Month 52 Expenses of Cruising and Living on the Boat

[sailorboy1]

Spent the month on a mooring in Marathon/Boot Key. Planning to head over to the Bahamas in next week or so, which means we have been stocking up. It was Christmas in this month so there are grifts involved and I tried to account for money we spent and gifts we received on each other and categorize them and only use “Gifts” for money we spent over that.

General living - Grocery, beer, supply runs, sundries, clothes, “other” etc. for the month were high as we stocked the panty and have months of food on the boat.

Boat costs were fairly low. Got some general type of stuff like oil and the biggest part of boat cost was replacing/upgrading the galley sink faucet.

Dining out and entertainment costs were normal range with get togethers with our fellow boat scum and Happy Hours off the boat in general.

Entertainment was a few movie rentals, kindle books, online streaming subscription and the biggest part was a new Chromebook.

Communication was cell phones with internet and data.

Marina cost was a month at Boot Key/Marathon.

Medical/dental was just a copay and parking charge to go have the heart guy tell me I’m fat.

Transportation costs were gas and tolls for the car, plus we sold our car so ended up with a big credit amount this month. This whole buy a car and later sell it experiment appears to have worked out. In the past 12 months we spent $3086 on transportation and the 12 months prior to that we spent $3373. So, it was a savings to have the car plus the massive convenience. But I only did this because the virus had us stuck in one place for 6 months.

The total expenses were $ 2,072.91, which is among our lowest due to selling the car and would have been around $4400 otherwise. Cost breakdown as follows for planners and hecklers and spreadsheet attached:

General Living - Food, soda, alcohol, clothing, sundries, other - $ 1,845.17
Boat costs - upgrades, repairs, maintenance - $ 248.42
Fuel (diesel, gas, propane) - $ 50.34
Dining and drinking out - $ 397.95
Entertainment - $ 382.04
Communication, storage, shipping - $ 147.62
Fees – $ -48.81
Marina - $ 348.30
Electric - $ 0
Medical - $ 13.00
Transportation and travel - $ -2,196.74
Gifts - $ 463.72
Water - $ 0
Registration - $ 0
Insurance - $ 409

[Allan S]

Nice breakdown! Warning about Bahamas; a package of three rolls of paper towels cost us $19 US a few years ago. Stock up on that plus TP. We were shocked. Have a fun and safe trip

[RickG]

I like the idea of buying a car and then selling it. I still remember the looks I got carrying lumber down the sidewalk from Home Depot. Marathon was one of the most convenient places we stayed. The pumpout boat, access to decent water, Publix, Home Depot, dinghy to beach, and easy day sails were great. The cruiser community is up there with Georgetown and Grenada.

Cheers, RickG

[AA3JY]

Thanks for adding a line item:electrical expense ..gives a better understanding of (true) marina expenses..if applicable..

[ShinyHappy]

This is great info for those of us trying to move in that direction, I read it every month.

For those of us that came into this late, are you able to recap any assumptions you've made, if your spending habits are made with an eye towards savings in any way, or any thought processes you use when spending. You probably outlined it at the beginning, but I couldn't find it. Thanks.

[NPCampbell]

Just curious as to why your "fees" category is negative? Inflows?

[Pandor]

Don, I’m new to your threads. I appreciate you taking the time to share. Especially since I can’t even bother to track my own expenses.

Can you provide a little context? What is your current boat and how many aboard?

[riverwave]

Don, thanks for sharing the expense. It gives much better understanding of live aboard/docking.
Interesting way of saving on Buy and Sell a car. How long is the stay period you think it is worth the effort?
I will for sure follow up more on your cruising update.

Enjoy the wonderful life while others like me have to work and save up in a long way to retirement

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by ShinyHappy

For those of us that came into this late, are you able to recap any assumptions you've made, if your spending habits are made with an eye towards savings in any way, or any thought processes you use when spending. .

The biggest assumption that has proven wrong are boat costs. Boat costs are more than expected. Other than medical everything else is semi “controllable” based on choices I make. I still try to maintain $3k/mo as a target in general with an allowance for “stuff” that I now understand will always happen, just be different each month.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by NPCampbell

Just curious as to why your "fees" category is negative? Inflows?

Only fees involved last month were credit card fees (I use my credit card for 98% of everything every month) and i have reward cards so is how much i got back last month from the cc people

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Pandor

Don, I’m new to your threads. I appreciate you taking the time to share. Especially since I can’t even bother to track my own expenses.

Can you provide a little context? What is your current boat and how many aboard?

2001 Hunter 410 with 2 people

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by riverwave

Interesting way of saving on Buy and Sell a car. How long is the stay period you think it is worth the effort?
I will for sure follow up more on your cruising update.
t

Well it cost me $750 for sales tax and registration. The first 6 months I spent $380 on insurance and look after i get my refund it will be another $100 on insurance. I spent about $40 on maintenance and sold the car for $350 less than i paid for it (took 4 hours and i probably could have done better if i had felt like messing around doing it).

So that is $1650 it cost me over 7 months. The question going in was if that would work out enough to offset a weekly rental once in a while plus Uber/cabs/buses enough for the connivence to be worth it.

[Scubaseas]

Thank you for posting all this and your detailed reports.

[fred4936]

Thank you once again for the info! Your budget seems very reasonable. Comfortable but not extravagant. We are aiming for 2023 as our date to cut dock lines, boat and us still need some work. Your info is invaluable!

[johnnyH]

Thanks for sharing this every month. I spend 6 or so months on my boat with an eye towards living on-board full time. Your summary is most helpful with my budgeting!!! Eat like a local in the Bahamas. Nearly everything there is imported and costly and there will be the $300 cruising permit you will be charged