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How big was your pile of cash when you left the dock?

18K views 91 replies 35 participants last post by  sharkbait 
#1 ·
Threads regarding living on xxxx a month come around now and again, as do making money while cruising . What interests me is how much did you start with and for how long did you leave for, one year , two , longer? Did you sell yor home and plan on buying a home when you return? Did you keep the house for return ? ( it's getting cold out here in Connecticut so my mind wanders out of curiosity ) if this has been broached before , apologies , just couldn't find anything really covering this in the search mode .
 
#2 ·
We have been out 8 years now. When we left our plan was to sail the east coast and to the Bahamas and back without sinking the boat. As for how long who knows but we knew sometime along the way we would have to get off. When? Only God knew and he wasn't saying.

Well things kinda got out of hand. Nest thing we knew we were headed to Mexico and the Bay Islands. Coming out of the Rio Dulce we met a couple of folks headed to Panama and they said hey why don't you come with us. We did and next thing you know we were in Colombia and then did a crossing to Jamaica and hooked up with them again the BVIs for a run to Trinidad and said to ourselves how about the Med - sure why not so we did a 2 person cross in '13 and now planning our 4th year in the Med. Boy did it get out of hand. We are still conscious that someplace along the way we will have to get off the boat. But when - well if you ask my knees after I have spent a bit of time on them fixing or replacing something the time is long past -but to say when I have not a clue and God is not talking but maybe he is smiling and nodding and enjoying our journey.

as for finances - yea sold the house and got rid of stuff and really now would never own a house again. why? the stuff you got is just stuff that means something to you but no one else and they will have to get rid of it when you are gone - so we saved them the effort. By selling the house paid off the boat and put a bit in a kitty that has never been touched and not in our bank account - separate account.

On the money thing we left with our social security in the bank and that was about it. we live on social security. We have cheap years and expensive years We save up from the cheap years for the expensive years such as this year when we will have a lot of pm done and bottom paint and ect ect.
 
#3 ·
I'm planning on leaving this year at 56. I'm going to sell the house as that is where my cash is coming from. We should have about $450k in cash and investments and if we can stay on budget think that with social security it will last till at least our late 80s.
 
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#4 ·
pile of cash???
HAH!!!!!
more like liberation from working, or the ability to work, by an ass in a leased barely insured mercedes 2 seater yapping on the fone at 50 mph in a 25 mph zone running up my ass , my ass being in a normally aspirated 300 zx nissan 1986. needless to say i renamed that car piglet, as it had been shortened by 2-3 inches in some places, and i required much therapy on my neck to be able to hold up my head, and considerable driving skills not to have gone over the edge of the coronado bridge, from which he attempted to push my car. ok.........\so after the pt and the ,,yada yada i was able to be labelled a disabled person, as i could no longer stand the 12 hours or more required to do my job, much less lift the 350 pounds i used to be able to lift as i cleaned and nursed grandmother/grandfather/aunt/ uncle/wtf elefante back to life --or death, as i was icu and er. .
ok so i finally left with a bank balance of -200 usd.
yeah, MINUS 200 usd.
go figger. now there is an exchange rate i can get with, and i almost have dough in bank..
money in the well isnt gonna make it for ye, it is money in every month that saves yer skin.
 
#5 ·
We once left for almost a year and as far south as the Bahamas(from Vermont).

This was 25 years ago. I think we started with about 20k cash in acct(we just sold a spec house). We kept our primary home(never considered liquidating to cruise).

We had a 28'er, no loan. No dockage, little breakage, but we lived very well.

Also, we spent some $ on - a dodger(you need that), lot's of anchors(you need those), a used sail and other boat misc we hadn't counted on.

We spent all the 20k, and then a bit more,...

We shipped that boat back to Vermont so we could get back to work(I had a house to build).

The shipping charge was the cheapest run - by far - up or down the coast (4 total- we made another shorter trip down-back, a couple years later).

On the other hand, we have friends that cruised for 4 years around the Atlantic out of the UK for not much more $ per year. I would say they are on a stricter budget. No dockage, moorings, museums, restaurants, shows, almost no $ in the budget beyond their bare necessities.

BUT, they too took on their most expenses in the first year in break downs and upgrades. I think the first year is the most expensive. Other than that, everybody seems to do it differently.
 
#6 ·
I think the first year is expensive only because of the transition and not fully understanding yet how to live on the budget. But I don't think it is the most expensive year.

That year happens a bit further down the road. Maybe the fourth or fifth year, maybe later, when the whole boat seems to just crumble underneath you. Not because of lack of maintenance, neglect, or skill, but because it just seems to get "tired" all at once.

New sails, maybe a transmission goes, an update to a radar triggers a complete electronics refit, new rigging uncovers a crack starting in the boom, the outboard finally gasps its last, etc. It all seems to happen at once.

