Debt and the Hunter

[DEEF]

I agree with Ramsey’s debt free principles, but after not hunting for 6 years I decided to print myself the money needed to obtain updated essential gear for the hunting type I wanted to do. As others mentioned similarly, I found that I needed the therapy of prioritizing hunting and paying more for doing that later. Not ideal, but at the time I needed to recharge in the woods with the tools that will last me several more seasons.

 

[TheGDog]

Pssh.. unexpected debt? ...just wait til you buy a house man. You'll see.

 

[TheGDog]

PS you're lucky because you're into it at a younger age and you're already started down the family-oriented path.

Remember this phrase : "It's cheaper to keep her." Do-overs and chasin'-tail again? That... blows thru money like nobodies business. Believe that.

 

[jdmaxwell]

Congratulations.
My wife and I have been able to be completely debt free with house and vehicles paid off. I cant imagine having payments again and hopefully stay debt free.. even if we dont have a new fancy lifted mega truck for hunts and to impress, we still manage to get it done.

 

[sasquatch]

I’ve been doing a of thinking about my passion for the outdoors-

Whether it be Fly fishing and the long nights tying flies for a trip out west or an early morning drive through a foggy Ohio river bottom on my way to the public land set I hung the week prior.

I often have other thoughts as well, like about the Sako Bavarian Carbine in .308 with S&B Zenith on top ($5k) that I’ve wanted to purchase for months, or the new Carbon fiber Tree steps ($300) or the Sitka outfit ($1k) or the new fly rod set-up ($1k) or the new Meateater knife($300), or Tying vice ($300), or new bow ($1k). Don’t even get me started on the lifted and capped Tundra limited I’ve been eyeing.

The thing is, I can easily “afford” all of these, in fact I could go and buy all of these items and far more by the end of day tomorrow. Now could I pay cash for everything? NO, I could not.

As a new father to a little girl and with twins on the way, I’ve recently been convicted of all the money I spend annually on these things I “need”. I’ve started listening to guys like Dave Ramsey and got intentional about my spending and finances.

This past week my wife and I paid off all of our debt except our Rent (College loans, CCs, Cars =$60,000) and I have never felt better. I don’t drive a lifted tundra anymore, and I feel funny picking up my hunting buddies in my old Honda Odyssey.

But I feel so FREE. There are savings in the bank, and I don’t owe anyone anything, my wife can be a STAHM with our growing family, and we can go anywhere!

If I can do this, as a 31 year old crazy gear guy who spends money like its going out of style, anyone can. In a world where you can finance your first lite underwear, it feels good to be different. I’m not judging anyone who buys stuff on credit, its not wrong. I personally needed to get to this place.



What are your thoughts on Debt? I often wonder if our specific demographic (avid hunters)carries more debt than the average person in our age group due to our insatiable hunger to be out there, getting it done and being successful. I also know some hunters who are the most frugal guys out there.


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my thoughts are just like yours, 33 years old. Zero debt, house paid for, two rentals owned, decent job, and have plenty of nice gear. Can Do whatever I want when I don't have to work

Now its time to try and invest so I can retire early and enjoy the later life.

Most everyone has to make sacrifices, you can just choose when. Do it when young or old. Most of the debt generation will have to later on in life.

 

[nettereo16]

I’m still driving my 2006 Tacoma, hunt with firearms I inherited from my dad, got a used bow and just about every piece of gear I got on here or eBay. I take slight pride in saving money, or maybe I’m just a cheap bastard!!!

I do have a number of credit cards but have never had a cent of interest. I rack up free flights pretty good

 

[Rich M]

If I was starting out now I'd either have cheap stuff or do something else. Dropping a couple grand on a rifle or a grand on a fly rod is outside my comfort zone. Not worth it to me.

My fav rifle was 500, fav scope was 178. It's a Ruger w a viper on it. Fav offshore fishing setup is a 225 rod and reel combo.

Debt is a crippler. Stay within your means.

