Yes, you read that right! No, we still do not have our bus and yes, a few weeks ago we bought a boat! What gives?
Well, our motto around here is finding joy on the path to financial independence. More specifically, we are of the thinking that you don’t need to reach financial independence before you can start living your best life. So, what is bringing us joy this summer? Our new-to-us fishing boat!
As our blog name suggests, we have a dream of buying and building out a school bus that we can live on part-time and travel the country. You can read all about this dream of ours in this blog post.
We haven’t made any changes to this dream, I promise!
If you’ve read that post, you also know that we are in no big rush to achieve this dream. We feel very strongly about it, and we’ve been researching it and preparing for it for years, but we’re in no rush because we’ve taken steps to design a life we love NOW. Our happiness is not dependent on getting our bus.
Plus, we can’t get our bus right now anyway, because we’re still in the process of filling in our pool in the backyard so that we have a place to park the bus when we get it. Because we’re in no rush, Mr. Dink decided he wanted to do this process himself; benefit: save money, con: it takes awhile.
The birth of the fishing boat idea…
What has also become apparent over the last 2 years is Mr. Dink’s love of fishing.
In the summer of 2020, with social isolation and the pandemic raging, Mr. Dink and I were blessed to live in the beautiful state of Vermont. No matter what was going on in the world, we could always come back to the fact that we were fortunate to have outdoor recreation of almost any kind right at our finger tips. I spent more time outdoors that summer than I likely had the previous 5 years combined.
We are avid canoers, and so for Mr. Dink, the obvious next-step outdoor hobby seemed to be fishing. However, we quickly learned that fishing from the canoe was not much fun. As the master canoer, Mr. Dink is always at the stern (the back), steering us around to beautiful places with high precision. At the bow (the front), I get to simply paddle and look out for rocks or other obstacles; there’s no steering involved, except for the occasional assistance of a draw or crossdraw (for those who don’t know, as I knew really nothing about canoeing before I met my husband, these are names for specific paddle strokes).
When Mr. Dink would try to fish from the canoe, I would need to somehow steer from the front of the boat (which is nearly impossible), so he would constantly need to interrupt his fishing to keep us off the bank and out of the weeds. In addition, I couldn’t even really see what was going on if he did catch a fish, as I couldn’t turn around quickly for fear of tipping the boat while it is already unstable from the commotion of catching a fish. For the most part, I was bored out of my mind. Time to try something else.
Next up, we found a super cheap kayak on Craigslist that we bought for me. I will say, this was a big improvement for many reasons. Not only did the kayak feel MUCH better on my back and hips than the canoe, but also, I could go paddle around and do my own thing while Mr. Dink fished by himself in the canoe. Although this was a relatively enjoyable activity and experience, I also missed the closeness of being in the boat with him, easily able to talk and witness the excitement of fish catching (even if I couldn’t see much). Plus, Mr. Dink still struggled with the same problem of having to constantly interrupt his fishing to steer the canoe.
Before the fishing boat, when I had the most fun fishing with Mr. Dink was when he would fish from the shore. I would bring a chair and a book, and then plunk myself in the shade and read to my heart’s content. When he would catch a fish, I could pop up out of my chair, grab the net, and be right there with him in the excitement. This is by far one of my favorite ways that Mr. Dink and I spend time together – it has become one of my favorite ways to spend a day!
But, while this situation was great for me, Mr. Dink still desired more. Understandably, he says that fishing from the shore is not as fun for him. He misses being out on the water when he’s fishing from shore, and he finds that he catches more fish when he’s in the water than when he’s on shore.
Pulling the trigger
When Mr. Dink first brought up the idea of buying a fishing boat at the beginning of the summer, I was skeptical. We had just been on a camping trip, and even though he had caught some fish from the canoe, he had seen A LOT of other fishermen on boats catching A LOT of fish. I was worried he wanted this boat for the wrong reasons.
As I have learned over time though, I have a lot of worries about a lot of things, which stems from my anxiety. It runs in my family, and I know from many a wonderful therapist that I struggle with anxiety. Through therapy and my open and communicative relationship with my husband, I have learned that not all of my worries are warranted, but it still helps me to talk through them. Sometimes, I just need to let them be known, and then I can start to feel better.
So, Mr. Dink and I had a long talk about the potential fishing boat, which we do whenever we make a big (to us) purchase. Since I tend to have a scarcity mindset while he has one of abundance, I ask all the nitty gritty questions, which also helps relieve some of the anxiety I get around any big purchase.
We talked through all my fears (some legit and others not, but either way, all are valid), and he reminded me that he does in fact know a lot about boats (he grew up on them) even though we haven’t owned one together.
