Living aboard - a question

Like many young couples (30 is still young, right?), our lives are full of job obligations, parenting, and financial strategizing. Beneath the surface, though, runs our desire to cut the literal and figurative docklines and go sailing. It's something I think about every day. It's what motivates us to work hard, play frugally, and spend wisely (well... usually).

We talk about selling this place in 3-4 years, purchasing a boat, and living aboard. From my landlocked vantage point, I get the impression that we should be able to manage it, especially if we either buy the boat outright or put a big down payment on a loan. As long as we have Internet access, we should be able to keep the jobs we have now, meaning we won't lost any (or much) income. We wouldn't have a mortgage or the house-related expenses, though of course we'll obtain plenty of boat-related financial obligations.

When it comes to money, I sometimes overlook the finer details. I'm often overly optimistic and fail to realize it until I'm drowning in unanticipated expenses. So I'm just trying to get a better sense of whether our plan is really feasible.

A couple of questions for those of you who live aboard: how much do you spend per month on marina fees? What do those fees include? And - do you think you spend less living aboard than you would if you lived in a traditional home?

New blog

I've been on a hiatus from this blog because, well, I don't really know what to say. Financially, the exciting, making-big-progress part of our plan is over, and we're in the boring make money-save a little money-make money-save a little money phase. As for sailing, aside from our intermittent involvement with the local yacht club, we're in a holding pattern there, too. Sometimes I wish we lived close to the coast and had our own house so that we could buy a cheap little boat, park it in our driveway, and sail it on the weekends.

However, I have started a new blog about the day-to-day aspects of being a working mom. It's called WAHMyhood. I love writing and want to be able to blog on a daily basis; I'll have plenty of fodder for frequent entries about motherhood, working, and juggling multiple responsibilities. 

I'll still be writing here, too. We're still very much invested in our sailing dream and want to have a record of our progress. The posts will be more sporadic, that's all. 

Late July craziness

I have been busy lately with work, getting one of my teeth fixed (goodbye, $1000), baking (one day last week, I spent eight hours in the kitchen and made a massive dinner of homemade veggie casserole, focaccia bread, fruit salad, salad with sunflower dressing, and blueberry pie - for me, that was the equivalent of a cooking marathon), cleaning (I tend to make a big mess when I cook), and trying to figure out why our two-year-old erupts with massive amounts of energy 20 hours a day (I even read a parenting book - and I'm usually not a big fan of such things).

This summer has been very hot and blazingly sunny, and I am looking forward to autumn and winter, when we can spend time at the park without melting. The combination of heat and UV radiation makes us reluctant to head outside, even though that's the best way for our kid to blow off some steam.

Basically, all I want to do is lounge around, eat yummy food, drink something citrusy and refreshing, and... hmm, that's about it.

One piece of news: we did join our local sailing club. We're going to alternate going to the meetings; our son isn't old enough to come along yet, so one of us needs to stay home and hang out with him. Trent went last Tuesday night, and I'll get to go this Tuesday night. In addition to getting a chance to sail, I hope we'll be able to meet some people who know stuff about navigation and fixing things, and who enjoy sharing that knowledge.

We got to go sailing!

A couple of days ago, Trent and I contacted a local sailing club and asked if we could tag along at an upcoming event, just so we could see whether we might want to join. They said yes - very exciting! - so last night we left my son with his grandmother and headed up to the lake for a "Learn at the Helm" session. This program matches novices with experienced sailors and their boats, thereby giving people a chance to crew on a variety of vessels.

Trent and I ended up on two different boats, which was actually good in terms of experience/learning. His boat was nice because it was similar to the ones we used in our sailing class last year. He said he felt pretty comfortable on it. I ended up on a 37-foot, brand-new Beneteau that looked like it belonged on the ocean, not on a small freshwater lake. It was a little weird because everything was automated and/or super easy to use. Press a few buttons, pull a few lines, and voila, the boat is carving through the water with the sails up. There were five other people with me, plus the owner, and I think everyone else, like me, was terrified of doing something stupid and destroying the thing. It was so pretty, though. I'd love to have a boat that size. It had a master cabin, a smaller cabin, a great little kitchen area with refrigerator and stove, a navigation desk, and a bathroom with shower... Sheesh. I could live on something like that! 

