Houseboats: Trying to save money, not waste it!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Houseboats: Trying to save money, not waste it!

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BaseballPCHiker: Jan 16, 2006

NancyPants posted:

I didn't mean go buy a boat, I meant you are stalling and giving tons of excuses whenever it comes to numbers. You really don't need to post that you called a bunch of places and got rates and then never post those possible rates, and even now you're giving excuses and stalling when it comes to posting your actual numbers. You don't have to post 5 minutes after every request to say that you (might) do it later.

Well thats the problem. It's hard to get actual numbers when you don't actually have the boat! I can get ballpark quotes on types of boats but until I actually narrow it down that's as good as it'll get. Here is a link to boattrader.com for boats in my area that I was looking at or would consider. Just to give you all an idea:
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1976-Watercraft-Houseboat-102612749
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1984-Holiday-Mansion-38-Aft-Cabin-Custom-102154184
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1970-BOATEL-HOUSEBOATS-47-Islander-102154217
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1965-MILLER-MARINE-liveaboard-houseboat-102578948

NancyPants posted:

If you want to make the financial side of it work, you're going to need to know how much the boat will cost and proposed interest rates if you (stupidly) choose to finance a boat. You'll also need insurance rates but even if you don't have that because you can't insure the thing without any boat experience, you should post the prices of any boats you'd conceivably try to buy. By the way, talking to a bunch of retired dudes about their payments does not constitute research because you will not get those rates (and also those loans were probably created 10+ years ago). I know you're not doing this already, so start keeping track of the cost of these boats you're looking at.

Again rates have been all over the place and at APRs that I would consider unacceptable. I will be getting a work bonus this spring that I could put towards the boat. Having more money for a down payment could change my rates as well. And the people I have talked to have been very helpful and have been giving me good advice and ballpark figures on costs. I will try and start keeping better track of these estimates, but I dont think it'll do much good until I actually have a boat picked out that I can estimate my costs off of.

NancyPants posted:

Also: you do not have enough money saved for this. You said you have $8000 for a boat and $3000 in your emergency fund? That is one month of (optimistic) living expenses. Let's say, best case scenario, you are able to buy a boat for $8000 and it somehow sinks/burns down in a way that leaves you and your dog with no injuries and you don't have to spend any money retrieving the burned out carcass. Where do you and your dog live while you find a new apartment? What do you do if you can't find a place right away? How do you scrounge up a deposit and/or first month's rent? You can't just say, "Well nothing will happen to the boat" because people's actual homes burn down all the time, either through their own stupidity or that of their neighbors, and those things aren't even really exposed to the elements or have a bunch of mechanical parts to break down.

It is entirely possible that I don't have enough saved up for this. As I said before I'll be getting a large work bonus that I can put towards this which should help a lot. True in cash I only have one month, long term I'd like to get that up to 3 months. If poo poo really hit the fan though I could always sell and take money out of my Roth. Part of the reason I need to have insurance, besides the marinas requiring it, is to hedge my risk from fires, sinking, etc. Thats what insurance is for. You have enough to pay the deductible and then wait to be compensated.

NancyPants posted:

Let's say you put down $8k on a $35k boat with 6.5%APR 20yr (they won't, but let's pretend):
boat payment $201 per month
The same as a 10 year, which (if you get a loan at all for this thing) is what you will get:
boat payment: $306 per month
boat insurance (we'll have to ballpark this since you've been unsuccessful in obtaining any useful info): $100
car payment (how old is your car/how much do you still owe on it?): $271
car insurance: $125 (if you pay more than $10/month for renter's insurance you are getting hosed, so this won't substantially decrease when you drop the renter's)
car repairs: $40
gasoline for car and for boat: $?
slip fees: $300
sewage: $40
propane: $40 (laughably optimistic)
electricity: $? (I can't possibly see this as rolled into the slip fee. Maybe the connection is, but not your usage.)
student loans: $225
groceries: (because you actually spend up to $300/month, this is what you budget) $300
booze: (because this is what you actually spend some months) $75
gym: $50, and you should probably keep this since you'll need a reliable place to shower
household goods: $50
dog expenses: $150, should probably keep this but consider increasing it. A healthier dog with a nicer coat is more likely to attract women and you'll need all the help you can get after your girlfriend dumps you and every woman on OKcupid finds out you're a barnacle. $150 is probably low considering that vet costs can balloon wildly.
emergency fund: $300 (you should be saving 10% of your take home, especially if you are going to essentially live outside)
business expenses: $100 (I am skeptical of this amount)
internet: $50 Can you do your small business without a reliable internet connection? If you don't have one at the boat, do you think your restaurant spending or fuel consumption will increase?
phone: $45
vacation: $200
Netflix and Hulu: $18
clothing: $50

