Cost to Not Cruise Dec 2014 - And a Transition. . . .

December 2014 has come and gone.  And for us it represents a transition month on oh-so-many fronts.  We transition from Care Givers to Memory Holders, from Minnesotans to Washingtonians,   from 'Farmers' to 'Boaters', from Dirt Dwellers to Nautical Nomads - from Not Cruisers back to Cruisers.  It was quite a year for us and everyone.  And one that Kristi and I would not trade for anything.  "The whole idea is freedom..." starts that quote, and we are so glad we HAD the freedom to chose the life we did this past year - hmm:  Maybe we were still 'cruisers' in 2014 after all?

So with December of 2014 comes the last of the 'Cost to Not Cruise' posts - going forward we will still track our costs under the flag of Cost to Cruise.  (and the background will change back to Ocean Blue from the Grass Green of the past year).  But before we get to that, here is December:

Viking Star Cost to Not Cruise December 2014
(Click for larger view)

First thing one might notice is WOW!  Almost $6,000 for the month, way to end the year with a Bang!   Well, bang it kind of was.  Three highlights in there that pumped up the sum:

1. Our slow driving trip back 'home'.  Transportation (gas) and Misc (hotels) getting the bulk of that - but also some dining out.
2. Kristi got some presents for Christmas:  Some Bling, and a new computer - into Personal.
3. We did eat out a LOT while in Portland, it is the American Way to socialize. . .

And it all adds up.  One of the secrets for Kristi and I being able to enjoy this lifestyle so relatively early in our lives is being somewhat conservative in the way we do things.  (I know, there are many who would not see the conservation in our spending, but then there are also many who would call us paupers).  December 2014 was a 'pull out the stops' month.  One we will not repeat often I am sure. 

Soon will do a post comparing our lifestyle on land vs. on water.  To address that question:  it is really oh-so-cheap to live on a boat?




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And now here is the standard explanation: If this is your 1st time looking at costs on our blog, and want some more background on why we are reporting what it costs to not-cruise on a cruising blog - well, we took a break by moving back to Minnesota to help out Kristi's folks January of 2014.  And we thought it would be interesting to be able to compare our costs on Land vs. on Sea., see more here:   mvVikingStar.blogspot.com/.../cost-to-not-cruise-january

For reference here is a summary of what it did cost us to cruise last year:

For Reference, Costs for Cruising in 2013

Again, following the link above will give you access to more details, or you can click on the Costs label to the right for even more cost data.