Money, money money...its a rich men's world!

Money, or better said, lack of it, is such a discouraging topic, how come we don’t have enough? What happen to all that frugal spending? Eating dollar tacos instead of the fillet mignon? I guess we were not that frugal after all and we could have done better… could we? I guess it is true that the cost of sailing is.. all you have and some. When we started the trip we budgeted generously, but reality stroke and contingencies met us along the way destroying our naïve expectations. Today we can only laugh at how little we must live with. The good thing is that we can, we are learning, we are more comfortable with less than we used to. I am trying to shop more wisely and less impulsively, in consequence our food spoilage is less, all I buy, I use! The kids have turned very conscious of the circumstances too, just the other day, Trinidad (5) asked Matt if he could buy her a balloon and Matt said “oh, not right now”, and she replied: “I understand”. Also, I have heard Samantha several times say “that is wasting a whole bunch of money!” I guess, in perspective, it is all good, but I can’t avoid the momentary worries, anxiety and frustration for not having to buy more souvenirs, to take more inland trips, to eat out more often, to be in a marina, to remodel the boat interior, to buy more clothing, to have a bigger yacht and to go back home with more money in the bank.

 

I remember just a few weeks ago I was watching the Suze Orman show, a financial advisor woman who takes calls from people asking if buying, spending on or paying for something is or it is not a good move. I could almost hear her scolding us for taking this trip instead of saving for the kids’ college education, paying insurance, investing in our retirement, all those things disciplined and organized people not like me would do. It depressed me, but then I had to realize that we all have unique goals in life, material and spiritual/emotional goals and I believe we are being faithful to ours and I am sure it will count at the right moment. Of course, living up to your dreams will have a cost as it is with everything, we must pay!

This is how I tricked myself into traveling this way:

 

• I want to see exotic places, I want to taste foods I have never tasted before, I want to talk to people living differently, I want to be able to say I have done a crazy thing, I want to have unique stories to tell, I want to simplify my life, I want to spend time with my girls with no distractions (what was I thinking?..hehe), I want them to spend time with their dad, I want to see nature, I want to swim in turquoise, crystal blue waters, I want to eat fish, I want to meet other interesting people, I want to travel when I am healthy and when my kids want us around and I want to find inspiration and purpose.
• If I could leave something to my children that they could take along with them anywhere they go is education and what better education there is than first hand experience. Field trips! One long one!
• If we plan to spend our money, we certainly don’t want to wait until is too late to rebuild the finances, therefore, the time was now.
• Work had slowed down, we were living off of our savings, so they question was, do I want to use the savings living the dream or watching it get further away?

 So, back to Suzie, spending the money just made soo much sense! Most times, we have to spend to make a profit! DON’T COME SCOLDING ME AGAIN LADY!