$300-400ish is what I am hoping to have my boat payment be. Insurance of around $100 seems high but I'll have to wait and see until I get a boat picked out. I pay about $30 a month for renters insurance, I shopped all around just a few months ago and went with Progressive because with the car overall it was cheaper than anyone else. I did miss out on gas for my car. Thats around $40 a month. The $40 in propane seems reasonable to me. People are wildly overestimating how much gas it will take to warm the place ones it sealed up. Houseboats arent that big. I'll keep grocery expenses at $250, like I said some months I'm above some I'm below but right around there, same with booze. The dog is spoiled, I buy her nice expensive food, heartworm and flea medicine all the time. Shes never missed a vet appointment either. Most months its around $70 to have her with food and the mentioned heartworm, frontline and occasional treats but I wisely budget for more because I do occasionally have to take her to a kennel for a trip or for a vet appointment, etc.

Not sure why you are skeptical of the business costs. I'm a IT guy who does stuff on the side. My only real costs this year have been business cards, web hosting, a couple of hard drives and taxes. Yes I do have a business license and yes I have been putting money aside for my taxes for it. I save %33 of each invoice for future taxes. Internet will stay the same as I will still need that.

NancyPants posted:

The amount that you budget for your car is very low; assuming you get quarterly oil changes at $40 a pop on your newish (God I hope) car, that leaves you $360 a year for other repairs or expenses like tires or mechanical problems. If they haven't come up yet, they will. It probably doesn't even pay your deductible should you get into an accident. I assume you need that vehicle to get back and forth to work and buy real groceries instead of convenience store poo poo, so absent all of your current car costs, you would probably pay more for food and various other goods if you didn't have your own vehicle, not to mention public transit costs. You have to renew your driver's license periodically (maybe yours is good for 20 years) but odds are you have to put tags on your car every year.

I do have to get oil changes, about 3-4 a year or so. No major expenses on the car yet. You are right something will come up sooner or later, this yearfor instance I bought snow tires despite not really needing them yet this winter. For the deductible I would just use my emergency fund, since I would consider that an emergency.

NancyPants posted:

This also assumes that you have no medical bills ever, or that your current contributions cover them as they come up, which is optimistic. It's also something that will disappear if you lost your job.

Sorry I didnt explain this well. I have money taken out of every paycheck for my FSA and HSA. I have $300 left over this year that will get rolled over into my FSA for next year and I'll contribute another $300 this year in case anything comes up. My HSA is up around $2500ish. My employer matches me dollar for dollar up to a certain amount each year, i think $2500. I dont plan on changing that and just have it keep building up. I also get to put that money in a vanguard fund while it sits which is cool.

If you are +/- 20% of your budgeted amounts for some things every month, you need to adjust your budget or you need to control your spending. You shouldn't even be considering this until you have enough for a proper down payment (ideally buying the fucker outright, but you'll see that as being impossible) AND having 3 months living expenses saved. Maybe it would help you to have your poo poo in order to think of it as buying an actual house; people who just decide they'll make it work without having their books in order tend to face foreclosure a lot.

