So did you win the lottery?

We have been asked indirectly and directly how we can afford to quit our jobs and live aboard a sailboat. No, we did not win the lottery or inherit money. So, just how can we afford to sail off?
Simple. We saved a lot. Simple, like lose weight by eating less or squeeze the toothpaste tube from the bottom and work your way up. "Simple, maybe, but not easy."

That's a quote from the movie "The Prestige". If you haven't seen it and you plan to, then--SPOILER ALERT--skip the rest of this paragraph. It's about two rival magicians. The way that one of the magicians performs the ultimate illusion is by living with his twin as a single person. The line (simple, maybe, but not easy) is uttered right before a montage that depicts the life of the twins and includes the purposeful severing of fingertips and daily betrayal of loved ones.

Our 'saving' montage would be way more boring and would include paying off credit card debt and student loans, rehabbing a 2-flat and renting it, bringing our lunch to work, and using an old flip phone* (me, not Matt--he can only take so much). It would leave out the vacations and weekly sushi habit. It's all very unexciting but we found that it is true that if you train yourself to want less, you don't feel like you're missing out.

We have been fortunate in many ways. And we are not recommending that everyone make the same choices. Some people would rather gouge their eye out with a toothpick. But you do have a choice. I love this post about time versus money. Of course, one of our big assumptions in all this is that we will be able to cruise pretty inexpensively. Others have done it so we know it is possible. In future posts, we plan to publish our actual costs so you can see how it is going.

*I swear my phone had a "G" on it the other day--as in not 3G or 4G connectivity, just G.