Your Boating Econmic Class

[Rickairmedic]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

LOL I went from spending money as I dang well pleased to opening a new business right before the bottom fell out of the economy. I have my good months and my bad ones own an HVAC company and this summer didnt hepl any LOL 70* in July. We are surviving though due to paying cash for most things and not driving brand spankin new cars . I have 3 boats none of which are ready for the water yet . I agree with Ezmobee you cant beat an older aluminum Starcraft as a cheap entry into boating .



Rick

 

[ftl900]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

Exactly why our pontoon boat isn't in the water yet. We have lots of hobbies, and most all of them survive on our shoestring budget. So we get more creative, or wait, or both.

It works for us, and our kids certainly understand the value of thing, altho I'm sure they'd rather have been born with the silver spoon in their mouth!

 

[ziggy]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

used to consider myself lower middle class, now a days, a shade above poor and getting poorer... darn economy.
getting enough bread together to go boating this summer has been challenging, but i've managed to get out once a week (generally a over nighter so get two days) all summer long and consider myself lucky to have done that.
i too have most everything paid for. just not quite yet for the modest home i live in.
as for my old boat. i couldn't be happier with what i go out in. granted it's probably not my dream boat, but it sure has been good to me and does most everything i want it too. even if i had the bread i doubt i'd get rid of it right away... i'm kinda stuck on old boats too. they look cool i think...
anyways. the answer to the question is poorer...

 

[DavidW2009]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I like this analysis on our economic times:

Kiyosaki: Silver is My No 1 Investment

URL Source: http://moneynews.newsmax.com/street ... kiyosak/2009/09/25/264718.html
Published: Sep 25, 2009
Author: By: Dan Weil
Post Date: 2009-09-28 20:04:59

Robert Kiyosaki, author of ?Rich Dad, Poor Dad,? recommends investing in real estate and commodities, but he tells Dan Mangru of Newsmax TV that silver is now his top investment.

?If you?re afraid of inflation, which you should be, I would think silver is the No. 1 investment today.?

Kiyosaki also tells Mangru why he likes real estate, ?I like real estate for one reason: debt.?

Investors get no leverage buying stocks, but they do when buying real estate, Kiyosaki points out. !

To be sure, ?If you?re going to play the game of debt, boy you?ve got to be a lot smarter than the average bear out there,? he says.

?So real estate is a good investment if you have financial training, financial education, and you have somebody guiding you who has some experience with the whole thing.?

Kiyosaki recommends commodities to guard against inflation.

?To protect against inflation, do what the Chinese are doing,? he says. ?The Chinese are buying commodities: copper, oil, gold, silver, land.?

For those who are poor, Kiyosaki has this advice: ?Change what you think. . . If you?re expecting the economy to come back, I think you?re in a dream land.?

Some people believe in the following myth, he says: ?This idea that the U.S. is the greatest country on earth, and Obama is here to save you, and the government is going to take care of you. That?s called socialism.?

?And I think you really better start changing your thinking, because they?re not going to save you. They?re going to save themselves.?

Investors must be self-reliant, Kiyosaki says.

?I got financially educated when I was a kid. I don?t expect anybody to take care of me. I don?t turn any money over to a 401(k). I don?t trust mutual funds. I don?t trust banks. I trust myself.?

The solution is to ?get educated and get smart with my money,? he says. ?We?ve been trained like Pavlovian dogs to turn our money over to Wall Street.?

Four factors keep the middle class poor, Kiyosaki says:

? Taxes
? Debt
? Inflation
? Your retirement plan

?If you?re going to be financially intelligent,? you have to know how to use all four of those factors ?to make you rich,? he says

To become rich, especially in the wake of financial crisis, ?you?ll have to stop thinking the way you think and start thinking differently and start doing things differently.?

He says that as long as we have a middle class, we?ll be an advanced nation.

But, ?the problem with the middle class is that they?re not moving from middle class to rich. The middle class is now moving from middle class to poor.?

 

[Campylobacter]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

Although I'm likely solid middle class in most parts of the country, in NC I can live nicely. I have a pretty good job security (although with furloughs I made less $$ this year), and the cost of living here is pretty low.

I boat "above my means" because it is my only hobby. I enjoy it, my family enjoys, so we do it. I don't golf, I don't have a fancy car, I just got my first cell phone (pre-paid, I pay about 10$ a month). But I have a nice (to me) boat.

Life is about choices. I do well enough to have one extravagance. I chose to boat.

 

[jkust]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

Never really thought about it or what class we are. I was brought up to save and live under your means but truly we were pretty poor growing up. My wife and I did save a lot for years and we currently save at least 60% of our income...my wife owns a consulting firm, I am a VP of a company and we own everything we have outright. Large home in a nice area with good schools for the kids, a couple of vehicles, some snowmobiles...nothing over the top though. I am 36 and she is 34. I suppose we could write a check for most any boat or cruiser within reason but don't need anything that lavash. This came with several years of working through college and living paycheck to paycheck. I vowed to never struggle like my parent did and not be able to provide for the family. I was homeless living in my car at 18 as was I found out was the policy in our home which really makes you sink or swim. In a weird way I credit my uninvolved, never supportive parents to my success in life. In a 1000 years I would have never imagined doing the stuff I get to do or the people I hang out with considering how I grew up. To be honest, a lot of my colleagues who also do well have spouses who spend like crazy. I think it is hard to be financially sound when you and your spouse don't agree on money. That has helped us a lot. The downside of all this is our tax bill is huge which is very frustrating considering not more than 10 years ago I was a waiter.

 

[superpop]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I won't say what I make on this board or any for that matter but I can say this, I make really good money, but it always seems to get spent on something or into savings. You adjust your spending and hopefully your saving habits to whatever you make. On the other hand I could go out and buy just about any boat I wanted to a certain degree, ie under a million dollars, but I guess I am a tightwad as well. I found what I wanted and then went and found a nice used one. I think the common thread here is that we all for the most part are on this board because we like to work on our toys and we all share a common passion for boating besides, I know that I do not want to pay someone lots of money to work on my stuff, when I can figure it out on my own and know that it is done right and not half arsed.

 

[cribber]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

I'm just a guy who has survived 8 rounds of down sizing over the last several years. I just keep doing my best for those folks I support and get out on the water every weekend we can on our Glastron regardless...

 

[180shabah]

Re: Your Boating Econmic Class

We are definately right smack dab in the middle of middle class (although I think the current administration considers us rich). We bought the boat in '05, paid cash and put some sweat into it. The entire fuel system was gummed up from sitting for several years.

Our fuel ussage is concentrated around two holidays, memorial day and labor day when the whole family goes camping. Lots of tubing and skiing etc. The rest of the summer typically takes less than 50-60 gallons. We do lots of floating and simming. I have been told I should sell it and get a pool, but they are more work and cost more to maintain. They also don't go very fast

All totaled up, probably less than $700 a year and worth every penny.