Our cruising costs - month 20 for a middle-aged couple on a modest boat.

[Cthoops]

I've decided to get caught up with my posts of our monthly costs.

April was our 20th month of cruising full-time on our Bristol 29.9.

So this month we spent $1,695.96 – if you don’t count the water maker that we bought. In reality this month we spent $8,060.83. Ooof.

Fortunately this is the last upgrade for the boat. The only other possible thing we could ever even remotely desire is radar, and we are very unlikely to get that. Barring some unforeseen catastrophe, we shouldn’t come close to a monthly number like this again until we swallow the anchor some day. From now on boat costs will consist primarily of maintenance, repair, or replace. Looking at our available funds (and with no real desire to go back to work), I can say without hesitation that’s a very good thing.

April saw us spending the month on a mooring in Vero Beach while we waited for the weather to get a bit warmer further north.

Here we go:

Groceries/Non-food Groceries/Alcohol: $622.12

Denatured alcohol: $7.06 (we had some West Marine rewards certificates that offset the cost this time)

Medical: $14.34

Cell data, iCloud storage, and Garmin inReach subscription: $68.98. This was lower because we received our $50 deposit back from MyIslandWifi when we we returned the hotspot upon arriving in Florida.

Marina: $434.10 (Vero Beach mooring for four weeks)

Laundry: $7.50

Restaurants/Entertainment: $28.53

Annual state registration for boat and dinghy: $145.00

Quarterly life insurance payment: $220.75

Subscriptions: $49.12 (Netflix, Prime, New York Times)

Miscellaneous boat stuff: $98.46 (replacement USB charger, replacement portable inverter for laptop, Nature’s Head supplies)

Rainman Watermaker, spare filters, and shipping: $6,364.87

Total: $8,060.83

2020 Monthly average: $3,383.77

2019 monthly average: $3,457.97

2018 monthly average (September – December): $4,465.95

Monthly average since starting to cruise: $3,644.73


I hope this is helpful.
__________________

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Cthoops

So this month we spent $1,695.96 – if you don’t count the water maker that we bought. In reality this month we spent $8,060.83. Ooof.

that doesn't count, real cruisers don't waste money on such decadence items

pretty soon you are gong to be wanting air conditioning

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

that doesn't count, real cruisers don't waste money on such decadence items

pretty soon you are gong to be wanting air conditioning

LOL! Should have bought that decadent item while we were still working. It would have been less painful. At least now we will appreciate it all the more.

[kmacdonald]

I've seen bar bill's bigger than that. Step it up!!!!

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

I've seen bar bill's bigger than that. Step it up!!!!

Mr. cthoops and I were dry for 18 months after his diagnosis (I was dry in solidarity). We're really cheap dates now - our bar bills are miniscule!

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Cthoops

Mr. cthoops and I were dry for 18 months after his diagnosis (I was dry in solidarity). We're really cheap dates now - our bar bills are miniscule!

Duckie noticed!