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Yachting World has had its finger on the pulse of sailing since 1894 (though some of us joined a little more recently). We reckon we are the most enthusiastic sailing fans in the world: we love boats of all kinds, modern and classic, we like racing and cruising, are fascinated by innovation yet revere tradition, and nothing that floats is too big or too small for our tastes.

Every day online and every month in print we bring you the very best in adventurous sailing, whether that be bluewater cruising, ocean racing, high latitudes exploring, or anything in between, and we pride ourselves on our independent tests, in-depth reports and top quality photo journalism.

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Helen Fretter – Editor

Helen has a background of racing one-design keelboats and IRC yachts, and competed for many seasons at Solent events such as Cowes Week and the Commodores’ Cup, as well as regattas in Cork, Deauville, Cascais, Kiel and the Caribbean. She has covered many events, both racing and cruising, during her time at Yachting World, including the World ARC and ARC Europe , following the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race around the world, the Rolex Fastnet Race , and many others. Besides planning and commissioning content for Yachting World magazine and yachtingworld.com, Helen relishes the opportunity to get stuck into feature and profile writing and has interviewed many of the sport’s most high-profile and fascinating characters.

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Toby has sailed with his family on various craft since his earliest memories allow, before racing and teaching on dinghies in Devon throughout his school years. After completing his English Degree he became a deckhand aboard superyachts – sailing in the Med, Red Sea, UAE, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic and gaining his Yachtmaster qualification.

Toby spent five years writing for Yachting Monthly, before leaving his post as Technical Editor to spend a year down under. As Test Editor, Toby is responsible for the boat testing programme, as well as the gear section of the magazine, including New Gear and more extensive gear and equipment articles.

As a teenager Julian restored a 16ft wooden motorboat and then went on to an apprenticeship as a boatbuilder in New Zealand before switching careers and entering journalism. As a reporter on a national daily newspaper he covered everything from politics to royal tours. Saturday afternoons spent working on a sister sports paper meant reporting on international car rallies, rugby and sailing and motorboat racing events on the Hauraki Gulf. He has since worked for an aerospace magazine, regional newspapers and been editor of a successful free weekly.

Julian was more recently production editor for Practical Boat Owner where his practical boating knowledge proved particularly useful.

E-mail: julian.peckham @futurenet.com

Robert joined Yachting World as Art Editor having previously worked in this role for Boat International, The Field and Shooting Times. He was trained at art college in Southend-on-Sea before travelling the world working on large yachts in the Mediterranean. He has twice won Time Inc. (UK) Ltd’s Designer of the Year Award and is a keen photographer and ornithologist.

E-mail: [email protected]

Fox Morgan – Tech Editor

Hailing from that well known seafaring port of Chesterfield and brought up with a family of engineers, Fox Morgan is an STCW, GMDSS and YM Ocean qualified maritime professional as well as NCTJ qualified photojournalist since 1997. On the water, they go by the name Captain Flashheart.

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Toby was born to a dinghy racing family and was surrounded by sailing more-or-less from birth. He received his first boat – a bright red Optimist dinghy – for his fourth birthday and has been out on the water as often as possible from then on. He has won World and National titles and captained his University sailing team. It was during his time at university he discovered keelboat racing and continues to sail big and small boats to this day.

After leaving university in 2005 he got a job writing for an online sailing publication and has continued writing for both cruising and racing publications ever since, covering two Olympic Games and other events across the globe.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns yachting world.

Future PLC owns Yachting World. The brand was formerly owned by IPC Media, a publisher that was renamed to become Time Inc. and then TI Media. Future PLC bought TI Media in April 2020.

Who is the editor of Yachting World?

Helen Fretter is the Editor of Yachting World. Helen became Editor in 2021, having joined Yachting World in 2016 as Deputy Editor and spent a period as Acting Editor.

