What Can We Afford After Retirement ?

[Brent Swain]

Booze budget? Don't have one. Alcoholism has claimed many a cruiser in the tropics.In some areas it's pandemic. Treat it as extremely dangerous.
When they try to guilt trip you into drinking, they are not your friends.
Ditto any drugs.

[travelphotog]

I'm loving this thread because this is pretty close to my situation at the moment too. My numbers and timeline (and geography - we're near Dallas) aren't much different. My biggest concern now is selling the house in this market. We haven't listed it yet but the outcome of that sale will determine how soon we're on the water.

One other budget item I haven't seen mentioned in any posts yet is storage of all the stuff you can't sail away with and can't bear to part with, although I'm pretty sure we'll be able to reduce the amount of stuff we're going to save so that a small storage room will be sufficient.

We should meet up sometime in Kemah, kick the tires on a few boats. and compare notes. Your budget figures sound like maybe you're a retired or retiring teacher too. I'm so ready to retire and start this new adventure!

[travelphotog]

Also, this group was recommended to me in a thread I posted: TMCA Texas Mariners Cruising Association Home Page
You may find it helpful especially since you're in the Houston/Galveston area.

[NotQuiteLost]

Originally Posted by travelphotog

One other budget item I haven't seen mentioned in any posts yet is storage of all the stuff you can't sail away with and can't bear to part with, although I'm pretty sure we'll be able to reduce the amount of stuff we're going to save so that a small storage room will be sufficient.

The most common response to this is going to be: Get rid of all of it. If you can't stow it or use it in some way, get rid of it.

Heirlooms can be hard to part with, and some shouldn't be. But really go through it all piece by piece, and try to determine which stuff you'll actually use later on. If you don't see it being used in the future, kick it out.

Still, glad to hear you're closing in on the finish line

[barnakiel]

Negative.

I say stick to your stuff or at least to the part of it you like or will find useful when you come back. Pack it all nicely and store with your friends/family.

But it IS a good idea not to drag to much of it onboard. A boat is not a house even though it is a home.

b.

[NotQuiteLost]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Negative.

I say stick to your stuff or at least to the part of it you like or will find useful when you come back. Pack it all nicely and store with your friends/family.

But it IS a good idea not to drag to much of it onboard. A boat is not a house even though it is a home.

b.

Well, if it's stick in in a storage unit, those can be had for <$100/month pretty easily. But like I said above, take a good, hard look at what you've got and how expensive it will be to replace. Then figure how long you intend to be house-less and do the math on total cost to stow it. High-priced items like electronics and certain pieces of furniture/appliances will be expensive to replace, but often times sitting in a storage unit they can get trashed by the elements.

I guess you have to define the 'bits and pieces' of a life. If you're talking about spoon collections and twenty five dollar 'art' pieces, that's one thing. If you're talking about fifteen year old bullet-proof sewing machines, big screen TV's, well-maintained lawnmowers and such, that's another thing.

And I guess the other part is your budget. For some people, the $100/month for a mini-storage unit bites into their budget quite a bit. For others, they wonder why anyone would worry about such a small figure.

[denverd0n]

I wouldn't put "big screen TV" in that category! Unless you're going to be gone for a very short time, that TV is almost certain to be woefully outdated by the time you get back. Not to mention that a new one, with more features, will probably cost far less by the time you get back.

[Brent Swain]

I wouldn't want to cruise far without a bullet proof sewing machine. They can pay for themselves and the space they save,quite quicky, in sail repairs, modifications and reinforcing, drastically reducing your cruising costs..

[ReMetau]

My wife and I never plan to live in a house again so it all went bye bye. If it doesn't belong on our boat, then we don't need it in our lives.

[NotQuiteLost]

Originally Posted by Brent Swain

I wouldn't want to cruise far without a bullet proof sewing machine. They can pay for themselves and the space they save,quite quicky, in sail repairs, modifications and reinforcing, drastically reducing your cruising costs..

I'm glad someone caught that 'twas a softball, if ever there was one.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Brent Swain

I wouldn't want to cruise far without a bullet proof sewing machine. They can pay for themselves and the space they save,quite quicky, in sail repairs, modifications and reinforcing, drastically reducing your cruising costs..

I fix our sails with 3M, insignia cloth and spinnaker tape.

HOWEVER - I wish I could carry a sewing machine, even if it were to be just a small household unit. Whenever I have a chance I abuse our friends'. Made a new dodger canvas on such one just recently - at 10% of the quote by the local loft!

Other stuff we dragged along and are happy with are:
- cooking and kitchen stuff,
- stereo,
- laptops,
- clothing,
- trekking equip.,
- tools.

b.

[kehalm]

What is included in your $2500/mo. My biggest worry is health insurance now that it's not paid for by a company and we're nearing 60.

[jamiecrab]

I already pay extra into my retirement to cover insurance after retirement.

[NotQuiteLost]

Originally Posted by kehalm

What is included in your $2500/mo. My biggest worry is health insurance now that it's not paid for by a company and we're nearing 60.

You know, get out of the states and medical care becomes a heckuva lot more affordable. My brother's latest was delivered via C-section for ~$2k cash at the best hospital in Cebu, and standard deliveries are like $500 at the same place, with the state head of OB-GYN performing. Dental work is cheap, about $7 per filling, and a thorough cleaning is only about $5. Extractions are $10-100/tooth, depending on how much surgery you need. Heck, I got some pre-cancerous crap on my toe examined, biopsied and removed for ~$200.

Unless your medications literally cost more than your insurance bill, I'd say check out SE Asia. It makes me laugh at the idea of getting any work done in Mexico, and being an RN I can understand why things get too expensive in the USA.