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$5,000 Full-Time Cruising Budget Challenge โ€” Did We Make It in November 2025?

Retired Early Slow Travelers
Retired Early Slow Travelers
๐Ÿฅ‰Knowledgeable
๐Ÿ‘๏ธ 33 views๐Ÿ“… 5 months agoโฑ๏ธ 14:11
What This Creator Said
Creator Had Mixed FeelingsCruise Vlog๐Ÿฅ‰Knowledgeable Creator
โค๏ธ Best for CoupleVeteran Cruiser

Source: Our analysis of the creator's lived experience, based on what they said in this video.

Creator's Key Takeaways

We did go on four cruises uh in the month of November. For two of us, including gratuitities, taxes, port fees, whether we paid the full cruise amount or we got a casino deal, we paid a total of $2,11848.

Yes, we did go over our $5,000 budget. And, um, we went over in gambling. Our gambling was $1,792.

We're a little behind, but we're trying to catch up. And believe it or not, we already know our December budget, and I'll share that with you in the next video on budgeting.

Creator's Tips & Advice

โœ“Stay at one port or one state to save on transportation costs.
โœ“Use Walmart Plus for grocery delivery when staying at hotels.
โœ“Consider gambling as a small investment to get free cruise offers.

๐Ÿ†•New to Cruising? This Creator Addresses:

Managing a $5,000 monthly budget while cruising full-time. โ€” Make small investments like gambling to get free cruise offers and stay within your means.

Questions This Creator Answers

QDid we make our $5,000 budget while cruising full-time on a cruise ship?
QWhat are the recurring and living expenses for full-time cruising?
QHow can new full-time cruisers manage their budget?

Topics Covered

Value Pricing2 Happy BaconDining Specialty1 Happy BaconService Crew1ยฝ Happy Bacon

Port Highlights

Tampa
How to read the Trip Bacon Score
Happy Bacon โ€” creators loved this aspect
Sad Bacon โ€” creators took issue with this
Meh โ€” no strong opinion either way

Scale: 0โ€“5 strips in half-step increments. 0 = โ€œmehโ€, 5 = โ€œbacon blissโ€. Aggregated from creator-review sentiment, weighted by channel expertise.

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YouTube Video Descriptionโ†“

๐Ÿ’ฐ Did we actually stick to our $5,000 budget in November 2025โ€ฆ or did it blow up? In this video, we break down every dollar from our real November 2025 budget โ€” the wins, the surprises, and the moments that tested our discipline. No fluff, no filters, just honest numbers and real-life decisions. Whether youโ€™re: โ€ข Living on a fixed income โ€ข Planning long-term travel or cruising โ€ข Trying to control expenses without sacrificing joy this video shows what $5,000 really looks like in a real month. โธป ๐Ÿ“Š What Youโ€™ll See in This Video: โœ… Our original $5,000 budget plan โœ… Actual spending vs expectations โœ… What went over (and why) โœ… What weโ€™d do differently next month โœ… Lessons learned you can apply to your own budget โธป ๐Ÿ’ฌ Let us know in the comments: Would you have stayed under budget this month? ๐Ÿ‘ If transparent budget videos help you โ†’ like & subscribe ๐Ÿ”” New videos every week sharing real-life budgeting, travel, and retirement lifestyle insights โธป ๐Ÿ“Œ Watch next: โ–ถ๏ธ Our previous monthly budget breakdown โ–ถ๏ธ How we plan our budget before the month starts Thanks for being part of this journey โค๏ธ