What feels like overnight our world came to a holt. Everyone was instructed that they should stay home away from other people to prevent the spread of a new virus going around. We were planning a cruise vacation for my husband’s birthday. Yes, I said cruise I know our tiny home is a boat so why were going on a cruise well check out this blog post for that explanation. https://tinylivinginfo.weebly.com/living-tips/cruising
It sure makes you think that did everybody cause this situation that we are all in. Did we complain to much about not having enough time or being tired? Because it sure caused life to slow down and it is giving you time. It also makes us look at finances too. Is money worth our health and not having time for ourselves or families. I feel so bad for all our friends that work in the service industry because they have no income coming in now due to the restaurants closing I also feel for the front line people as well the grocery store staff, doctors, nurses and police officers. we lost part of our income to but luckily, we have downsized so much that we are used to living on less. 5 years ago, we decided that we wanted to have more family time and work less. We also wanted to downsize since it was just the two of us and eric always wanted to live on a boat. So now that we are quarantined to our 200 sq. ft home what is next. How we are surviving
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Let’s talk a little about budgets. I have a budget, they are not excited about budgets, but they follow them. We have three budgets going in our house. One for me and my hubby, our adult son has one and we have a business budget. For this example, I will put both budgets together since we share many expenses.
I am in the process in making my own perfect planner but until its completed I will be using Scribbles notebook and pilot erasable pens. A little about budgets first. Budgets are not easy but following one helps achieve monthly goals.
Another way to budget is to use cash envelopes. I follow many youtubers who use this method. I don’t use them for several reasons. 1. Its not convenient to get cash out weekly. 2. It’s a lot of work to track cash envelopes. 3. The biggest reason is that I lost a large envelope of cash once. It’s a fear to lose cash from then on. The cash envelope system is a great way to control spending because once the money is gone its gone. If you struggle with spending this will create better spending habits. I plan our family budget at the end of every month for the following month. I also track the spending daily as well as weekly to see where the money is going. Here are the Budget categories: Living expenses Boat slip rent, toiletries, vitamins, electric bill, and laundry Food Meals and eating out Play/fun money Fun activities, going out and date nights Boat maintence Boat insurance, maintence, and scraping Internet/phone Century link, Verizon, google and Microsoft 365 Debt Loans, credit cards and ECT Medical Eric & Josh insurance Other/savings Retirement, savings, haul out kitty and clothes I also added a chart showing how much money we save a month living tiny. Thank you for checking out my blog. This is not a sponsored ad but by using my links you can help support my blog. Remember to keep living the dream but tiny. Hi everyone, welcome back to my blog. I have a challenge for you to go along with me. I am a firm believer that we create the life we want to live. A few years ago my hubby said to me can we please move to a boat. He was trying to get me to do for several years but I would never agree. I could never see myself in such a small space especially on a boat. Well, 2014 our big house became very empty. I finally agreed to maybe living on a boat.
Soon after agreeing to the idea of a boat we lost both of our mothers and that was the real push I needed to say yes. I knew at that point our dreams couldn’t wait anymore. We needed to start living the dream no matter what that was. We decided that no matter what it was time to create and live our dream life. It has not been easy and we are not where we need to be yet but I know we are working towards that dream life. I always thought that the money, the house, the cars, and the grand vacations were important inside of being with my friends and family. But the memories are so more important. I grew up in a family who base love on money and are famous for putting anyone who thinks different down. The common statement is it must be nice to have money, I have far less money than I ever had but every day is an adventure and we now know the true meaning of creating the life you want to live. We have a life most people don’t understand but it is not about what is right for them it is only about us. It took me a long to believe that vision board and positive thoughts were tools in the law of attraction. We found this awesome group a few years ago that we went to every Saturday. The group was all about the secret and law of attraction. It was like going on vacation every week for me a least. I loved being around like-minded people who truly knew the meaning of creating the life you want. Some things I use to stay positive are: Don’t sweat the small stuff, take a few minutes when I get up to stretch clear my mind, I always touch and focus on my dream board, be grateful for everything, try to stay off social media for the first mins when I get up. The challenge I have that you can join in with me is called the 21-day challenge. Let's start the challenge next Monday, March 5. The challenge can be found at http://www.thelawofattraction.com/21-day-law-attraction-plan/ It doesn’t cost a thing, it doesn’t ask for your email address. It is FREE, FREE, FREE. So let's see what great things we can attact to ourselves. Thanks for checking out the blog I hope you join my challenge so you can create the life you want too. Remember to keep living the dream but tiny. Hello everyone. Happy new year. What a great year already. We finally moved to a new marina. So, let me explain what is happening. As most of you know that follow my blog, we were unable to move because our motor stopped working. We had no other choice but purchase a new to us motor. Our first step was to find a motor which we really lucked out by finding one right in fort Myers FL. We purchase the motor and with the help of a boat neighbor the motor was transported to our marina to wait to be put in. Second step was how in the world do we get the old motor out and put the new motor. SV Iron Maiden was set up, so the helm floor could be unbolted and pulled up. This helped in making the job easier. One suggestion we were given was using a barge next to our boat to put it in. Another suggestion was waiting for the marina to finish construction at their boat dock to have the marina put in the engine. The third idea was to get towed to the marinas fuel dock and hire a crane to take a motor out and in. we decide to wait out the 2 months for the marina to complete the construction. Unfortunately, the marina construction was not completed correctly so our boat would not fit in the slip over near the crane and the crane was never reinstalled. So, we ended up hiring sea tow to be towed to the marinas fuel dock and hired a crane to remove the engine and drop the Perkins 4236 motor into the engine room. We then got towed back to our slip and it took an additional 2 weeks to modify the engine compartment, exhaust, raw water and fuel system to accept the Perkins motor. I really thought it would never happen, but it did everything lined up. After those two weeks Eric was able to get the motor in and running. On the day before New Year’s Eve we motored sailed to Fort Myers. Yes, we made it and we love it so far. The best part of living here is how close the Downtown is to the marina. We can’t wait to see what the next adventure is. Thanks for reading my blog. Remember to keep living the dream but tiny Where do we start? Well we planned on moving to Ft Myers in the beginning of September. After preparing and moving our sons boat we discovered that we couldn’t not start our boat. Let me tell you the whole story. We lived on the hook in Dunedin FL for 3 years then decided that it was time to get a break in a marina for hurricane season. Unfortunately, the weather was not great, so we had no other choice but to motor the entire 21-hour trip. This was Iron Maidens longest trip and especially under Iron sail. Somewhere around 3Am they heard a screaming noise. The sound was the alternator breaking down. I thought oh no now we will need to be towed which would be a far way to be towed. Lucky for Iron Maiden eric can fix things very quickly. So, no fear he had it fixed within minutes. They were able to get back to the trip to Punta Gordo with no other issues.
So why did we not move? Well after that long trip I guess iron maidens motor decided to give up on moving ever again. Eric had a hard time replacing the alternator for a few reasons. One of the biggest issues was the motor is not your normal marine motor. Cost was another large issue. After a few months search he was able to find an alternator that he was able to retrofit it for our boat. Once everything was ready he tried starting the motor. Of course, it would not turn over so what is the first thing you think is wrong. The battery must be dead right. He charged the battery but would still not start. The next issue must be the starter, so we took it to have it checked that worked fine. At this point eric was getting concerned that the motor is done. After several days and mechanics looking at the motor it has been confirmed that some how seawater got into the engine and ruined it. What is next? Well we got super lucky and found a motor that fits perfect. Now the hard part is getting the motor installed. We have to some how move the boat to the fuel docks at the marina, so a crane can lift a motor into our boat. Unfortunately, we are getting information that the crane is going to have issues getting close to our boat safely, so we may have to wait on the marine docks being completed. If we must wait on the marina then it will be closer to Nov for us to leave the current marina. This is not a great situation since we need good internet to work and we will have many boat slips to pay for. As of right now eric has the motor all ready to be removed. Wish us luck that it will happen soon. I am ready to move today but I must wait. Hopefully my next blog will be written sitting looking at downtown Ft Myers. Thank you for reading my blog updates. Remember to keep living the dream but tiny. The tiny living crew is off on our next adventure aboard SV Iron Maiden. It’s hard to believe that we are off on our next adventure already. As some of you might know that we have been living in a marina for the past 4 months but due to some unexpected issues we are moving on. The biggest issue is that we no longer can work from home on our boats due to the lack of secure internet. This is not that much of an issue for me but the rest of the crew work on some important things that require better internet. The other issues are minor but are still issues either way. A special thanks to josh who is making this move possible for all of us.
