The Price of Cruising - How Much Does it REALLY Cost?

Exactly how much it REALLY costs to live aboard and travel the Caribbean as full-time sailors?

Most folks think full-time international travel is super expensive and luxurious, but we're happy to announce that after months of living aboard, full time sailing has been neither expensive, nor luxurious! Our budget is cut down to the bare bones, and we're loving it. We're spending a fraction (1/6 to be exact) of what we used to spend in our 9-5 lives, and life has never been better.

We tracked our spending for the last 4 months of actual cruising so that we could share it with the cruising world. Actual Cruising means we weren't docked, hauled out, or undergoing major repairs. The last 4 months, we were smooth, full time sailing around the wonderful Caribbean. We're happy to share this data to give you a closer insight to this lifestyle, and show you that almost anyone could make it work, if you're willing to make the sacrifices!

Obviously, this budget is variable based on our personal lifestyle choices, and will be different from sailor to sailor. Here's a few specifics about our lifestyle and this budget information.

First, a few disclaimers related to our data:

1. This budget covers 2 people and 1 large, hungry, water-chugging dog. Meaning, our grocery bills include a sh*t ton of dog food.

2. We excluded two items - Quinn's student loan payment and our personal property tax information because we think they are not applicable to the average sailor's budget.

3. We probably drink more alcohol and go to more bars than the average sailor. #SorryWeParty

4. Entertainment costs are not directly related to sailing (duh) but we wanted to share this information as part of the live-aboard lifestyle. We keep ourselves from going insane at times with things like e-books, Netflix, and phone apps, so we thought it would be relevant.

5. We are debt free besides the aforementioned student loan.

So, here's the dollars and cents!

4 Month Average: $ 1,880.31

4 Month High: $ 2,343.71

4 Month Low: $ 1,026.01

DECEMBER 2015: $2343.71

December was our first month as full time cruisers, hooray! With boat repairs and updates completed, we provisioned one last time in Florida, then hit the waves to head to the Bahamas. We spent the month cruising from Bimini, to the Berry Islands, to Nassau.

JANUARY 2016: $2307.93

We rang in 2016 from beautiful Nassau Harbor, followed by a hard hit to the budget when we had to replace some ridiculously expensive watermaker parts.

February 2016: $1026.01

Our cheapest month, February was spent full time cruising in the remote Exumas of the Bahamas, the most beautiful islands we've ever visited. The reason we were under budget is we couldn't spend money if we had tried. In the Exumas, there were few, if any, restaurants, stores, internet or bars, just pristine beaches and beautiful sunsets - all free of charge!

March 2016: $1843.59

In early March we left the Bahamas, and made our way to Turks and Caicos, then to the Dominican Republic. In contrast to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, prices in the DR are quite low. Therefore, we've taken the opportunity to do some frivolous activities. We had take-away laundry service, and rented a mooring ball for $2/day. We also had a waterfall day excursion. Otherwise, unexpected expenses included a navigation chart update with Garmin, and purchasing drinking water because the bay in Luperon is too dirty to use the watermaker.

What are some spending lessons we've learned?

1. Debt free is key! Reducing or eliminating debt is one of the only ways we could afford this lifestyle. We worked hard to pay off everything we owed (except that *&%$#! student loan, aka the ball and chain), so that we could have the freedom to live, work and be anywhere at anytime. No debt = no obligations = freedom!

2. Get a checking account with a good global reputation for travelers. We're in the process of changing from US Bank to Charles Schwab checking and debit. We've had endless issues working with US Bank abroad, including blocked cards even after we advise them of our travel, and ridiculous international fees (see above :) ). Our mistake is costing us, and we wish we had done this long before leaving the US. Lesson learned!

3. Don't cut entertainment costs from your budget. You may think you can do without movies and books, but you may also lose your marbles from boredom when stuck in your tinsy-tiny sailboat for days during a cold front.

4. Don't underestimate the cost of business services, e.g., internet, faxing, printing, and mail. You still have to take care of business, tax, and financial matters while traveling, and unless you can handle these transactions on board yourself, you'll be paying for these services.

5. Provision like you're an apocalypse prepper. Especially if you plan to travel to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. Food prices in these countries are exorbitant. We provisioned in Florida, but as beginners, weren't sure how much to buy, and actually felt like we were buying too much... Wrong! We ran out of many important staples, like rice and pasta, and had to provision in the Bahamas, where prices are about 3x US prices. Now we know to buy the things we love (e.g. coconut oil, Ruca's favorite dog food, and wine) and things that have a long shelf life in bulk.

We hope you find this information useful and informative! Please don't hesitate to shoot us a message or write a comment below if you have any questions about our cost of sailing. We're happy to share!

Thanks for reading,

Ben, Quinn and Ruca

#budgetmoney