Couple decide to permanently live on cruise ship after finding it's cheaper than paying mortgage

Living on a cruise ship being cheaper than paying a mortgage? If that doesn't sum up the state of the economy in 2024 I don't know what does.

If you've read anything about the world we're living in right now, you're probably aware that house prices have been drastically rising and aren't going to be dropping much anytime soon either.

So, it's only natural people have been looking for alternatives whether it be settling down in a dumpster or - and this one may surprise you - hopping onboard a cruise.

Angelyn and Richard Burk, from Seattle, decided to up sticks and set sail onboard cruise ships in May 2021 and they argue their decision is much better on their wallets compared with paying off a mortgage for a property on land.

Former accountant Angelyn explained to Australia's 7News: "We love to travel, and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense."

Both Angelyn and Richard are in their 50s and realized they could continue their love of traveling for the rest of their lives and not only that, but travel for as little as $62 AUD ($40 USD) a day.

As of 2021, Angelyn and Richard have lived on cruise ships (Angelyn Burk)

They hopped on and off various cruise ships around the world, including a 51-day trip from Seattle to Sydney and some of their top spots have been Singapore, Italy, Canada and the Bahamas.

"Our original plan was to stay in different countries for a month at a time and eventually retire to cruise ships as we got older,” Angelyn continued. "We love to travel and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense."

Thanks to living a pretty frugal life, alongside their loyalty memberships and taking advantage of sales, the pair were able to retire right away.

And they don't plan on returning to dry land anytime soon.

The couple found that their cruise ship lifestyle was within their retirement budget (Angelyn Burk)

Angelyn told CNN in April 2022 that the average cost per day was $89 USD, which included the price of their room, food, entertainment, transportation, tips, port fees and taxes.

According to Zillow, at the time of writing, the average Seattle home value is $848,982 - up 3.1 percent over the past year.

Angelyn added the plan was 'well within' the pair's 'retirement budget' and it's even apparently landed them with additional cash to splash too.

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