NancyPants posted:

e: also you are saving $0 for retirement uuuuuuuuuuugh

Again I must not have listed things right. That $1594 paycheck is after things like my retirement are taken out. As I said before I have a pension from a prior job and I also contribute %6 of my paycheck thats matched up to %5 into my 401k.

# ? Dec 18, 2015 21:37

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# ? May 9, 2024 23:38

BonerGhost: Mar 9, 2007

Okay, having some retirement savings is good, but how much do you actually have and how old are you?

Your roth is not an emergency fund. Period. Your current numbers are not that bad but the fact that consider your roth as a backup in case this whole boat thing goes tits up is really concerning.

Depending on your out of pocket limits on your health insurance, one hospital stay, emergency room visit, or surgery could wipe out all of your current medical funds and then some. Maybe you are very lucky and have a low OOP. Maybe we can safely leave this out.

We really can't say whether $100 for insurance is high or low because you can't actually get it insured. You don't see boater safety/education as a necessary thing, even though you plan to keep this vessel as a primary residence and even though people have told you it would probably go a long way toward being able to get insurance (and at the very least could decrease your rate). $100 might be high for liability only, but that wouldn't reimburse you for anything. It would only cover your liability to others, and it's probably a laughably low limit, too. If you are able to get a loan at an acceptable rate, won't the bank require full coverage on the boat itself, just like the car? Why would you expect it to be any cheaper than your car, especially when a $35k boat is probably more expensive than your car? Can you get homeowner's insurance that covers your belongings and living expenses if your home is destroyed/otherwise unlivable for a period of time, or do you have to roll that into the boat insurance?

You still have no idea how much fuel for the boat will run you per month. If $40 a month is what you currently spend on fuel for car, that's going to jump like crazy when gas prices go up again. Where I live, gas right now is about half of its previous all-time high.

I find it hard to believe a 50 year old boat wouldn't need major renovation or maintenance, especially when it comes to insulating. Can you even change the oil on your own? Didn't you say it would be some $800 to wrap it for the winter? Does that include insulation and other winterizing measures? Your current budget basically assumes $0 maintenance on the boat. JFC, the ~~$54k~~ $35k 1965 Miller DOESN'T RUN. How much do you suppose it would cost to get something like that going? And since you know gently caress-all about boats, what happens if (when) you buy a boat that currently runs, then breaks down 3 months later? Do you borrow from your Roth to get it going?

So what does it cost to kennel/walk/daycare the dog? $70/month on food/medication and a yearly $200 vet bill leaves you $160 leftover for the dog; what happens if she gets sick, or you need to kennel her or daycare her longer than you usually do?

If you can't answer the above questions with numbers then you are not at the "look at boats to buy" stage yet.

You've got a decent sum of money put away, I don't know why you feel the need to piss it away on something so lame that will result in no girlfriend. Maybe if you lived in like, Florida, it might be fun. But you'd have to spend such a stupid amount of money that you can't really afford, just to live through the winter. Super lame.

BonerGhost fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Dec 18, 2015

# ? Dec 18, 2015 22:26

Dogcow: Jun 21, 2005

BaseballPCHiker posted:

Internet will stay the same as I will still need that.

You know you can get the same plan at the same price at the marina? If not that's a pretty big assumption as if you can't get normal cable or DSL then probably you're only option is cellular which is likely to be more expensive, possibly slower and less reliable and definitely with a lovely data cap.

Also on googling for "houseboat internet" found this yahoo answers thing:

yahoo houseboat guy posted:

I can tell you for sure, those that think it is a "cheap" way of living, and do it for "financial hardship reasons" are the ones that are miserable - and usually leave as soon as they are financially able to do so.

