Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by w1651

SSSSM ? What is that?

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...oup-27800.html

[cliffdykes]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

This thread has been alive a while and I haven't really seen much answer to the $500/mo cruising in a while.

So what is the opinon here after all this. Is it possible to cruise on $500/mo in a way that is not the "back-packing life". For us that are not on the young side of our life is the risk of doing without that this budget means worth it, from an enjoyable experience and risk to health (since I doubt health insurance can be included in the $500/mo)?

Er, in short, no.
You might be very lucky and get away with $500/month being your maintenance budget (until your forestay gives way - ask MarkJ).
Otherwise, treble it and you might be coming close to a sensible minimum overall budget.
IMHO.

Cheers
Cliff

[boatman61]

Well I find mine goes up and down.... when I'm in the money it can rise to $250/wk... but thats doing the bars and getting into doing rounds... always a killer... but then I've spent 3mths on my boat in NC on less than $100/mth.. ate basic and bought a coupla 6pks a week... but I reckon taken over a period of 10yrs it'd probably be around that mark.. under $500
I love a good binge now and then... till I get bored again and head off..

[conachair]

Just to put a slightly different perspective on the thread...

Can't be bothered to check these statistics but think they may be vaguely right.

Only 10% of the world population live in the "rich corporate west"
Almost half the worlds population lives on less than $2.50 a day
80% of people live on less than $10 a day.

Of course you can run a boat on $500 a month. It might be stuck together with bits of duct tape until you learn how to do everything yourself. If you want to live like a pampered westerner on that money then probably not.

Sorry for the almost rant, but now and again it does no harm to remember how increadably lucky we are to live in such luxury as we do.

[Springbok]

How many have been completely put off ever trying to cruise because of the opinions that it can't be done on$500/mnth? I think those nervous to try have even joined the nayers.Sad, only you can make a dream come true and you don't have to have everything you have on land. Nervous without insurance and medical aid? stay home and watch ball on tv.
Clyde

[cliffdykes]

Originally Posted by conachair

Just to put a slightly different perspective on the thread...

Can't be bothered to check these statistics but think they may be vaguely right.

Only 10% of the world population live in the "rich corporate west"
Almost half the worlds population lives on less than $2.50 a day
80% of people live on less than $10 a day.

Of course you can run a boat on $500 a month. It might be stuck together with bits of duct tape until you learn how to do everything yourself. If you want to live like a pampered westerner on that money then probably not.

Sorry for the almost rant, but now and again it does no harm to remember how increadably lucky we are to live in such luxury as we do.

I completely agree with you that we are very lucky to come from the "first world". Having got used to it, however, I doubt that the vast majority of people who read and contribute to this forum would be prepared to live as the 80% of the world's population do who live on less than $10/day or whatever the statistics say. That's just reality.

And Boatman 61 shows that it is possible however again most people on this forum don't cruise in 21 foot or in my case 28 foot boats - costs go up probably exponentially in relation to waterline length. And maintenance costs tend to be the highest single item in cruising costs.

And of course it really depends on what you're doing. Most can probably live on $500/month at a push if you just stay in one place, preferably in the tropics. But genuine cruisers tend to move around and then things tend to break and need fixing.

It's another of those "how long is a piece of string" threads really. I've changed to a smaller, simpler boat in an attempt to bring costs within the reach of my own personal limits. I've no idea whether it'll work but it's worth trying rather than giving up on the dream of a cruising lifestyle!

Cheers
Cliff

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by Springbok

How many have been completely put off ever trying to cruise because of the opinions that it can't be done on$500/mnth? I think those nervous to try have even joined the nayers.Sad, only you can make a dream come true and you don't have to have everything you have on land. Nervous without insurance and medical aid? stay home and watch ball on tv.
Clyde

exactly.

the majority of cruisers out there cannot live on $500/mo, thats why they worked until retirement and chose their very nice cruising boats etc... But there are many people who can live on less and have not become cruisers yet (and many people who are doing it right now, but don't have a website, a book, or an interest in sailing forums)

I currently live on less than $500 (without paying rent). Only by living this way, was I able to save up and buy a sailboat... no reason to stop now.
And BTW, I still have a bottle of wine or a 6pack once or twice a week... I don't eat out of cans and I'm not a vegetarian...It's not that difficult and I am not suffering

The biggest challenge is waiting, I have to wait to save up for the gear I want, and wait to save up for my adventures. But it's much better (for me) waiting a few months for each step forward, than to wait until retirement before I even try.

With that said, I'm budgeting/saving for approximately $800 to $1000 a month cruising funds, just to be safe. That means I can't pick up and sail around the world, but I can still live the cruising life at least 6 months out of the year

[boatman61]

LOL... my boat size is hopefully a temporary thing 'Cliff'...
until late 2008 I was living on a 35ftr... and before that from 30-37ftr's..
Boat Budget like Cruising Budget is vulnerable to changing conditions..

[w1651]

My five year plan for a 500 a month cruising consists of
1. Learn to sail in all kinds of weather. Take out boat every weekend regardless of cold and wet. 30 to 35 ft boat with heavy duty rigging and plenty of sail and sail tape.Hurricanes mean get out of the way of course.

2. Save save save and invest. I have a over seas investment account that does really well and they take money monthly towards it. Average yield this year was 5%. Pay off all debt and stay out of debt.