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One of the ways Yachting World makes money in order to keep our content free is through an affiliate linking programme. In our reviews, products and deals round-ups our editorial team will often include a ‘Buy Now’ link, or links will be automatically displayed, to a retail partner. If a reader clicks the link and buys a product, Yachting World will earn a small fee. This doesn’t affect the amount you pay.

We always try to find the best deals on products that we know and trust from reputable retailers to give to our readers. Our affiliate and advertising relationships don’t affect our reviews or recommendations.

Yachting World is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact [email protected] . If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit: ipso.co.uk

Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

November issue – out now

SAILING SKILLS

Conquering Biscay This notorious stretch of water is a satisfying rite of passage. We explore how best to tackle it

Weird winds How hills affect the weather at sea. Meteorologist Simon Keeling explains what to look out for

The wrong way across the Atlantic Jonty Pearce encounters a Force 10 and fuel shortages on an exciting ocean passage

A question of seamanship Are you having trouble manoeuvring?

Serenity and setbacks in Chile A solo sailor contends with a cracked keel amid the beauty of southern Chile

Charmed by Whitby It’s easy to be bitten by the appeal of Whitby, the home of Dracula, Captain Cook and kippers

Maiden on a mission Tracy Edwards’ Whitbread classic is reborn, but with a serious message to spread as she cruises

Exploring Solent creeks Wildlife and sheltered waterways at Keyhaven and Lymington

Rio Guadiana A sheltered estuary on the border of Spain and Portugal

Gear and Boats

Allures 45.9 ‘Unique and brilliant’ was Graham Snook’s verdict on this new boat. Find out why he liked her so much

How Europe has shaped your boat With Brexit on the horizon, Mel Bartlett looks at what this means for EU safety rules

keep cruising in any weather Why deck saloons make good sense, and four 35ft deck saloons worth looking at

tested: dinghy & outboard We test a Honda 2.3 four-stroke outboard and Honwave inflatable

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Yachting Monthly

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How to convert a yacht to electric propulsion

• Duncan Kent
• May 22, 2024

Thinking about changing your ageing diesel engine for a new all-electric propulsion system? Duncan Kent offers advice on the pros and cons

There are hundreds, if not thousands of yachts still sailing with 40-year-old diesel engines emitting smoke and pollutants, so is now the time to replace them with a clean, low maintenance, pure electric propulsion instead?

The more I’ve looked at sailing yachts that have been converted from diesel to electric auxiliary drive, the more I wonder why you wouldn’t do it, especially now that the cost of hi-tech boat batteries and solar charging has dropped dramatically.

The immediate advantage of changing to marine pure electric drive (PED) systems is that they’re clean, quiet, smell-free and require minimal maintenance, all of which is very appealing if you’ve ever owned a boat with an ancient, clunky diesel. PEDs offer other benefits too. Their reaction to the throttle is instant, which is a boon when berthing in a cramped marina, and once you’re sailing at a decent lick you can generate free ‘fuel’ from the prop.

The disadvantages are the initial cost of the system (largely due to the batteries) and range issues. On a typical 10m cruising yacht it’s just not possible to store enough energy to motor at full tilt for 10 hours a day, so if you’re planning to make long offshore passages regularly then you’ll either need a lot of patience or enough solar and wind generation to power a small village.

But for coastal cruising, often from marina berth to marina berth (what 85% of today’s boat owners do anyway), a PED system is far more viable, especially once your old iron topsail has reached the point where it’s just so much ballast.

If there’s even a little bit of you that would rather not get your hands dirty tinkering with a temperamental diesel, then electric may just be for you. Photo: Fernhurst Books

The devil you know

A diesel engine can provide heaps of grunt when you mistime the tides and want to escape an oncoming storm, provided, of course, that choppy seas haven’t stirred up the inevitable gloop at the bottom of your diesel tank and blocked up your fuel filters.

It’s also fairly simple tech, so, if you’re mechanically minded and have all the tools and spares on board, you can usually keep it turning over. Fuel can also be carried in jerries too, so if it takes a bit longer to thrash your way back into port you can top it up along the way.

