So first off I need to figure out how much money I can accumulate before I set off cruising. For now on I am assuming that my 30th birthday will be my target date. This is realistically the time I think I can save the amount I need, and the real goal of wanting to do all of this by the time I enter my 30's. I turn 30 in June of 2012, so this will give me 6 months of cruising before the world ends that December hehe (just kidding, but seriously 2012 is freaky).
So from now till then I have 3.5 years to save. I am saving at a pretty heft rate right now, and I can safely assume my saving will get better as I approach my launch date, especially after I have moved onto my boat permanently. Since I know it is prudent to be conservative in projections, I will use my current savings rate and hope to improve on it. Without revealing too much and doing a bit of rounding, I am going to say $50,000 is my cash savings forecast.
I have a good chunk of assets that I plan on selling to pad that savings. I am already in the process of getting rid of some big items so the actual dollar value of everything will become clearer as I sell. These assets include my car, furniture, electronics, gym, and everything else that I won't need when I go cruising. Just using my best guess and comparable selling prices on craigslist, I have roughly $14,000 in assets. To account for some depreciation, I'll assume $10,000.
As mentioned previously, I have a 401k, but do not plan on touching that for the cruise. I want that nest egg for my retirement years. The 401k is just a little more in value than the current balance of my student loans. Therefore they net each other out, and since I plan on keeping both throughout the cruise I won't include them in my cruising net worth.
So now it looks like I could realistically have $60,000 in cash by cruising time. Of course, I plan on getting my boat and outfitting it well before the launch date, so that money would be spent over time.
Now lets combine all of the costs I have developed in previous posts to see what I need annually to cruise:
| Low | High | Average | |
| Provisions | $3,000 | $4,500 | $3,750 |
| Entertainment | 700 | 2,000 | 1,350 |
| Marina/Mooring | 400 | 1,000 | 700 |
| Communications | 400 | 600 | 500 |
| Fuel | 700 | 1,000 | 850 |
| Officals/fees | 200 | 500 | 350 |
| Other Living | 600 | 1,000 | 800 |
| Boat Insurance | 500 | 1000 | 750 |
| Boat Maintenance | 2500 | 5000 | 3,750 |
| Health Insurance | 500 | 1500 | 1,000 |
| Discretionary | 500 | 1000 | 750 |
| Travel Home | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Student Loan | 1440 | 1440 | 1,440 |
| Subtotal | $11,940 | $21,040 | $16,490 |
| Contingency (20%) | 2388 | 4208 | 3298 |
| Total Annual Expenses | $14,328 | $25,248 | $19,788 |
As shown here, I can expect between $14,000-$25,000 in annual expenses. Keep in mind, these expenses were designed for a cruising COUPLE. If I have to go sailing solo, these expenses will be much lower. For the sake of projection, I will assume that I need $10,000 a year. I know it is very possible to spend less than this, especially if I don't bother with many capital costs while I am voyaging. This budget will be fine tuned as often as possible as I gain a better understanding of these costs. Keep in mind I also plan on working a bit while out there, so my spending will most likely increase with income (average to high side of the budget).
So if I am planning on having enough saved up for two years, I will need $20,000 in my cruising kitty saved up. This leaves me with roughly $40,000 left over for my boat. This includes the money I will use to upgrade and outfit the boat for offshore use.
Next up, we talk boats!
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