Trent really wants to join the club, and I think we will. That way, we can practice on some of the motorless club boats. There's no other way we're going to get experience on a regular basis. I'd really like to purchase a small, trailerable boat (17-23 feet) of our own. If we had our own little boat, we could go out there whenever we wanted to and practice without the anxiety that comes with someone more experienced coaching you along. Every time we go with someone else, they'll say, "Don't worry, do whatever you want, I'll just sit here and enjoy the view," and then they'll proceed to share advice and tips for the duration of the sail. That might work for some learners, but it doesn't work for me. I learn by trying things out myself and making mistakes.

I think we could buy in at a good price right now, but we won't, because 1) we don't want to pay a slip fee, 2) there aren't any slips available anyway, 3) we can't park a boat in our condo complex, and 4) our car can't tow anything. Basically, in order to get a boat, we'd have to get a new house and new car first!

We'll see. The fee to join isn't too expensive - about $160 for both of us - and I know we could get a lot out of it.

P.S. Congratulations to Lisette and Bill for winning the giveaway! 

Revolutionary Road (and my first giveaway!)

This summer, I'm reading Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. Trent and I watched the movie (starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) a few weeks ago.  Then Trent heard on a Slate podcast that the book is even better, so we checked it out at the library. 

There's something disturbingly familiar (that's how I feel, anyway) about the themes in this book. It's about a young married couple, April and Frank Wheeler, who - despite their once passionate determination to travel and act and live life outside of the norm - somehow find themselves raising two children in suburbia. Frank works in the city, and April stays at home with the kids. They feel out of place in a pretty, perfect-lawn-and-garden world in which everyone else seems comfortable and content. 

The novel is set in the 1950s. To be honest, I thought the author had written it only in the last few years. I was surprised to discover it was first published in the 1960s. The themes seem modern. Some issues span decades, I guess.

Frank and April's story brings up some questions that I think a lot of us ask ourselves, though perhaps we don't share them with the people around us:

Do we choose the nature of our lives for ourselves, or do circumstances and expectation channel us into them?

How many adults, despite appearances, feel uncomfortable with the status quo of their lives? How many adults make an effort to change that?

Is it selfish to try to buck societal norms? 

Is bucking societal norms really that difficult - or is that an illusion? Do we create imaginary barriers in our own minds, ones that prevent us from exploring as far and wide as we're actually capable of doing?

Personally, I think a lot of the things that seem impossible really aren't. We're just entrenched in our current situations and bound by a mountain of debt, stuff, complacency, and/or other people's expectations.  That doesn't mean we can't pull ourself out of the trench or overcome the mountain; it'll just require some work. For instance, the idea of buying a boat, living on it, and seeing part of the world that way seems kind of far-fetched from where I'm sitting right now, but really, what will it take? Money (definitely a big obstacle, but not an insurmountable one if we plan ahead), research, patience, a willingness to learn, and time - and that's about all. That's why I'm so convinced we can make it happen.

Anyway, that's what I'm doing/thinking about on my summer vacation.

*  *  *  *  *

On a somewhat unrelated note, I've decided to have a giveaway - first because I think it'll be fun, and second because I'd like to have a better idea of who's reading this blog. Nothing fancy, but I'm giving away two new WRAP-N-MATS wraps. My sister-in-law purchased one for my son last year, and it's perfect for wrapping up sandwiches. It encourages both frugality and "green living." 

To enter, just reply to this post, include your name and e-mail address in the comment boxes, and answer the following question:

What book would you recommend others read this summer?

The giveaway ends on Tuesday, July 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. I'll choose the winners at random and announce them on Wednesday morning. You must have an address in the U.S. in order to enter.