You can also leave the boat for months, even years, on end without much harm coming to it and without needing an umbilical cord permanently attached to the shore to keep the expensive power pack in optimum condition.

A spare charged battery, a pair of jump leads, some fresh fuel and bingo, you’re away. But if there’s just a little bit of you that would love to never have to lift the engine box lid and prefer to start your annual cruise with clean fingernails, then sliding soundlessly out of your berth in the early hours must sound appealing.

Range currently remains an issue with battery capacity the limiting factor, but things are improving all the time

Range anxiety

Just as with electric cars, whenever anyone whose vessel is equipped with a conventional diesel falls into a conversation about electric propulsion for boats, the first question is almost always, ‘How far will it go on a charge?’

Well, the answer I’m afraid is simply, ‘It depends.’ How far do you want it to go? Are you willing to toddle along at four knots, or do you want to charge around from port to port like a Greek charter yacht?

I get that it’s not for everyone and, being a mature seafarer myself, I dread to think about losing all power whilst halfway through the Portland Race in the dark. But as with pretty much anything to do with navigating a vessel, you just need to plan things out carefully in advance.

Article continues below…

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There are those that say having a finite source of auxiliary propulsion teaches you to sail better, which in many ways is true. The introduction of the powerful modern marine engine has made us all lazy with our tidal planning, knowing, as we do, that you can always resort to the donk to get you home if the log drops below 4 knots or that extra pint in the pub has made you late for the tidal gate.

So, let’s look at some facts. The typical electric propulsion system for a 10m, 6-tonne cruising yacht will usually be designed to provide around five to six hours of gentle cruising in fairly neutral currents at around 4 knots, or maybe 10 hours of motor-sailing, before requiring a charge.

Unlike a car, however, a boat can have solar panels on its deck, coachroof and arch, that can extend this range by another couple of hours, maybe, in the summer.

And then there’s the possibility of regeneration.

Oceanvolt electric ServoProp propeller has electrically controlled pitch which auto adjusts for your speed, or for regeneration

Hydro-regeneration

Nearly all electric motors used in marine propulsion have the capability to turn into a hydro-generator when your speed under sail goes above 4.5 knots or so and the prop/motor is allowed to rotate in reverse.

Regeneration doesn’t make a massive contribution, at best around 750W at 7 knots boat speed per prop, but at 48V (typical electric drive voltage) that’s another useful 15A or so going back into the battery bank.

There are some systems – Oceanvolt’s ServoProp for instance – that incorporate a variable pitch prop. These are capable of a more decent output at lower speeds but are currently seriously expensive.

Either way, I believe solar and hydro-regen should be treated as a bonus when planning your system, not as a given.

If you are unlucky enough to have a few days of no sun or wind you will be back to relying solely on the energy reserves held in your battery bank.

For those who really can’t get over the nagging worry of running out of drive power on a passage, there’s always the option of installing a hybrid system, in which a standby diesel engine is always on hand to get you out of an emergency.

Oceanvolt’s award-winning HighPower ServoProp 25 electric saildrive

Variable pitch props

A normal fixed propeller is designed for propelling the boat and not for generating power as with a hydro-generator. However, Oceanvolt’s DAME award-winning ServoProp saildrive, suitable for monohulls and multihulls from 35-90ft LOA, features a variable pitch prop that combines a high efficiency saildrive with a powerful hydro-generator.

With its unique ability to rotate its propeller blades through more than 180°, ServoProp’s control software adjusts the pitch of the propeller blades to automatically optimise all hydro-generation and propulsion needs.

Oceanvolt claims that a normal fixed propeller generates less than half the power of ServoProp, which it states can produce more than 1kW at 6-8 knots, and 5kW at 10 knots.

It also estimates a 30% increase in forward propulsion, +100% in reverse, and +300% in hydro-generation mode.

Renowned marine propeller supplier, Bruntons, has also launched its Autoprop Eco*Star, designed specifically to propel the rapidly growing number of hybrid and pure electric craft, both motor and sail.