And he's in Texas :lol:

Dogcow fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Dec 19, 2015

# ? Dec 18, 2015 23:52

Moneyball: Jul 11, 2005; It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

This thread

OP: "Help! HELP! I'm stuck in a well!!!"
Goons1-4: "Climb! Climb up and take our hands!"
OP: "I'm thinking I should dig... should I dig?"
Goon5: "NO! I was trapped in a well, and digging is a bad idea! Climb out!"
Goons6-8: "Were lowering ropes! Take hold of a rope!"
Goon9: "I've even tied a harness to the end of this one!"
OP: "I can feel the ropes, but I don't want to hold onto them... should I dig?"
Goon10: "No! If you dig, you'll hit water, and then you'll be proper hosed. I should know, I almost drowned."
OP: "I dug a little bit just now, and I haven't hit water. I'm gonna keep digging..."
Goons11-18: "No! Climb! Climb out!"
OP: "Guys, I'm seriously stuck in this well! Help! HELP!!!"
Goon19: "I was trapped in a well once. It took me two years, but I managed to build a climbing machine that pulled me to safety out of a well bucket and a pocket watch. I'm dropping the blueprints, extra buckets, and an assortment of pocket watches."
Goon20: "I've engineered a jet-pack that will rocket you to safety. Stay where you are and we'll lower it down!""
"OP: "Thanks for your help, guys. I'm gonna keep digging. I'll find the Mines of Moria and I'll just walk to the surface."
**Goons1-20 piss in the well**
Goon21: "Guys, seriously... stop peeing in the well.""

# ? Dec 19, 2015 02:57

moana: Jun 18, 2005; one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

Nah, half of the people here are throwing down shovels and telling him how cool China is gonna be.

# ? Dec 19, 2015 20:22

MrKatharsis: Nov 29, 2003; feel the bern

The OP could dig a sweet little hobbit cave complex down there if he had enough shovels.

# ? Dec 19, 2015 22:24

Orthodox Rabbit: Jun 2, 2006; This game is perfect for empty-headed dunces that don't like to think much!! Of course, I'm a genius... I wonder why I'm so good at it?!

MrKatharsis posted:

The OP could dig a sweet little hobbit cave complex down there if he had enough shovels.

and think about how cheap the rent would be!

# ? Dec 21, 2015 14:32

Elephanthead: Sep 11, 2008; Toilet Rascal

Has anyone recommend that the OP just try to squat possess a house? Surely there are tons of empty homes in the winter as older people flee the wind chill for Florida. Eventually one will die in Florida and no one will notice and the house is all his!

# ? Dec 21, 2015 17:49

invision: Mar 2, 2009; I DIDN'T GET ENOUGH RAPE LAST TIME, MAY I HAVE SOME MORE?

You've real clearly never owned a boat before. There's no such thing as "cheap" when it comes to a boat. This is almost as bad as the walk-across-the-US guy.

# ? Dec 30, 2015 22:30

Veskit: Mar 2, 2005; I love capitalism!! DM me for the best investing advice!

We can only dream he gets to the point where he attempts to buy this boat and live on it.

# ? Dec 30, 2015 23:15

BloodBag: Sep 20, 2008; WITNESS ME!

Can't you just charter a boat for a week and sleep on it? That'd tell you real quick how awful sleeping on a boat is.

# ? Dec 31, 2015 00:27

spwrozek: Sep 4, 2006; Sail when it's windy

BloodBag posted:

Can't you just charter a boat for a week and sleep on it? That'd tell you real quick how awful sleeping on a boat is.

It is not a boat though... It is a houseboat!

# ? Dec 31, 2015 00:58

SpelledBackwards: Jan 7, 2001; I found this image on the Internet, perhaps you've heard of it? It's been around for a while I hear.

invision posted:

You've real clearly never owned a boat before. There's no such thing as "cheap" when it comes to a boat. This is almost as bad as the walk-across-the-US guy.

Except he can't leave a houseboat in a park's parking lot, leaking fluids and abandoned before dumping his cooler on the trail.

I suppose he can rupture his fuel and sewage tanks into the marina and then dump his fridge overboard. Close enough.

# ? Dec 31, 2015 06:15

Nitrox: Jul 5, 2002

Yeah, seriously. How about renting a houseboat for a week or two just to see how things go? I bet there are plenty of options come winter time

# ? Dec 31, 2015 14:07

BaseballPCHiker: Jan 16, 2006

Moneyball posted:

Words

Not at all a goon in the well situation. I'm not asking for help. Plus when I can finally pull the trigger on a boat I can start posting real numbers to see how much I am saving each month.

