December by the numbers.

In December we went to the Bahamas – yay!  We are planning (hoping) to be here until early May.  

Typically our expenses are very low here because there simply isn’t much to spend money on.  This month was high, however, due to expenses related to Covid testing required to come to the Bahamas and check in fees.  We’re looking forward to January through April which should be a lot lower.  

Regarding the year in general, the monthly average for 2020 was significantly lower than in 2019.  COVID certainly accounts for part of the difference.  We didn’t fly out to the west coast to visit family and friends, and we spent about $1,700 less for the year in restaurants and entertainment expenses. Non-Covid related, we also had fewer medical expenses in 2020 and we spent less on boat upgrades over the course of the year.

Frankly, our 2019 monthly average isn’t sustainable long-term (well, until my pension kicks in anyway which won’t be for awhile) so we’re glad to see that it went down for 2020.

Here we go:

Days under way: 14

Nautical miles covered: 345.86

Nights on a dock: 3

Nights on a mooring: 3

Nights at anchor: 25

Number of states: 1 (Florida)

Number of countries: 2 (U.S., Bahamas)

Expenses:  

Groceries/Non-food Groceries/Alcohol: $328.30

Gasoline/Diesel: $144.66

Cell data, iCloud storage, and Garmin inReach subscription: $336.13 (This was high.  We are keeping our AT&T account in the U.S. active while we are away, plus we topped off our BTC SIM card, switched to an Aliv SIM card, and added a Skype number.)

Restaurants/Entertainment: $154.56 (Golf cart rental in Green Turtle, and we feel much more comfortable eating outside at restaurants in the Bahamas.)

Marinas/moorings: $310.76

Subscriptions: $28.76 (New York Times, Microsoft)

Check in fee for the Bahamas: $150.00

Covid test and health visa: $481.60

Rental car to get to Covid test: $86.87

Boat Maintenance: $256.93 (carburetor and parts for the water maker, spare carburetor for the dinghy outboard in an abundance of caution)

Random Items: $268.20 (marina tips, gifts, Kindle book, snorkel mask for Jeff, 1 gallon gas jerry jug, printing fees, spotlight, bucket, spare washers) 

Total: $2,546.77

2020 Monthly average: $2,758.15

2019 monthly average: $3,457.97

2018 monthly average (September – December): $4,465.95

Monthly average since starting to cruise: $3,302.05