3. Learn learn learn,Take some coast guard classes on safety and navigation.

4. Gear up the boat. Long hauls mean more spare parts and rigging. Tanks need to be clean, large, with plenty of spare pump and engine parts. Make the Boat livable by making it simple and practical. Increase stowage and battery capacity as well as electrical charging for batteries.Did I mention extra parts?

5. Sell my business and down size my life. No more car use a bike and a dingy to get on shore and provisioned.

6. Kiss it all goodbye. Go to where the sun sets and life is good. Have a well thought out travel plan and don't be afraid to divert to a more local less touristy part of paradise.

7. Give Friends, Family, Government and Harbor pilots the Bird as I sail out of Tampa Bay Florida..

8. By any of my friends on CF a drink when our paths cross.

I'm sure I left something out but you all get the picture.

[Ram]

I think to respond to this worn out threat we must start from the first post -=Lets define cruising= it means traveling on the water, not staying in one place- $500 a month average year in and year out including maintaining the vessel is simply not realistic-even silly to think it can be done- especially if you’re a circumnavigator-traveling thru lots of different countries -as was implied in the first post- Lets be real for the Average or even below average cruiser it cannot be done unless you stop eating- and nothing breaks you stay in one place and dumpster dive - Costs For me in my off season are –( no charters)- I spend $125 a week on food alone and that’s just grocery’s I bring it home and cook from scratch-no alcohol-but quality fresh food-

I’m a frugal person by nature , I do all my own work, don’t stay at pay marinas often( so I will not include but if I did include that cost is about $150 a month), I do sail mostly & motor when necessary- I have a relatively new boat 4+ years old now and things are starting to break, this year I spent about $125 a month on repairs and all Maintenance- I spend about $150 on fuel (off season)I spend about $250 a month on insurance, Customs charges very- but if I’m traveling a lot could be $50+ a month easy-transportation costs on land $50, high speed internet $65
Anyway bottom line for me off season is about $ 1265 at a minimum – and I think that’s about as cheap as you’re going to get – as my vessel gets older the cost is going to increase quite a bit-

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by Ram

I think to respond to this worn out threat we must start from the first post -=Lets define cruising= it means traveling on the water, not staying in one place- $500 a month average year in and year out including maintaining the vessel is simply not realistic-even silly to think it can be done- especially if you’re a circumnavigator-traveling thru lots of different countries -as was implied in the first post- Lets be real for the Average or even below average cruiser it cannot be done unless you stop eating- and nothing breaks you stay in one place and dumpster dive - Costs For me in my off season are –( no charters)- I spend $125 a week on food alone and that’s just grocery’s I bring it home and cook from scratch-no alcohol-but quality fresh food-

I’m a frugal person by nature , I do all my own work, don’t stay at pay marinas often( so I will not include but if I did include that cost is about $150 a month), I do sail mostly & motor when necessary- I have a relatively new boat 4+ years old now and things are starting to break, this year I spent about $125 a month on repairs and all Maintenance- I spend about $150 on fuel (off season)I spend about $250 a month on insurance, Customs charges very- but if I’m traveling a lot could be $50+ a month easy-transportation costs on land $50, high speed internet $65
Anyway bottom line for me off season is about $ 1265 at a minimum – and I think that’s about as cheap as you’re going to get – as my vessel gets older the cost is going to increase quite a bit-

By that definition, people who do 10 year, and 12 year circumnavigations are not "real" cruisers since they often stay in one place for up to a few years at a time. right?

6 months of travelling combined with 6 months of staying in place (and working) can easily average out to $500 (or so) per month total expenses, because you won't have the travel expenses half the year. And living on a boat is free, or close to it, the other half.

Not everybody needs a 40+ cat... A small monohull will not have a significant monthly maintenance expense. And when something 'big' breaks, it will be about 6 times cheaper to fix/replace than on a boat that size...

Also, having a little saved up for emergencies, big repairs, and travelling back home, does not necessarily raise your average monthly expenses... Put a way a few grand first, outfit the boat well first, then start budgeting for monthly living and travel expenses...

The Original question was simply a challenge to see if anyone could come up with ways to make $500 a month a reasonable cruising budget.

So here it is. If you have that type of budget simplyDon't worry about a circumnavigation, or being a "real" cruiser.

Pick a region and cruise it....
Spend a year traveling around central america.
Spend 6 months, island hopping in the Caribbean or the Bahamas.
Take a few years to do SE asia.
etc...
Even work towards a circumnavigation by traveling for a 6 months at a time, and working your way around.

I think the question has been answered already earlier in this thread. Some people could do it, others simply can't...

[sailorboy1]

What I think we really learned on this thread overall is that if you ask a question, and then don't get the answers you wanted; then the people providing the answers are idiots!

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

What I think we really learned on this thread overall is that if you ask a question, and then don't get the answers you wanted; then the people providing the answers are idiots!

I think we already knew that before this thread

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

What I think we really learned on this thread overall is that if you ask a question, and then don't get the answers you wanted; then the people providing the answers are idiots!

Why dya think we choose this life....lmbo

[nonam]

Ram is probably right in that you cannot cruise on $500 a month in the mediterranean (unless maybe you keep mostly to the south side)