I do have to say although it was rough getting used to what it meant to be in a marina instead of being on the hook I have come to love it. I didn’t miss many things about being on the hook such as: the long sometimes wet dingy rides, the 30-40knts of winds in winter, the cold rough winter nights, the dragging boats hitting us and constant worry if we would drag. However, there were so many things I do miss about being on the hook such as: our friends, the beautiful sunsets, the dolphins visiting our boat all the time, the privacy and freedom and the free anchoring. Our next adventure will be moving to another marina for awhile till we can get our boat kitty back together. There are some good benefits to living in a marina as well. I put up a photo today about a quote “Die with memories not Dreams”. That is something that I think about a lot especially since I am living my dream everyday and really living Eric’s. although living on a boat full time seems all sunsets and rainbows it is not. living on a boat can be stressful and expensive at times. There’s a saying about what the word BOAT means it is Break out another thousand. Back to memories not dreams. I thought moving to a boat meant a whole different world then it really does. So far it hasn’t been the fairytale dream life we hoped it would be. We have had many adventures with our friends and with our boat but not the big one. Well not yet anyway. Every week we seem to come up with a new idea for our boat life. I can tell you what memories I want to make, and they are the ones that involve sailing in the Caribbean from one gorgeous beach to another. I’m sure that is the rest of the crews dreams as well and will be happening very soon just not yet. How are we going to make these dreams turn into memories well they going to start with getting our boats and or boat ready for a life on the water plus getting a huge boat kitty together. Which by the way we have been working on for almost 4 years now but that big break or great money-making plan has not come through yet. I know its coming and if we work hard enough in the next year it will come true. I will then be living my dream and making memories to last me the rest of my life. Something I am looking forward too is writing my blog from some gorgeous beach with my toes in the beautiful blue water. I really don’t know what plans the universe has for us, but I know that something awesome is coming. Keep following our adventures with us through our blog/channel. Remember to keep living the dream but tiny. I know you probably wondered what the heck I’m talking about. I am talking about the toxic red tide and algae. This manmade disaster is killing thousands of marine animals in Florida. Not only is it killing thousands of animals, but it is making people sick. It is a normal thing that happens every year but this year it is worst then it has ever been.
The water where we live has not been affected to bad yet, but we can’t go to any of the beaches near our marina. The algae clogging inlets and canals and the beaches are full of dead animals. It is truly sad how many animals are dying. Today we are starting to feel some effects of the red tide because captain Eric is having trouble breathing when he is outside of Sv Iron Maiden. There are so many of Florida’s beaches are covered in dead fish and the green algae is everywhere. Tourism is Florida’s bread and butter, so this red tide is killing their business its hard when someone comes to visit number 1 beach without getting sick or seeing all the dead animals. What is the red tide? It is an alga that turns the water red and can release the toxins into the air. This year red tide has killed more and lasted longer then any in over 12 years. The sad part is that the red tide is blamed on hurricanes and other factors, but it is manmade. I hope that people realize that not taking care of our environment is bad and we should start looking at what we have before its gone.
Hello everyone, I feel like I have not blogged in forever. I apologize for not blogging, but my excuse is that we moved. Today I was inspired to blog. I thought I would update everyone on what we are doing.
What has been happening in our tiny living life these days. Well a month and 5 days ago we moved to a marina. We really have changed our way of life. The marina life was a huge change from being on the hook in our sailboat. It took us a few weeks to adjust and get into a routine which still has not been completed yet. How is it different living in a marina vs living on the hook? There are so many benefits that I list in my last blog. http://tinylivinginfo.weebly.com/joans-blog/we-moved. I am still finding things that I love and things that I am not a fan of. We are still trying to decide if we are going to stay in a marina for the winter or be on the hook in key west. What do you think we should do? The next change we have made is we are trying a new way of eating. We needed to get healthy and lose some weight. We are doing the Keto diet. This is a new way to eat for me, I have always been the regular dieter. The one who stayed away from fat and not a huge red meat eater. Well we are 7 days in and we are feeling great. I have lost 4pds, my hubby lost 13pds and my son lost 4pds. wish us luck. I will be adding keto cooking to my website and soon to our YouTube channel. Keto is easy but it’s a good thing I like to cook. Other changes will be to my blog I plan to change what I blog about. I will still be blogging about living tiny of course. I will be adding things to my you tube channel like tiny living cooking and keto cooking, more drone videos, more about our favorite gear, and more boat projects. Checkout my YouTube channel here is my first video https://youtu.be/lFkPMDAhUT0. As my followers what would you like me to blog about? Let me know in the comments. Well I guess that’s everything you are up to speed on our living tiny lives. Also, don’t forget to check out our gear section of my website. If you love any of our gear or just use our links to shop on amazon it really helps support, my blog. Thank you for reading my blog and remember to keep living the dream but tiny.