I could go either way on the AK moose hunt someone mentioned. My life desire hunts were Mule deer and antelope, got 1 more antelope hunt to go. Doing it on the cheap.

 

[handwerk]

I'm 53, been married 28 years, my wife and I have always managed to pay off our CC's every month. I built our modest log house and we've raised 3 great kids, gave them a little help with college, our youngest graduates from MSU next year. My goal had always been to pay off the house/40 acres by the time I was 50, got it down two years early, we also own little cabin in Montana. My wife teaches, I'm self a employed woodworker and together we make way south of 100k a year, in fact when the kids were young I stayed home with them.
I'll never forget the day we paid our house off, what a feeling.
My point is live a little simpler and enjoy each day, especially make more time for your kid(s).
All my friends make a lot more than I do, but somehow I spend way more time in the outdoors than them,

 

[RyanT26]

The timing of this is funny, I got a email yesterday that first lite is starting to offer financing.

Financing options include 3-month financing (0-30% APR), 6-month (10-30% APR), and 12-month (10-30% APR). Subject to credit check and approval, and a down payment may be required. Payment options depend on your purchase amount. Affirm loans are made by Cross River Bank, Member FDIC.

 

[D.Rose]

I really enjoy threads like this. I'm 29 myself and me and my wife just paid off everything we own besides the house last month. We just had our first baby back in October and that completely changed the way I view everything in my life. I picked up and extra job after I found out my wife was pregnant a year ago because I felt so much more pressure on me to provide. Since then I have consistently worked 60-80 hours a week not counting the regular farm duties I have. After working all those hours and being away from my family that much the past year I have came to realize I'd much rather chase my little boy than chase dollars. I'm a Respiratory Therapist and work in an ICU setting. I take care of a lot of people in end of life situations and I haven't taken care of the first one yet that said they wish they had worked more...

 

[beforethehunt]

Been following Dave Ramsey since 2006. Got serious in 2007 and have had some ups and downs but everything is paid for! Nice t be able to have extra cash fo me gear and tags. Our 5 kids is what kept us going plus the dream of being able to live and give like no one else!


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[beforethehunt]

I really enjoy threads like this. I'm 29 myself and me and my wife just paid off everything we own besides the house last month. We just had our first baby back in October and that completely changed the way I view everything in my life. I picked up and extra job after I found out my wife was pregnant a year ago because I felt so much more pressure on me to provide. Since then I have consistently worked 60-80 hours a week not counting the regular farm duties I have. After working all those hours and being away from my family that much the past year I have came to realize I'd much rather chase my little boy than chase dollars. I'm a Respiratory Therapist and work in an ICU setting. I take care of a lot of people in end of life situations and I haven't taken care of the first on yet that said they wish they had worked more...

Amen! Most old people don’t say I wish I woulda worked more or I wish I would’ve had less kids! Something to think about. The culture is wrong about a lot things


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[TonySkyline]

I need to get where OP is and am working to it. I was there a few years ago and then I purchased my first house. Debt added up quickly so alot of my gear went on credit which was stupid but I felt I needed it. I also figured I would've made way more money this year in sales but 3 of my busiest months were killed due to virus. Next year I hope to be debt free aside from mortgage payments.

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[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

Kudos to you!

I have enough trouble being able to enjoy some of the more expensive things I own. I can't imagine being able to enjoy them if I was making payments on them.

I am not a super high income earner but I make enough for my wife to stay at home and raise our kids. When we made the decision for her to stay home we took a pay cut but reworked our budget to allow us to save more money than ever. We live pretty frugally and most of the hobbies we have allow us to actual benefit ourselves like gardening and hunting.

Since we were able to do it I don't understand why we hear so much about our current American system being unlivable...

 

[Laramie]

In my full time job I make 50K a year and my wife 35-40K. I do make a little money on the side occasionally- typically under 10K per year. We are both in our 40s. Our house is paid off. Our 2 older sons are through college and debt free. We own a rental house free and clear. We both drive vehicles less than 3 years old that are paid off. Our only "debt" is the taxes we pay on everything and the monthly CC bill that gets paid off at the end of every month.

