Total Cruising Kitty

[valhalla360]

Without getting into investment specifics, you are really pushing that $300k hard to pull that much out on a permanent basis. Maybe you are an investment savant and can do it but I wouldn't be comfortable with that little. As others have suggested, $500k is probably a lot more realistic. The nice thing is with 2 professionals and a tight budget, it should only take a couple extra years if the markets are up (as the $300k will start adding substantially to the total growth in the kitty)

As far as your budget, it can be done but it's going to take a very modest financial lifestyle. Every financial choice will have to be given a lot of thought and you will have to pass up on many great experiences you won't be able to afford. As someone else suggested, think permanent camping and not hiring anything out. Bump that up to $2500-3000/month and things change a lot.

Now if you plan to return to the working world after 3-5yrs or doing a small amount of supplemental work (not for other cruisers), that's a much different situation. If you can set yourselves up, I could easily see you pulling in $20k/yr and that makes the $2500-3000/month budget very easily atainable and gives you options to return to your careers if and when you want to.

[Crazcarl]

Thank for the advice Valhalla360. That what I have been trying to decide; if it is too tight or if others in a similar situation have/are doing it. I wouldn't want to put my family in too tight of circumstances where we have to come back to and with nothing but the boat. We have worked hard to get where we are. Maybe we will look at the numbers again and see if there is more we can do.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Crazcarl

Thank for the advice Valhalla360. That what I have been trying to decide; if it is too tight or if others in a similar situation have/are doing it. I wouldn't want to put my family in too tight of circumstances where we have to come back to and with nothing but the boat. We have worked hard to get where we are. Maybe we will look at the numbers again and see if there is more we can do.

There are people doing it and some even claim to be happy.

I used to enjoy tenting but even when younger, it was for a few days, not months on end.

Really looking at what you expect the lifestyle to be and making sure the wife and kids are in full agreement (not just giving in to your dream) will give you a much better idea of how to set up your buget and that will drive the kitty size.

[a64pilot]

A lot of this Kitty stuff has to do with age, length of cruising and whether it's a Retirement or a hiatus from work for a while.
I'll be old when we go, there will be no coming back to work. I plan on having 500K invested, I have my Military Retirement, we both have small 401K's that we can get access to after we are gone a few years and she has a tiny teaching Retirement, plus we hope SS will still be around.
One thing that makes being old different is the realization that eventually the cruising will most likely end one day, and by that time the boat won't be worth much, so there needs to be enough money to buy something to live in, possibly some kind of assisted living situation, as we will both be too old to work.

Now if I were young and would be returning to work, then needs are a whole lot less, we could literally simply go until we ran out of money, then return to work for a while and go again. lots more options when your young.

I bring this up only to further complicate things, that someones else's "number" may not be applicable to you at all, situations as well as boat and lifestyle factor in.

[Steve Bean]

Please check out Divers Action Network (DAN). A great outfit; you don't have to be divers.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

A lot of this Kitty stuff has to do with age, length of cruising and whether it's a Retirement or a hiatus from work for a while.
...

Good post.

One thing young people should think about is their kids education and not just after high school either. Some kids special needs are not seen until well into their school years which makes it hard to plan around. However, one should be asking the question about what do you do if you have unexpected expenses for the boat, health care AND kids expenses. The first two I think are rather obvious. The last one, maybe not so much.

Later,
Dan

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Crazcarl

I bag all my lunches and get the free coffee at work.

I put my foot down when it comes to drinking office swill!

FWIW... we are also looking at a little over 500 when we leave for good.

Although we are young in cruiser terms(45), it will not be practical to expect that I would be able to find IT work after many years out of the business. Things just move too fast - by the time I hand them my resignation and walk out the door I'll already be a dinosaur. In fact, every day I feel little more like a dino running away from an asteroid impact. The future is going to happen, it's inevitable, so why not embrace it?

We are going to try and live very cheaply for many years, picking up 2 or 3 months of IT work every year until we feel we have enough steady income to let go. The "1st world" economy is all about temp employment now anyhow.

[a64pilot]

The ONLY reason I'm waiting is to get the youngest in College, I figure I owe her a stable home environment and to allow her to finish going to school where she is, it's a good prep school, and she is holding her end up and studying and getting good grades.
Truth is I may not make it two years, I'm about ready to tell the boss to "take this job and shove it"

[laika]

Echoing others here in sayin it's really variable! Personally, I like the quote "the gap between more and enough never closes". You dont really meet people out there who wish they'd waited longer and the people with lower expenses aren't having any less fun. Get what you feel you'll need to be comfortable and start moving

There are also a widening variety of "careers" to pursue from the water these days. Though it's not always been easy IME, I'm 32 and have been doing website work from the boat for a couple years now (coming from a farming / philosophy background). Naturally, the trick is balancing the job with cruising. if you can swing it, project based IT work is really a great way to go.

Anyway, if the cruising lifestyle is what you and the fam want more long-term then by my reckoning it's more doable than ever to adapt and make it sustainable. But my bit is that the sooner you figure out if it is in fact what you want, the more flexibility you'll have to adapt and make it work.

And damn, it sounds like PSA has got it down! How he managed to scrap together his boat in 5 weeks and do a major refit while in motion has me in awe!!

[Crazcarl]

Yeah, that is why I want the larger kitty, in case there are unforeseen problems or health issues. As far as the schooling goes, I paid my way through and am expecting my kids to do so also. I feel it teaches you to respect schooling much more when it is you paying for it. I also want to start before my first kid (prob one more before we leave) starts school. My wife is an elementary teacher.

My schooling is in business/marketing with a masters in industrial engineering and my career in consumer product testing. Hoping, if I have to come back I am not too out of date. We are planning on two years, and if that goes well, then as long as we can and still live comfortably and safely.

I take my cream and sugar with some coffee, so the office isn't too bad

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Truth is I may not make it two years, I'm about ready to tell the boss to "take this job and shove it"

Just wait till you can see the cruise just around the corner, that's when your work attitude really takes a nose dive

[Boathooked]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

The ONLY reason I'm waiting is to get the youngest in College, I figure I owe her a stable home environment and to allow her to finish going to school where she is, it's a good prep school, and she is holding her end up and studying and getting good grades.
Truth is I may not make it two years, I'm about ready to tell the boss to "take this job and shove it"

My fiance and I are doing something similar. We will not be striking out completely in three years when her youngest heads off to college but we will be transitioning to a smaller home, less bills, and a boat in FL we can live on for 1/2 the year. Then we transition into near-fulltime liveaboard, though she does want some sort of small permanent land-hold for her kids/grand kids (she has three kiddo's).

Will be an interesting journey regardless!

[Belaurora]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Just wait till you can see the cruise just around the corner, that's when your work attitude really takes a nose dive

I'll bet!!

[tightgroup]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Then I have a Lucent stock certificate for twenty shares I purchased back in 2000 I'd like to sell you. I think I paid $1400... How's $700 sound?

Can I trade for my Nortel stock ???

[fSymo]

Great thread! Where are you now?? Your adoring public wants to know!

I'm just a noob with a dream, but it sounds like you each have skills and the ability to make a few bucks while you're out there, or at least trade some service to keep your maintenance costs low. From what I've read, if you take it slow, meet good people, and have a good attitude, anything is possible. Worst case, you go anchor off of Florida, take a job for a year and get back to cruising with a full kitty.

I'm just jealous is what I'm saying. I'd love to have a young family and 300k to roll with, that would be plenty for a single guy like me (unless some jerk hits my boat and the insurance expired yesterday).

Frankly, it sounds like you can make the dream happen. I hope you have already!