Elephanthead posted:

Has anyone recommend that the OP just try to squat possess a house? Surely there are tons of empty homes in the winter as older people flee the wind chill for Florida. Eventually one will die in Florida and no one will notice and the house is all his!

I dont want to live in poverty. Most of these houseboats are really nice and more akin to being in a comfy cabin than anything else.

Veskit posted:

We can only dream he gets to the point where he attempts to buy this boat and live on it.

I hope so too. I really cant wait to get my bonus this spring. Between that and some savings I think I can make it work. I got another credit card to increase my balance available and am hoping that just sitting on that for a while will increase my score enough to help me with getting a boat loan.

Nitrox posted:

Yeah, seriously. How about renting a houseboat for a week or two just to see how things go? I bet there are plenty of options come winter time

Not really, I've looked into it and can't find much online there just doesnt seem to be a market for this sort of thing in winter for some reason.

One positive development happened recently. My uncle has a large houseboat (two stories) and speed boat on a lake in a bordering state. This spring he has insisted that I spend a week out with him learning some basics. Hopefully I will have my boat by then already but he will be able to teach me enough to get by in time for summer when I will want to take some river excursions.

# ? Dec 31, 2015 21:22

GoGoGadgetChris: Mar 18, 2010; i powder a
granite monument
in a soundless flash

showering the grass
with molten drops of
its gold inlay

sending smoking
chips of stone
skipping into the fog

"All you naysayers who said I'd never survive the winter at sea are gonna be eating humble pie once I move into a houseboat next spring"

# ? Dec 31, 2015 21:33

BaseballPCHiker: Jan 16, 2006

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

"All you naysayers who said I'd never survive the winter at sea are gonna be eating humble pie once I move into a houseboat next spring"

Unfortunately yeah it's starting to look like that. I just can't get anything but a high interest personal loan to finance a boat and am going to be forced to wait on my bonus. At least I'd have a summer of learning on the boat before winter in that case. I am still baffled by the banks in this situation. I have decent credit and make decent money but still cant get a loan. I COULD get an equivalent loan for a car. It just doesnt make sense to me.

Someone mentioned renting a boat and I think thats a good next move. Going down to the marina and seeing if there are any desperate owners I can rent or rent to own from.

# ? Dec 31, 2015 21:42

Saros: Dec 29, 2009; Its almost like we're a Bureaucracy, in space!

I set sail for the Planet of Lab Requisitions!!

BaseballPCHiker posted:

there just doesnt seem to be a market for this sort of thing in winter for some reason.

I wonder why.

# ? Dec 31, 2015 21:49

the holy poopacy: May 16, 2009; hey! check this out; Fun Shoe

BaseballPCHiker posted:

Unfortunately yeah it's starting to look like that. I just can't get anything but a high interest personal loan to finance a boat and am going to be forced to wait on my bonus. At least I'd have a summer of learning on the boat before winter in that case. I am still baffled by the banks in this situation. I have decent credit and make decent money but still cant get a loan. I COULD get an equivalent loan for a car. It just doesnt make sense to me.

Hmmmmmmmmmm...!

BaseballPCHiker posted:

Not really, I've looked into it and can't find much online there just doesnt seem to be a market for this sort of thing in winter for some reason.

Walk into a car dealership and see if there is a market for cars in the winter. Maybe there is a correlation between the market for an asset and a bank's willingness to underwrite it...? Nah, I'm sure they just don't like boat loans because they hate things that are cool and good.

# ? Dec 31, 2015 21:55

BonerGhost: Mar 9, 2007

OP, what was your goal in making this thread?

