Featured Image Credit: Phill Jackson/Royal Princess & Princess Cruises via Getty Images / Angelyn Burk
Topics: News, Money, World News
Kit Roberts
Topics: News, Money, World News
There are many ways to try and save money after retiring, assuming of course that you are of a generation that is able to retire.
But one choice is certainly unusual, and appears to be rather counterintuitive.
This is choosing to live permanently on a cruise ship in a bid to save money that would otherwise be spent on housing.
It all sounds very nice, but surely it can't actually be cheaper?
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Selling one's home to live on a cruise ship seems like rather a gamble given that nursing homes can eat through $500k estates like a Labrador with its face in a bag of chips.
Nonetheless, some couples have done just that, and swapped their landlubber homes for a cabin on the high seas.
Former Seattle residents Angelyn and Richard Burk are among them, having left behind their home for a life on cruise ships travelling the world.
It's certainly a romantic idea!
Not only that but Angelyn, a former accountant, even said it's actually cheaper than before.
But how exactly is the cost broken down?
Angelyn told CNN: “Currently, this year, we have secured 86 cruise days with an average all-in cost of $89/day for both of us, which includes room, food, entertainment, transportation, gratuity, port fees and taxes.
“When planning out cruises, I try to stay on the same ship as long as possible, as long as it is cost-effective."
In Seattle, where the Burks lived, the average cost of a house in 2023 is a staggering $831,102, according to Zillow.
That means with a deposit of 20 percent, assuming you have $166,220 down the back of the couch, an interest rate of 6.86 percent, and a standard 30 year repayment period, you're looking at monthly repayments of around $4,000 per month.
Compared to the $89 a day on a cruise ship which covers living costs as well, it does work out cheaper, with that coming to around $2,670 a month.
So it would seem that it certainly can be cheaper to live on a cruise ship, but there's a catch.
The kicker is where you live in the US.
For the Burks from expensive Seattle, or if you lived in say New York or San Fransisco, then this could be viable.
Less so if you live somewhere with lower property prices, or if you're trapped in a cycle of renting and living month to month.
It might sometimes be cheaper to live on a cruise ship, but ironically it seems you can only spend less money like this if you have more to begin with.