Author Topic: In writing it goes, 200mph sports car and .8 mpg boat are on the chopping block!  (Read 8131 times)

TheDeclutterer

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Well it has been a long time lurking over many hours, reading article after article and thread after thread, but it is finally time to join.

While I'll get into details later if anyone wants to hear them I want to see this thread staring back at me to start the decluttering phase 1. The seldom driven sports car and 400 gallon slurping diesel soot belching boat are the first to go. The cost to acquire these things are one thing, and soon forgotten. What is not soon forgotten is pushing through thousands of gallons of fuel each year in the boat under the guise of recreation.

For sale they both go this coming year, and while my numbers may vary a bit from much of what I am reading, not better or worse, just different, the biggest lesson gleaned off this site is it not what you make as long as that is a few times over national averages, it is how much is saved that is the golden barometer. Have the income side taken care of, time to slay the expenses and smile at the "Joneses" instead of "1-uping" them.

May shed a tear when the toys go but it is a step in the right direction, may the force be strong.....

Neustache

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Congrats!  Maybe start a journal?  Seeing your numbers and progress might be encouraging to others.  :D

FrugalFisherman10

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woah good for you! I just found this part of the blog and I can't help  but offer some sort of congratulations to each person I read accomplishng great things haha! This is awesome!

(As an aside..I have a used 10ft kayak I got for less than $400. It's been amazing for recreation, outdoor enjoyment, being at the water, exercise, affordability, etc. So if you don't have one and you love the water, get a kayak and join the train!)

Icecreamarsenal

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This should be interesting. Welcome to the club, looking forward to reading about your progress.

gliderpilot567

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Congrats on your decision! In the near future, you will be thankful for your newfound freedom.

If you are still making payments on either, and can afford to take a loss, then price them to sell. The loss will pay itself back in the form of loan payments that you will no longer have to make. Worst case you can take a small loan to cover the difference if you're upside down... which is better than paying interest on a huge loan.

I sold an airplane. I shed a tear, and I took a hefty net loss, but ended up saving over $1000 a month as a result due to no more hangar fee, loan payments, and insurance. The thing wasn't even built or flyable yet.

A year later, the freed-up cash flow has essentially recouped the loss on the sale, and has instead gone to crushing other debts. It's a great feeling to be rid of so much debt as well as free of the encumbrance.

use2betrix

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I'd like to hear about the sports car lol.

TheDeclutterer

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Kayak it is! Good work Glider, no payments on the toys which makes it tougher to sell but feel you on the upkeep fees, aviation is not cheap. I get my fill from a few friends go bomb around up there in a Cessna and pretend we are Goose and Maverick.

The cost of keeping a large boat running is insane, it has to go, love it but if that was the difference say to retiring 5 years earlier who wouldn't dump the boat and get something less costly.

What do you wanna know Trix, used to drive around at 200mph all the time which is silly beyond words as well, now it sits in the garage and does nothing! gots to go!

Jack

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Alternatively, you could keep the boat but live on it full-time. (I can only assume anything big enough to hold 400 gallons of Diesel is also big enough to live on.)

What make/model of car was it? Even spendypants people with car habits* who show up here typically don't have one that can do 200 mph...

(* I have a car habit too, but my spendypants sports car is a '90 Miata.)

Dexterous

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A kayak and a motorcycle do the trick for me.  I get to enjoy the roads and water at a lower cost than a regular boat or sports car.

JLee

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I'd like to hear about the sports car lol.

Me too!

Rustycage

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Quote
Me too!

Yes!

Meh about the boat, but what is the 200mph car? :D

Malum Prohibitum

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Ditto!  Tell us about the car!!!! And where do you drive it 200 mph?  Texas Mile?

HairyUpperLip

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Another one to know the car! lol

HipGnosis

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A kayak and a motorcycle do the trick for me.  I get to enjoy the roads and water at a lower cost than a regular boat or sports car.
I have a motorcycle, and would like a kayak.  I've seen plans for towing a kayak with a bicycle and wonder how hard it'd be to adapt to towing with a motorcycle. 

use2betrix

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What do you wanna know Trix, used to drive around at 200mph all the time which is silly beyond words as well, now it sits in the garage and does nothing! gots to go!

Year, make, model, modifications.

Hey, I'd even like to see some pics lol.

