Back to your original question about whether people have written about their experiences. The best back to basics book is Voyaging on a Small Income by Annie Hill, who still writes regularly in YM. The mag periodically publishes articles by individuals (usually couples) detailing their costs of cruising.

Big, complex boats are always going to cost more to keep going than more modest simpler ones. How you use it makes a difference. Pottering around the Med takes a lot out of electrics, windlasses, fridges etc. Long distance ocean passages take a lot out of sails, rigging, deck gear. So it goes on. The key thing to keep costs down is to minimise labour costs by doing as much as possible yourself.

Hope you find the right balance for you.