Before buying our boat, we set a monthly spending goal of less than $3,000 a month / $100 a day. We’re sharing our Monthly Cruising Budget report every month to give some insight into what it costs to live, work and cruise aboard a sailboat.

October | Month 4 – $7,482.73 ($4,482.73 Over Budget)

This was a bit of a crazy month. We completed the last of our must-have upgrades before heading for the river, left our homeport, had a big going away party/celebration of Lauren’s birthday, and we had some big boat expenses — some of them unexpected. We spent a total of $7,482.73, the most we’ve spent in a single month since we got married. We’re hoping not to repeat this on a regular basis!

We bought a cellphone signal booster & marine antenna, so we could stay connected and continue working while motoring through middle America. Lauren got a new GoPro Hero6 for her birthday, and spent a good deal on supplies for the remaining projects before leaving. The biggest expenses by far were related to shipping our mast from Chicago, Illinois to Mobile, Alabama, and the unscheduled haul-out we had as a result of our centerboard dropping and getting stuck in the down position.

Top 5 Expense Categories – Month 4: Leaving the Dock & Shipping the Mast

  1. Professional Services – We knew we’d be spending a good chunk of money here, to unstep and ship our mast, however the unexpected haul-out caught us by surprise.
  2. Communications – Staying connected is vitally important for us. Not only so we can continue to provide content to all of you on a regular basis :D, but our plan is to continue working while we travel for the foreseeable future. We bought a cellphone signal booster, and marine antenna which weren’t cheap.
  3. Camera – GoPro & accessories
  4. Supplies – More odds and ends related to our windlass, composting toilet installation, small plumbing and electrical projects
  5. Grocery – Stocked up on a lot of groceries in October before heading down the river

Included below is a chart that breaks down all expenses into their respective categories.

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Keep in mind…

Every person’s experience will be unique. We’ve decided to make long-term travel a lifestyle instead of a long sabbatical. Therefore, we are continuing to work while we travel, and have certain expenses associated with that work. It forces us to do things we otherwise wouldn’t if we were traveling for pure pleasure, but also gives us flexibility in other ways, too. We’re careful to not spend frivolously, but we’re not trying to travel as cheaply as possible. You won’t catch us trying to prove how frugal we are. (;