Autoprops are highly efficient because of their ability to auto-pitch depending on engine speed and sea conditions, in order to provide optimum thrust at all times. But with electric propulsion the advantages provided by the new Eco*Star propellers are further extended.

Electric motors provide a constant torque from zero to maximum rpm. Using its auto-pitching ability, the Eco*Star can match its own efficiency curve with that of the electric motor, resulting in more boat speed with less energy.

Eco*Star can spin when under sail allowing the motor to become a generator for recharging the batteries.

Battery setup in an Oceanvolt electric propulsion unit

Drive types

Shaft drive – In most cases it’s possible to retain the shaft and stern gland from an existing shaft drive ICE system, although you’ll probably need a new shaft bearing and coupler unless it is a direct-drive system. The propeller will also probably need to be changed if you want regeneration when sailing.

Saildrive – In many ways electric saildrive units are easier than shaft drives because, as with pods, they come as a complete package with the correct propeller for optimum regeneration. They’re also more efficient at regeneration as the propshaft can be aligned horizontally, unlike shafts, which are usually angled slightly downwards. Some owners choose to convert from a shaft to a saildrive for this reason.

Pod drive – Electric drive pods are similar to saildrives, except they have a direct-drive motor at the bottom of the leg, which allows them to benefit from automatic cooling. Electric drive pods also only require a few small holes in the hull, usually two to four for mounting the unit and one for the routing of the power cable. Pod props and motors are also designed with optimum regeneration in mind.

Most PED systems on small to medium-sized yachts utilise a 48V battery bank. Although there are some that still use deep-cycle AGM battery technology, the only realistic battery chemistry currently available for marine PED systems is lithium-ion.

The safest of the li-ion group is lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4). While not the most energy dense of the lithium-ion group, they have been proven to be the safest type of li-ion cells to install into a boat, where a battery fire would be catastrophic.

Originally, many professionally built and installed marine electric drive systems utilised other, more volatile types of li-ion batteries such as nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) or lithium manganese oxide (LMO).

System displays can give real time readouts of battery capacity, power usage and remaining range

These types of li-ion are commonly used in the automotive industry for their high capacity, but are wholly reliant on their highly sophisticated battery management system (BMS) to keep them operating within safe parameters.

Apart from preventing a fire risk, the problem with relying on a BMS to monitor the batteries is what happens if something triggers a safety shutdown, causing your boat to lose power completely. A battery shutdown isn’t as drastic as having a lithium battery fire on board, but the total loss of propulsion isn’t ideal, even on a sailing boat.

It’s worse, of course, if you use the same power bank for your house power. Then the loss of your navigation and communications facilities at the same time can be extremely dangerous. For this reason, I would always recommend keeping motor and house banks entirely separate from each other.

If you’re happy to have the more volatile batteries on board or are forced to in order to achieve the desired range, then I highly recommend you have your system professionally designed, installed and commissioned.

Yes, it’ll be expensive, but you’ll sleep at night!

The battery monitoring system will control charge from all sources

Charging a motor bank

Having a much lower internal resistance, li-ion batteries will charge more rapidly than lead-acid batteries because they can accept a much higher rate of charge.

A good quality battery can usually accept a charge up to its own capacity, meaning a 100Ah battery can be charged at 100A. This is called a capacity acceptance rate (CAR) of 1C, and is important when it comes to charging overnight, with the intention of continuing your cruise early the next day.

It also enables various different methods of charging to be accepted simultaneously, provided the combined charge doesn’t exceed 1C, so you can be using solar to its max while also charging from shore power. Another advantage of using li-ion over lead-acid batteries is the BMS can be networked to all charging sources to provide control over the charging regime, plus the data can provide power monitoring at a glance.

Costs of converting

The cost of installing a complete pure electric drive system on a yacht depends on how far and how fast you want to motor between battery charges. The greater the range or faster the speed required, the more battery capacity you’ll need.

