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From: Matthew Corcoran (no email)
Date: Tue Dec 14 2004 - 10:56:50 EST
It's a shame, and ultimately perhaps a tragedy, that it is considered
impolite for Americans to discuss politics in nearly every setting these
days. That said, I will stay away from the subject and just point out one
possible benefit to the strength of the euro against the dollar: if you have
a bit of capital and the right skills, you might find a profitable business
in importing boats for resale in the EU. Now, of course, we can have a long
impolitic discussion of the VAT . . .. Just an idea to keep you on the
water which might be worth some exploration.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dwight Yachuk" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 8:19 AM
Subject: RE: [world-cruising] Declining value of the USD & effects on
cruising?
>
> Hello again Lynn,
>
> You didn't say how old you are now but lets assume you have a few years to
> go. What are today's expenses, a mortgage to pay, kids to raise? Other
> ongoing expenses? If so than you don't have much room to manoeuver. At
> some point it will just be the two of you alone. Will you keep a house as
> well as cruise? Perhaps rent it out while you are gone? Will you sell?
>
> My plan is to sell out from the expensive city where I live. If we buy it
> will be somewhere much cheaper. The only criteria I now have is that it
> will be within a 2 hour drive of a major airport. With the cost
> differential between expensive city housing and cheap country housing you
> can free up $100K easy.
>
> The second place to save money is in your boat. Do you have one now? Is
> it the one you will criuse on? If not, now is the time to start learning
> and looking. Join a bunch of forums (like this one) to see what others
> are sailing on. Check out yachtworld.com to see what the prices are like.
> In my experience you can usually get a boat for 40% off the asking price,
> depending on make and age. Don't go for a cheap fixer upper. It will cost
> you more in the end. Look for a boat that has been well maintained over
> the years, has had upgrades and replacements done, perhaps even a boat
> that has just come back from an extended cruise. Many of the old boats
> from the 70's were built like sherman tanks. They will last forever with
> proper care.
>
> Personally I will have a pension when I retire, not a lot but enough to
> cover my $1000/month anticipated costs. I also have some savings, again
> not a lot but enough for a few years with no income.
>
> I have found my best investment to be my friends. When I retire I plan to
> get a boat with a 2 or 3 cabins, a Gulfstar 50 perhaps. Many of my
> friends are excited at the thought of coming down (wherever) for a week or
> two to live on a boat. It'ss be good company for Lynn and I and our guests
> will pay the expenses (food, fuel, mooring, etc) while they are with us.
> It'll be much cheaper for them than chartering. Some are so excited that
> they want us to retire right away :)
>
> Also with friends, this summer I sailed across the Atlantic on Bill's
> boat. I paid for food and that's it. If I didn't have to work I could
> still be in Europe sailing around.
>
> And as Jerry said, as the US dollar plummets so goes the world economy. In
> germany before the first world war inflation was so rampant that people
> actually carted around wheelbarrows full of cash that's how worthless it
> was. Look at Germany now, one of the powerhouses of the world with a
> currency (now the Euro) to match.
>
> So, shop cheap and wisely, invest in your relationships, and be brave.
> With a little ingenuity and common sense you'll do just fine.
>
> See you on the big blue sea.
>
> merry christmas,
>
> dwight
>
> Here are a couple of liveaboard forums:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lynn stone [mailto:]
> Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 5:06 PM
> To:
> Subject: RE: [world-cruising] Declining value of the USD & effects on
> cruising?
>
>
>
> Dwight,
>
> Until we are both able to reach that magic age of
> about 66 or 67 or so when we can both retire and
> receive social security (it's no longer 65 for full
> benefits you know), we will have varying amounts of
> money. If we were starting cruising now we would have
> less than 1500 per month to work with for
> _everything_. Not a lot when you consider the cost of
> insurance, etc. In a couple more years it could be
> more and that would increase until we get to about
> 3,000 or so in about 10 years and level off.
>
> Sounds like a lot I know until you get to the part
> about devaluation. $3kUSD in say 10 years will be
> what? It's _now_ only 1500 Pounds. In 10 years will
> that be 1000 Pounds or less? Same thing could be said
> for the Euro.
>
> What about the other countries. There is now a move
> afoot to organize the South American countries in the
> same direction as Europe. I presume that will also
> mean a standard currency for South America. Will that
> include Central America and Mexico? How will that
> currency stand up to the devalued USD? Who knows.
> Someone else said something about having a wheelbarrow
> full of cash, having a wheelbarrow full of cash looks
> great but what will it buy?
>
> We also want to move around and experience other
> cultures in the world and not just exist on a small
> boat anchored in a third world country hoping that we
> will be able to make next month's bills and our
> medications actually arrive on time and are not stolen
> enroute or that we run out of USDs to buy them at all.
>
> Worry? Yes, we worry. But, we also know that proper
> planning can cut the worry way down and we can relax.
> How much do _you_ need every month vs how much do you
> have to do with every month? What are _you_ doing to
> plan for the further degradation in the USD's buying
> power as it applies to you and your family's future
> apart from taking a long walk off a short boat when
> you feel the time is right? Life insurance? Will it
> pay if you take that walk? Are you converting all your
> USDs to Euros monthly and then reconverting as you
> need it in hopes that you will receive back more USDs
> than you gave them before when you originally
> converted from USDs? What is the _plan_ that you are
> following for the future or the plan that you are
> using to cruise now? Are you giving up going to
> Britian or Europe because the Pound will be $3 USD or
> the Euro will be $2 USD and maybe the Peso or other
> South American currency will be 1 to 1 with the USD or
> worse?
>
> Maybe we can do well right now in Mexico, the
> Carribean, and a few other places but it will be a
> couple years before we can go. What then? In 10 years
> will it still be so good? What about 20? Will our
> perhaps $3k USD monthly retirement be enough then?
> Will it only be worth 500 somethings or other when we
> need a minimum of 1000? We want to plan now based on
> what others are doing and thinking so that when the
> time comes, we won't need to take a short walk if a
> problem comes about but will be prepared for most any
> reasonable problems that might arise. True, we can't
> plan for everything but we can for most things in
> general. How are you taking care of that? We've got a
> couple years to plan and prepare.
>
>
> --- Dwight Yachuk <> wrote:
>
> >
> > I guess in order to answer your questions I need to
> > ask you how much money you have Lynn.
> >
> > You should be able to live comfortably in the
> > caribbean for under $1K/month. This summer I was in
> > the Azores. The cost of living was about the same
> > as in the US. Spain and Portugal are relatively
> > cheap. The Scandinavian countries are expensive but
> > they always have been.
> >
> > You can live in Mexico and get excellent medical
> > coverage for a fraction of the US cost.
> >
> > The best thing to do is to decide where you want to
> > live and where you want to travel and then research
> > the costs of doing so. All I'm hearing from you is
> > a lot of worrying. don't worry, you won't starve.
> >
> > When I get too old for anything else I'll walk off
> > the back of the boat one night at sea. The cost of
> > an ocean burial will be nothing.
> >
> > dwight
> >
> >
>
>
> =====
> Lynn
>
>
>
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