[Vogi2002]

Okay ladies. I know this is SO off topic but I need some opinions...my dh and I just can't decide. Last year, when deciding to adopt and taking time for "us" we bought a boat A beautiful new 2005 Sea Ray 180 Sport Ski Boat (can you tell I love it? I actually know the name of it!!). We were literally on this thing every weekend skiing, wakeboarding, or just cruising. We live 5 minutes away from the lake so it worked out great!! We had a jet ski before the boat a while back so we knew we would use it and we did ALL the time, and we LOVE being out on the lake...no worries...

Well, then after the summer was over we decide to adopt and start the process. SO we starting saving...big time saving. Well now with gas prices so high we aren't sure if we can save like we used to and afford to go out on the boat (its about 40-60 bucks a weekend worth of gas )...oh, and we have a 10year loan for the boat, but it will be paid off in 6 and we aren't hurting making the payments but it could always be money we could save later....

So, my delimna is should I sell the boat or keep it? We are adopting domestically & the avg wait time is 18 months...do you use it very much when you have a young child?? Would you go to the lake with young kids and would it be worth keeping and using every once in a while?

Anyone sell anything before having kids and regret it? I don't think we will LOSE money necessarily but we sure as heck aren't GAINING money at all......

((okay so yes this is off topic and stuff but I'm trying to keep busy while waiting for my stupid homestudy to get done!! ))

Natalie

[BlessedBe]

I say - KEEP THE BOAT!!!

[mommamarci]

When we started this process, I wanted to get rid of everything to save money: cable, cell phones, internet, alarm system, buying gifts. I was tempted to go a little overboard. My dh finally sat me down and told me that if we had to sacrifice evey single thing in our lives to be parents, maybe this method of becoming parents was not worth it. At first it made me mad, but then I realized maybe he was right. I understand we had to and are going to continue to have to cut back to afford a baby, but if it is going to cost us so much that we can't watch television or buy birthday gifts for family, maybe it is not the right step for us. My advice is, if you love it, keep. I am sure you will use it while waiting. It will be a nice distraction. If, after the baby comes, you discover, you don't use it, get rid of it then! I am sure you will be glad when you are despereate to forget about the wait to have that distraction!!

[rjsmom]

Keep it. Friends of ours are really into wakeboarding and have had several different boats over the years. Their girls are now 4 and 5. The girls have been taught boat/water safety from the time they were born and are better on the boat than most adults.

One of the things that they do is they have their babysitter go with them and in lieau of paying her she got to waterski, tube, whatever she wanted. This gave them the extra hands to help with the girls without costing them sitter fees.

[NJNative]

We have a sailboat, which we have had since before we adopted our son. So he's grown up as a dock rat! With precautions, kids can have a blast in and around the water. Here's some of the things I did when my son was small:

• We attached a D ring to his lifejacket, and he was literally tied to me with a line at all times. I even did that when he walked on docks, the waterfront, etc. with me. No way was MY toddler falling overboard.
• I taught him to sit on the cooler on docks and stay there, so that when we were docking the boat, etc. I always knew where he was. I'd often give him a treat -- like graham crackers -- to eat while waiting.
• We kept a set of plastic toys and dishes, etc. for him to play with ONLY in the boat. I'd give him a bucket of water and he'd "wash" the dishes for hours.
• We'd play "man overboard" drills when we were anchored so that he'd know what to do in case he ever wound up in the water. When he'd fall in he was taught to wave his arm and blow on the whistle attached to his life jacket.
• Start swimming lessons early -- my son began at age 3 and took lessons until he was 7.

The result? My son was an absolute FISH! He still loves the water, and can sail as well as pilot a power boat.

Keep the boat! It's too much fun!

Robin

[StorkWatcher]

Runyan - your boat is the equivalent to our hobby (aka money drain/aka hayburners/aka bank account surplus preventer).... Horses.

Although we've FINALLY decided to downsize a couple of weeks ago, some of our fondest memories are of showing horses. IT's a great family activity, and we plan to continue to raise and show livestock with our children. While we cut back how we did things a little bit, we felt the positives of raising and showing horses would outweigh a lot of the cost, so we decided to stay in it while we were waiting/adopting/paying for the adoption.

I'm glad we did! While you may not find yourself boating quite as much for a few years, the times you do go out with the kids will be INCREDIBLE memories in the making and family time well spent!

I second someone's idea about babysitters - my sisters spent many summers at the lake or going to Florida w/ their charges and LOVED it! It's a cheap and enjoyable way to employ a part-time nanny/sitter.

[NDN]

Originally Posted by mommamarci

I understand we had to and are going to continue to have to cut back to afford a baby, but if it is going to cost us so much that we can't watch television or buy birthday gifts for family, maybe it is not the right step for us.