Mark
 
#9 ·
I sunk my 'pile of cash' into an annuity which pays us a decent amount every month for life. No way to be over extended or in debt, since we dumped the credit cards upon departure.
We split the annuity into two accounts, so the emergency fund grows every month while the living expenses come and go monthly.
Never had a house, as I haven't lived ashore since 1969. Really don't expect to ever own one. After all, a house is just a poorly built boat that won't go anywhere. The never changing view, ugh.
All kidding aside, I just couldn't ever imagine this old salt as a dirt dweller. I haven't a clue what I'd do with my time.
 
#11 ·
We have retired recently and are starting our cruising in earnest this year. Plan was to leave for Fiji in May but a few days ago discovered that we cannot arrive there with our dog having had rabies innoculation just the other day so now we're probably leaving early July. Mmmmm.

We have our boat fully paid and we're spending about $20k in the next few months bringing her up to spec. We have our home fully paid for and only have basic running expenses (rates, utilities and garden service while we're away). we have a small nest egg in term deposit earning small potatoes in interest. And we have a pension that pays us enough to live on.

Our plan is NZ winters in the tropics and NZ summers at home so "how much did we leave with" is probably a little different to some. We'll probably have a working capital of about $10k but will try to not spend more than we earn (pension) for the first few years. We think this is achievable but the working capital and maybe some boat insurance are available if we're wrong.

I'm always surprised to hear the comments like "We don't have a home, will probably never need one". Are these folks going to live on their boats till they die? We love boats and sailing but I could never imagine being a frail old person living on a boat. Getting on and off, getting in and out, all these things represent a huge challenge for a 90yo. And we're all going to get frail - the other alternative is not as attractive. All I can say is good luck to you. Me? I'll be in my house when the boat becomes too onerous to live on.
 
#13 ·
.

I'm always surprised to hear the comments like "We don't have a home, will probably never need one". Are these folks going to live on their boats till they die? We love boats and sailing but I could never imagine being a frail old person living on a boat. Getting on and off, getting in and out, all these things represent a huge challenge for a 90yo. And we're all going to get frail - the other alternative is not as attractive. All I can say is good luck to you. Me? I'll be in my house when the boat becomes too onerous to live on.
interesting comment -- but let's say you sold your house. Would you buy another one? We did sell our house as we are 24/7/365 liveaboards and could not see maintaining 2 properties that you only use part time and I have had a house in one part of the usa and lived in another and it was a nightmare - quickly got rid of it.

We know we will have to get off the boat some day - that is a given. But why buy a house? why do buy a house in the first place- generally for financial reasons called appreciation - Let's say I sail another 5 years and then sell the boat and buy a house - any idea what the financial consequences would be - a disaster - I would get very little appreciation, I do not need the tax advantage or do I want to do the upkeep. it simply in our opinion does not make good financial sense.

On the other hand we really like it over here. We have joked about the time when we sell the boat and rent fully furnished apts in say Albania for 3 months then say Italy for 3 months then to Turkey for say 6 months then perhaps Portugal for 3 months then ?? you get the idea. Interesting concept I must say - doable no idea but interesting concept to think about

Our other option is a campervan to continue our travels on land for a while.

Someday all those will also go to the wayside and we will eventually have to settle down but hopefully at a very old age in a fully furnished apt until the Good Lord comes calling.

for us it is simple economics -
 
#15 ·
I don't understand why I will need to have a house while cruising in order to have a place to "land on" sometime in the future. Is that saying that there will be no places to "land on" in the future? I'm 100% sure that when I can not live on the boat anymore that there will still be land places to live on. Plus when it is time to return to land living who says it has to be where you started?
 
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#17 ·
Exactly. We're definitely selling our house before we go. Being a long-distance landlord doesn't appeal to us, and the property taxes alone would eat up most of the rental income anyway.

We know that at some point we won't be able to live on a boat any more, but that's what rentals are for (apartment, condo, house, whatever). Whenever we travel we always think, "Could we live here?". We figure we'll have a plethora of places to choose from when we return to living on land. Two things are certain, however - we won't be buying a house, and we won't be returning to the northeast.
 
#18 · (Edited)
If you rent out your primary home while you are cruising, that might save it for you. Personally I will probably put an accessory rental apartment in the house before we leave.

We wont have a lot of cash after putting our kids through college but I am due a pretty large pension at age 56 so I am glad to hear that monthly income is what you need.

I suppose ( in denial here) we will probably inherit a couple hundred thousand once her mom and my dad pass.

Selling the house is the big question for us. It seems to me that solves the financial issues for us.
 
#19 ·
Have not done it yet (I'm 2 years away from casting off), but in a realistic estimate I will be leaving the dock with a decently outfitted 30-34 foot boat and about 40-50K to last me 5 years until social security kicks in.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I've read a number of these threads in the past, but I think that I can sum up all of my reading with this: "How much 'you got?"