A typical 40hp diesel replacement will cost close to £20k including all the parts and installation. A DIY-installed PED replacement would cost £15-£25k, depending on the number of batteries specified, whereas a professionally designed and installed pure electric drive system is more likely to be in the region of £30-£45k.

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• The 5 best books about sailing the seas: perfect holiday reading for sailors

There's nothing better than lounging on a sun-drenched deck, gently rocking on the waves with the breeze washing over you and a great book in your hand. And what better subject than sailing at sea? Here are some of our picks for the best reads about sailing adventures. 

PROFESSIONAL (BUT READABLE) LITERATURE ABOUT SAILING:

1. total loss (paul gelder, 2008, bloomsbury publishing).

Paul Gelder's books are required reading for all skippers. The best way to learn is from your own mistakes, but making mistakes can sometimes be fatal. With 45 dramatic stories of yachts lost a sea, packed with first-hand accounts and brought together by an experienced yachtsman and British Yachting Monthly magazine editor, you can learn from their mistakes. Fortunately, in most cases, at least the crew was spared (although every loss, including that of the boat, is painful). Analyzing the reasons why the disasters occurred, the author comes up with recommendations on how to avoid similar tragedies. Although this is essentially a work of professional non-fiction, trust us, these short accounts are far from boring.

2. Sunk Without Trace (Paul Gelder, 2012, Bloomsbury Publishing)

A sequel to Gelder's bestselling Total Loss ,   this will be a welcome addition to your library. This new collection brings together 30 more terrifying and compelling stories of shipwrecks and sinkings caused by weather, storms, faulty navigation, collisions, gear failure, fire, and crew exhaustion. It is a gripping read that carries valuable lessons.

Destinations worth exploring:

From Lefkada or Corfu to Paxos and Antipaxos

Sail from Lefkada for 14 days. Where to?

What not to miss when visiting Lefkada

Where and why to sail from Lefkas marina

The best sailing routes from Biograd na Moru

Sail to the 7 most beautiful sights in Greece

Real voyages of brave sailors:, 3. the lonely sea and the sky (francis chichester, 1964, summersdale).

In 1967, Francis Chichester became the first person to sail single-handed around the world from east to west via the great capes, and as a result, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. In this book, he recounts his beginnings as an amateur aviator and pilot, and how he turned to sailing — in particular his two solo voyages from England to New York which gave rise to a popular yacht race across the Atlantic (the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race). This is the story of strong will and indomitable courage told with dry British wit by a man who experienced it all first hand.

4. The Kon-Tiki Expedition (Thor Heyerdahl, 1950, Allen & Unwin)

In 1947, legendary Norwegian explorer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl set out on adventure on a balsawood raft from South America to Polynesia to prove his theory that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race, undertaking a similar voyage. The book, a bestseller in its day, is a record of this astonishing journey — the experiences of 6 people, their coexistence, their knowledge and their merging with nature, the sea and its inhabitants ... and their eventual landing in Polynesia.

YACHTING.COM TIP: What about female sailors? For a long time, women were simply not allowed to sail on board a ship. Yet, undeterred, some of them still managed to conquer the seas. To find out the ones that made history, check out our article —  Women aboard: the most famous female sailors of all time .

5. Swallows and Amazons series (Arthur Ransome, 1930–47, Jonathan Cape)

As the heroes of these classic novels have their adventures in the Lake District in England, Swallows and Amazons doesn't strictly belong on our list. Still, no list would not be complete without a novel from this classic series, especially as it may have even been one of Ransome's works that got you into sailing in the first place, fuelling your desire to explore the seas. No matter what, they make perfect bedtime reading for your kids in a gently rocking cabin of a sailing boat.

