Walter has talked about taking his first retirement and move onto a boat ever since I met him. When we first talked about marriage I asked him, "what if I didn't want to live on a boat." He said something to the effect of things change and what if I wanted to live on a boat and he didn't. Since then he has talked about buying a boat weekly if not daily and the timeline for actually buying the boat has moved up a few years. We are 4 years into our marriage and I don't think things are changing. We have a nest egg that he calls, "the boat fund" and I call, "life insurance". It is not that I do not want to buy a boat and sail off into the sunset. Since I have been married I have been pre-occupied with things like having babies and finishing my graduate program...and learning things like how to be married. The thought of preparing for such an adventure feels overwhelming. Cruising has been Walter's dream. His boat dream is one of the reasons why I love him. I love that he dreams big and is determined enough to follow his dream. For this to work I feel his dream needs to evolve into our dream. The boat dream is appealing for each of us for different reasons. For me surrounding myself in nature and learning to live in it, respect it and love it seems amazing....hard, but amazing. I also like the idea of living in a setting where my family has to learn to work together. My hope would be this opportunity would bring us closer and not make us want to strangle each other. Finally "living simple" has always been important to me. Living simple can mean a lot of different things: voluntary poverty, living slowly, de-cluttering life of worldly possessions etc. One may need a bunch of money to buy a boat and sail about the world, but once you are on a boat you might have to learn to live without. I would have to say I am closer to the boat dream, but to be honest I am not quite there yet.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Enticements to spend more
Went to go look at boats on a recent trip to Boston for a conference. I try to use trips as an opportunity to see boats. Uncle Steve thought commented that it seems early to be looking at boats. I go see them for several reasons. First, it is exciting. Saving is hard and it helps to look at the goal. Second, seeing them in person is much better than the pictures, and God knows I look at enough of those. Third, I want to be an educated buyer, both about what I want and what is a good deal. Fourth, it is giving me the perspective of how long these things sit on the market.
I saw an older Alden 44, a Cambria 44 and a Stevens 50. The big boat had so much more room and got me thinking that it would be so much more comfortable for the family, esp for my older son to visit. But it is not a very pretty boat in my opinion, which made me then think about pretty boats with this much space, which of course would cost more money, which then made me think of the option of financing this adventure rather than doing it with cash. This led to a stressful couple days feeling intimidated about how much could be spent and the potential of debt to squash plans. Among the anxious thoughts this led to were the thoughts that I would be under pressure to get back to work and maybe to sell the boat upon return. There will always be a more comfortable, bigger, more equipped boat and I think one of the key elements in making this trip successful will be to stay within our financial limits.
All the while as we are tucking money into the boat fund, budgeting and tracking our personal finances, life needs to be kept in balance. This is not an easy task alongside a goal of taking a few years off and living on a sailboat. There will be life before and after this trip. Debt could burden life after the trip and maybe even during it (could even shorten it). By the same token, saving too hard now can make our current lives less enjoyable and someone is going to feel that spending on their priority has been shorted. Sticking with our budget, saving our forecasted amount, keeping our lives livable now and not having the stress of debt is going to be essential in making this whole thing work.
I saw an older Alden 44, a Cambria 44 and a Stevens 50. The big boat had so much more room and got me thinking that it would be so much more comfortable for the family, esp for my older son to visit. But it is not a very pretty boat in my opinion, which made me then think about pretty boats with this much space, which of course would cost more money, which then made me think of the option of financing this adventure rather than doing it with cash. This led to a stressful couple days feeling intimidated about how much could be spent and the potential of debt to squash plans. Among the anxious thoughts this led to were the thoughts that I would be under pressure to get back to work and maybe to sell the boat upon return. There will always be a more comfortable, bigger, more equipped boat and I think one of the key elements in making this trip successful will be to stay within our financial limits.
All the while as we are tucking money into the boat fund, budgeting and tracking our personal finances, life needs to be kept in balance. This is not an easy task alongside a goal of taking a few years off and living on a sailboat. There will be life before and after this trip. Debt could burden life after the trip and maybe even during it (could even shorten it). By the same token, saving too hard now can make our current lives less enjoyable and someone is going to feel that spending on their priority has been shorted. Sticking with our budget, saving our forecasted amount, keeping our lives livable now and not having the stress of debt is going to be essential in making this whole thing work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)