Escaping the Paradigm with $300,000...

[wind_magic]

For perspective, 300k$us at 1.5% divided by 365 is about 12.33$us/day in interest income (4.5k$us/year). That may seem like nothing to some people, but compare that to the following chart ...



How to use that chart, the right most bar is the percentage of the world's population that lives under the poverty line if the poverty line is set at 10$us/day. Yep, 80% of the people in the world live on 10$us/day or less.

How do they do it ?

Experiment - go to the grocery store with 10$us in your pocket and go shopping. No, skip over the potato chips, hamburger, and ben and jerry's ice cream and go to the aisle where beans and rice are sold. Now spend your 10$us buying as much dried beans and rice as you can buy, better get a shopping cart, it is going to be heavy! Don't like beans and rice ? Go to the refrigerated section and see how many chicken eggs you can buy for 10$us, again, you're going to need that cart! Oh, or how about sugar, go to the baking aisle and see how far 10$us gets you with sugar, more sugar than you and your family are going to eat in a month and then some. Don't like any of that ? Head over to the produce section with your cart and start piling bags of potatoes in until you hit the 10$us mark, hope you like potatoes, because you just bought a few weeks worth!

One 50$us sushi dinner in the United States can feed a family for a month if it is spent well.

Most people in this country just have no concept of how well off they are.

[JohnRPollard]

Our family's health insurance policy costs over $1200/month.

[xort]

Originally Posted by JohnRPollard

Our family's health insurance policy costs over $1200/month.

is that a deluxe policy?

I've done some shopping at Health Insurance - Affordable Health Insurance Quotes, Individual Health Insurance and have seen some decent policies for under $500/mo for 2 people over 50 yo. They have some under $300 but they seem hardly worth it.

[OpIvy]

wind_magic... I agree with you that the western society is very privileged. Having traveled to many remote places of this world, with work, I have seen things make me fully aware.

This thread however was started with the cruising strategy in mind. I don't think anyone wants to argue world hunger or how many people under the poverty line are full time cruisers. I understand your point of make what money you have work. What yearly budget are you using and how are you doing it?

If you had $300,000 what would you do.... Boat, budgetary items, and capable length of time.

[wind_magic]

Originally Posted by OpIvy

This thread however was started with the cruising strategy in mind. I don't think anyone wants to argue world hunger or how many people under the poverty line are full time cruisers. I understand your point of make what money you have work.

No of course my intention wasn't to start a discussion about world poverty, in fact, the World Bank doesn't even use 10$us/day as a poverty line, they only put that on the chart because that is similar to the U.S. poverty line, that's why there is that big jump from 2.5$us/day to 10$us/day. I only wrote that post to remind us all (me included) that money can go pretty far in some people's hands, that 80% living on 10$us/day, not all of them are "poor", most get along just fine on that amount of money, have homes, raise kids, etc, live happy lives.

[davidpm]

Originally Posted by eryka

and $85 to put in exactly the systems we wanted. That included new sails ($5K), new standing rigging (another $5), new Yanmar ($20), new heater, new refrig, new wiring, new dink and outboard, solar panels.

That is very interesting eryka
Would you mind expanding that list a little and share how the 85k got split up.
You have 135 into your boat but I suspect it is in better shape that a new boat. What do you figure a new boat similarly equipped would cost? I'm guessing 290, am I close. How many months did the refit take and how much did you do yourself?

[smackdaddy]

Crap, I just invested $328,982 into the Paradigm. I'm going the wrong way!

What an idiot....

[OpIvy]

Originally Posted by smackdaddy

Crap, I just invested $328,982 into the Paradigm. I'm going the wrong way!

What an idiot....

Smackdaddy - I guess I should have elaborated on what paradigm I was trying to escape... Stuck in the 9-5 working like an indentured servant.

I know I am not the first dreamer and like most timing will determine the boat. If you only had $300,000 for everything what would you do?

[smackdaddy]

I'm joking Op (kind of my schtick). Actually, in my case my indentured servitude is pretty self-serving.

Even so, I think I'll go with bl's or eryka's plans. The key is to get out there and soak it up.

Three sheets to the wind.

Cheers dude.

[JimHawkins]

Originally Posted by wind_magic

Holy smokes, Batman. Half the world lives on less than $1000/yr.
Using Wind's very conservative 1.5%/yr, you need just need $66,000 principal to be above the median.