September was definitely not a typical month budget-wise but it still hurts more than a little to look at the numbers. We’d been putting off several major items for our arrival in the Bay area, namely purchasing a new dinghy and adding two additional solar panels. But even not including those two items we’re still well above $2k. I guess we may have had a little too much fun in San Francisco! We did have access to a car for a day so we did major stock-up trips to Costco and Trader Joes; I’m sure a lot of what we purchased will be consumed months from now. Or maybe not…we are amazed at how much two little girls eat!
S/V Wondertime’s September 2011 Cruising Expenses
allowance (Leah) – $10
boat insurance – $54
boat stuff – $3,866
books – $15
car rental – $55
cat supplies – $44
cell phone – $23
computer – $76
diesel – $477
eating out – $337
fishing gear – $7
gas for dinghy – $41
groceries – $1,344
kindle – $150
laundry – $34
moorage – $122
postage – $14
propane – $20
souvenirs – $134
supplies – $55
toys – $26
transportation – $29
welding – $75
total: $7,008
Just found your site and finding it very inspirational. I have a 6 month old little girl and one day want to follow in your footsteps.
Is $2k your regular monthly budget? Also, are you guys doing without health insurance?
Hi there! I am so glad you are enjoying our stories! Our budget is actually $1200/month but I think we are being optimistic. At least in California…hopefully we’ll get near that once we get to Mexico. We do not currently have health insurance; due to pre-existing conditions we weren’t able to buy a policy. Only 9 more days and we’ll be in Mexico where health care is so affordable we’ll be able to pay cash for nearly anything that may come up.
I like that approach. When Tate and I go sailing we will forego health insurance. As it is right now we pay $4k a year for the both of us and we NEVER get sick or go to the doctor aside from the regular checkup’s. The healthcare in the US is such a racket. We are also going to just pay in cash for what we need while sailing. In other countries it seems to be cheaper anyways.
Another note is that I have heard many times that people get sick less on sailboats because they are away from others. Your children aren’t in daycare or school where sickness is rampant.
Dani