Your Boating Econmic Class

[pduquette]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I've been so poor it seems like I've climbing up the eco ladder Seriously , After My big-D I spent 2 years as a traveling installer in hotels / or camping in the back of my rodeo . Got the past debt gone , a nice man cave and can aford the things i want with planning . Most of my friends are cut back in hours /laid off . Now I get to help the friends who helped me when I was down
My boat is cheap - fill 2 6gal tanks ($30) and motor all day - If i'm stopping to fish I can return w / xtra ! - It's the Little trinkets that suck my money away ....rod holders .... soft baits ...hard baits .... tow rope on sale ... towable on sale ... stuffin ' for the cooler .... peter

 

[wilkboater]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

Paycheck to paycheck right now, the wife quit work two years ago to go back to college to be a teacher. She'll be certified in December so maybe it will get better. Things are tough, but this part of the country hasn't been hit as hard as others, it's always been tough here. We're in southern MO, if you make $30K, your doing better than 80% of the population. We certainly have to plan ahead for boating; $50 to drive to the lake, $5o for the boat, and $50 for snacks and drinks. It's worth it, and a day on the lake means more to us than it used to.

 

[nitsuj]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I've found that contrary to popular belief, boating can be done fairly cheap. If you're making $13 an hour and have 3 kids, you may not be able to own a 28 foot cruiser or status boat. You may not be able to hang out at the Yacht club, or own a boat that will make other people says "Wow, nice boat!" But for not much money you can be out there enjoying it.

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I would have considered myself lower middle class a year ago.
The wife works part time and makes 10k a year, I made 64k last year, but will only make about 45k this year thanks to cut-backs at work.
Just sold my boat to pay bills, if I can make it through the winter without getting laid off we will be able to start getting back on track by late spring to mid-summer.

 

[walt-oxie1]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I don't really put myself in any class but go out on the boat almost every day. Then again, I commercial fish and take all expenses from the expense account. I have 1 other person who works with me and the pay from the daily catch is divided in thirds. 1 for me, 1 for him, and 1 for the boat. All expenses plus a meal come from the boats share daily. The extra expense money goes in a business account. Right now, I am doing great. When the fish move out, so does the money. Then back to clamming. I also have 4 boats, 1 truck and 2 boat slips that come out of the expense account. Not to mention repairs, maintenance, fuel and fishing supplies (nets etc.).

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

In the past 10 years I've made between 29K to a now whopping 33K per year, have raised 2 daughters on it and have always had a boat, we don't eat out haven't been on a real vacation in 6 years don't have a big screen TV or blackberrys, I've never been able to keep up with the Jones's, they see us leaving home pulling the boat and tubes. They have said to me "must be nice" and I've said yea it sure is.
People like that earn >75k and just get used to spending it and realisticaly aren't any better off than I. The ratio of earning's to debt is what determines wealth, I cheerish everything I have and consider myself one of the lucky ones.

 

[skargo]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

In the past 10 years I've made between 29K to a now whopping 33K per year, have raised 2 daughters on it and have always had a boat, we don't eat out haven't been on a real vacation in 6 years don't have a big screen TV or blackberrys, I've never been able to keep up with the Jones's, they see us leaving home pulling the boat and tubes. They have said to me "must be nice" and I've said yea it sure is.
People like that earn >75k and just get used to spending it and realisticaly aren't any better off than I. The ratio of earning's to debt is what determines wealth, I cheerish everything I have and consider myself one of the lucky ones.

Amen to that, you have the right attitude and discipline for sure.
In my experience, I find the people I know that make the most, are the one's in the most trouble now. Boggles my mind. Hell, up until October last year I made 50 grand running a body shop. I got laid off and have been semi-retired since. My wife got laid off in June of last year, and that's when we started looking for a business. We ended up buying her a consignment shop. I work there with here 4-5 days a week, work craigslist, estate sales, auctions, and yard sales.
I take our boat out a lot. We bought a 31 year old original owner boat that looks and runs great. Paid cash. We replaced my wife's 1998 4runner with 180K miles last year with an 05' when the SUV market bottomed because of expensive gas, paid cash. Paid cash for my diesel dodge ram pickup 7 years ago, it's only got 140K miles on it so I will keep it for many more years. We have a 63' vette that we inherited in 1993. I got my 67 Pontiac Lemans in a trade for a 79 vette I had paid cash for. We have a few rental properties that we have paid off.

See the general trend here? Finance nothing, instead SAVE, SAVE, SAVE, you know, the forgotten discipline that this and even previous generations have forgotten.

Keeping up with the Jones' is a fools game.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

Great thread! I think I need from an economic standpoint I need to hug the wife today and do something nice for her, whether I want to or not, Divorce with kids sounds like a sure way of moving down the three options the poster gives.

I am in the middle one, and hopefully can stay there till retirement. I am a good bit behind many of my peers because of staying in school so long, but the wife and I both have advanced degrees that "should" guarantee at least a middle class income. However, today you do not know if you are truly behind those with nicer cars and bigger houses or not, since so many of us live in a house of cards.

Regarding boating, I will boat at what ever level I can afford from now until I can no longer get over the side of the boat. Since I hit my mid life crisis, getting back into boating has saved my sanity and strengthened my marriage.

