Selling my truck need a boat

[Dannyinorthidaho]

2nd time around doing this only two have a few thousand more to work with if I get what I want for my truck. Last yr i sold my gmc sierra for a great boat with a 4 stroke. No fancy bass boat just a great alum crestliner Canadian with 25 merc  turns out after winter was over I decided I wanted a nice truck to drive again so I doubled my money with the sale of the boat early march and said screw-it I’m getting older 66 slowing down with dialysis and needed open heart surgery which I’m recovering nicely 4 bypass. Maybe my lord has another miracle for me!

 

question…… we’re all different but I’m low income my boat buying power is gone being retired. So I have to sell the truck in order to get a boat and a decent tow vehicle . Last yr I wasn’t patient enough as the boat came first then the suv. I don’t drive suv! I’ll look for an older truck with a bench seat for my dog ?? I was cooped up all darn summer long never fished but once. What’s more unnerving is when I come hm to my apt I see my bass rods just standing up against a closet and it makes me mad seeing them not being used! I wanted a truck more I guess but I have no freedom. No boat not much peace! Not the freedom I had. I m now driving a real nice 2012 ford F150 super crew 3.5 ecoboost. Black metallic. I’ve had it since April and I love it . And it came with the same bf Goodrich K20s 10 ply tires as I had on my sierra last yr but heck looks like my mind is made up but if you guys are single married what would you do. Downgrading from luxury is tough to deal with but finding a older truck might work well for me and say the heck with luxury I want a boat

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[Tennessee Boy]

I remember your previous thread that was a lot like this one.  It sounds to me like you’re looking for happiness in boats and trucks and you’re not finding it.  My suggestion is take your rods, go find a peaceful bank and do some fishing.

 

A little time in nature is good for the soul.

[Darth-Baiter]

dang.  i am not sure i would even entertain owning a boat in that situation.    boat is a luxury item.  life costs are not.  

[gimruis]

I'd keep the current truck and put a reasonably-priced kayak in the bed.

[Kirtley Howe]

read all his posts.....I really don't think a kayak is possible for him

[Darth-Baiter]

is his truck paid off?  the math seems off to me.  sell a relatively good and reliable truck (for a Ford..haahah..just kidding) to buy a older, arguably less reliable truck, and with used truck prices still at "i cant believe it" pricing,  to buy a used boat with the same parameters.  boats need work, and boat work makes truck work look cheap.

 

i think this is a classic out of the frying pan into the fire type of situation.  

[Bankc]

Why do you want a boat?  Is it to go fishing?  Because, as you know, you don't need a boat to go fishing, have fun, and catch some fish.  And I think you know this because you sold your last boat.  And what's to say this new boat won't end you up un the exact same place?  How, and I'm asking an honest question here, not a rhetorical one, would it be different from last time?  You've tried solving this problem with both solutions (nice truck/no boat, boat/not nice truck) and neither staved the desire for change, so I'm betting the problem lies elsewhere.  

 

It sounds to me, based on my own personal experience, that what you need is a fishing buddy.  They don't even have to own a boat (but it sure would be cool if they did!). Someone to call you up and say "I'm bored.  Wanna get a line wet?"  There's nothing like a fishing buddy to provide a little motivation to break the routine.  And life is always better when we have something fun to look forward to, like a fishing trip.  

 

I'd grab your rods and just head out and have fun.  Fish from the docks.  Meet people.  Just be yourself having a good time and see what happens.  Worst case scenario: you go fishing.  

[roadwarrior]

49 minutes ago, Bankc said:

...what you need is a fishing buddy. 

 

Besides the fun factor, fishing alone can be dangerous.

[thomas15]

I also remember the first post. 

 

It's not because I'm mean or anything like that, but a boat is something you get when literally everything that costs money is covered, you have a cash emergency fund in hand and then the boat comes out of excess. 

 

The most joy I get from my little boat comes from the fact that we have zero debt, a paid off home, a paid for truck, money in the bank. If it were not for that I would not own the stupid thing.

