06/09/2008 0359UTC 14 16.433S 170 41.620W Day 455 Up at 0640 28C, Partly Cloudy, Wind ESE 10-20 Knots.

Several readers have asked for a detailed analysis of our cruising budget. 1st Mate's entry today is an in-depth look at the financial reality of long term voyaging.

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"Crew Quarters"

1st Mate: There is no one set way to cruise or to figure expenses. What I hope to do is help you come up with a formula that fits your situation.

First of all, in no way did I have our budget solidified when we shoved off. I, like most, read through books and believed them when they said you would need about $20,000US to $30,000US a year. I was logical and chose $25,000US a year, not realizing that is really just $2,000US a month to live on. It sounds simple until you break it all down and after time see where it all goes. Initially, you need to pick your own category of cruiser by being single, double or family. Next, do you want to enjoy cruising in four star mode, moderate-realistic, or bare bones and beans? I can only give advice based on who we are and a bit of what we have seen.

Family of four with two growing kids who live in the moderate-realistic lane: (we don't splurge on whatever, whenever, yet we don' stay aboard eating only what we catch with rice or beans)

I began the expense report our first month out. I have these basic groups:

Grocery, Restaurant, Propane, Entertainment, Moorage, Laundry-Showers, Fuel-Oil, Health Insurance, Boat Insurance, School, Internet, Transportation, Miscellaneous, Repair, Liquor

I keep all my receipts in a pile and write down cash used without a receipt, say, a hot dog at the carnival. You can choose to round up for easier totaling, but enter often or it becomes real work and cruising is about leaving all that behind. At the end of the month I make notes of where we spent the most and why. We average $3,000US per month, which may seem high but we pay for boat/health insurance and a school program. That all adds to $693.04US per month, right off the top. This is all your choice; some folks carry only liability insurance, do their own home school curriculum and use the local medical clinics with no back up.

The rest of the money is split up. We don't eat out all the time, but cruisers will get together for dinner and drinks and kids want some fast food now and then. If you go low ball, you will sit on your boat alone with your rice, and the kids will soon hate cruising; we do see this often. Yet there are those who have blown $120,000US in the first year eating steaks and drinking martinis. Be realistic in your choices. We have a liquor category just to track how much is spent on nonessentials (ours is very low, but beer in Mexico is half of what it is in Polynesia). If you use tobacco or have magazine subscriptions, make another category for yourself.

The costs in food vary depending on where you are cruising. We have averaged about $900US per month. We put movies, museums, carnivals and amusement parks in the Entertainment category. Remember, you are touring the world and you will want to do some tourist stuff. We don't do them all but the kids want to see some. We know families that just say no to all, and their kids are really missing out on some memorable and good learning experiences.

Fuel/Oil/Propane will also be based on your boat, but begin to figure now what you use monthly and you will be able to come up with a yearly figure. Our fuel costs are low even with high prices as we do sail whenever possible. Some cruisers only sail and others motor whenever they can.

The Internet category includes Wi-Fi access, Skype, phone cards and such. We do not have to check-in regularly with anyone but many cruisers have family they talk to weekly. I also put things like snail mail forwarding, postage, shipping and subscriptions in the Internet category.

Transportation has been low for us but much higher then some cruisers who walk or forget it. Buses are cheap and available most everywhere. Taxis can get high and we have chosen to rent a car occasionally to see the full picture of where we are.

The Miscellaneous-Repair category has been huge some months and low others. I put Christmas and birthdays in here and depending on your family, this may not even be a thought. Also if you have growing kids they will need new shoes and clothes from time to time but we have gotten most of our extras from second hand sales and Crocs do last a long time. Moorage and boat bottom cleaning depends on if you anchor out always or have your own dive equipment. We prefer to anchor, but in Mexico and New Zealand moorage is a must in order to sit out the seasons. Figure about $500US a month for four months of a year. Again, many just anchor but never see the land they visit, as you can't leave the boat alone without worrying about the anchor holding or, unfortunately, theft.

Our family budget is about $36,000US per year for three years totaling $108,000US. I believe all cruisers need to add an another 10 percent of this amount and set it aside. So we should have $11,000US in the kitty to help pay for the unexpected and unavoidable. We had hoped $120,000US would take us out for four years, we shall see -- it may only make three.

