Our cruising costs - month one for a middle-aged couple on a modest boat

[Al Abbott]

Thanks, I'd love to see a photo of your old Bristol. Mine is long gone.
Al Abbott

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Hmmm, all the calculators I checked say it’s more like $17,500.

https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/re...on-calculator/
Inflation Calculator: Money's Real Worth Over Time | Coin News
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inf...79?amount=5000

P.S. Great story Al. Thanks

COMPARE YEARSCOMPARE VALUES
1$
5000
2
RESULTS $ 32675.26

https://www.aier.org/cost-living-calculator

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

COMPARE YEARSCOMPARE VALUES
1$
5000
2
RESULTS $ 32675.26

https://www.aier.org/cost-living-calculator

?????

I’m comparing $5000 in 1979 to 2019. What are you comparing, or am I doing this wrong?

ADD: When I use 1970 I get your $32k, but Al said 1979.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

?????

I’m comparing $5000 in 1979 to 2019. What are you comparing, or am I doing this wrong?

ADD: When I use 1970 I get your $32k, but Al said 1979.

ok

I should have invested in the 70s. But I was young and had no money.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by Al Abbott

Bristol 29 cruise.
I've never before replied to this forum, but this cost report caught my eye. In 1979 (I realize this seems like ancient history, since most readers weren't yet born) my new wife and I set off from California in a Bristol 29 (best used boat we could afford at the time) with only 10G to our names. My ultimate goal was to sail into the S Pacific, having read Eric Hiscock and classic small boat tales. Our boat was basic and had no electrical system or VHF, except for a mast-head light and one small interior light - we did have a small portable radio receiver for AM/short wave stations, and added a tillermaster autosteering device after tiring of long days/nights of steering. Having endured serious storms along the Baja coast we stopped and recovered in Cabo San Lucas for a month on anchor, and agreed not to proceed into the S Pacific in such a small boat. We cruised the Sea of Cortez and northern Mexico coast, returning to California after a full year.

We were always swinging at anchor overnight (rarely sailing through the night) and ended the year having spent only a total of 5G. Granted $5000 went further then, but I was prompted to write because we had a fabulous second-year of marriage, never bored, reading books (we took 100 great books with us), visiting with each other and other cruisers, fishing, cooking, swimming/diving. We agreed to no more than one meal-a-day on shore to save money.

Our marriage grew and we are now approaching our 44th anniversary. It was sometimes rather hot and sometimes cold, but we made fabulous memories of cruising in our simple boat. A simple boat will likely have few problems. Now we charter bare-boat and are blown away by the luxuries like refrigerators, air conditioning, GPS, autopilot, radar, televisions, roller furling, etc, that so many cruisers seem to consider as necessities. Oh for the simple, less costly, good old times.

Thanks for sharing, Al. What a great experience you and your wife had!

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by Al Abbott

Thanks, I'd love to see a photo of your old Bristol. Mine is long gone.
Al Abbott

Ours is a Bristol 29.9, so the second version of yours, but here she is in the Exumas:

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I should have invested in the 70s. But I was young and had no money.

You and me both .

[Soundhaven]

SV Tatia, Do you have a Ratcliffe wind vane? I am looking for a manual or other documentation for one.
If you have any info for me, please send it to:
Noreenlight(@)gmail.com
Thank you.

[Fatbob]

Originally Posted by zengirl

Wow, that monthly health insurance is a killer! When you get to be 65 you can have medicare. That will be a relief. I live on my soc. sec. totally. $1,500. You stated marinas $58.16. Did you live on the hook mostly? If so, where? Thanks.

I guess it depends on where you cruise, currently Medicare doesn't work outside the United States.

Drew

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by Fatbob

I guess it depends on where you cruise, currently Medicare doesn't work outside the United States.

Drew

That is so true, but I come from Canada, with a hypothetic free health care system. but once I retire I will no longer use this health care, why?, simple, If I go to another country, research required, you can get health care with an insurance company and if you calculate the money you save from the income tax you no longer pay if you are declared as over seas citizen, it's night and day. So even if it doubles or triples once over 70 (depending on country) it comes nowhere close to what I would pay in income tax in Canada.
But do your research, some countries have good healthcare and some not so good, I'm blessed to have a wife that has dual citizenship in a country with good health care.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Drek4

That is so true, but I come from Canada, with a hypothetic free health care system. but once I retire I will no longer use this health care, why?, simple, If I go to another country, research required, you can get health care with an insurance company and if you calculate the money you save from the income tax you no longer pay if you are declared as over seas citizen, it's night and day. So even if it doubles or triples once over 70 (depending on country) it comes nowhere close to what I would pay in income tax in Canada.
But do your research, some countries have good healthcare and some not so good, I'm blessed to have a wife that has dual citizenship in a country with good health care.

This is resuscitating a 3 year old post (its Easter anyway!).
But with due respect to the OP with the thread drift, I just want to say that you are right about health care outside of North America being more affordable, but your research needs to include how to give up your Canadian residency by eliminating all ties to Canada, including any income you may have. By just being an "overseas citizen" will not save on income taxes.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

This is resuscitating a 3 year old post (its Easter anyway!).
But with due respect to the OP with the thread drift, I just want to say that you are right about health care outside of North America being more affordable, but your research needs to include how to give up your Canadian residency by eliminating all ties to Canada, including any income you may have. By just being an "overseas citizen" will not save on income taxes.

You're right, I just answered the last post without verifying the OP's initial thread. But in Canada if you have stay less than 6 months, you automatically lose any privilege to health care and any other perks as a canadian citizen. You have a certain amount that is non taxable, example if you have a company pension of $120K you will pay taxes, the actual cap is $76K, but it changes a little every year.