Adapting Our Sailing Family Budget Plan to Reality

The Dream We Planned

Before we left for our sailing journey, we sat with an Excel sheet and tried to understand how you even begin a life like this. We created what we believed was a realistic sailing family budget, and we divided our savings into three simple parts because that was the only way to make the unknown feel manageable.

First, we calculated our monthly cost of living on the boat. We spoke to other sailing families, read blogs, gathered numbers, and came out with an estimate that told us how long we could stay on the water without working.

Second, we set aside money for the day we would return to land. Coming back is not easy. You need time, stability, a place to live, and enough space to breathe. We wanted a soft landing after the journey.

Third, whatever remained became the boat budget. From that number we understood exactly which models, years, and sizes were realistic for us.

This breakdown gave us a plan. Not a perfect one, but enough of a plan to take the first step toward this life.

The Plan That Didn’t Survive Reality

Because we do not come from wealth, it was clear from the beginning that we would both work during the journey. Sergey built a business that could run remotely. I came with confidence from the tech world. After years as a Product Manager, I had a promise from my startup that three months after leaving, I would begin freelancing with them as a Data Analyst.

Three days before we left our old life behind, we shook hands on it.It felt like the critical piece that made our sailing family budget feel safe.

But two months into the journey, everything shifted. The market changed. The company adjusted. And the remote job I was supposed to start simply did not happen.

At the same time, we learned that our actual expenses were higher than our original sailing family budget. The money that was supposed to last the entire journey was disappearing much faster than expected.

It felt like the entire plan collapsed at once.

The Most Illogical Decision I Made

Right at the point where logic said I should find another job immediately, Sergey and I made a different decision. We agreed that I needed a break from work.

For the first time since my early twenties, I stopped.I let myself ask what I wanted.I let myself explore and learn.

During that time, I launched our Follow the 5un channels. Not to build a business, but to share our story and show that living differently is possible. I learned AI, which was still new to the world. I spent my days being a mom and a teacher almost full-time.

Nine months later, I returned to the job market with clarity and energy I did not have before.

Throwing Stones Into the Water

Someone once told me, “If you throw stones into the water, one of the ripples will bring something back.” So I started throwing stones without overthinking.

Online communities.Virtual coffee meetings.Networking from the boat.Small experiments, one after another.

And one of those ripples returned as my first meaningful client, an Australian company I still work with today.

This work gave us stability and allowed us to continue our journey without either of us needing a full-time job. It was not the path I imagined, but it was the path that formed.

The Shift That Changed Everything

The biggest lesson we learned was simple:

Money is a tool, not a goal.

Before this journey, I worked to advance, to feel successful, to climb the ladder. But during the journey, our perspective changed. We worked to enable. To pay for a rental car. A restaurant. A flight home. A moment we wanted as a family.

Our sailing family budget slowly became less about long-term planning and more about supporting the life we were living right now.

Not for twenty years from now.For today.

This shift did not happen on the first day.It happened slowly, along the way, as we learned how to live differently.

What I Want You to Take From This

Plan. Understand your numbers. Know your expectations.

But also remember:Your plan will change.The market will change.And you will change.

You do not need a perfect plan.You need enough of a plan to begin, and enough courage to build the rest while you are already on the way.

We continued our journey, even when things fell apart.Not because everything was perfect, but because when the plans dissolved, we chose to keep going.