The Swallows and Amazons  series is a series of 13 children's adventure novels about the adventures of the Walker siblings (on a dinghy named  Swallow ) on holiday at a lakeside farm and the local Blackett sisters (on the Amazon ) who live on the opposite shore. The children sail their little sailing boats around the lake (in some books on the Norfolk Broads or even tropical seas) and their childlike imagination is wonderfully encouraged by their parents and other relatives. The first book, Swallows and Amazons , published in 1930, was a spectacular success, leading to 11 equally successful books in the series. Unfortunately, the 13th book Coots in the North remained unfinished at the author's death, with the first few chapters later edited and published by his biographer. The books have been adapted to screen and stage, although without much success.

Due to his dislike of the illustrations commissioned for the first two books, current editions of the books have illustrations by Ransome himself in pen and ink. The novels do often require the reader to have quite a lot of knowledge about boats and sailing, but publishers of newer editions have supplemented them with explanatory notes. 

YACHTING.COM TIP:  If you enjoy yachting, then don't miss our list of the best sailing films of all time — our pick of adventure stories, thrillers and documentaries about sailing, as well as films for our little sailors. Also check out our list of the 10 most famous fictional sailors , featuring adventures that haven't just fascinated us since childhood, but perhaps sparked our own desire to sail the seas. Which is your favourite?

On which boat will you set sail on adventure?

Got a question about the skipper's course or want help choosing a boat? Get in contact.

Denisa Nguyenová

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Yachting Monthly Magazine was first published in February 1898 and continued with variations in its title: The Yachting Monthly Magazine became The Yachting and boating monthly in 1906, then The yachting monthly and marine motor magazine in 1910, and The Yachting monthly and magazine of the R.N.V.R. at the end of the First World War. There were many good articles on racing and cruising, and a quite remarkable amount of content on yacht design and rating rules. Titles changed back to Yachting and boating monthly in the 1930s , and after the second World War varied slightly, using Yachting Monthly Sail and Power in the 1960s.

Still in print (2021), it is at the heart of the British yachting market and is for people who actively sail their boats – whether cruising across the channel, around the coast or further afield in blue waters. It provides an entertaining mix of vital information for cruising yachtsmen with all levels of experience, which maximises their enjoyment, increases their skills and gives them the confidence to broaden their horizons.

Indexing: please see our main catalogue entries for: The Yachting Monthly Magazine - from Volume 1, February 1898 The Yachting and boating monthly - 1907-1909 The yachting monthly and marine motor magazine - 1910- April 1918 The Yachting monthly and magazine of the R.N.V.R. - August 1918 1919 The Yachting monthly and Motor Boating Magazine - this title dates back to the 1920s, but our holdings start in 1935 indexing for other, mostly later, issues to follow...

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How much would a $30,000 home equity loan cost each month?

By Joshua Rodriguez

Edited By Matt Richardson

May 31, 2024 / 3:40 PM EDT / CBS News

Are you in need of a large sum of money? You could access the money you need in a variety of ways . However, when you borrow money, it's important to consider the cost of the financial product you use to do so. Some, like credit cards and personal loans , can come with high interest rates and other fees while others, like home equity loans , can offer more competitive interest rates, reducing your cost of borrowing. 

But, there's a tradeoff to consider. Unlike unsecured lending options that typically come with high interest rates, home equity loans are secured by your home . So, if you don't make the home equity loan payments you agreed to, you could be risking your home. With that in mind, it's important to be sure you can afford your payments before you take out a home equity loan. 

But, what if you need to get your hands on $30,000? Since the average American homeowner has about ten times that amount in equity in their homes, a home equity loan may be a viable option. But, how much would that loan cost per month? For homeowners considering accessing this amount of equity, it helps to know exactly what their payments will be.

Compare your home equity loan options now . 

When you take out a home equity loan , there are a few factors that dictate how much your payments will be. Loans for higher values will typically cost more monthly than loans with lower values. Interest rates and terms also play a meaningful role in the monthly cost of home equity loans. 