Ultimately, this purchase was coming from his pot of money, but what I love about our relationship is that even though we keep our money separate, we make money decisions together. We are a team, and we know that everything we do affects the other person. We respect each other, even though we technically have separate money and could technically spend it however we want.
After several discussions and much research, we pulled the trigger and bought a boat. For those who are curious, we spent a total of $3500, which included the just-under 20-foot boat, the trailer, and 3 motors (1 main motor, 1 back-up motor, and 1 trolling motor). Note that this does not count any accessories we choose to buy, registration (for the boat and the trailer), insurance, or Mr. Dink’s boating license or training course. He spent approximately another $1000 total on all that, bringing the grand total spent thus far up to $4500.
How’s it going so far?
Although I was skeptical at first, I am absolutely in love with this boat. All of my fears have gone out the window after just 2 trips on the boat, and that’s even with a shaky start!
One of the downsides (in my opinion) to buying a small boat like this is that, unlike a car, you don’t really know what you’re getting. Because this is a boat that is trailered to and from the bodies of water you’ll be recreating on, it’s difficult to test drive a boat. Especially with it being summertime and still a hot market with folks wanting to outdoor recreate due to the pandemic. Unless the person selling the boat is your good friend, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to have a good feeling about how a boat drives. Even with all the research you can do, and no matter how friendly the seller seems, it’s a risky purchase. This was probably my biggest worry, but at some point I just had to let go and trust Mr. Dink (and know that we at least weren’t spending an astronomical amount of money). He went to see the boat several times, and ended up getting nice and friendly with the seller, who even welcomed us to contact him after the sale if anything went wrong (building more trust from me, but still risky; he doesn’t have to answer his phone when we call).
Lucky for us, it has all worked out great despite the shaky start.
Our first day taking the boat out, I didn’t even think we’d leave the dock. The main motor wouldn’t start (it had started at the seller’s house), and we couldn’t get the backup (pull-start) motor to get going either. Luckily, some nice gentleman who was also launching his boat at the same time helped Mr. Dink get the back-up motor started. Phew! We were able to at least get out on the water, even though we couldn’t go as fast (the backup motor is much smaller than the main motor). I was fine with that – I like going at a nice slow pace!
Mr. Dink, being the handy man he is (he’s a carpenter by trade), did plenty of research after that first trip to figure out what was going on with the main motor, and even ended up reaching out to the previous owner who confirmed what Mr. Dink thought was the issue was likely the issue (he ended up being true to his word after all), and he fixed it!
One of the things I love most about Mr. Dink, and it speaks to my frugal heart, is his love of and deep desire to work with his hands and fix things, no matter what it is. He does know when it’s time or appropriate to bring in a professional, but he has been able to fix so many things over the years that I am done being skeptical, but I’m never done being amazed! I don’t have the best patience when it comes to something that’s not working (hence why being a bench scientist was never my thing), but he is the exact opposite.
Now, we’ve got everything working. I’m sure it could change again at any time, and I feel like every time we go out on the boat we learn something new, but I don’t worry because of how much happiness the boat is bringing both of us.
It is SO nice to be able to be out on the water, read my book with Mr. Dink fishing right there, get up and walk around, and be right there next to him when he catches a fish! I’ve really surprised myself with how much I love it.
Closing thoughts
This boat purchase has been another great lesson that sometimes I need to let go of some control.
When Mr. Dink first told me he wanted to buy a fishing boat, I immediately thought of all the plans we had that would be ruined by this purchase. This summer, our major goals had been to fill in the pool and build a fence around the house so that we could finally start thinking about getting another dog (we live on a very busy road, and our family dog died by getting hit by a car when I was a kid, so I feel very strongly that we need a fenced in area before we bring a dog home). I was worried, because I know my husband, that purchasing a fishing boat would derail all those plans.
But what I learned is that, if it does, so what? If we have the conversations, lay everything out on the table, and decide what we want and how things will shift, that’s really all I need. As long as we are mindful about our purchases and how we are spending time, and they are aligned with our goals and values (at the time) and bring us happiness, it’s a win in my book. As I wrote earlier, we are in no rush to get the bus, and I’m definitely in no rush to get a dog (that is a Mr. Dink want), so what’s the problem? Situations change, life changes, people change. Mr. Dink is super into fishing in this stage of life, and I love that aspect too! We have the financial freedom to make decisions with our money, and if we’re both on board for buying something that will (and has already) brought so much happiness, why wouldn’t we go for it? Life is too short, and it’s ever-changing. Why not change with it?
What is bringing you happiness this summer? Have you made a purchase recently that you were unsure about, and if so, how did it go? I’d love to hear from you!