This post is probably long over due....G-man has a boat. This boat is my nemesis. Unfortunately, it is a sore subject with him, and no matter what, I am not going to win. I have resigned myself to live with this object.
About 6 months before he and I met....he bought a new boat. He was a young bachelor, and his only responsibility was rent (which by the way, he shared with 2 other guys). His Jeep was paid for. Almost all of his income was disposable. Until he met me. :)
Don't get me wrong...in our younger days, before kids, it was nice to sit out on the back of the boat for the afternoon. His parents live on the river, so if I got bored, he could drop me off at the dock. (Fishing isn't my thang.....).
Before we were married...the boat payment was solely his responsibility. All $378 of it. Per month. Every month. But then we got married, and now WE had a boat payment. I sort of brushed it off at the time....neither of us had a car payment, so in essence, THAT was our car payment.
Then we moved out of state. And we couldn't take the boat with us. We were in an apartment, and no where to store it. Plus, by this point, the Jeep was gone and the cars we had at that time were not heavy enough to tow a boat. The deal was that we would leave it at his folks house, and when we could take it, we would.
Meanwhile....his dad, his brother, his friends....used the boat. And we continued to pay $378 a month.
Fast forward about 2.5 years. This was the summer of 2002...and I was expecting Bossy and Sassy. We needed to by a new car because neither of our cars were large enough to put 2 infant seats in the back. Now we were faced with a real car payment, and a boat payment.
I wanted to sell the boat. It was still at his folks house. It was expensive. We never used it (being out of state). We now had twins on the way. It was time...
Enter my in-laws. They couldn't bear for G-man to give up the boat (poor G-man....he was married to the Devil Incarnate....and she was pure evil and he never got anything). They paid off the boat loan, which was about $5,000 at that time.
So now we owned the boat out right. And then I figured out that just in our married life....not counting the time before....just in the years since we said "I do," we had spent over $20,000 on the boat. And he wondered why I was upset....
After my father in law passed away last year, my mother in law insisted we take the boat. It was deteriorating, and there wasn't anyone to take care of it. By this point, we had a car that could tow it (see stage left....G-man's car loan....). We owned our house. We still don't have time for it...but now we had space.
So, on my driveway sits....the boat. All 19 feet of it. With its registration, and boater's safety course, and gas guzzling engine.
He won't sell it. I have tried every which way to convince him. The fact is, the boat is 14 years old, and resale value is next to nothing. Even if we did get a few hundred for it...maybe $1000...it would be YEARS before we could get another one. And he isn't willing to do that. I see $1000 toward debt....he sees years of not getting anything he wants.
So now I deal with the boat. He claims that the boat is a motivator.....he will get his "chores" done, so he can go out and play. I think he will take the boat out, and tell me "that won't take long....I will do it when I get back." I swear, there are days I think I am married to a 12 year old!.
I admit, I'm confused... why couldn't you guys sell the boat, and when y'all are in a better position buy a used boat similar to the one you have now?
ReplyDeleteMaybe, as soon as you guys hit a certain goal in your debt reduction, you can set up a savings account and deposit $100/month (or whatever) towards the new (used) boat. It sucks so much "going without" during debt repayment, but we did it and then did it MORE to build a 6 month emergency fund. Now we have targeted savings for all the things we want, vacations, household items, etc. and it's awesome to actually be able to buy the things we want. A while ago I picked out this $250 headboard that I really wanted, and two months later we purchased it with cash. I know it sounds materialistic, but I was so proud of us for being able to buy that headboard when before we would never have been able to afford it.
Sorry for the long winded comment, but I hope you don't give up because it is so rewarding when the debt is gone!!!
-Whitney
Mysti here....
ReplyDelete1) G-man won't sell the boat. No way. I have tried for years. He absolutely will not do it.
2) If I did manage to get him to sell it, we might get $1000. Buying a boat is $$$. Even used. And before we would buy a new boat, I need a car, furniture needs to be replaced, college fund...
Realistically, it would be a minimum of 8 years before we would be able to replace it. If the boat "dies" then he will have to deal with it....but until then, he won't do without.
3) He figures we own the boat out right now, so there is no reason to get rid of it.
The 2 things G-man will not budge on....selling his car and selling his boat.
If you could only sell your boat for $1000, why couldn't you buy another similar boat for $1000 later? Sorry, I know nothing about boats.
ReplyDeleteBut it definitely sounds like you're between a rock and a hard place. Could you possibly rent the boat out on weekends? Haha, with that question I'm probably displaying my lack of boat knowledge again. :-)
Good luck!
-Whitney
Mysti here again...
ReplyDeleteFirst off...thanks for asking the questions!
Boats are sort of like cars. Our boat is 14 yrs old, so it's resale value is low. Additionally, trying to buy an "old" boat...you get what you pay for. Most likely a boat that needs work, is unrealiable, and may not be worth it.
A new boat, similar to what we have (which by the way...the company doesn't exist anymore)...runs about $30,000. A used boat (let's say 5 years old), may be $15,000, and need work.
It will take us about 5 years to get out of debt, and my car won't last that long. And like I said....there are other things that will be NEEDED vs just WANTED.
I am more upset that we spent $20,000 on the boat in our early marriage. Maybe if we didn't have the thing, we wouldn't be where we are now. The bottom line is...he will not get rid of the boat. Period.
oh, and renting the boat....nope. The liability insurance would be crazy insane!!!!
ReplyDelete