Today's 10- and 15-year home equity loans come with average interest rates of 8.77% and 8.75% , respectively. Here's how much money you would need to pay per month on a $30,000 home equity loan at those rates: 

• 10-year home equity loan at 8.77% : Your monthly payment on this loan would be $376.30. If you made minimum payments over the life of the 10-year loan, your total interest expense would be $15,156.38 - for a total payoff cost of $45,156.38. 
• 15-year home equity loan at 8.75% : If you chose the 15-year home equity loan option with an 8.75% interest rate, your monthly payments would be $299.83 and your total interest cost would be $23,970.23. That brings your total payoff cost to $53,970.23. 

Based on these numbers, if you're looking for the lowest monthly payment possible , you should choose a 15-year home equity loan. On the other hand, if you're interested in long-term savings and can afford a higher monthly payment, the 10-year home equity loan would be your better option. 

There's a third option to consider, too: a  home equity line of credit (HELOC) . HELOCs come with variable interest rates and payments that may change based on the overall interest rate environment. And, that could be good news considering the high interest rates of today. If you open a HELOC, and interest rates fall, you could experience savings when compared to traditional home equity loans. 

The average HELOC interest rate is currently 9.16%. If you took out a HELOC, and your interest rate remained the same for the life of the credit line (with a 15-year repayment period), you would pay $307.14 per month. Your total interest expense would be $25,285.56, and your total payoff cost would be $55,285.56. But, it's unlikely that your interest rate would stay the same for the life of the credit line. And, while interest rates may fall ahead, they could also increase. So, only choose this option if you can afford a potentially higher payment in the future. 

Tap into your home equity to access the money you need today . 

Smart reasons to take out a $30,000 home equity loan now

There are several smart reasons it may be wise to take out a $30,000 home equity loan:

• To cover summertime home repairs : If your home needs summertime repairs or renovations , a home equity loan could provide the funding you need to cover the cost of those repairs. And, using a home equity loan for this purpose could result in tax benefits . 
• To help with the down payment on a second home or investment property : If you've dreamt of owning a second home or would like to purchase an investment property, you may need to make a large down payment. So, a $30,000 home equity loan could come in handy. 
• To help pay for college : It's wise to further your education, but doing so can also be costly. A $30,000 home equity loan could help you cover the cost of a college degree . 

Tap into your home equity now to cover these and other potential expenses . 

The bottom line

A $30,000 home equity loan will typically cost anywhere from $299.83 to $376.30 per month, depending on whether you choose a 10-year or 15-year term. As you decide which term works best for you, consider your short- and long-term goals. Keep in mind that while a 15-year term may offer lower monthly payments, it may lead to a much higher interest expense in the end. Compare your home equity loan options today . 

Joshua Rodriguez is a personal finance and investing writer with a passion for his craft. When he's not working, he enjoys time with his wife, two kids and two dogs.

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Euro area annual inflation up to 2.6%.

Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 2.6% in May 2024, up from 2.4% in April according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union .

Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, services is expected to have the highest annual rate in May (4.1%, compared with 3.7% in April), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (2.6%, compared with 2.8% in April), non-energy industrial goods (0.8%, compared with 0.9% in April) and energy (0.3%, compared with -0.6% in April).

Notes for users

Revisions and timetable.

The euro area inflation flash estimate is issued at the end of each reference month.

The complete set of harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) for the euro area, EU and Member States is released around the middle of the month following the reference month.

The next release with full data for May 2024 is scheduled for 18 June 2024.

Methods and definitions

Annual inflation is the change of the price level of consumer goods and services between the current month and the same month of the previous year. Monthly inflation is the change of the price level between the current month and the previous month.

Geographical information

The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The euro area data refer to the country composition at a specific point in time. Changes in the composition of the euro area are incorporated using a chain index formula.

For more information

Eurostat website section on inflation

Eurostat database section on inflation

Statistics Explained article on inflation in the euro area

Eurostat metadata on inflation

Euro indicators dashboard

Release calendar for Euro indicators

European Statistics Code of Practice

Get in touch

Media requests

Eurostat Media Support

Phone: (+352) 4301 33 408

E-mail: [email protected]

Further information on data

E-mail: [email protected]

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