# ? Jan 1, 2016 00:02

MrKatharsis: Nov 29, 2003; feel the bern

BaseballPCHiker posted:

One positive development happened recently. My uncle has a large houseboat (two stories) and speed boat on a lake in a bordering state. This spring he has insisted that I spend a week out with him learning some basics. Hopefully I will have my boat by then already but he will be able to teach me enough to get by in time for summer when I will want to take some river excursions.

BFC just looooooooooooooooooves to crap on people and totally ignore decent updates like this. OP try to get your uncle to talk money so you have a realistic view of what you're in for. If he is comfortable with the topic, you'll learn more than a million forums posts.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 00:55

Moey: Oct 22, 2010; I LIKE TO MOVE IT

Why not buy a cabin outside of town, then get a pontoon boat to play/party on in the summer?

# ? Jan 1, 2016 01:28

spog: Aug 7, 2004; It's your own bloody fault.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nW5g8tjazg

# ? Jan 1, 2016 14:09

FrozenVent: May 1, 2009; The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

BaseballPCHiker posted:

Not at all a goon in the well situation. I'm not asking for help. Plus when I can finally pull the trigger on a boat I can start posting real numbers to see how much I am saving each month.

You will not save money. Stop trying to wish it true.

BaseballPCHiker posted:

One positive development happened recently. My uncle has a large houseboat (two stories) and speed boat on a lake in a bordering state. This spring he has insisted that I spend a week out with him learning some basics. Hopefully I will have my boat by then already but he will be able to teach me enough to get by in time for summer when I will want to take some river excursions.

Please do this before you buy the boat. Also sit down with your uncle and go over your budget. Why isn't your uncle living on his houseboat?

# ? Jan 1, 2016 15:16

Doc Hawkins: Jun 15, 2010; Dashing? But I'm not even moving!

How about a tent, OP? There's a real craze for urban camping in my city these days. It's cheaper and more social than boat living, and depending on the weather, it may even be warmer.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 18:14

Devian666: Aug 20, 2008; Take some advice Chris.; Fun Shoe

Christmas is great for BWM. I flew to see the family. I find out that my sister decided to move out of a rented place and into a caravan. So the family and two kids are living in this tiny space to "save money". It turns out that the total expenses aren't really any different from renting an actual house. So they are moving away from their trailer park lifestyle to rent again and have actual rooms and space. The BWM part, they bought the caravan and lived in it for 11 weeks. So they are paying rent and the equivalent of $900+ per week for the time they've spent living in it. Man they saved some money doing that. :shepface:

I wish they would discuss these ideas with someone first as they only seem to learn a lesson by finding out the hard way.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 21:15

Nitrox: Jul 5, 2002

spog posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nW5g8tjazg

Hahahahaha
:perfect:

# ? Jan 2, 2016 00:30

B33rChiller: Aug 18, 2011

spog posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nW5g8tjazg

No see, this won't be a problem. Nothing on the OP's boat will ever need to be repaired or maintained, as evidenced by his outright refusal to consider the possibility.

FrozenVent posted:

You will not save money. Stop trying to wish it true.

Please do this before you buy the boat. Also sit down with your uncle and go over your budget. Why isn't your uncle living on his houseboat?

I think the time for honest advice from people who know what the gently caress they're talking about has passed.

# ? Jan 2, 2016 07:58

BonerGhost: Mar 9, 2007

FrozenVent posted:

You will not save money. Stop trying to wish it true.

Please do this before you buy the boat. Also sit down with your uncle and go over your budget. Why isn't your uncle living on his houseboat?

The uncle is just a casual, man.

# ? Jan 2, 2016 08:24

Giraffe: Dec 12, 2005; Soiled Meat

NancyPants posted:

The uncle is just a casual, man.

He probably doesn't even realize he could just Saran Wrap up his boat and sit in it all winter, cozy as can be. Hopefully OP can set him straight.

# ? Jan 2, 2016 08:59

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

I swear I saw the phrase "rent to own houseboat" in here

# ? Jan 4, 2016 15:21

Knyteguy: Jul 6, 2005; YES to love
NO to shirts; Toilet Rascal

This just happened to pop up on my Youtube feed from someone I subscribe to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nW5g8tjazg

# ? Jan 4, 2016 23:06

spog: Aug 7, 2004; It's your own bloody fault.

