Expenses of Newbie Cruisers

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

...
Seems to me that your biggest mystery is "Cash & ATM" where you take out cash and then don't know what happened to it. This is the same reason I hardly ever have much cash on me as I never know where it went, but can always read my credit card startement.

Living and cruising in developing countries I can tell you that BY FAR the "Cash & ATM" category is my biggest expense item too. Because, many places are small cash only businesses. The ability to accept cards is becoming more common, but most businesses will charge a small additional fee (3-5% typically) for use of a card. ATM fees are starting to get pretty ugly too.

Also, the more you use your card, the more you are exposing it to security risks. Case in point, mine got hit big time in San Andreas, Colombia last year. If you catch it quickly its not a big deal -- just a hassle. My bank made it all good but I had to file forms and cancel/re-issue the card. When at home in Guatemala, I try to use the same machines for the same amounts all the time. This way any bogus transactions are obvious.

Also, I have no numbers on this, but there appears to be a preference for hacking foreign cards. I've never had any problems with my Guatemalan bank card in Central America, but my USA card (and those of others) has been hacked.

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by CeesH

Wow, consternation missed a zero $ 9000,00 ~ 7000,00 Euro this include boat insurance, yearly haul out and bottom work, yearly engine maintenance, yearly maintenance to the rigging and sails, reservation for new sails every 4-5 years, reservation for instrument upgrade every 4-5 years, Daily service costs, marina's, diesel, repairs. Our expenses for food and entertainment, tickets, cost to keep our house insured and maintenance, aaaaand medical insurance cost on EU standard.

This all, and a dramatic change of our plans, is the reason why we have putted her on a long term lease to the EU charter industry (I don't want to sell her and cannot import her into Brasil). Because I need salt on my lips I am now looking for muchhhhhh smaller.

Every foot more cost exponential more money to maintain.

CeesH

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For a newbie cruiser these costs and the situation sounds realistic to me. Until you find your way around you always seem to be paying a premium on just about everything. The bigger and more complex the boat the more you can expect the exponential effect.

Admittedly, I am also on that expensive learning curve.

[Chef Mike]

We are starting to use mint.com to track our finances. They have a very handy feature in which you are able to enter a cash transaction description and map it with google maps. This will allow a little more insight into the "black hole" of cash transactions.

I agree you must be very careful on who you give your debit/credit card to. We had a bad experience with a US dollar dispensing atm machine in La Cruz. We posted a blog about the ordeal at PacificSailors.com: Beware ATM Fees in Mexico.

Capitol One offers a credit card with no foreign transaction fees and our debit card refunds the atm machine fees. We have been highly impressed with the cards. Not to big of a hassle when we had unauthorized transactions on the card with the exception of getting the replacement cards in the mail

[Gone Global]

Mike,

Cool to see expenses in different areas. I track every single penny we spend and use Quickbooks for all of the record keeping. We have only been out for 3 months but I have begun to put up all of our expenses every month. They can be viewed here: Gone Global: What It Costs or from our home page www.goneglobaladventures.com

We are currently cruising the Chesapeake for hurricane season. In mid September we will head South through the Caribbean and then over to the San Blas.

We are just two kids in our 20's out screwing around in a sailboat. We don't follow a budget per se but this is what it has cost us so far cruising. Hope this is helpful or of some interest because already we get the question all of the time on what it cost.

[youmeandthed]

umm my advice is do your research on health insurance, look at the odds and most places are so cheap in central america that you will never reach your deductible. Dislocated shoulder, injected muscle relaxants, x-rays, two doctors in Panama cost me $12.... Take your chances on boat insurance. Risk equals reward. that is how we keep our budget low. Plus cruise for longer periods of time in cheaper places. Slowing down your pace and sailing (waiting for sailing weather) will save on fuel costs.

[belizesailor]

Drinking and dinning ashore is a big expense for most cruisers (as shown by "Gone Globals" expenses). Buy most of your beer & rum at the market not the bar. I can buy a case of beer here for what a few beers cost in a gringo bar (locals bars are WAY cheaper).

[SV.Maverick]

Health insurance is the main issue I go back and forth on. The question I have is do most cruisers carry health insurance or not? It seems that many just use cheap medical care outside the us. Even in the US if a person had to they could use county hospitals which are very low or no cost although I hear horror stories about them. Having never been with out insurance and never been sick to speak of just not sure how much of my monthly budget I want to spend on insurance.

[Gone Global]

I feel that insurance is a joke. Your getting taken every time you turn around by an insurance company. I don't carry any insurance both on the boat or personal. Pay cash for your boat and self insure yourself. Most people that try and carry insurance will never leave the dock. For the average person "good" insurance just isn't affordable.

[Tim Godber]

Budgets are never enough, but so much depends on how much marina time you need. In the Med, there are places you dont use them, say Turkey or Greek Islands, but others where anchorages are few and far between.
Incidentally, whoever was writing above about a long term budget for a Bavaria shouldnt worry too much, long term and Bavaria are mutually exclusive terms!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Same or more in the states for medical coverage, unless you are a military veteran or have some work pension that provides lifetime medical (rare).

I wish hospital care in the US was so cheap. My wife had a mild heart attack and spent one night in the hospital. The bill was USD$ 42,000.00. That did include a lot of test but still.

Yes, USA medical costs are out of control. I've had several friends here in Guatemala who've had major procedures done (knee replacement, hip replacement, back surgery). All with excellent results. None of them have spent over $10K US -- in many cases much less.

I still carry health insurance (Guatemalan Company) and it is quite reasonable at about $220 US per month (full coverage PPO-like plan, male, over 50, good health). I used to pay that much in the States for 20-something healthy male employees. Given the reasonable cost of healthcare here I am considering dropping the insurance all together.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Yes, USA medical costs are out of control. I've had several friends here in Guatemala who've had major procedures done (knee replacement, hip replacement, back surgery). All with excellent results. None of them have spent over $10K US -- in many cases much less.

I still carry health insurance (Guatemalan Company) and it is quite reasonable at about $220 US per month (full coverage PPO-like plan, male, over 50, good health). I used to pay that much in the States for 20-something healthy male employees. Given the reasonable cost of healthcare here I am considering dropping the insurance all together.

Saw a comment on another thread about health insurance costs outside the US. Basically a fraction of what we pay here.

And Gone Global, when I was your age I didn't even think about health insurance and was lucky it was never an issue, until a crew member was seriously injured (his own fault) in St Thomas. He was broke so it cost me about $15,000 in 1981 to get him fixed up enough to fly home and then surgery back in the states. 30 years later the cost would be 4-5 times that.

So if you stay lucky you can sneer at insurance but one incident and you are bankrupt. The medical costs will take everything; boat, bank accounts and everything else except your house and car. Worse if you're in some third world country it is strictly no pay, no play. Could cost you your life.

[Don1500]

I have found that I can meet my budget easily. Not saying what it is, but I do enjoy totaling it up at the end of the month and finding extra money. When I started last year I had a set amount to buy a boat and refit her. I am still living on that, haven't touched my original "living" bank.

[Chef Mike]

drum roll please....

The GRAND TOTAL for YEAR ONE: $26,534 ($2,211 per month)

check out the break down of our expenses at PacificSailors.com: Monthly Expenses