Boats on the brain

If you were to peer through a window into my mind right now, you would see a lot of boats bobbing along in the current of my thoughts. Most of them would be monohulled, between 32 and 45 feet in length; many would be full keeled. You might see a few catamarans, too, although I doubt we'd ever get one (they're beautiful, but they're expensive). Cape Dories and Island Packets would dominate the fleet.

I've been spending a fair share of time drooling over ads for used sailboats and pondering the possibility of attending a boat show sometime in the next year. Meanwhile, Trent's been at the library, checking out books by young sailor Jesse Martin and venerated single-hander Joshua Slocum. We've been reviewing the budget, calculating, and projecting; we've been working and saving and paying off debt. Both Trent and I are 100 percent dedicated to making the journey to the future we want to achieve, which is to purchase a boat, live on it, and sail the East Coast (and maybe beyond). We are no longer thinking in terms of if we will achieve this, but when we will achieve it, and how. Just because it's an unusual way of life compared to the way most Americans do things doesn't mean it's an impossible, unsafe, or stupid goal, so we're not going to listen to such doubts.

Trent and I have never been the kind of people who come up with an idea and take years to implement it. Usually, we act pretty quickly. Finances have definitely set the pace for the implementation of this plan, but we'll see where we're at in 2011. Maybe we can get this show on the road/in the water sooner than we'd initially thought. Meanwhile, plans for the next year include doubling our savings (at the least), sailing on our local lake, and perhaps signing up for a one week coastal cruising/bareboat class down in Florida. 

*This reverie has been interrupted by a two-year-old boy who wants to slam every door in the house.*

Treat yourself to a free adventure story

If you're looking for an adventure story as compelling and entertaining as almost anything you'd find on the shelf at Borders, and one you can read on your lunch hour (or while pretending to work), check out a blog written by Zac Sunderland, who, at the ripe old age of 17, is close to completing a year-long sailing circumnavigation of the globe:

Zac Sunderland's sailing blog

Even if you're not into boats or the ocean or that sort of thing, you might enjoy his journal. It's about tenacity, determination, optimism, and resourcefulness. Most of us could probably use a little inspiration and motivation in those areas.

As a side note, I'm impressed by his writing. It's pragmatic and engaging. There's a lot of continuity and interesting detail in his posts. 

The sailing dream, a year later

I write a lot about debt reduction and frugal living, but don't be fooled. This blog is really about our dream: sailing.

A year ago, when we decided we wanted to reduce debt and save so that we could buy a boat one day, here's what I wrote in my journal:

Trent and I both love the water. He grew up swimming, fishing, and boating. I grew up decidedly on land, but when I spent a month on a tall ship back in 2004, sailing got into my blood. To this day, I get shivers when I think of sitting up on deck in the middle of the night and looking up to see the masts reaching up for the stars. I also liked a lot of the things that other people dislike about boats: the constant cleaning and maintenance, the lurching around in bad weather, the challenge of making dinner while your food is sloshing over the edge of the pan...

It would be so cool to do something so different, something that would allow us to travel as much as I want us to travel. And why not?

Although our devotion to this dream occasionally waxed and waned in the months following, we now find we're even more excited about sailing than we were 12 months ago. This is not normal for us. We usually move from idea to idea at breakneck pace. We usually live in the moment. We usually live for now, not for the future. But the sailing goal has such a strong hold on us that we're willing to give up a lot of the instant gratification we're so used to. Since June of 2008, we've paid off almost $19,000 in debt and surpassed our savings goal by 150%. We ramped up savings and frugal living in January. We've cut back on vacations (no vacay for us this summer), going out to eat, cable, home decorations, and book purchases. We've taken almost every job contract offer we've received. Though it's sometimes a major drag, we've basically changed how we live because we want so badly to achieve the sailing goal. That's how much we want it. 

Oh, and we learned how to sail, and we loved it.