Financial management is like managing the wind when you're sailing. You learn to make the best of what you have, and if/when you run out; you either change your destination or find a way to get more.

I have found that I spend a lot less now that I only work teaching sailing part time. I don't take my friends out, or even go out to dinner anymore. Friends that believe that I'm cheap, weren't really friends anyway. Instead my wife and I cook for us and sometimes entertain at home (she still goes out to dinner with work). I do 95% of the work on my vehicles (boat included).

Health is the thing that I am concerned will run out. I would hate to have a pile of cash in the bank, and not be physically able to sail, much more than if I were broke and still enjoying the journey.

Regarding the last point; I was the check out captain a bareboat charter for a couple of days last year for a 92 year old sailor, and his late 80's sweetie, and their late 70's-early 80's mate. This crew was well into their sunset years, and were enjoying the heck out of the trip. I left them with the boat on the third day (I had another commitment), and they carried on for the rest of the week. The boat, and all hands, made it back to port safely.
:2 boat:
 
#25 ·
Just recently retired for real though I've been having various cruising epiphany's over the years and coming to the realization that there are various ways to satisfy my sailing needs.

My gal is a semi landlubber who enjoy's her retirement career as a teacher. So our sailing vacations can only happen in between semesters. Lucky for me she enjoys sailing vacations with crewed charters. She said it also avoids me getting into "my Captain mode" :) Another thing is we are not limited to where my boat is. As a result we have sailed in a number of places all over the world and I have taken a number of places off the bucket list as a result. Plus we cruise these various locations at the best times of the season for the area. Also having someone on board with local knowledge makes these trips very stress free. :captain:

With my boat on land for the winter these charters seem to take the edge off my wanderlust. Then when spring rolls around I am very happy to get going on outfitting my boat for the local cruising season and months I will be living on board. Not sure if this feeling will pass but, it's my current thinking. Plus I don't have to make a decisions as to sell or rent the house etc... Peoples dreams may be the same but, there are various ways to achieve them. IMO It does not always have to be all or nothing.
 
#26 ·
I guess a lot of this house thing comes down to how much money or income you currently have. My house is paid off, but I used most of my cash on hand to do this a month ago and the remainder isn't enough to cruise a year on. If I rented the house out it isn't going to provide enough income to cruise more than an extra year maybe. After taxes etc it could probably net me about $1500/mo maybe. Since I'm only going to be 56 that isn't enough to cruise/live on. Now if I were older and able to collect social security the $1500 from renting would be great, but I'm not in the mood to work another 6 years to wait for that to happen.

Meanwhile I looked at small houses in Jacksonville Fl and there were 100s of 2 br house for less than $75k.
 
#28 ·
If I rented the house out it isn't going to provide enough income to cruise more than an extra year maybe. After taxes etc it could probably net me about $1500/mo maybe. Since I'm only going to be 56 that isn't enough to cruise/live on.
But the rent from your house is ongoing potentially forever. If you can live for one month on the proceeds then . . . . . you can live on it forever. Why would you think you're limited to cruising for "an extra year maybe"?

Perhaps your perceived budget for cruising exceeds US$1500/month and you'll be burning cash reserves? There are many people cruising on that and less. I guess it's a personal choice.

Caveat: I don't think renting out a house while you're voyaging is a great idea.
 
#27 · (Edited)
As I said in my last post, we're a little different because we're not going to be sailing for the whole of each year. We can't - we have a very active cyclone season for six months that covers (potentially) our whole cruising ground. So we have to be back in NZ for the summer months (December to April). When we are, we prefer to live in a house. It breaks the monotony of being on the boat. Our home is in paradise anyway and even when we're home, we have brilliant cruising all around us. If you would like to see it, use Google Earth and search for "Tikorangi Road, Opito Bay, Kerikeri". That's where we live :p

We worked hard to be sure our house is paid for - it means no need to rent it out to cover a mortgage and we can afford the running costs. Our neighborhood is also a close community, only 34 houses in the whole village (14 in our valley) so any strangers coming to our home while we are away will raise alarms. For the past two years we have lived 300 miles from this house and never came here for months on end, never had even a hint of anyone coming into our garden, So our house will stay unoccupied while we're away - no security issues.

When we're done cruising/voyaging and we come home for good, we won't have to sell our boat to buy a dwelling. The value of our boat in any case would not buy even a small modest home in NZ. We won't have to pay rent which would quickly exhaust our monthly income. We'll simply have the manageable ongoing costs that we've "always" had. So we'll still have our boat moored at the bottom of the garden and a place to live that physically works for old codgers.

Plus the pleasant knowledge (for me anyway) that we'll leave something behind for our offspring. Who would not want a free house in paradise with a free 44ft passage-maker moored out front? :)

So that's my motivation for not selling our real estate.
 
