Well, this is our retirement dream, and yes we are still years away from being financially stable enough to embark. I always tell my clients that the only way to reach your goals is to make them. So, we are stating our retirement goals. The question we get the most is did you win the lottery, or inherit a lot of money, how can you be planning to do this. The answer is no. Jennifer is a CPA and Scott is an Investment Representative. Recovering from a misstep financially, before our current careers, we started over in the hole. For almost a decade we lived on less than half of what we made, investing the difference in 401k's, Roth's, mutual funds, real estate, etc. We have had some good investments and some bad one but by diversifying we are coming out ahead. Again, we are still several years away from retiring, but we are planning. My point isn't to brag but to make the statement that anyone can do this. If you spend "less" than you make, you save money.
"He worked by day and toiled by night;
He gave up play and some delight.
Dry books he read, new things to learn
And forged ahead, success to earn.
He plodded on with faith and pluck;
And when he won, men called it luck."
--Charlie Gordon
"How much does it cost?"
First we will lay out what our initial budget is.
Boat could be anywhere from $100,000 to 170,000. The high end will have to have all our toys, and stuff. We are looking for a catamaran between '34 & '37.
Boat Supplies are a major concern. We like toys. We are keeping a refitting expense list of stuff we want, of course we would like to get a boat with these things already. We'll see.
Monthly Budget Target $2000. To make us feel better we are planning for more than twice that. Plan for the worst hope for the best, and all that.
| $100 | Communication | |
| $400 | Entertainment | |
| $350 | Food | |
| $100 | Diesel and Propane | |
| $200 | Marina/Mooring Fees | |
| $450 | Misc. Boat Supplies | |
| $250 | insurance | |
| $138 | Student Loan | |
| $1,988 | Living Expences Budget | $23,856/year |
We will be deciding on a boat in the next year and start refitting, which will probably take several years. We will keep a running total of everything we spend. As for the monthly Budget, $2000 is a figure we came up with after following Ali & Pat on bumfuzzle.com, and The Hacking Family on Ocelot . Bumfuzzle has been kind enough to post their monthly cash flow. They have gone out for 3 1/2 years, before starting a family (I wish I had). Jennifer and I talked and although we could do the same, leave for 3-4 years, if we wait a few more years we could do it forever.
When I am unable to do something I analyze it to death. Ali & Pat on Bumfuzzle are living the dream and are the reason I have put this together they way I have. Following in their foot steps, and being a finance geek, I plan to disclose to the best of my ability what it takes. I have taken their actual cash flow and put together a budget spread sheet.
Here is a list of potential toys and systems that we would like to have.
| REFITTING WANTS | |||
| Water maker | $5,500 | ||
| Furling Boom | $10,000 | ||
| Electric motors | $8,000 | ||
| Batteries 48vdc system | $5,000 | ||
| Ditch Kit | $6,500 | ||
| Echopilot Forward Sonar | $2,500 | ||
| Generator | $6,700 | ||
| Inverter 48vdc to 120vac | $1,500 | ||
| Converter 48vdc to 12vdc | $1,700 | ||
| Chart Plotter |
$3,000 |
||
| Radar | $2,000 | ||
| Solar Panels | $4,000 | ||
| Solar Boost 3048L | $400 | ||
| Wind energy 48v generator x2 | $1500 | ||
| Total |
$20500 |
||
This is our pre-retirement prep cash flow most of it so far is classes and research.
Revised: August 26, 2007
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