 

[moonfish]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

If I could buy the new thing that I want, why would I be here reading?

I don't mind. I like projects and maybe I could buy "whatever I want" if I didn't have any other hobbies and didn't mind a payment for the next few YEARS (long after my interest is gone).

 

[BTMCB]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I am 56 as is my wife. Married at age 19, have two grown sons. We work hard and play hard. Always have. Fortunate to have had the same job (a family business started by my father) for 30 years and make a decent living and am able to pretty much do what we want, when we want - unlike when we were early 20's with two kids and little money! Live in a nice home in southern california. Don't want to get political here but my primary financial concern is the increased taxes that we will no doubt be paying very soon for the policies of this new administration. Pay enough as it is to the feds and pay plenty to the bankrupt state of california! I hope that those that are struggling, hang in there, stay tough and smart and as the saying goes.......this too shall pass.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

We?re certainly not rich by local standards but I?ve always made good money.

My wife and I played DINKs for the first 6 years of our marriage. She was the Admin Assistant to the VP of a large Aerospace Corp. and I was the Engineering Manager of a mid-size engineering company.

We managed to save and accumulated enough equity in our home at the time to sell it and put 50% down on the home we live in now. Even with a 20 year mortgage our debt to income ratio is in the mid-teens which frees up a lot of money for our extra curricular activities (i.e boats and horses) and of course, keeping up with the Jones's.

 

[grahamh]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I'm poor. Basically. I'm a college student with a part-time job, but I make up for what I can't afford by doing all my work myself. (I was an automotive tech for several years, and I am pretty mechanically minded)

My boat may be a bit older, but it's paid for, and we have just as much fun wakeboarding as the other college kids whose parents bought them a fancy wakeboard boat.

 

[Nobody]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I'm known amongst those in my inner circle as frugal, cheap or miserly. I fish the inshore waters of SoCal in a 30yr old 25th hand skiff with a 40yr old 15th hand motor with 10yr old electronics and have a blast doing it.

At 32 I'm blessed with a job that puts me at the bottom of the middle class income scale for Southern California, my fiance with an advanced degree makes a bit more than me, together we live a comfortable DINK lifestyle in a middle class neighborhood.

My boat nickel and dimes me literally, $5 for this and $10 for that so over all it doesn't cut into the budget anymore than other stuff I do. Anymore it costs less to run the boat for a day of fishing than to go shooting.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

We were in the bottom bracket but are heading towards the middle. I was able to get a much better job last year so things have turned around for us considerably. My wife has done fairly well career wise despite having a near-worthless psych-degree. My boating needs aren't that great. My current boat does just about everything I need it to. Heck my "dream" boat is not much more substantial. I just want an 18' aluminum open bow with a larger outboard that I can set up as a fish/ski. I honestly have little desire for a new boat. A solid Starcraft from the 60s-70s with a reliable outboard is all I require. Our family's biggest problem is my wife and I have a long commute. Consequently we spend way more money than we'd like on vehicles, fuel, and repairs. We like where we live though, and it's less expensive to live where we do than to live closer to where we work. My wife and I do carpool which saves a lot. It's kinda a bummer for me because I never have access to a vehicle during the day when I'm at work.

 

[Grand Larsony]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

We're what I would call upper-upper-middle-class. I make about $120k and wife (#2) makes about $90k. I pay some child support but not bad considering it could've been MUCH worse.

We're on our second boat, a 1989 Sea Ray 30' Sundancer, which we bought this summer. I'm a big fan of fully depreciated boats, which this one definitely was (at $18k). The good news is it's 100% or better, having had $7k in engine and outdrive work just before we bought it... and that is going to help keep our costs of ownership down over the next few years.

The costs of boating are steep but manageable. Gotta pay for winter storage ($900) plus the hauling & winterization ($900) this fall, and then another $400 or so come spring for commissioning, and the slip fee $1,800.

So... I'm pretty happy that we can afford this setup. Boat is only about a half-mile from the house and we use it very very often.

I plan to sell this boat for at least $20k in about 2-3 years... and I'm pretty sure I'll get it. My last boat was purchased for 10,500 and sold at 9,000 after 8 years. To me, the cost of the boat itself is not significant. We don't use too much gas, and I know if I got into trouble I could do most if not all of the maintenance work myself.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

The internet is great. I just figured out what DINK is.

I guess, then, I am SI2K, and believe me, the 2K part is damn expensive!

It sure helps make my boating costs more palatable.

 

[allpoints360]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

Sounds like we're all living the dream!

Boaters live for the adventure. lol

 

[wgoodhoofd]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

The internet is great. I just figured out what DINK is.

+1

I'm a university student in Southern Ontario, so my parents cover most of the expenses. We (me and my siblings) try to cover gas costs here and there to help my parents out and try to save money elsewhere so we can stay on the water.

 

[nitsuj]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

Hey! I'm a DINK too! I had to google it, I never knew there was a word for it.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

Was upper end of middle class..slipped right passed the middle of middle class and am currently in a nose dive towards really being the working poor..

I'm takin on 100 GPH with a 75GPH pump..lol

Just a BCB..
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