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Budgeting has to be averaged out over the life of the voyage. Several cruiser blogs highlight this variability in monthly outlay, and it seems for many to fall into spending more in the first six months as gear you thought was up to scratch in fact isn't, and until you get far enough away from your home country to avoid the temptation of marinas, visits back to your home town, and nights ashore in restaurants.
The pattern then shows a general decline as people become more able to exist on the hook and/or go to places where money is simply harder to spend.
There's usually a spending spree at 18-24 months as sails are replaced or repaired, and stuff like cooling pumps, heat exchangers and injectors require service. There's also an interesting point where you finally run out of "spares from home" and realize that 20 Racor and spin-on oil filters did not in fact constitute a lifetime supply.
After that, and barring major mishaps, the spending gets more predictable and regular, it seems.
I estimate we can cruise comfortably on $25,000 Canadian/year, which is about $21,000 U.S. or 16,000 Euros. This factors in one haul-out and winter storage in five years, plus a more or less complete boat repaint (it's steel), and a potential rigging refreshing. This doesn't include the approximately $30,000 in upgrades we'll be putting into the boat before we leave.
While there are more variables than on land, I've run my own business for years now and am used to budgeting. Also, while I tend to buy the best gear I can afford, I am otherwise parsimonious with money...I'd rather sail longer and cheaper!
Now, if my plan for renting out the house works out, we'll break even if I can write about six articles per year...
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