[camaraderie]

We didn't use much fuel at all while there Dan though if you motored around a lot it would be costly. Food is expensive there but we would eat fairly simply and not spend a lot on the things that are really outrageous like chips etc.
You can also catch fish and lobster to reduce the costs. This was Abacos BTW.
You can easily spend a LOT more by eating out, staying in marinas or taking mooring balls, drinking.
When I say we lived fine on $150 a week...I mean there were LOTS and LOTS of weeks when that was our average even on a big boat and we could quite comfortably do that if we had a budget of that amount for extended times.
We DID however spend a lot more than that sometimes and by choice or by "force" when things broke or we needed to stay at marinas for various reasons or when we felt like getting some restaurant meals.
We didn't do much that cost $$, and yet we never felt deprived. The beauty of living on the hook in the Abacos is enjoying the waters and cays and hanging out with fellow cruisers, none of which costs anything. We would have movie nights with friends sharing DVD's, play Boggle and other games and snorkle on the reefs and hunt lobster and conch. A different lifestyle.
I would emphasize that you can't budget $150 a week for TOTAL expense since maintenance, insurance, medical and passagemaking costs are all significant. Just meant to say that DAILY living expenses can be pretty minimal without needing to feel deprived in any way!