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13th May 2022

Couple live on cruise ships full time because it’s cheaper than paying a mortgage

Charlie Herbert

Couple live on cruise ships because it's cheaper than paying mortgage

They reckon their life on cruise ships costs them just $43 a day

A couple have decided to spend their lives permanently on cruises because of their love for the sea and the fact it is cheaper than a mortgage.

Angelyn Burk and her husband Richard have always loved the sea, with Angelyn going on her first cruise in 1992, and would go on cruises every year, sometimes twice.

But they soon realised that it could make some financial sense to actually never leave the cruising life, and would be cheaper than a mortgage on dry land.

“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 told 7Life.

“We love to travel and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense.”

Angelyn, who used to work as an accountant, started trying to calculate the age at which they’d be able to hit the high seas for good, and eventually realised that by using their loyalty memberships and taking advantage of sales discounts they could retire immediately – and that it made more financial sense than a mortgage.

Angelyn and Richard have been quite literally cruising through life since May 2021 (Angelyn Burk/Facebook)

So that’s exactly what they did, setting off for a life at sea in May 2021 with a daily spend of $43 a day.

“We have been frugal all our lives to save and invest in order to achieve our goal,” Angelyn said. “We are not into materialistic things but experiences.”

She added that her and her husband “don’t plan to permanently live on land in the future.”

Through some meticulous planning they’ve worked out their routes, how to jump from one cruise straight onto another, and which family members they’d be able to stay round when they have to spend a few nights on dry land.

The couple say their favourite destinations are Singapore, Italy, Canada, Iceland, and the Bahamas.

And although Angelyn admits it “does take effort,” she firmly believes that a life at sea is “achievable for the everyday cruiser,” adding: “It is leisurely travel without the complications of booking hotels, restaurants and transportation, while staying within our budget.”

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