No offense but....OUCH...that statement hurt. If we waited until we had a lot of extra money to have kids...truth is, we'd never be parents. We've turned off the satellite and we only buy $1 birthday gifts...to be honest, none of us miss it anymore.


But...I say that, if you can, keep the boat. Now, I am admittedly freaked out by water <see, no gills>, but boats can be great with kids. I occassionally even drop my psychotic phobia and let dh take our kids out in a boat--they LOVE it.

[ourdreamcametru]

When our oldest son was born 16 years ago we had a house boat. We kept it until he started walking and decided to sell for fear of him falling in. We used our boat every weekend but I am not so sure you would use a ski boat as often once the baby is here. I think I would sell and buy again once the baby is older. Just my opinion.
Kelley

[ValerieP]

As an avid boater, with a 10 month old that we are adopting, and another on the way, we would NEVER give up either our 19 foot Mastercraft Ski Boat, our small cruiser or PWCs. In fact, the one of the reasons the birthmother picked us because of the fun things we do. She said that she wanted our girl to experience things that she did not while growing up...
All we did was alter our way of boating -- not our complete boating experience. In other words, Daddy skis, Mommy and baby tube and the baby wears a hat, a sturdy life vest with a handle to pick her up, and lots of sun screen. We have friends and relatives who watch her on shore when we ski / wakeboard / air chair / etc. That way she is not bounced around with our quick turnarounds when someone is down or when we 'hit it' (for those who are not boaters, hit it means to start pulling a skier).
Consider it this way... If gas prices on the river (expected to be in the $4 - $5 range this summer in PA) concern us, we will go out on the boat, anchor in the tree line for shade and swim... These are memories too good to let pass.
But, I am sure that this is not for everyone. My husband and I met through boating and both grew up in boating families. We teach safe boating classes (through the United States Power Squadrons) so we are preparing our family for SAFE boating techniques already.
Whatever you choose, live life to the fullest. Enjoy it all.

[AMom2Two]

I say KEEP THE BOAT!

We sold ours to help pay off our children's adoptions. Now my dh is looking to buy another boat, we are close to making an offer on one finally! Having the boat was our fun time together as a family. Now the prices of the boats are much higher then they were. We REALLY regret selling it.

Keep the boat. The gas prices won't always stay this high, at least I hope!

[mommamarci]

[quote=NDN]No offense but....OUCH...that statement hurt. If we waited until we had a lot of extra money to have kids...truth is, we'd never be parents. We've turned off the satellite and we only buy $1 birthday gifts...to be honest, none of us miss it anymore.QUOTE]

We have not waited until we had a lot of extra money. We just feel that we are meant to be parents and if we have to give up everything in our lives and bankrupt ourselves, we are going down the wrong path. We have cut back a lot. We quit eating out, don't travel, and only shop when neccesary (work clothes, groceries). I have always been told that if you wait until you can afford kids, you will never have kids. Every time we have been worried that we could not afford something, we have prayed about it and received our answer. With the adoption, almost immediatley after being approved for the home study, dh was offered a promotion and more money. This has shown us that we are making toe right choice. I know a lot of people cut back tremendously to afford the adoption, but we chose not to. (I am addicted to cable and need it to pass the time while I am waiting!!) Now, after the baby comes, we may cut more stuff.

[court5505]

I have to agree with Mommamarci. My thought has always been that if we were at a point in our lives where we were barely making ends meet, then it probably wouldn't be the right time to start a family. Luckily that isn't the case for us but now that we have a child, if something were to happen to us financially, we would find a way to get through it. For me though, I think being financially strapped would just add to the stress of trying to start a family and the timing would not be right. That's just my opinion and I THINK that's what Marci was saying too.

So in response to the original question: if you are financially comfortable right now, keep the boat and see if you use it after the baby comes. If you don't, you can sell it then.

[Vogi2002]

Okay so THANK YOU for all the suggestions!! We still don't know what we are going to do ...we think we'll put it up for sell and if someone buys it GREAT if they don't well GREAT we will be able to use it this summer while we wait to pass time!! This makes me laugh to read this post because its so frivolous!!

Natalie

[Jensboys]

Just a note - if you sell it because of a baby coming (not for financial reasons as I havent bothered to read the rest of the posts about that) you WILL regret it. We used our boat all the time with our babies and all our kids LOVE it.

Jen

[danhanan]

In all honesty.... the first summer we had DD, we didn't use our boat as much asusual, but we did use it. That was the only summer we slowed down though. She's 5 now ans swims like a little fish and she loves going out on the lake.