a real honest question with a short story

[kgblazerfive]

Ok I'll chime in here I have more money then I need to spend on the suggy build within reason I have bought just about everything that I need to build it, just have no time. Trying to finish the remodel, which should have been done last week working 50 plus this week on the phones on graves then during the day trying to sheetrock. Am still looking for help to fill in the shifts that I have open. We have also made a decision to be debt free in a year so all the other money that I was going to spend on the suggy now gets spent on debt's to pay off faster.

 

[ryoken]

my daughter is grown, and my girl makes better money than me... So this year I decided to go for it, pull the truck off the road, and try to do it the way I want..

I knew I was gonna drop a fair amount of cash.. But it may end up being double what I was originally guessing/hoping for.. It looks like I may put about 10 grand in the truck this year in the end.. Other than bills, EVERYTHING is going into the truck...

I've spent about 4500 on parts since x-mas, and it's looking like I'll have another 5 or 6 into it by the end of the year... But my plan is to be back on the road early next year, do or die... I'm just pounding as much OT as my body can handle... I always have WAY more work than I know what to do with... I could do 100hr weeks right now if I could survive it...

 

[scrappyk5]

I have a wife,three kids and three projects. Right now money is tight and will be for awhile. I do all my own wrenching, so all I have to do is pay for parts. My vette is the main one I can put money into cause it gets the best gas milage so its my d/d. I will say though when we have some extra money, I do get things a little at a time.

 

[hawkins]

at least Im glad Im not the only one. The bad thing is this boat is starting to look more like a ship with all of us! At least now I feel better.

 

[tRustyK5]

I have a wife and two kids (8 and 14). We make it from check to check with a little extra left over almost everytime. I see a somewhat regular amount of overtime throughout the year. It's not always available...but when it's not we just cruise along and don't make the extra purchases.

My project budget is almost enitrely OT driven. Bills and mortgage first...then project money.

Any part I sell goes back into truck project fund.

I always find there are plenty of things needing done that cost time but not a lot of money. I save these for when cash is tighter.

My two worst years for spending money on my truck were 2003 and 2006. $8K in '03 and $10K in '06. Sure doesn't look like I spent that much, but the little crap adds up so fast and is almost invisible after the fact.

Rene

 

[BGKYK5]

Three kids here (1mo, 4yr, and 6yr), real busy at work, living pretty much paycheck to paycheck, and trying to finish a master's degree. All my vacation time is spent on family stuff. Time = 0, Money = 0. A rear axle swap and trans swap (and a few other things) have taken me just over a year so far.

The good news is: when I finish my master's degee, I don't get a raise.

 

[desertrat67]

3 kids(two under 2), a wife, and for the logest I worked so much that I barely saw the family. I went 3 years without a truck, and one more before the one I bought was wheelable. The first two times I took it out I broke two axles each time , then it sat for 8 months again. It is also my DD so I had Dr, Pepper bottles cut up and plugging the font axle tubes and shop rags plugging the spindel holes. I leave for the desert(ya, that one) in less than two weeks, so it is going to sit for another 15 months without mods or usage. Oh, and at near $5 a gallon for diesel and 15 MPG I don't see me hitting any far off places anytime in the future either.

I feel you and completely understand the family drawing down on hobby time, but most of the time the time spent with the family makes up for it.

 

[Mike D]

As an old married guy here is the priority list we have to live by.
1.Family
2.Job
3.Bills
4.Honey do list. (If you don't know what it is, ask your wife.)
5.Your toys ( boats, trucks, cars, etc. )

Yes, life sucks, get over it!

 

[BGKYK5]

I agree with those priorities completely. It is the trade-off for the joys of family life.

My build may be slow, but my boys get to "help" me.

 

[lak2004]

No family yet, but I am always broke. I usually end up wasting most of my money at bars. I am starting to figure out the whole "saving" thing though, just bought an engine . But now I need stuff before I can put it in, plus the tools. And now I injured myself at work and am getting paid workmans comp. Problem is I only make about $7/hr and the rest comes from tips (usually $200-$300/wk) so i am getting killed right now.

Oh well, guess ill have a beer

 

[Mike D]

Here is a suggestion. Education pays. Most companies will give you a job and appreciate the profit you make for them, however without formal training ( college,or technical, or vocational school ) you are not promotable in their eyes. Job experience is a valuable asset but when a position opens most employers will hire some clown, fresh out of school, to be your boss. And to top it off you have to train him and he is paid 30 - 50% more than you.
Here is the bottom line - you and your wife should sit down and discuss both your futures. Make a list of things you (also your wife ) like to do (hobbies) that, with a little (2 years) training could get you the job of your dreams. If she is in a job she really likes is their extra training that would make her more promotable. Once you decide who should get the training first make a commetment and go for it. The other person should commit to assist all he(she) could. That means cut out the frills, pickup more of the household chores, get a second job stocking grocery shelves,etc. Do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to free up the other person so they can complete their training. In this day and age it takes both partners income to stay above water.
If anything - look at your expenses. Do you need HBO,Showtime, and Cinamax. It's summer now everything is repeat. Cellphones and landlined, if you get good cell reception drop your regular (landline) phone . If you love your phone number have it transfered to be your cell number.
Life is tough, marriage is tougher. Make a plan, even if it is to pay off bills for one year. Good luck.

