Beth Leonard's new book goes into this in some detail using several examples. Much of my pre-cruising budget is going into self-sufficiency and stowage (water maker, generous
ground tackle, solar and wind, plenty of room for food stowage, etc., onboard clothes washing, etc.). The idea is to make my trips to shore optional for services and to reduce to a predictable degree my "living" budget...in order to retain control over discretionary expenses.
I wish to avoid marinas in general, but if I spend 30 days on the
anchor, I wouldn't object to a weekend docking if a lot of shoreside facilities and attractions were nearby. But the simple fact is that those facilities...or in many cases the marinas themselves...aren't going to exist in quite a few of the places we intend on going. Consequently, I don't think a yearly budget of $25,000 2007 dollars per year is too low, considering that we will have invested a few times that in making ourselves on the boat fairly autonomous of the shore.