Rigging costs can be $3,000US to $7,000US depending on the boat, needs and where it is done. If you can, have it all in your pre-budget. Bottom paint, zincs and cleaning will need to be done on a yearly basis due to the tropic waters and dirty harbors. We have had many unexpected costs with the heat exchanger, refrigerator, water pump, rigging, sail work and a new chart plotter. Also I paid extra costs on some life insurance policies because I didn't get them on auto-pay and by the time we received the mail we were delinquent in our premium payments. Get all you can think of on auto-pay and build it into your budget. There are also visa, bond and port costs to consider. The exchange rate can be a big issue based on your home country's economy, and fees vary in each nation for debit card and ATM transactions. Like daily mochas, everything adds up quickly.

Our worst hit yet was the unexpected, unmerited fee charged on our home sale three years back, but it was paid from the kitty and now we hope to cut back in over-expended categories and maybe find another sponsor for the blog (hint, hint). We have been asked to submit some magazine material and I think New Zealand will be a stop to refill the kitty.

Make your Excel sheet now and think what will need to be included. For instance, we don't have regular medical drug prescriptions but many folks do and you need not only to budget for it but set up accounts so you can order via the Internet as you may not find your drug in another place. Remember to include any payments you are making now unless you know they will go away when you leave. Also, some folks get to plug in a monthly check, pension or Social Security. Many cruisers have been hurt by the economy and can't rely on that same amount so be careful.

And remember, this budget is designed for actually being underway. Buying your boat and outfitting it for cruising is not included. So, if you have boat payments and/or equipment bills, these will have to be added in, too.

It is hard to put this in a daily blog as it is a full chapter in books. But, I hope it is a start and please ask more questions -- I can try to answer them.

2nd Mate: Wildlife seen today and yesterday: royal tern, frigate bird.

Woke up yesterday around 0605. I ate breakfast and started school. I took my fist spelling test yesterday. I got 100 percent! I finished up my Social Studies and read my book. Around 1300, Mom, Grace, and I went ashore to shop a bit and go down to the yacht club. We mailed a letter, bought some stuff (including a cat book for Grace), and then walked down to the yacht club. The cartoon TV was still broken, so, for the first 10 minutes, we watched some CNN. Then, the owners said that, since no one else was there, we could change it to any channel we like. So, we channel-surfed between channels 35, 36, and 37 (Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon) looking for some good shows. We found that on the latter two, the owners got rid of some of our favorites and/or put in shows that are unnecessarily weird. Fortunately, we still got to see some new episodes of some really good shows.

We went back to the boat, picked up Dad, and went back to the yacht club. We found out from Dad on our return that Lin and Larry Pardey, a couple who are some big cheeses when it comes to cruising guides and the like, would be there. While Mom and Dad were mingling with them and about every cruiser here in Pago Pago, Grace and I watched cartoons on the big-people's TV as everyone was outside. We came back and finished watching 'Carousel' as we didn't get to it the other night.

Today, I woke up around 0600. We had made 1.9 percent on our power overnight with the wind, so I was able to play some computer. By the way, I mention 'Runescape' a lot, and I thought it would be cool for those of you who play 'Runescape' to know my player name. It is 'Amazing G11.' SYT... oh, I mean, see you there!

After breakfast, I started my first work in Basic Earth Science. Unlike last year's topic (how science works and different types of science), this year I will study how the Earth is built, its inhabitants, and how nature causes different things. I finished it all up today, which means I'm done with Lesson 1! Now I have the whole weekend up until I can quote Garfield the cat: "I hate Mondays." I read and played on my DS. We're now resting and planning our dinner. We plan to watch 'Scooby Doo'" tonight as our family movie.

Cabin Girl: The weather today: partly cloudy, moderate wind, the high was 29C, the barometer is 1010 and falling, the moon is waxing towards first quarter. Yesterday, I did lots of cursive writing. We went up to the yacht club with a lot of people and watched TV. We walked back to the boat and finished 'Carousel.'

Today, I woke up and had eggs and toast for breakfast. I wrote a page on 'Pippi Longstocking.' Then, I wrote Pippi's self-proclaimed full name in cursive. It is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackeralmint Efraim's Daughter Longstocking. I drew a picture of Pippi on watercolor paper and watercolor painted over it. I painted an abstract one of Pippi. I also made a miniature Sukkah out of craft sticks. Then I played around with my stuffed animals. Then I ate lunch.