 

But to the subject at hand, you are an adult and it's your money, do what you want, you don't need our permission. 

[Dannyinorthidaho]

Hey thanks for your thoughts on this. I think I’m downright crazy or just that it’s 5 to 7k that’s needed to help me find much better happiness. I don’t care for bank fishing. Plus I live on idahos largest lake full of smallmouth pike trout walleye. I’ve had 6 boats but that was in ca, wa, ak. I moved around but think I’m staying put. I’ll be honest I felt like a wuss when driving in a soccer mom suv with 236k miles but it got me through winter and the ramps are 1 mile to 20 miles away. No ramp fees which is great.I’m struggling coming to grips with giving up fishin. A kayak won’t do it for me . 
 

truck I paid cash is paid off from the sale of my boat. I have never owned a truck this new I guess I feel good in it and I feel like a guy again and I’ll be more patient if I do sell n find a used gmc sierra. YO, I’m no ford guy I dislike ford I’m gmc all the way but this truck came along it’s black like my black lab fishin buddy. She’s my fish buddy and I’ve posted on fb looking for a fish buddy it just doesn’t work that way ppl r picky who they want on their boat plus I’m old now and it’s horrible making friends here. I want my own darn boat n be happy.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bird]

Sir, you need a boat in a hurry ? and one with an outboard.

 

Oh, I've never paid cash for anything.

Interest rates on the loans I've taken were always 50% less than the return percentage of invested money...... easy math.

 

[GaryH]

I have no words of what you should do with your money. That’s completely up to you. My only advice is life is short and if getting a boat will make you happy then go for it. Good luck on your decision an$ enjoy the time you have.

[Darth-Baiter]

Happiness has never come from material goods for me, no matter how I tried. Experiences yes.  A boat experience is difficult to argue.  
 

do it if you think it’s right.  A bunch of total strangers can’t help. 

[thomas15]

Speaking about cars or trucks not to change the subject but to the OPs feeling about driving an SUV when you are a pickup kind of guy.

 

A few weeks ago we had a family get together at my sisters place. My brothers and sisters and in-laws are good people but there is a tinge of dysfunction somewhere because I haven't seen one of my brothers and a few other family members in over 20 years. So my truck is a 2020 Tacoma (nice truck) my wife's car is a 2012 Ford Escape (SUV), this car has just under 200K miles and a bit of rust in the wheel wells.  My wife is uncomfortable in my Taco so we took the Escape because this is about 300 miles of driving. I was feeling a bit defeated because I'm the only one of my siblings that is not retired  (I'm 65) and it looks like I'm poor because our daily driver is a bit ragged in the margins, but we commute together 100 miles/day. 

 

But the truth of the matter is we are not poor, we have a decent household income and savings and paid assets and are in good shape financially, so really I don't to be honest care  what cars or trucks other people have, all I want is something that gets us from point A to point B and we have enough cash on hand to buy a brand new car tomorrow but our priorities are more focused on getting our nest egg as big as possible.

 

When my wife retires in Dec 2025 we will get her a new car but we will also have 6 figures just in our cash in savings account to pay for it and since I'm probably going to work a few years more will drive the Escape to work rather than kill the Taco. And why 70 or longer? Because the difference between SS at 62 and 70 is for me is north of about $1,500/month and if I wanted to buy some new toy I don't want to be in agony for months about how to pay for it. So it's partly due to us being blessed by the Lord Jesus but we also do our part and are mindful of solid management and decision making with what we do have.

 

So to sum up my feelings on things we want to own. On the day we closed on our home we felt happy but nothing compared to the happiness when 12 years later we walked out of the bank after making the last mortgage payment. On the day I brought my Taco home it was all smiles but 26 months later when I paid it off the there were literal tears of joy. Never had any debt on my boat, saved up and paid for it in cash. I would personally feel like a real chump if I couldn't make a car payment or fill the heating oil tank or frig because I had to have a boat or didn't want to be seen driving an SUV but that is a personal decision we need to make for ourselves.

