Who are these kids?!?!

[dusty2221]

[sandm]

I totally agree with mike's statement. I enjoy every minute of boat ownership and want to have a boat that does exactly what I want it to do.

After some financial advice, keeping your debt/income ratio inline imo is more important than where the money goes at the end. whether you buy a big fancy boat on a 15 year note, or a cheaper boat and have jetskis, motorcycles, utv's and the such, or a second house, it's all about managing what you make and making sure you are liquid enough to get out if you need to(not upside down)..

to the op, it does make me sick to see 20somethings at the lake in 75k boats being towed by 50k trucks and guessing they are either from money and no respect for what they have or mortgaged to the hilt and one paycheck away from financial ruin.. sad thing is the courts have made bankruptcy all too common of a way out..

[jmvotto]

I agree with mike and Scott, but why use your own money when you can use someone else's (the banks, CU's etc).

[rdlangston13]

I'm 25, bought my boat back when I was 21. It was the hardest choice I made but I went Moomba because that's what I my price range would allow me to do. I financed my boat because I thought exactly as above, I have wanted a boat since I was 10 or so and my father and I always dreamed about having one. Well unfortunately, that never happened. So, I chased a dream I had and decided to heck with it. I could afford a monthly payment, so why not go after it. I will admit that it was the best choice I've made. At times, the worst. LOL! I have had so much fun and memories made on my boat that I could not even begin to imagine where my life would be without it.

Yes I had those folks who ragged on me and think my parents buy everything for me, but that is absolutely not the case. My boat was purchased on my own, by myself, and by choices I made.

Now with that said, I was just recently in the market to trade my boat in for a Supra. (I backed out of that deal due to buying a house this year, but thats another story) But I took everything into consideration. My boat currently can sell for maybe a couple grand more than what i owe. Next year may be a different story due to the hours on it, it was over 400 hours on it and was brand new when I got it. It's been taken care of, everything, so I know it's a good boat. However, I may have a harder time selling it next year due to the hours it has.

I was going to go with the 20 year loan for a Supra as the payments would be not much more than what I currently pay, and I was OK with this term due to two main reasons:
1. Exactly as said, you only live once. Get a boat you dream about.
2. I will not have this boat the entire term. maybe 5 to 6 years of it, possibly a tad more, but thats it.

That's my two cents and I am one of the "Younger" folks having a boat, so I had to pop in.

This is me except I bought my LSV at 23 instead of 21.

[sicktc06]

After some financial advice, keeping your debt/income ratio inline imo is more important than where the money goes at the end. whether you buy a big fancy boat on a 15 year note, or a cheaper boat and have jetskis, motorcycles, utv's and the such, or a second house, it's all about managing what you make and making sure you are liquid enough to get out if you need to(not upside down)..

I agree with you 100% here. I'm working on finding the perfect house for myself right now in every way - cost, space, area- whole 9 yards, the reason I didn't trade my boat in on the Supra, so I'm having to make sure I can manage my money correctly and have my backup funds in case something were to happen.

to the op, it does make me sick to see 20somethings at the lake in 75k boats being towed by 50k trucks and guessing they are either from money and no respect for what they have or mortgaged to the hilt and one paycheck away from financial ruin.. sad thing is the courts have made bankruptcy all too common of a way out..

Stereotypes ruin it for those of us who actually busted our @$$'s for what we have! I will say though, you can tell those who actually care about their possessions (most likely those who did work for it) and those who's been handed it just simply by their attitude and the way they go about boating. Now, I have actually asked someone who looked to be my age on an X-45 MasterCraft how they got their boat and have gotten the straight up answer his dad bought it. All I could do was... *FacePalm*

And YOLO? HA! You'll only hear me say that in it's full form on a rare occasion such as this one! My real motto is hakuna matata!!

[DDNorCal]

My opinion is it's better to own and control your cash flow. True financial freedom is not having a nut to cover each month. I've never been a fan of financing an asset that declines in value. Big items like a house you have to finance. but most everything else you don't. Buy used, save your cash until you can upgrade. I know it's not sexy and doesn't look as cool in your driveway, but I sleep a lot better at night.

To each his own. I have always assumed that 20 year olds with big expensive toys don't last long in the food chain of life. I also don't want to be the 70 year old who tells stories about the high point of their life at 25.

[rdlangston13]

To each his own. I have always assumed that 20 year olds with big expensive toys don't last long in the food chain of life. I also don't want to be the 70 year old who tells stories about the high point of their life at 25.

is it better to be 70 and have no stories to tell? your only young and able to recover from physical abuse from things like wakeboarding for so long. take advantage of your youth, i dont want to be like my dad and say "i could do that too if i were 25" i want to be 50 one day and say, "i used to do that when i was 25"

[tarheelskier]

i dont want to be like my dad and say "i could do that too if i were 25" i want to be 50 one day and say, "i used to do that when i was 25"

I am about to turn 43, I want to be 50 and STILL doing it!

[maxpower220]

I really don't mind young people on the lake with their toys or daddy's toys. I have no way to know if they appreciate it or not. I can only worry about what I can do for me and my family. I like it more if those people are slalom skiers (but that if rare).

I am amazed at the number of people on the forum that have newer boats and are spending thousands on stereo equipment for said boat.

[mmandley]

I am amazed at the number of people on the forum that have newer boats and are spending thousands on stereo equipment for said boat.

Yea whats up with that? LOL