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We moved our tiny home to a new location in FL. Why did we move, well we moved because we were unable to stay where we were, and it was time to get cruising. I am very excited to move but there are pros and cons to where we moved. We were on the hook which meant we were not in a marina. Just in case you didn’t know our tiny home is a 44ft sailboat in FL. We moved into a marina for about 7 months until the dreaded hurricane season is over. After the 7 months we will be heading more south for the winter.
What are the pros and cons to changing from being on the hook to a marina. Let’s start with the pro’s. the first pro is that our boat is inside a slip, so it will be much safer no more worrying about drifting away or other boats hitting us. Next is access to water, power and internet. I am sure we will only use a small amount of power because we will still try to use our solar as much as possible. Our plan is to spend our weekdays in the marina for work then head out cruising during the weekend so keeping Iron Maidens off grid will be important. I love that we will have access to water. Our boat holds 375gals of water, but we will not have to worry about running out unless we forget to fill it. The next pro to the marina is that we have access to showers that are climate controlled yeah! Access to internet is a huge benefit to being able to work right from the boat. Looking forward to having access to all the amenities the marina has to offer like laundry area on the property and a pool. Yes, I said pool so excited for that. Lastly, we will be saving on fuel cost because no more dinghy rides back and forth to shore and no more need for our generator. What are the cons to living inside of a marina? The first con is privacy we are so used to having a neighbor, but they were about 2 lengths or more away. The next con is the price for sure, we lived on the hook for free the marina is not free. Another con is noise from fellow neighbors and we will also have to be quiet as well. Regardless of the pros and cons we are very ready for our new adventures. I want to thank you for reading my blog and remember to keep living the dream but tiny. Many people want to live the dream but need an income while doing it. I get asked all the time how I can travel and live off grid on my sailboat but still have an income. Well it is something everyone can do even if they are not cruising right now. We are currently working full time jobs, right now but we will be sailing to a new area soon. Let me give you some ideas to work remotely from land or sea.
The first one I am going to talk about requires you to own your own home or several homes or apartments. I know many full-time boat cruisers do this. 1. You could rent out your current home. 2. You could rent out other property’s you may own as well. 3. You could also sell all your property’s and live off the money. 4. You could also do Airbnb. The next idea requires you to have a boat big enough to hold several people either for a day or overnight. 1. You could charter your boat for sunset cruises, weekend cruises or week-long trips. Check out https://www.sailingkumatoo.com for some ideas. 2. You could also do Airbnb on your boat. Next one might be hard especially if you are ready to start living the dream. 1. Wait for Retirement. Next one can require money, time and skills. 1. Start your own business either on-line or have a brick & mortar company. 2. You can also use your skills to find day work and be self-employed. 3. You could sell things like nutrition products such as Herbalife or beach body shakeology. 4. You could sell other products such as pampered chef or Young living essential oils. 5. You could become a solar advisor. Check out https://powur.com/eric.stump/advisors for some ideas. 6. you could become a Keto works or It works distributor. check out https://jestump.startketotoday.com 7. There are many great products out there to sell remotely or in the areas you stop at. This next one requires you to already have a current job. Or you could look for remote friendly jobs within a company or only offers onsite positions typically. 1. You could turn your present job into a remote position. Many companies would rather have you work remotely then lose you all together. 2. https://www.monster.com/ 3. https://www.indeed.com/ 4. https://www.ziprecruiter.com/candidate/suggested-jobs 5. https://www.linkedin.com Next one requires you to be able to take great photos. Living on a sailboat we get some great photos of sunsets and other things. 1. Sell your photos on http://clashot.com/ or https://www.foap.com/ Next way to make money using camera or video skills. 1. Make YouTube videos 2. Get paid for people supporting your life on YouTube through https://www.patreon.com. The last way is through writing or using the skills you have. 1. https://www.flexjobs.com/ 2. https://www.upwork.com/ 3. https://www.mturk.com/ 4. https://www.taskrabbit.com/ for local work. 5. https://remotebase.io/ 6. https://remote.com/ 7. https://weworkremotely.com/ Writing 1. https://www.fiverr.com/ 2. https://problogger.com/ 3. https://www.simplyhired.com/ 4. https://transcribeme.com/ 5. https://www.usertesting.com/ 6. https://www.makealivingwriting.com/ 7. https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/ I hope you enjoyed my blog and find a way to make money while cruising and living the dream. This blog was not sponsored by any of the websites listed. Thank you for checking out my blog and remember to keep living the dream but tiny. |
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November 2019
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