We may strive to be mustachian around here, but we can still appreciate nice things! :)

Dicey

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I congratulate you on your good intentions, but I'll be more impressed when the transactions are completed. Actions speak louder and all that... Since you are just telling us that you intend to sell these expensive toys in the "coming year", I'll hold my applause until the deed is done. Following and wishing you success. OTOH, why wait? Aren't there a lot of spendypants who might like a new-to-them fast car or boat for Christmas?

TheDeclutterer

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Keep on me, they are going, buying a smaller boat to keep me wet now to sell the big boat, if that's not an indicator of my seriousness do not know what else is,  ha.

Car is more a work in progress, everytime I look at it I want to keep it but it to shall be put up for sale when the weather breaks.

former player

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OP: congratulations on joining the forum.  I hope you stick around, especially if you aren't going to gratify the cheap-ass car porn addicts I didn't know we had.

big_owl

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OP: congratulations on joining the forum.  I hope you stick around, especially if you aren't going to gratify the cheap-ass car porn addicts I didn't know we had.

I don't know about you but I hit 200mph all the time, just like the OP.  Every day driving back and worth to work, at least.  And that's before I hit the switches and spray the NAAAAAAWWWS.  Oh you wanna know what kind of car it actually is?  Oops gotta go...think I hear little owl calling me...

JLee

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OP: congratulations on joining the forum.  I hope you stick around, especially if you aren't going to gratify the cheap-ass car porn addicts I didn't know we had.

...wtf?

HairyUpperLip

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OP: congratulations on joining the forum.  I hope you stick around, especially if you aren't going to gratify the cheap-ass car porn addicts I didn't know we had.

...wtf?

lol - must just be a bitter person.

Can't even imagine getting upset that people would have hobbies outside of my own....

use2betrix

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OP: congratulations on joining the forum.  I hope you stick around, especially if you aren't going to gratify the cheap-ass car porn addicts I didn't know we had.

You're such a hardcore mustachian.

Jack

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Keep on me, they are going, buying a smaller boat to keep me wet now to sell the big boat, if that's not an indicator of my seriousness do not know what else is,  ha.

Car is more a work in progress, everytime I look at it I want to keep it but it to shall be put up for sale when the weather breaks.

So, tallying up the progress, you currently own more toys than you started with. I'm sure you have good "intentions," but that's a dangerous game you're playing: if you're not careful, they could remain merely "intentions" and you'd end up worse than you started! It would have been better to have sold the big boat cold-turkey, and then bought a smaller one if necessary.

I say put the car up for sale now, just to reaffirm your commitment to the process. You don't have to go and accept a low-ball offer, and you could take it off the market in February and then re-list in spring when it's more in demand. But who knows -- maybe you'll find a buyer sooner than you expect.

Josiecat

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You bought ANOTHER boat?  WTF?!

KeyWest

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Throw some pictures up on here!! We want to see the toys! Im a car nut myself!

Bardo

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Throw some pictures up on here!! We want to see the toys! Im a car nut myself!

Me too, although I prefer to enjoy vicariously through other people's cars than spend the money myself!

Sid Hoffman

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May shed a tear when the toys go but it is a step in the right direction, may the force be strong.....

You can always do fun stuff of other kinds, make friends with people who own boats or sports car, or rent stuff a few times a year.  While it's not practical to rent a Porsche Carrera 20 times a year compared to owning one and taking it out every other weekend, you should be able to find suitable alternative fun activities.  One of my friends went from racing cars 15 weekends a year to running & cycling, for example.  It's different, but similar enough that he still gets his competition and racing itch scratched and unless you're being ridiculous about your bicycle purchases, it will always be cheaper to buy and maintain a race bike than, say, a late model BMW that's taking the punishment of 15 time trial track days a year.

Maybe take a look at what it was you enjoyed the most about each activity you do and look for something related that's much a cheaper alternative.  To me, one of the most valuable things I learned on MMM was that it isn't just about depriving yourself of nice things, it's a matter of saying instead of this nice expensive thing, I'm going to do this also nice but inexpensive alternative instead.  Like MMM commonly talks about getting rid of cable TV and buying Starbucks, but replace it with high speed internet and a Netflix/Hulu subscription and make gourmet coffee at home.  You get a substantially similar experience but for much less money.

It's far easier for me to accept trading down to something cheaper rather than saying I don't get to do a particular activity at all anymore.