We know we'll never have the money to buy a new, 70-foot yacht and sail off to Tahiti for the rest of our lives. However, we do think we'll be able to buy a used 32- to 40-foot sailboat in 4-5 years, live on it, and cruise down the ICW to the Florida Keys and maybe the Bahamas. We're hoping we can continue working online; this would allow us to basically dock for several weeks at a time, make some cash, and then move on. I'd love to try the live-aboard lifestyle. I think it would offer us the challenge we're looking for. We'd have to work together, all three of us, to overcome problems and obstacles and to live successfully. We'd have to be self-sufficient. Based on what I've learned so far about who our son is (high energy, can't sit still, loves being outside), I think this would really benefit his growth and development, too.

I know this will seem weird to some people, but it's just a different way of life, and we want to try it. It might be cramped, it might not always be comfortable, and it might not be as secure as a house on land. But neither Trent nor I feel especially comfortable in our current situation, either. We feel like outsiders in suburbia. Our house is little but cozy... There are a lot of things to do... People are friendly and helpful... yet we feel like we're not exactly in the right place. We want to get off the beaten path, if only for a couple of years.

So we're planning and preparing. It's going to be a long process. I'm learning a lot about myself and my family right now, though. I'm surprising myself, for one thing, by being able to work for a future goal instead of going for whatever I can get right now. I'm learning that the simpler life gets, the better it seems to get... Yes, I'd love a vacation, but I've also been enjoying those nondescript evenings at home with my husband and son, playing with cars or watching a movie. I've been enjoying baking my own bread and pizza. I've started reading more... I'd definitely slacked off on that, but now it's something I do when I have time to fill. I'm learning that buying stuff won't make me feel better. I'm learning to wait to make decisions, especially decisions involving our money.

So that's where I'm at with sailing. Basically, this is the thing that gets me up in the morning, and this is the thing that makes me want to sacrifice most of the "extras" I've always assumed I needed. I'm so excited about how far we've come, and I can't wait to see what we'll be able to accomplish toward this goal in the next year.

Is this *really* going to work?

Last night, while we were on a Valentine's Eve date (with coupons for $10 off dinner at Buca di Beppo and a free coffee at Panera), Trent and I discussed whether we will really be able to save up, buy a boat, and sail in 5-7 years. We decided that yes, it's definitely possible, with the following caveats:

1. We'll need to buy a used boat (we've always know this; new boats are extremely expensive, often sporting price tags much higher than the cost of our house).

2. We'll need to do a lot of our own work on the boat. We might not be able to make every fix or improvement ourselves, but we should be willing to put in the elbow grease whenever possible. We should be ready to learn.

3. We'll need to alternate between working and sailing so that we can generate income. Right now, a six-months-on, six-months off schedule looks like it might be doable. We'd top up the cruising kitty, then head out again for a set period of time, then return to earn some cash, etc.

4. We need a realistic sailing plan. Forget heading off to Tahiti. Who knows? That might happen, but such a trip takes funding and skill we don't yet have. However, a trip down the Intercoastal Waterway, followed by a few months in the Florida Keys, later followed, perhaps, by time in the Bahamas and then the Caribbean - that's doable. Baby steps.

5. Unless the housing market improves significantly in the next few years, we'll probably rent out our house. That would allow us to maintain some landlubber security without the burden of a monthly mortgage payment. 

Henry David Thoreau famously said, "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." It might take us a while to build that foundation, piece by piece, but I'm convinced we can do it if we maintain focus over the long term and channel our resources appropriately.

The pros and cons of working from home

Trent and I have been working exclusively from home for the past three years or so. This is nothing we ever planned: both of us went to college and grad school figuring we'd eventually find ourselves in an office. The contract work we do fell into our laps, though, and now I think we'd suffer a bit of a culture shock if we found ourselves in a more traditional nine-to-five environment.

Working from home has several benefits:

1. You get to be at home...near your warm, comfy bed...and your nicely stocked refrigerator.

2. You can write very important-sounding letters while dressed in your purple rocket ship pajamas.

3. There's a perception of autonomy. We have supervisors, but we rarely see them. They're kind of the real-life versions of Charlie from Charlie's Angels: every now and then one of them will contact us (either as a voice on the phone or as words in an e-mail), issue a directive, and then vanish back into the ether. It's fun to pretend we're independent operators, at any rate, with no set protocol or requirements to follow. 

