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Monthly Cost Sanity Check

Heffalump

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Jennifer McM Experienced

Jennifer McMDonate to Canal World

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Posted (edited)

I can only provide 18 months of expenses, we're CC'ers on our 58ft boat.  (August/18 boat insurance), (October/18 River and Canal Rescue)

 

In April we changed our cruising license for a Gold one so we could go on Rivers, hence the refund, and the monthly DD for the boat license. Since then we've paid the license monthly (for 10 months of the year).

 

We pop into a marina every now and again, where we normally hire a car to visit family etc. 

 

This month we've having blacking done, and other work done.

 

PS ignore the 4.24 a month for insurance - n/a

 

expenses.jpg.454fe5ca1a2fbb9d7a76d253b1caa294.jpg

 

 

Edited by Jennifer McM
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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

I can only provide 18 months of expenses, we're CC'ers on our 58ft boat.  (August/18 boat insurance), (October/18 River and Canal Rescue)

 

In April we changed our cruising license for a Gold one so we could go on Rivers, hence the refund, and the monthly DD for the boat license. Since then we've paid the license monthly (for 10 months of the year).

 

We pop into a marina every now and again, where we normally hire a car to visit family etc. 

 

This month we've having blacking done, and other work done.

 

expenses.jpg.454fe5ca1a2fbb9d7a76d253b1caa294.jpg

 

 

 

I'm not understanding the 'minus' (credit) figures in 'Car Hire'

 

They appear to be paying you £155 / £200 to hire a car ?

Is a refund of deposit ?

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BilgePump Rising Star

BilgePump

Posted
Posted

Well, those figures seem to be a more accurate way of averaging things out and reflect the fact that the maintenance at over £200 per month (and coming in with bills most months) will be a far greater consideration than the rounding error of less than £4 per month for the BSS test.

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Jennifer McM Experienced

Jennifer McMDonate to Canal World

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Posted
1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I'm not understanding the 'minus' (credit) figures in 'Car Hire'

 

They appear to be paying you £155 / £200 to hire a car ?

Is a refund of deposit ?

It's a deposit, it's where the car hire covers two months, one month we paid the deposit, the next month we get it back. 

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Tumshie Influencer

TumshieDonate to Canal World

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2 hours ago, Kudzucraft said:

You guys like to bicker too much!

It's only called bickering when people aren't agreeing with you; when people do agree with you it's called..... Brainstorming. :D

 

 

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

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8 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

It's only called bickering when people aren't agreeing with you; when people do agree with you it's called..... Brainstorming. :D

 

 

 

 

I always used to think bickering sounded like it would involved biscuits, in some way or another.

 

 

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Kudzucraft Collaborator

Kudzucraft

Posted
Posted
On 04/06/2019 at 09:20, Jennifer McM said:

I can only provide 18 months of expenses, we're CC'ers on our 58ft boat.  (August/18 boat insurance), (October/18 River and Canal Rescue)

 

In April we changed our cruising license for a Gold one so we could go on Rivers, hence the refund, and the monthly DD for the boat license. Since then we've paid the license monthly (for 10 months of the year).

 

We pop into a marina every now and again, where we normally hire a car to visit family etc. 

 

This month we've having blacking done, and other work done.

 

PS ignore the 4.24 a month for insurance - n/a

 

expenses.jpg.454fe5ca1a2fbb9d7a76d253b1caa294.jpg

 

 

Trying to get a good idea of all the costs involved, so if I may ask what do you including in Maintenance?

My first thought was that is a lot of repairs and then I thought that you might be on an an older boat that needs lots of work.  Maybe you including upgrades? Decorating? Solar panels or such.  Thanks.

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Jennifer McM Experienced

Jennifer McMDonate to Canal World

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Posted (edited)
45 minutes ago, Kudzucraft said:

Trying to get a good idea of all the costs involved, so if I may ask what do you including in Maintenance?

My first thought was that is a lot of repairs and then I thought that you might be on an an older boat that needs lots of work.  Maybe you including upgrades? Decorating? Solar panels or such.  Thanks.

No Problem - expenses started on our 2nd year of having the boat.

 

 

Edited by Jennifer McM
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magictime Experienced

magictime

Posted
Posted

Interesting to see people's figures, and to hear views on the best way to budget for 'lumpy' expenses.

 

FWIW: being liveaboard CCers, we don't distinguish between 'boaty' expenses and other living expenses. On a monthly basis, we generally manage to stay within a budget of £550 for diesel, gas, internet, TV licence, phones, groceries, travel and 'other'.

 

Then we allow another £2400 or so for 'annual' costs - licence, insurance, RCR membership, engine servicing, and expenses like Christmas and birthdays that would otherwise disrupt the monthly budget.

 

In this first year of living aboard, we are spending a heck of a lot (£15k?) up front on improvements/pre-emptive maintenance, partly in the hope of keeping our future year-to-year costs down: e.g. zinc spraying and two-pack epoxy blacking, a repaint (albeit not a 'bare metal' job'), new double glazed windows, new cratch cover.

 

From here on in, everything that isn't either a 'monthly' or an 'annual' cost as set out above - from maintenance/repairs to new batteries - will be funded out of a £10k pot set aside for that purpose. 

 

 

 

 

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Kudzucraft Collaborator

Kudzucraft

Posted
Posted

Thanks again Jennifer, once I adjust your numbers to line up with the way I divided my expense I see most of it lines up with what I have gleaned from a couple of other cruisers.   You spent about double on coal and diesel from what the others were saying. so I will probably want to adjust my numbers up a little to be safe. But everything else is pretty close and help confirm that I REALLY want to do this!

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Jennifer McM Experienced

Jennifer McMDonate to Canal World

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7 minutes ago, Kudzucraft said:

Thanks again Jennifer, once I adjust your numbers to line up with the way I divided my expense I see most of it lines up with what I have gleaned from a couple of other cruisers.   You spent about double on coal and diesel from what the others were saying. so I will probably want to adjust my numbers up a little to be safe. But everything else is pretty close and help confirm that I REALLY want to do this!

Brilliant! If my figures were out, think many members here would have said so... ?

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Tumshie Influencer

TumshieDonate to Canal World

Posted
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17 minutes ago, Kudzucraft said:

You spent about double on coal and diesel from what the others were saying.

What someone spends on diesel and coal will depend on how much cruising they do, how much battery charging they need to do and whether or not they have any form of heating other than their multi fuel stove, and maybe partially on where you buy it. That might be why you are seeing such a variation. 

 

 

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Jennifer McM Experienced

Jennifer McMDonate to Canal World

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Just now, Tumshie said:

What someone spends on diesel and coal will depend on how much cruising they do, how much battery charging they need to do and whether or not they have any form of heating other than their multi fuel stove, and maybe partially on where you buy it. That might be why you are seeing such a variation. 

 

 

That's right! We spend more on diesel in the summer (we did last summer as we did the Thames, Nene and Great Ouse).  As for coal, our fire doesn't go out for 7/8 months of the year,

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Tumshie Influencer

TumshieDonate to Canal World

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1 minute ago, Jennifer McM said:

That's right! We spend more on diesel in the summer (we did last summer as we did the Thames, Nene and Great Ouse).  As for coal, our fire doesn't go out for 7/8 months of the year,

And more diesel when on the rivers because the engine is working harder?

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