We lived very disciplined in our 30s to accomplish this and we continue to be fairly disciplined. I still go on hunts, and buy gear as I need it, but that gear is never what some would call top of the line. I have found there just isn't a need to do so.

If I could go back and change anything it would be to start being more responsible with my money in my 20s. I pissed away a lot of money before I saw the big picture.

 

[Voyageur]

I’ve been doing a of thinking about my passion for the outdoors-

Whether it be Fly fishing and the long nights tying flies for a trip out west or an early morning drive through a foggy Ohio river bottom on my way to the public land set I hung the week prior.

I often have other thoughts as well, like about the Sako Bavarian Carbine in .308 with S&B Zenith on top ($5k) that I’ve wanted to purchase for months, or the new Carbon fiber Tree steps ($300) or the Sitka outfit ($1k) or the new fly rod set-up ($1k) or the new Meateater knife($300), or Tying vice ($300), or new bow ($1k). Don’t even get me started on the lifted and capped Tundra limited I’ve been eyeing.

The thing is, I can easily “afford” all of these, in fact I could go and buy all of these items and far more by the end of day tomorrow. Now could I pay cash for everything? NO, I could not.

As a new father to a little girl and with twins on the way, I’ve recently been convicted of all the money I spend annually on these things I “need”. I’ve started listening to guys like Dave Ramsey and got intentional about my spending and finances.

This past week my wife and I paid off all of our debt except our Rent (College loans, CCs, Cars =$60,000) and I have never felt better. I don’t drive a lifted tundra anymore, and I feel funny picking up my hunting buddies in my old Honda Odyssey.

But I feel so FREE. There are savings in the bank, and I don’t owe anyone anything, my wife can be a STAHM with our growing family, and we can go anywhere!

If I can do this, as a 31 year old crazy gear guy who spends money like its going out of style, anyone can. In a world where you can finance your first lite underwear, it feels good to be different. I’m not judging anyone who buys stuff on credit, its not wrong. I personally needed to get to this place.



What are your thoughts on Debt? I often wonder if our specific demographic (avid hunters)carries more debt than the average person in our age group due to our insatiable hunger to be out there, getting it done and being successful. I also know some hunters who are the most frugal guys out there.


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Congrats. You've got it figured out. Now, stay on that path and don't forget the reasons you chose this path.

 

[dakotaduner]

Chrome, I don't think I could have said it much better. Just the way I was raised. At 50 years my wife and I have never had a credit card balance not paid at the end of the month. Have no debt and live just fine. I will admit we have worked more weekends by far than we have had off to get to this point. But that was our choice. During these down economic times I worry more about my employees than myself.

 

[KChunter71]

I really enjoy threads like this. I'm 29 myself and me and my wife just paid off everything we own besides the house last month. We just had our first baby back in October and that completely changed the way I view everything in my life. I picked up and extra job after I found out my wife was pregnant a year ago because I felt so much more pressure on me to provide. Since then I have consistently worked 60-80 hours a week not counting the regular farm duties I have. After working all those hours and being away from my family that much the past year I have came to realize I'd much rather chase my little boy than chase dollars. I'm a Respiratory Therapist and work in an ICU setting. I take care of a lot of people in end of life situations and I haven't taken care of the first on yet that said they wish they had worked more...

Glad your grabbing extra hours. The kids aren’t seeing major effects from Covid at this time. I just picked up OT the last few weeks. Some RT’s on leave and open shifts

 

[satchamo]

Man - look at all these responsible adults

 

[mlgc20]

Good for you. Keep it up. My one piece of advice. When you get to the point you are ready to buy a house, get a 15 year mortgage. In general, I think buying a home is a form of "good debt" in most cases. But, the difference between a 30 year and 15 year mortgage is staggering. The payment on a 15 year is typically only a couple hundred dollars per month more. But, you own your house 15 years earlier and the amount of $$$ you save on interest paid is unbelievable.