4. We spend a lot of time together as a family, and we have the flexibility to do family stuff during the day. Oftentimes we take an hour or two off in the mornings and go to the park or playground with our son. Sometimes we drive to a nearby city for lunch (less often now than in the past, of course, given our more frugal lifestyle). We've even gone on road trips to see our families, stopping late in the afternoon so that we have time to check our e-mail before the end of the workday.

5. It's environmentally friendly and frugal in that we don't use our car very much. On some days, we never leave the house. When we do, most of our destinations are here in town and less than two miles away.

But working from home isn't always a bowl of cherries, a vase of roses, or a highway of rainbows. Some of the cons include the following:

1. It's hard to work when your bed is so comfortable that you find yourself lying in it in the middle of the day for extended periods of time.

2. I won't lie. Our clothing is pitiful. Because no-one will ever see most of the things I wear, I don't feel bad about keeping items that are holey, small, or faded (or altogether falling apart).

3. Working from home requires a lot of sometimes-nonexistent self-motivation. Trent and I are both pretty self-motivated on most days, but every now and then, the fact that we don't have people breathing down our necks, telling us what to do and when, leads us to slack off and waste time.

4. We're with each other pretty much 24/7. Three people in a 1400-square foot condo... Sometimes, the place feels claustrophobic, especially when one of us is grumpy (me) or has a particularly stinky set of dirty diapers (that would be our son).

5. It can be difficult to meet people. Most folks go somewhere else to work, somewhere where there are other people and the opportunity for socializing (or at least some good old social drama). I miss seeing other human beings. Occasionally, I even miss the drama. That might explain why I practically wag my tail with excitement when I get an opportunity to talk to someone else in person.

Regardless, I think we're lucky to have this arrangement - not just because it's convenient, independent, and economical, but because it's a land-based version of what we hope our lives will be like in a few years. Ultimately, our goal is to sail on a budget and on a 35- to 40-foot boat, and most of the time, we'll be fending for ourselves. Our current experience will, I hope, help us develop skills that make our future endeavors more successful. 

Staying motivated

On any given boring, humdrum day, there are several publications and websites that help us stay energized about, and focused on, our sailing dreams. In no particular order, here they are:

Cruising World Magazine -  Cruising World is a magazine for "cruisers" - people who sail full time - and wannabe cruisers. The print magazine is (in our opinion) better than the website, but we like to check out the articles and pictures. 

Cruiser's Forum - I signed us up for this forum a few months ago and was initially intimidated by the number of people there who can call themselves real sailors. I was afraid to post anything for fear of being laughed out of the discussion (at that time, I had no idea what terms like "tack," "jib," and "spinnaker" meant). Now that we've taken sailing lessons and done a little sailing on our own, I've started commenting on some of the posts. This site contains a lot of advice, a lot of encouragement, and a lot of messages from people who desire to live off the beaten path. It's nice to know we aren't alone in that respect.

SetSail - This is a collection of blogs written by individuals, couples, and families who are currently sailing. It's a little slow right now, but it should pick up in a couple of months. Our favorites are the family blogs, as we'll eventually be sailing with our son.

Seven Seas Cruising Association - This site is really for people who are already cruising, but it has a discussion area for sailing and finances. Oh, and it provides updates on piracy issues. 

And finally...

Sailboat listings - I spend way too much time looking at this site. Still, there *are* a lot of great boats out there that don't cost a ton of money. It gives me hope.

These sites serve as reminders that help keep us focused and hopeful.

-Susanne

Goals for 2009

We have a few fiscal and sailing goals for 2009. Given the unstable economy and shaky job market, we've decided we need to make the most of our current employment contracts and earnings. For us, 2009 is all about frugality, saving, and laying low. At the same time, we will continue to hone our sailing skills so that we can gain confidence and be prepared to take more advanced sailing lessons in the future.

Fiscal goals:

-Pay off Trent's last credit card.

