Young couple sold almost everything to live on a cruise ship
<p>Two savvy US school teachers Monica Brzoska, 32, and Jorrell Conley, 36, have sold almost all of their possessions to live at sea.</p>
<p>The couple fell in love with cruising after travelling to Mexico, Belize and Grand Cayman almost a decade ago.</p>
<p>In 2023, after Monica's father fell ill, she was inspired to live the life she had always wanted. </p>
<p>"Don’t wait for retirement to follow your dreams. Do it now," her mother had told her. </p>
<p>That's when she and her husband made the life-changing decision. </p>
<p>“Instead of coming back, why not keep booking consecutive cruises for as long as we could afford to?” Monica told <em>The Sun</em>. </p>
<p>“It sounds mad, but the numbers made sense. Accommodation, food and entertainment would be included – we’d only need spending money.</p>
<p>“And because we’d been on so many Carnival cruises, we’d earned access to some amazing offers.</p>
<p>“If we chose the cheapest cabins, our savings from the pandemic would allow us to book eight months of cruising for $16,000 – some trips paid for in full, others with deposits.</p>
<p>“We could then use the rent from our three-bedroom house in Memphis to make extra payments as needed. Many cruises start and end in the same ports, so we knew we’d be able to disembark and easily board our next ship, or otherwise fly to the port.”</p>
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<p>The pair quit their jobs, sold most of their possessions and rented out their three-bedroom home in Memphis, and have been cruising for almost two years now. </p>
<p>Since making the move, the couple have completed 36 consecutive cruises and visited almost 50 countries.</p>
<p>“I instantly felt free,” she said. </p>
<p>“People are amazed when they hear we live on ships, and I’m always happy to share the tricks we’ve learned to save money. We’ve won excursion tickets, jewellery and spa treatments in onboard raffles, while on land, we do our own tours, using local transport to explore," she said. </p>
<p>However, she admitted that there are a few challenges, including missing family, but regardless "it really is a dream come true". </p>
<p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>
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