 

My wife and I act like we are broke, we spend money like we are broke, people think we are broke, we budget, we eat at home and we do for ourselves everything we can do for ourselves rather than pay someone else and we don't buy luxury items willy nilly and that is the reason why we are not actually broke.

[Dannyinorthidaho]

Ah! Marriage. YOu have your wife to consult with on everything right? Lol yes everything! I just have me. You have had money rolling in for years. So you buy a nice Tacoma nice boat. That’s one scenero. Plus you have entertainment somebody to talk with. You’re not board! I talk to my dog. I need to enrich my passion that I’ve had all my life. I’m happy waiting for until spring. Save myself 900.00 in storage fees because I live in a crappy apt. This Might Be another reason why maybe I should scrap the boat plan but God has a way of working things out!  

3 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Happiness has never come from material goods for me, no matter how I tried. Experiences yes.  A boat experience is difficult to argue.  
 

do it if you think it’s right.  A bunch of total strangers can’t help. 

??

[TnRiver46]

I have 6-8 “boats” at this point so don’t ask me…………

 

most of them were free tho, it sometimes benefits us to have lots of friends and always be nice to them, they might just leave kayaks and such laying on your dock and tell you to keep them. I’ve also got my grandpas old v bottom, love that thing. Best “investment” I made was $300 in 2008 on an old aluminum canoe, it’s been to the ocean and Michigan a few times 

[thomas15]

60% of US households, and that includes singles, married couples, couples with children, single heads of households, married with and/or without kids, single parents with kids and single/married/kids with pets, do not have $500 on hand to cover a $500 emergency expense.

 

Many many many of that 60% cannot pay for that $500 emergency out of savings because in their personal lives they have not figured out the difference between wants and needs. I can say with absolute certainty that I do not need a boat, I do not need a Tacoma, I do not need a collection of fishing poles and tackle, a collection of competition ready handguns and that my wife does not need her dog, chickens, pigeons, and a new living room sofa, and we as a couple do not need a 2 week vacation together. These are all wants. 

 

We do however need a roof over our heads, oil in the tank, food on the table, clothes on our backs and transportation to our place of employment. To cover our wants we are putting off retirement, spouse is working to 69, I'm working to 74 or 75, not because we need to but rather because we want to.

 

I recognize that I cannot own certain things because in my younger years, in our (spouse and me) early days together, we made some poor money decisions and that is the reason why we don't have a bigger boat tied up at a dock at a vacation home on Lake Gitchie Gumee. I have learned that I'm not entitled to, or owed anything, that I don't deserve anything, but I need as an adult to look past the tip of my nose and do things today that my older self 5 years from today will thank me for. If things were to go sideways for us financially speaking, the first thing to go is my boat, the second thing to go is my truck. The second to last thing is our home, the last thing is our cash emergency fund because we will need that to procure replacement shelter. 

 

The fact that the question is being asked speaks volumes as to the feasibility of this project but if you can somehow move a want into the needs category then the decision is easy.

 

You may be asking yourself why all the ranting from little old me? This is simple, we had a huge cash flow scare about 10 years ago and that forced us into a fight with reality. We discovered, and that by the Grace of God, that we could fix the bulk of our mistakes and get our finances under control. This was a lot of hard work and was exhausting but it taught us a valuable lesson, actually several lessons. 10 years ago I was a competitive handgun shooter classified as a Master in open revolver class, shooting 2 matches per week plus practice. At that time I was of the opinion that I would be shooting competitive matches up to the day I died. Finally, the day came when I realized that shooting was a want not a need. My life did not end and my social structure did not crumble, hard to believe but true.

 

I'm very passionate about personal finances.

[Darth-Baiter]

Ahh okay.  I think you should buy the boat.

[thomas15]

19 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Ahh okay.  I think you should buy the boat.

 

It really looks like this is the only possible treatment for this particular rash.

[Choporoz]

I have never wanted a vehicle that anyone could ever consider luxury.  I would not be happier in any vehicle than I am in my 16 year old Durango with power nothing but locks and windows.  So, I'd say dump the truck and get an older, reliable truck and a modest boat.