-Put at least $75 a month into our cruising kitty (for a total of at least $900).

-Once the credit card is paid off, bump up our monthly student loan payments by $50 each.

-Stick to a "fun budget" of $150 per month - this budget covers things like going out to eat, coffee runs, alcohol, and babysitting expenses.

-Put 15% of earnings into our retirement accounts via automatic draft.

Sailing goals:

-Sail at least six times this year on the local lake. We do not own a boat, so we will need to put money aside to rent one.

Frugality goals:

-Go to the grocery store just once a week, instead of 2-3 times like we used to.

-Start using coupons when we go to the grocery store (our local Kroger actually lets us "load" the coupons onto our customer cards - no need to carry around paper ones).

-Distinguish between wants and needs: we need to pay for doctor's visits; we do not need new hardwood floors.

-Continue to look for free activities around town: the park, our running group, etc.

The beginning of the dream

Our goal is clear. We want to pay off credit cards, school loans, and maybe even our mortgage so that we can buy a boat and, in five or six or seven years, sail: down the Intercoastal Waterway, to the Florida Keys, on to the Bahamas, and maybe even beyond.

If you look at our goal from a traditional perspective, it seems pretty crazy. We both have college degrees. We both work (a lot). We have a child. And bills. We're not rich. Shouldn't we dig in for the long haul, make enough money so that we can retire comfortably, send our kid to college, become grandparents, enjoy our golden years, and then, well, die? Isn't that kind of what we've been training ourselves to do?

We've tried hard to get enthused about this well-worn road, but both of us feel the urge to do something different. We've both had so many adventures - hiking the Appalachian Trail, backpacking in the Alps, living in Korea, camping in the deserts of the Southwestern U.S. - that we're addicted to the high of getting off the beaten path.

We've been focusing on this goal for less than a year. Last May, just after we'd purchased our house and moved in, Trent and I found ourselves wondering, Is this it? Are we going to be sitting here in front of the television in 10 years, doing the same thing? In 20 years? Sure, maybe we'll take some vacations, get a raise, upgrade to a larger home at some point, maybe buy some land...but where's the adventure?

That's when Trent said, "We should do something different. We should... sail around the world! Why not?"

That surprised me. Trent's usually a realist. I'm the crazy one with the cockamamie ideas, and such a thing had never even crossed my mind. I said, "But we don't know how to sail. It's dangerous. It's expensive. And we have a lot of debt, debt we won't be able to pay off for...forever. That's impossible." After all, we'd racked up a lot of credit card debt in the eight years we'd been married, and the balance remaining on our school loans seemed absolutely colossal.

The idea stuck with us, though, and the more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. We came up with a tentative plan that started to look more and more realistic and doable: learn to sail. Go out to eat less, purchase less, spend less on things we don't need, distance ourselves from consumerism, and put more of our money into savings. With every day that passed, we became more devoted to this self-imposed pilgrimage to find and live out our dream. The beauty of it? No matter what, we'd be better off in five years - not just financially, but as a family, too, because we'd know how to work together in an effort to achieve a common goal.

Between May and December of 2008, we managed to...

-Pay off more than $12,000 in debt, including both of Susanne's credit cards

-Learn how to sail - Trent and I both earned our Basic Keelboat certification in September

-Set up 401K plans

-Put money into a "cruising kitty" - an account we're using to save up for a boat, which we hope to purchase outright, no financing

I'm convinced that without keeping our dream in sight, we would have never accomplished so much in such a short time. 

We're not especially unique people; we're not the kind of folks you'd really pay much attention to if you saw us at the local park or the grocery store. We're average. We both work from home. We both parent our 2-year-old son. We both run. We're a normal family with a middle-of-the-road income. But we don't buy into the idea that anyone has to live a typical life if he or she has a hankering for something more atypical. And neither of us believes we should be slaves to money, as we have been for a good long while by now.

The more we work toward our goal, the freer we feel - little by little. We're confident we can make our sailing dreams happen, but if for whatever reasons we do not, we're confident we'll be better off for this effort.

-Susanne