two and it lasted a few weeks.

It wasn't lavish, but we did not starve, we ate well and we never went hungry.

You can easily stretch a food budget. I have always done the cooking (I'm doing some right now) and although the budget is not as tight as it was 20 years ago, I know our shopping bill is a lot less than our friends simply because I never buy ready made meals. I buy simple fresh vegetables and cook everything myself. The "vat" of food I am making now will be split and some will go in the freezer in lunch-sized portions so that I can take them to work in the week and microwave them.

It is a matter of planning and being prepared to cook moderately well.

[rover88]

$500 will barely cover my alcoholic beverages! hic....

Ahhh, therein lies the rub. I have read many cruising budgets where alcohol represents a sizable portion of the budget.

I lived for some time along the northeast coast of Costa Rica - a place with a sizable expat community. Many of the retirees would drink themselves into oblivion each night, sleep most of the day and repeat the process at sunset.

A $500 crusing budget leaves little or nothing for alcohol, but then if you want a shoestring budget, sacrafices will be made. Anyway, what's the point of living in paradise if you are constantly smashed?

[Surveyor]

Originally Posted by rover88

A $500 crusing budget leaves little or nothing for alcohol, but then if you want a shoestring budget, sacrafices will be made. Anyway, what's the point of living in paradise if you are constantly smashed?

It was a joke

[Mariness]

mintyspilot that IS impressive! We try to avoid the convenience foods, but clearly you're operating on a whole different plane!

[agrainofsand]

Beans, rice, and a few tuber root type vegies along with what fish can be caught is a very healthy and cheap way to eat. And it will aford you a cold beer a day.

[rover88]

Originally Posted by Surveyor

It was a joke

Of course I realized it was tongue in cheek, but that does not diminsh the point of either of our posts.....

Alcohol = chunk of $500 budget

Too Much = what's the point????