 

[hawkins]

My boss already pays for my training and I have online gm training and various seminars through the year that I attend. I am an auto tech and make 20 and hour but when nobody brings their car I dont get paid. For example I billed out 13.2 hours this week. That means I gross 264. Ill cover rent and fuel this week. Glad my wife picked up a job today. Now while the shop is slow she can pick up my slack. Before my income was it and I took care of her and three kids.But to be fair it was for a time cheaper for her to stay home with them than to pay child care. Things will get better and I will get my k5 built.

 

[Got Smoke?]

I used to know what it was like to have money to spend on my trucks. Then I messed up and got married (to the wrong one) in '06...my divorce should be final by next month I'm hoping...no kids THANK GOD! Biggest reason for it was I got tired of killing myself to pay her debt she brought into the marriage (unbeknown to me) and pay our mortgage and bills. Pretty rough to admit the whole 8-9 months we were married and together we had ABSOLUTELY no money to go to the grocery store after paying the bills each month. Thank God for AWESOME parents! My house finally sold last week though(yeah I'm 24 and had to move back home for the time being) so I'm finally starting to get a little money built back up. I had quite a bit, then we went to Indy for the DHRA Diesel Nat's this past weekend......$200 for fuel....$250 for hotel....probably $200 eating out 3 days in a row......$230 I had to drop on the Dodge's frontend before leaving Thursday morning added up REALLY quick and now my truck insurance is due tomorrow......maybe I'll know what its like to have money again soon.

I hope to eventually find the RIGHT one someday and get married and have a family but I'm little burned right now and just want to live life a little and start restoring my K20.

 

[BGKYK5]

But to be fair it was for a time cheaper for her to stay home with them than to pay child care.

That is the boat we are in at the moment too. We'd love to have a second income, but it is not worth it for the little bit of money we'd come out ahead after child care to have somebody else raise our kids. We just need to get by for a few more years 'till they are all in school.

 

[mrdrinksalil]

Here is a suggestion. Education pays. Most companies will give you a job and appreciate the profit you make for them, however without formal training ( college,or technical, or vocational school ) you are not promotable in their eyes. Job experience is a valuable asset but when a position opens most employers will hire some clown, fresh out of school, to be your boss. And to top it off you have to train him and he is paid 30 - 50% more than you.
Here is the bottom line - you and your wife should sit down and discuss both your futures. Make a list of things you (also your wife ) like to do (hobbies) that, with a little (2 years) training could get you the job of your dreams. If she is in a job she really likes is their extra training that would make her more promotable. Once you decide who should get the training first make a commetment and go for it. The other person should commit to assist all he(she) could. That means cut out the frills, pickup more of the household chores, get a second job stocking grocery shelves,etc. Do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to free up the other person so they can complete their training. In this day and age it takes both partners income to stay above water.
If anything - look at your expenses. Do you need HBO,Showtime, and Cinamax. It's summer now everything is repeat. Cellphones and landlined, if you get good cell reception drop your regular (landline) phone . If you love your phone number have it transfered to be your cell number.
Life is tough, marriage is tougher. Make a plan, even if it is to pay off bills for one year. Good luck.

Good advice. Sooner off in life you do this the better, but dont let life pass you by while you're trying to get ahead. Everything in moderation.

I'm thankful for growing up on a dairy farm and learning real quick that hard work doesn't always equal out to making good money. I'm glad my parents pushed me to get a good education and that little piece of paper landed me a great job outta school. Student loans suck, but someday they'll be paid off and I'll still have my little piece of paper.

 

[lectric80]

That is the boat we are in at the moment too. We'd love to have a second income, but it is not worth it for the little bit of money we'd come out ahead after child care to have somebody else raise our kids. We just need to get by for a few more years 'till they are all in school.

We were in that position, until a couple years ago, then my wife got a job that works around my schedule. That way, we never pay for child care, one of us is always home.

 

[K-5 Bomber]

No kids, no woman I can work on my rig anytime I have off but $$ is short because I'm school and only work part time(at $12 an hour though with full benefits + career related experience so it's worth it). By August of next year I should be making many times what I am now, and have a nice schedule of 4 on/4 off

I thought about selling my K5.. but I'd regret it too fast and I really only have to wait a year or two till I can build it my way. I figure I'll build it once and do it right; for now I'll just fix the little stuff and run it stock(which is IMHO more than good enough for about 75% of the trails around here).

Right now I am lifting my Suburban up, 2" front, 3.5" rear.

O.k, all the married-with-children-and-been-workin-on-their-truck-for-ten-plus-years guys, lets move over to P.M.s and work out our blanket party plans for this guy

You're not alone. I've had mine for 10 years and two marriages now. First marriage, I couldn't wrestle ANY money for my truck...AND IT WAS MY DD! My wife now wouldn't have any trouble at all with me spending $$$ on it...except that the last one takes some much of my money now that I don't have much to work with. Heck, it took me 15 years to get a winch and I STILL don't even have that installed.

I really don't know what the answer is, but I do know this. It's the sacrifice that we as husbands and dads make in the interest of our children and our wives. O.k. so maybe it's not as heroic as defending our counrty, but I'm trying to accept this just as much as the next guy