Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Budget

Payday!! Whoo Hoo....this is always every-other Thursday and I always have the day highlighted in my calendar, so I don't forget, like that would happen! Today is my last Payday, though, and I think Mike dried up a few weeks ago, so now is when we really need to start thinking about our budget! The first few weeks on the boat has seemed like a never ending money pit...

We've had to buy spare parts, buy navigation equipment, provisions and the list goes on. Here is a list of a few of those items that we still want or are working on:

1. New dinghy motor (where you can actually push in the choke and trust that you will make it from point A to point B)
2. A working refrigerator (right now ours is a glorified ice box)
3. A toilet that you can use (we have a Y-valve leak - this is hopefully an easy & inexpensive fix)
4. An inverter that works (we have DC Power, but it would be really nice to be able to use the AC outlets)

And that's the scary part! There is always a list of what needs to be fixed next and what you'd like to improve or what would just make your life a little easier, but you have to prioritize because all of these things cost money and take time.

This luckily has not been a complete shock to me. I new a little bit about boat expenses from my grandparents experience on the Queen B. Grandpa was always in the engine room fixing broke generators, water makers, alternators, planning the next boat remodel/upgrade and so forth. He was always sending the grandkids on errands around town to the nearest Napa Auto Parts to buy the tool he needed to get the job done or the replacement bolt or filter. I guess you just don't realize how Expensive those improvements can be until you are the one opening the wallet!!

And on top of all that, it sometimes feels like you say the word "Boat" and everything is 10 times as expensive!! We had the same experience with our wedding and almost wanted to tell people we were having a Birthday party, so we could get cheaper prices.

The last day Daubie was aboard, he taught us about the Sailor's Gold Star Day. This is a day when you spend no money and you can enter in a gold star into your log. Lots of cruisers are cheap, at least to some degree because if you are going to live this life style and not have a steady income, most people have to watch their money if they want to continue on, not everyone has a trust fund. However, being out here, you do realize that there is A LOT of money out there and there are tons of multi-million dollar yachts and sailing vessels....how they get this type of money, I'm still trying to figure out! But, long story short, the "Gold Star Day" is what Mike and I are striving for, plus it would help out on the whole budgeting!

2 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, i was laughing out loud at this comment...my favorite :)

    "We had the same experience with our wedding and almost wanted to tell people we were having a Birthday party, so we could get cheaper prices."

    That is sooo funny! Would have been even more funny if you did that and had to send out b-day invites to your wedding!!! hehee

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Cindy! It was easy to write since it's all true!! Haha

    ReplyDelete

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