[volzfan59]

It's your money, your decision and I don't know your financial situation. 

That said, I can't imagine not having a boat. If nothing else, do like @MN Fisher, me and other's have done and build you a bass-jon, or just fish out of a regular jon. You can still find a good deal on a used 14' to 16' jon and trailer, be it a flat bottom or a v-hull. As far as a motor, you could get by with a trolling motor until you save for an outboard.

That said, I don't believe in debt, so I pay cash for everything. Some folks enjoy being in debt, I don't. Part of my peace of mind comes from knowing that I own everything I have including my home. But, as in everything, to each his own.

[Skunkmaster-k]

I’d say that getting a cool boat is way more important than driving a manly vehicle. We ain’t got to impress anybody. 

[Captain Phil]

There are two ways to manage your money, get more or spend less.  I have retired two times.  The first time was in 2001.  I bought a ten year old Chevy Truck and a new Skeeter Bass boat.  I wasn't driving much, but I did plan to fish more.  This worked for me.  Eventually, I decided to un-retire.  This lead me into the most lucrative career I have ever had, which allowed me to retire a second time five years ago.  Just because you are old doesn't mean you are done making money. 

[Bankc]

17 hours ago, Dannyinorthidaho said:

...I don’t care for bank fishing. Plus I live on idahos largest lake full of smallmouth pike trout walleye.

 

...I’ll be honest I felt like a wuss when driving in a soccer mom suv with 236k miles but it got me through winter and the ramps are 1 mile to 20 miles away. 
 

 

...She’s my fish buddy and I’ve posted on fb looking for a fish buddy it just doesn’t work that way ppl r picky who they want on their boat plus I’m old now and it’s horrible making friends here. I want my own darn boat n be happy.  

Happiness is a state of mind.  We choose to be happy or not happy.  Happiness doesn't happen to us.  We decide to be happy.  Now, admittedly, it's easier to choose to be happy when everything is going great.  But it's still a choice we make, because we can be sad when everything is great.  And we can be happy when everything is bad.  It's up to us to decide how we feel.  It's not often easy, but it is ALWAYS within our power.  

 

You say you don't care for bank fishing, and I get that.  And you say that it's hard to make friends, and this is very true.  But bank fishing can lead to friendships.  Often times familiarity leads to comfort, and being comfortable around someone leads to friendships.  So if lots of people see you there fishing all of the time, some people are going to eventually come up and talk to you.  And after enough people come up to talk to you, someone is eventually going to really connect with you.  And then you exchange information and hand out some time.  And maybe if you hang out with a few people a few times, someone will want to be your new fishing buddy.  

 

It's all about being available and forcing things to happen.  You have to just let it happen.  But to let it happen, you have to be there WHEN and WHERE it happens.  And no one know when and where that will be, but we all know where and when that WON'T be.  Which is at home, alone.  It's a lot of work with a lot of false starts and frustrations.  But the reward is worth it.  

 

And lastly, who cares what you drive?  Who cares what other people think about you that don't know you?  Anyone who judges you based on what you drive isn't someone you need in your life.  All of that superficial outward appearance mumbo jumbo means nothing in life.  Someone will always have a better truck than you and someone will always have a worse truck than you.  You will always be somewhere in the middle, so what does it matter where in the middle you are?   If you need something to feel confident in yourself, then you'll never actually feel confident in yourself.  Confidence comes from who we are on the inside, not what we have on the outside.  

[Zcoker]

Seems like you are in the same boat lol But I'd suggest keeping the reliable transportation that you have. Getting into another vehicle right now is looney for someone on low income. Even if you can get the extra cash for your Ford, in a relative way, that extra money is just gonna get swallowed up! Figure out something practical with the boat deal, either that or just get a Jon boat or something easy and inexpensive to deal with...plenty of stuff out there. The last thing you need right now at your age and health condition is a bunch of headaches and unnecessary stress....imho.