living costs

[Sunsoup]

Hey up Boating Parishioners,

 

I was having a natter with some fellow live aboarders the other day, and the conversation ended up discussing how much do you live on. When I told the retired old boy that I work part time so I get by on £100 per week he practically accused me of talking out me A##e, he even called out to his wife saying have you heard this. I of course ended the conversation and went back to my boat to seeth in silence. So I got wondering how many other CCers get by on such a low budget. Or I'm I unique in my simple stress free life. As long as I have food, a good book,nature,beer,and my boat up keep covered what more do I need?

 

Your thoughts please.

[bottle]

Your life, live how you wish.

 

and if it made you seethe, get some therapy.

[Alan de Enfield]

I get by on £100 per week he practically accused me of talking out me A##e, ................................

 

Is that purely" living costs", or everything including boat costs -( licence, diesel, painting, moorings, blacking, maintenance etc etc)

 

I reckon our boat costs are £77 per week (£4k per annum) without any major breakdowns/replacements.

A CCer would obviously save on mooring costs but would have higher fuel costs

[Sunsoup]

I only work part time, 2 days a week, sometimes I get the opportunity to work extra days but on average I take home £100 to £120 per week. I spend about £30 on food, the rest I leave in the bank. I buy diesel when I need it,I do all of my own repairs and servicing. I do have some savings and when/if the Times comes when I have to pay some one I will have the cash to cover it.

[b0atman]

Totally with you Sunsoup boating is about enjoyment and can cost very little if you are prepared to get your hands dirty.

Too many people throw money around like confetti lucky them.

[Geordie.narrowboat]

Sunsoup, you have figured it out, your beer acquaintances are still to feel the force Luke

[Southern Star]

 

 

A CCer would obviously save on mooring costs but would have higher fuel costs

I'm currently in a marina but do plan to genuinely CC in the future.

 

It does occur to me that a boater could legally CC using £2's worth of diesel every fortnight though, £50 a year while still complying with CRT requirements. It wouldn't be very interesting, but I'm thinking it could be done?

Edited October 25, 2014 by Southern Star

[Felshampo]

You do get the impression from some on this forum that living on a boat is more expensive than in a house. I wonder why?

[FadeToScarlet]

You do get the impression from some on this forum that living on a boat is more expensive than in a house. I wonder why?

Well, it can be.

 

If you've bought your house outright, and finished paying off a mortgage, then your outgoings may be small.

 

Similarly, if you've bought a boat, got a London mooring, and are paying a mortgage on it, your outgoings may be considerably larger.

 

On the flip side, if you're renting a house in an expensive part of the country, that'll be much more expensive than living on a knackered old boat, burning only scavenged branches, and bridgehopping about.

 

It depends entirely on your lifestyle. For us, living on a boat is significantly cheaper than living in a house would be; some people find the opposite.

[John V]

It all depends.....

 

do you own your home mortgage/loan free

do you generate your own electricity/or use tiny supply on line

do you live in a marina or under the radar

do you cc

do you heat with wood you collect

do you do your own maintenance

do you consume unnecessary material or

do you walk lightly across the world

[b0atman]

When I came out of my divorce their was no way that I could have afforded a small property and the running costs .

The boat life is far better in light of costs and where one wishes to live there is more community and friendliness on the canals than in most streets in this country.

The lifestyle is being impinged on for the worse by a minority these in my opinion seem to be house owners with new boat syndrome .

[Alan de Enfield]

Felshampo, on 25 Oct 2014 - 6:28 PM, said:

You do get the impression from some on this forum that living on a boat is more expensive than in a house. I wonder why?

 

Well - the house is mortgage free, and there is no loan on the boat either.

 

Basic boat costs

Mooring £2300

Licence £800

Blacking 400/3 = £133

Insurance £120

Fuel £500

Oil changes etc £100

 

Total £4000 without any allowances for repainting every 5 years @ £5000, breakdowns etc.+ £200 per annum battery replacement

 

House

Council tax £250/month = £3000 pa

Elec £100 per month = £1200 pa

Water £30 per month = £360 pa

Oil £100 per month = £1200 pa

Insurance £20 per month = £240 pa

 

Total £6000 + repainting, maintenance etc

[Felshampo]

It all depends.....

 

do you own your home mortgage/loan free

do you generate your own electricity/or use tiny supply on line

do you live in a marina or under the radar

do you cc

do you heat with wood you collect

do you do your own maintenance

do you consume unnecessary material or

do you walk lightly across the world

 

That's my point! Why?

[TaffyRon]

Im having trouble on 540.00 a week

[John V]

That's my point! Why?

 

I think the advice normally goes to the starry eyed who are buying a clunker to live on "cheaply"...