#29 ·
Hopefully lots of it! Along with selling our two homes, our 35+ years of savings, inheritance/trusts from both sides of the family, and profits from my business (hopefully son/daughter keeps the business profitable and running) should suffice... Oh and of course the little Social Security/teacher pension starting in 2023 should provide plenty of pirate loot to go around... Like I said hopefully considering anything could go wrong like accidents or health issues. :2 boat:
 
#34 · (Edited)
Our house goes up for sale next month. If it sells....and that's a big "if" but we are keeping a positive attitude about it, we plan to retire and hope to be headed south on the ICW by fall.

We will not have a pile of cash to speak of. We bought our house at the height of the housing boom. It went upside down (a LOT!!) the next year and has remained so for the past 10 years. On top of that we took a substantial home equity loan at the time of purchase because it was an 80 year old house that needed substantial repairs and upgrades. Between what we have paid off in principal and the slight rise in housing prices we will be lucky if we make enough off of the sale to pay off both of those loans. C'est la vie. It turned out to be a wonderful place to live for the past 10 years, but a horrible investment. We don't really care if we walk away from the settlement table without a dime, as long as we can walk away free. That's how committed to leaving we are. We have no desire to hang onto it after we retire. We could never rent it for enough to cover the two mortgages, and we have no plans to ever live in Maryland again (oh hell no). Besides, being "unencumbered" is one of the main attractions to cruising for us.

Our boat is paid for and will have just undergone a major refit, so it shouldn't need anything for a little while other than routine maintenance. We have some future upgrades planned, but those are already figured into our monthly/yearly budget, and none of them are essential so if something happened that we couldn't do them it wouldn't stop us from cruising and enjoying it. Everything necessary to make the boat comfortable and safe will have already been done. Everything else comes under the category of "nice to have." There will be enough stashed away for a rainy day, an unexpected emergency, and occasional trips to see the kids, and that's enough for us. But we are not depending on our savings to contribute anything to the cruising budget.

We are, however, fairly well prepared in terms of yearly retirement income. My husband took an early retirement of sorts from the Navy (for those who are familiar, VSI) back in 1993. That will go on until he is 76 years old and is a nice little annual stipend. In addition we both will have decent pensions from the school system where we now work, and two social security checks. My husband just turned 66 so he starts drawing full social security next month and also has Medicare. I am only 62 so mine won't be nearly as good, and I'll have health insurance coverage to pay for the next three years, but "tis enough." With the 5 checks combined we are budgeting to live on 60-70% of our after tax income, including ongoing upgrades and maintenance to the boat. While not a fortune, it is actually a pretty generous amount of money which should give us a comfortable lifestyle. Truth be told I am confident we could live on the social security checks alone without ever touching the pensions or VSI, but we are planning to enjoy the experience to the fullest.....we have no desire to be members of the $500 a Month Club. We have worked too hard and waited far too long for this.

We're not really thinking much about having a house to come back to. The next phase for us could be a trawler, it could be an RV, a cabin on a mountain,a condo in a senior community in Florida, or who knows what. We'll jump off that bridge when we get to it, but I hope we don't get to it for quite some time to come. We want to enjoy this ride for as long as we're able.

:svoilier:
 
#35 ·
Regarding keeping a house, many of us never want to live again where we used to own our houses - as shown by several posts. We are one of those, and we have no idea where we would live if we have up the boat. It certainly wouldn't be where we used to live, and still owning that house over the years would only be a further burden to deal with when we move off the boat - simultaneously selling a boat and a house in different parts of the world while trying to secure living arrangements in yet another area.

Those that own houses where they would like to end up eventually would see this differently, of course.

Like others, we have no fear of not being able to find living arrangements if we move off the boat. Home ownership is actually a rare thing in most countries, and you would be surprised at the affordability of rentals in many fantastic areas in the world. Spend 6 months in Antigua Guatemala, then 6 months in Cuzco Peru, then...

The world remains your oyster.

Mark
 
#36 ·
In my case, the cash pile was not nearly enough as I wanted, but more than enough to make the trip. At the end of the trip, the cash pile was depleted a bit, but because I worked a couple nights a week while cruising, I usually didn't have to dip into the pile very much until I encountered breakdowns. I guess I could have worked more, but I had so much fun working, and cruising that I might have never returned home to my wife if I had any more fun than I did. Yes, I have one of those kind of jobs that is more fun than most folks enjoy - I'm a musician and singer, I get to sing to the ladies at Tiki Bars, waterside restaurants, etc..., and I get paid to do this. Plus I get tips, free drinks and often, a free meal, on top of the pay - what's not to like? ;)

Gary :cool:
 
#37 ·
Oh please. A sailor AND a singer? Jimmy, is that you? lol
There are very few things I wish I had that I don't, and musical talent is one of them. Color me envious, and please stop rubbing it in. lol.
 
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