material possesions

[cpa]

I have been planning on going cruising for some time (my whole life). I am planning on taking off for the Bahamas next month and start an open ended cruise. The problem is that i planned on selling my motorcycle/little sailboat to help fund it and eventually my car. My problem is that i am having a hard time selling them. Well, i guess you could say i really dont want to. I really dont care for any other material possesions, but bikes, cars,and boats are my passion. I would put them in storage, but i know that they would go to crap from non use. Any advice from people out there who had to give up their smaller passions for the big one?

[irwinsailor]

It has been very hard for me. I have been trying to get rid of stuff for 3 years. I have been selling real estate but not my stuff, so my plan at this time is to sell the house that we are in and fill the house that I bought for my retirement. There will not be enough room to walk in the place but I will have all my stuff. I think I must be nuts. I also hope that once I get out cruising that all my stuff will become less important and I will be able to get rid of it in a year or two.

[sv_makai]

We decided that when we left if we weren't going to use it in the next 2 years we would get rid of it. Short of antiques most stuff goes bad especially electronics being in storage.

Donate and sell. They money and the tax write off are worth the effort.

[BC Mike]

Been there done that. It is always a pain.
We are downsizing up here. Got a farm and a bunch of stuff to dispose of. Just curious, what kind of bike and car.
Michael

[JohnWms]

When I bought my current boat a year ago I sold what was essentially a complete recording studio. It was hard to part with some of the old instruments and gear that I've had and used for many years throught many projects.

It got easier when I came to the realization that the gear didn't equate to music and, much more significant, the gear didn't define me.

Nothing is irreplaceable. The next bike, car, whatever, might actually be better.

[ssullivan]

Best advice is... DO IT! As much as you are attached to anything that won't fit on your boat, you must part with it. If you can't bear to see a stranger take it, maybe give it to a family member?

Placing things in storage is definitely not the answer. Things will rot away, while all the time draining your cruising kitty with relentless monthly payments. At least if you sell them, others may enjoy the car or motorcycle instead of them going to waste for sentimental reasons.

After you do get rid of the stuff, you'll find the feeling of freedom you have brings you more satisfaction than the old stuff did anyway.

[cpa]

BC Mike C once whispered in the wind:
Been there done that. It is always a pain.
We are downsizing up here. Got a farm and a bunch of stuff to dispose of. Just curious, what kind of bike and car.
Michael

possesions in question:
M3, suzuki gsxr600, and 29er

I took the bike to work today(boohoo)

[markpj23]

I agree with Sean - JUST DO IT! Even if it takes longer than you expect....

In 2000 we held the mother of all garage sales in Phoenix, sold the house, quit my job and headed back to Florida to find the 'right' boat and sail away.

One family crisis, a stint as grandparents raising a 7-yr old, having to reposess the house, a new (and better) job and 5 short years later - we're going to do it again!!

Didn't miss a thing from what we sold... amazing how the junk accumulates. Will have another big garage sale and don't expect to miss anything from this one either. It's only STUFF.

The important things - the people you love, the feeling you get while at sea - can't be found or lost at any garage sale.

2 weeks to go before closing on the boat... Maybe we can pool our stuff for one killer garage sale??

[Boracay]

My experience is that the best places for things that you cannot bear to part with are...
1) Parents gararge
2) Trusted friends
3) High quality, checked storage.
4) Other relatives
Do keep in mind that no-one, repeat no-one, will look after your treasures as you would.
In retrospect however I would probably have been better off to sell to a complete stranger and invest the money.

[irwinsailor]

I guess that I am hedging my bet by keeping much of my stuff. But I like my stuff and it took me a lifetime to get what I wanted. If we don't like cruising as much as we think we will we will not need to start from square one. We are fortunate that we can afford to keep that stuff warm dry and safe while we go out and see the world.

[ssullivan]

cpa once whispered in the wind:
possesions in question:
M3, suzuki gsxr600, and 29er

I took the bike to work today(boohoo)

Oooooh. Fun stuff! M3 and GSXR600. Nice.

But... they are all "land toys." I had a Kawasaki ZX myself. Also had a Mini Cooper all tricked out. Had a pair of hand matched NHT 1.5 speakers that you simply could not buy and the rest of the stereo equip to go with them. They were put on oscilliscopes at the factory and selected from hundreds of speakers because the sound went together so well.

I sold it all and don't regret a thing. Life gets infinitely more simple as you get rid of all the land crap. It's almost impossible to explain the feeling. All kinds of worries leave. All the stress you have from maintaining the stuff and keeping it safe vanishes. Other cruisers can probably vouch for this feeling I'm describing. It only comes when you move onto the boat, and sell off all your land crap.

With quality toys like you have, you can convert them into much needed cruising cash. I'm sure there is a great demand for a GSXR and M3.

Or... let me put it to you in a way a cpa can relate to: If it depreciates while you are away, it makes no logical sense to keep it, right?

Seriously, that's how I first looked at the situation. I sold everything that would depreciate since it is a rather useless loss of assets. The M3 probably has the steepest curve. That one's sure got to go. The bike, may not have as steep a curve, but I'd suggest that you can take the money you get for the bike, properly guard it against inflation, and buy a similar bike when you return if you so desire.

Ok... sorry for the ramble. Again, one of these threads really hit home, so I offered as much as I could to help you through the tough task of selling all the land junk. I struggled too, but then logic won out. If it didn't have a use on the boat, it was sold.

Once you part with a few of the items, you'll soon be on your way to a huge liquidation as you see how good it actually feels to get rid of stuff.

[delmarrey]

"Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose."

Janis Joplin


The only things that I have trouble parting with are my machine and hand tools. I'll have to keep some hand tools just to maintain the boat, but the lathe and mills, I won't be able to build parts anymore

Materialism is a big down fall here in the Americas, and the rest of the world is following suite......................_/)

[BC Mike]

From " Bobby McGee " written by Chris Christofesen, also sung by Gordon Lightfoot and the name of my brothers boat.
Michael

[jim lee]

Let it go!!

I sold it all and don't regret a thing. Life gets infinitely more simple as you get rid of all the land crap.

I agree with this 100%!! For me it got addicting letting it all go. Suddenly you get this unbelivable free feeling.

Your not-so-free friends will think you are completly whacked. The people around us just freaked out. How anyone could just dump such cool stuff was beyond them. At least this gave us a good place to unload stuff. You want it? Take it! Have fun!

When we went crusing we tossed -evrything- out. treasures that took a lifetime to accumlate. There was one small stache of ultimate treasures that we saved at my brothers house. After returning he reminded me about it. I'd completly forgotten. When I picked them up all I could thing was "What in the world did I save all this old C$%p for?" And tossed it.

For me it was all about peeling off the old life and starting a new one. I couldn't do that if I kept junk from the past. The junk would have made it pointless.

Standing on deck and knowing that the boat and what's in it is -all- you own... One of the best feelings ever. (For me that is, I really miss it.)

-jim lee

[BC Mike]

In the end you end up as a bunch of paperwork in a file that your executor looks after. That person makes all kinds of decisions about your possesions, your finances your taxes, all to do with your estate. You will learn to deal with these things during your life or others, likely the executor, will do it for you.
I have owned a 33 Ford, a mint 37 Ford Hearse, the fastest open GP bike in the Pacific North West, and other such stuff over the years. If you do not have an immediate practical use for it, get rid of it. That is what I will be doing most of 006. I will keep the truck and trailer because I need to get the boat to the coast. Had a 53 Bentley for over 20 years. Hang on to the tools as well, they may have sentimental value.
Michael, executor as part of my day job.