Knyteguy posted:

This just happened to pop up on my Youtube feed from someone I subscribe to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nW5g8tjazg

You and I are going to have to fight for her hand* in marriage.

(Obviously not the hand that she just used to scoop out a poop omelette)

# ? Jan 5, 2016 13:59

Moey: Oct 22, 2010; I LIKE TO MOVE IT

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/boa/5389156339.html

The Dawg House!

# ? Jan 5, 2016 20:27

Orthodox Rabbit: Jun 2, 2006; This game is perfect for empty-headed dunces that don't like to think much!! Of course, I'm a genius... I wonder why I'm so good at it?!

Can you just get a RV and attach pontoons or pool noodles to the sides to turn it into a houseboat?? I just read an article in the WSJ that said there is a big market right now for cheaper RVs for the younger generation

# ? Jan 5, 2016 21:26

SpelledBackwards: Jan 7, 2001; I found this image on the Internet, perhaps you've heard of it? It's been around for a while I hear.

SarutosZero posted:

Can you just get a RV and attach pontoons or pool noodles to the sides to turn it into a houseboat?? I just read an article in the WSJ that said there is a big market right now for cheaper RVs for the younger generation

Pretty certain this was already posted in the thread, but it bears repeating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

# ? Jan 6, 2016 10:00

SiGmA_X: May 3, 2004; SiGmA_X

SpelledBackwards posted:

Pretty certain this was already posted in the thread, but it bears repeating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

That is truly amazing. I want a floating trailer to go along with it. It's good they're coming out with one soon!

After seeing that, how could you ever settle for a crappy houseboat like the OP is looking at?! A RV boat is clearly the best option for a mobile house boat. (IMO houseboats are proper houses on pontoons like is common in Portland and Seattle, not those dumpy boats the OP had posted.)

# ? Jan 6, 2016 17:20

Orthodox Rabbit: Jun 2, 2006; This game is perfect for empty-headed dunces that don't like to think much!! Of course, I'm a genius... I wonder why I'm so good at it?!

OP could buy one of these RV Boats and ditch his car in the process. The savings potential here is incredible.

# ? Jan 6, 2016 17:26

Nitrox: Jul 5, 2002

The RV-boat is also going to qualify for special financing and recreational insurance. I'm sure it cost at least 80k tho

# ? Jan 10, 2016 06:13

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# ? May 9, 2024 23:38

BaseballPCHiker: Jan 16, 2006

Hoo boy I got some bad news this morning. It looks like I'm not going to be getting a tax refund at all this year. In fact I'll be lucky if I can get away with owing less than a $1000 dollars. When I started my new job they hosed up my first paycheck, instead of taking out an additional $50 for tax withholding they gave me 50 EXEMPTIONS!!! Thankfully I got it fixed right away but its still a huge chuck of money. Then for some reason they still thought I had a couple of kids and have been giving me 2 exemptions all year long! Its my own fault for never checking again after the first mess up. I do have a copy of my original form I filled out specifying that I wanted to claim 0 and an extra $50 withholding but I doubt it does me any good at this point.

Thankfully I've been keeping a little over a third of what I've been making from my side business to save for taxes. And I consulted with an accountant who went over everything I could count as a business expense for the year which should help me quite a bit as well. I'll see what ends up happening but this still puts a major dent in the future boat budget.

Now for the good news. This same accountant has said that I may be able to get commercial insurance for a boat through my business a whole lot easier than I could as an individual. If I can figure out a business angle for needing a boat and or buying one I could get a business liability policy that would cover me the same. So I'm going to look into putting up some lame "off site storage backup" or "server farms" plan together to justify the purchase.

That still means I need to get a loan to get the boat but it's at least one obstacle down.

# ? Jan 11, 2016 16:13

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Houseboats: Trying to save money, not waste it!

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