EBM with a couple of good points, stupid stuff, and in the “I have a real bad feeling about this” department…
Yeah, gettin’ by on gettin’ by is my stock-in-trade
Living it day-to-day, picking up the pieces wherever they fall
Just lettin’ it roll, lettin’ the high times carry the low
Just living my life easy come, easy go —Jerry Jeff Walker
I’ve been spending far too much time thinking about what happens when the dollar craters. The shit show going on in the US of A will affect the dollar and not in a good way.
If I had any sense, I’d have moved my cruising funds (scant as they might be) into Euros. A situation I hope to remedy shortly.
On the other hand, I might want to rethink destinations where their currency is a lot weaker than the dollar. The main rule being to cruise places that are affordable. Do your homework and see what stuff costs where you want to go.
Here’s a hint… a bag of groceries in the USVI is going to cost 15% more (if you’re careful) than the same bag of groceries in the USA. Lucky for us, most supermarket chains have websites which can tell you everything you need to know and avoid surprises.
Surprises are mostly not a good thing and best avoided.
Now, I don’t know what you’re needs are but, where budgets are concerned, less is more. For instance, I like lamb but I also like chicken. Since chicken is a lot cheaper in the Caribbean, I eat chicken. I expect if I’m in the Falklands I’ll be eating lamb instead, Plus, there’s always beans.
Seriously, I love beans. Two cups of pinto beans with a potato, a couple of carrots, some spices, and a chicken thigh is a goodly thing. Right up there with a leg of lamb.
That said, I still cringe when looking at the prices at the local store here in America’s paradise. But, as silly expensive as the prices may be, there is always an affordable path that will fulfill a cruiser’s needs.
Lastly, on the food front, eating what you need rather than want will cut your costs in half.
Anyway, you won’t starve cruising on a budget.
More about some of those other costs coming up.