Many not only lack the skills to run and maintain a boat but also lack the desire to learn them and think it is no different from living in a flat

 

For these people it will be more expensive unless they learn and take up the lifestyle that goes with it. (and it seems many will not)

 

People who buy a boat to live on because they are attracted to the lifestyle, are more likely to adapt and learn, are likely to join a forum and ask questions.

Im having trouble on 540.00 a week

 

My wife and I can live very comfortably on about that a month

Edited October 25, 2014 by John V

[system 4-50]

Hey up Boating Parishioners,

 

I was having a natter with some fellow live aboarders the other day, and the conversation ended up discussing how much do you live on. When I told the retired old boy that I work part time so I get by on £100 per week he practically accused me of talking out me A##e, he even called out to his wife saying have you heard this. I of course ended the conversation and went back to my boat to seeth in silence. So I got wondering how many other CCers get by on such a low budget. Or I'm I unique in my simple stress free life. As long as I have food, a good book,nature,beer,and my boat up keep covered what more do I need?

 

Your thoughts please.

Don't seethe, smirk. You have your life under control. Some people don't even have themselves under control.

[boathunter]

Hey up Boating Parishioners,

 

I was having a natter with some fellow live aboarders the other day, and the conversation ended up discussing how much do you live on. When I told the retired old boy that I work part time so I get by on £100 per week he practically accused me of talking out me A##e, he even called out to his wife saying have you heard this. I of course ended the conversation and went back to my boat to seeth in silence. So I got wondering how many other CCers get by on such a low budget. Or I'm I unique in my simple stress free life. As long as I have food, a good book,nature,beer,and my boat up keep covered what more do I need?

 

Your thoughts please.

Hmmm

[Felshampo]

I of course ended the conversation and went back to my boat to seeth in silence.

I can empathise with this. It can be very annoying being accused of lieing by an ignorant no it all!

You know who you are........

[Arthur Marshall]

That £100 a week earnings was about my level for the past thirty years. Kept me warm, fed and in boats.

[Peter X]

I think the reason topics about living costs run on so much is that everyone's circumstances and choices are different.

Alan de Enfield, for example, probably has quite a big house or a high-spending local council to be paying as much as £3000 per year in council tax. I pay about £1280 on my 3-bed terraced house in Croydon, and my energy costs are about half of his too. Maintenance costs are very hard to put a figure on, I spent £13,000 in my first year in my house fixing the central heating, electrics and a dodgy rear extension, but very little in the four years since.

Sunsoup appears to be living much more cheaply than many boaters due to a frugal lifestyle and doing his own repairs, and for boaters who are happy with that sort of approach, good luck to them, I expect it is possible on such a low budget.

His £30 a week for food costs sounds quite possible, I think I spend less than that per head on myself and my son, but I do grow about half of my fruit and veg over a year and very rarely eat out.

As has been pointed out, fuel costs for a CC live-aboard won't be much if they just move along a few miles every week or two to stay within CRT rules, although of course that would mean careful planning so as to cope with water, toilet and battery levels.

[Peter-Bullfinch]

Our fixed boat expenses costs us around £4000 a year too. This year so far we have only spent about 120 nights on board so that is around £33 a night. Some might argue we could get B&B in Blackpool for that. But the donkeys, piers and kiss me quick hats wouldn't be quite the same.

[Ricco1]

Licence £650

Gas £200

Coal £150

Fuel £100 (solar and wg, moving short distances)

Maintenance/ blacking/ upgrading £800

Insurance £100

 

No way can you live in a flat for £2,000 a year, that doesn't cover even half the rent; never mind council tax and energy bills. Cheapest flat might cost £7,000 that would be a grotty flat, in a grotty area.

[Sunsoup]

It's nice to learn that others get by on limited funds. Usually when I tell people what I live on I get told it's unsustainable, or I'm bending the truth cos no way can a person get by on £100 per week.

[jimbo747]

It's nice to learn that others get by on limited funds. Usually when I tell people what I live on I get told it's unsustainable, or I'm bending the truth cos no way can a person get by on £100 per week.

Which is an insane conclusion.

You ARE living on £100 a week, and apparently comfortably, therefore it is possible.

To be honest, the others' argument is akin to the argument about child poverty that we read about in the press fairly regularly. If you are in a two child, two adult family and you earn less than £317 a week after housing costs, you're deemed to be living in poverty according to the Government. It's a nonsensical argument, since you can clearly survive on less than this. Yet, news article after news article features a young family with a 40 a day fag habit and Sky TV claiming that they can't feed their kids.

I have lived for a short period on less than £700 a month - and that included renting a room. I was able to function, eat, and even visit the pub once a week.

[boathunter]

Whether on land or a boat, it's all very well until something goes wrong that requires £100's or £1,000's to put right.

I too have a pittance to live on after the bills are paid and I'm perfectly happy: until the unexpected occurs.