There Goes the Budget

I can't believe it. Harley has chipped another tooth and is at the dentist right now as I write. There goes the budget.

If there is anything that controls a cruiser’s life more than the weather, it’s the “Cruising Budget”. Rich or poor, most cruisers live by a strict budget. With little to no money coming in, every penny is carefully watched and accounted for.

Ours is a moderate budget, which allows us to eat out now and then and go to a marina when necessary to plug into electricity, do laundry, and have a nice long hot shower, but it doesn’t allow for much more. Some cruisers live on such a shoe string budget that they have no refrigeration (no need to plug in) and live on rice and beans. Luckily we're not that desperate.

Regardless of what kind of budget one is on, every cruiser has to expect the unexpected ……like dental emergencies. Poor Harley chipped this tooth about two weeks ago but he didn’t want to tell me. He bit down on a hard candy some vendor was handing out at the Boat Show, and after having to take time out to go back to Barrie for some dental work at the beginning of the trip, he was feeling a bit embarrassed.

Oh well, these things happen, and he needs his teeth if he wants to eat. But maybe not, we could always go to the rice and bean diet. Who knows we may have to…….JUST KIDDING!