You might have gone on a cruise once and you loved to make waves on the waters. Going on a cruise can be a fun thing. You can arrange a party at your yacht, go fishing, wakeboarding, skiing, tubing, or just floating on the waters. After a long winter, it is a great time to enjoy summers with your family or friends on the boat.
The fact is that the boats are comparatively expensive. If you have decided to buy a boat then don’t let your budget sink in. Make sure that you don’t sink your budget when you for buying. You might look up a nice and expensive boat but you can find one in your budget too. You can become a boat owner by not going beyond your savings or budget.
Saving Money While Owning a Boat
Do Your Research
Doing your research is not only for buying a boat but also for the accessories you will be needing for your perfect boating experience. While deciding on buying a boat, you don’t have to choose an exact made or model for your first purchase. You can look for other options too and within your budget.
There will be a lot of different variants of one make or model. It will attract you and will be fascinating for you. Also, you will get an idea of what kind of boat you will be needing for boating. Spend some time researching the options and calculate the cost of buying and owning a boat. If you are planning to buy it on the lease, look up the upfront costs and monthly payments. Are they payable?
When you research buying a boat, look for the maintenance, insurance, storage, fuel, add-on products, and boating lessons that you will be needing for perfect boating.
Saving Goals
Once you are done doing your homework, you should start working on making a realistic saving goal that will help you to own a boat. If you are thinking to lease a boat, then you can easily do it within a month or two. On the other hand, if you are planning to own the boat on cash, you will have to set a timeline in which you will start saving from your income.
Making a timeline will help you to know the period in which you will be ready to own the boat. You will divide the total cost of the boat into months and start saving. If the cost is too high, you will need more time to save.
If you are only able to put away a little amount of savings each month, you can invest your saving in an investment fund, share saving certificates, etc. It will help you to grow your money.
Review Monthly Budget
Now you have to see that how much money you earn and spend each month. If you already having a budget, then you are clear about your savings and spending. In case you are not tracking your expenses, you will have to keep a track of your income and expenses for a couple of months. For this, you will have to keep the invoices and receipts.
You know your spending habits or lease payments you have to pay each month. Before you own a boat, look for the income and expenses of each month. It will help you to know if you can afford a boat and its maintenance expenses.
Identify the Trouble Areas
When you are done tracking your monthly expenses, you will get to know that where you have been spending money the most. If they are avoidable for savings, you can easily cut back. For example, if you are having fixed expenses of insurance premiums and mortgage payments, then you cannot do anything about it.
If you are spending more on entertainment, new clothing, groceries, and some luxuries, then you can avoid them for a while to save for your boat. All you have to do is to look for the category that is draining your wallet. When you figure it out, you will be able to cut back on savings.
Trim Your Budget
When you have figured out the category that is draining your wallet, you will be able to cut the extra expenses in your monthly income. To tighten the strings, you can look for other options to start saving. You will have to keep looking for extra expenses to reach your monthly saving goals.
Boost Your Income
After setting a savings goal, you can speed up the savings for owning a boat. There are plenty of ways to earn extra money. You can work on weekends, start consulting in your area or do freelancing. These extra jobs will help to fill up your pockets. When you are doing extra jobs, you should be putting them away in savings instead of using them up.
With extra income and savings, you will not have to wait for months to own a boat, but you will be sailing the waters in your boat a whole lot sooner.
Goal Achieved
When your saving plans go according to your requirements, you can start looking for your dream boat. If you find a cheaper boat than you have anticipated, buy it. The extra money in savings will help you to maintain the boating or you can start saving more for other upgrades.
Boat Maintenance and Other Expenses
Once you own a boat, remember that you will have added expenses. There will be operating expenses once you have got the boat you have been dreaming about. It can be 15 to 20% of the value of the boat. This rule of thumb can vary on the size and variant of the boat.
You will have to pay launch and hauling fees, dockage fees, boat covers, maintenance like hull cleaning, batteries, repairs, engine, transportation, boat insurance, winterizing, marina fees, state boat registration and documentation, fuel and oil cost, safety equipment, trailer registration, and other equipment for skiing, tubing, fishing, etc.
Boat Storage
The boat also needs a home and owning a boat can be a constant drain of cash. It will not improve the life of the boat or increase your enjoyment. There are plenty of money-saving options to store your boat with a limited budget. A boat trailer is one of the best options to save money. You can easily transport it from one place to another.
The boat trailer will help you to fill up the fuel tank of the boat on the land. The marina gas prices are a dollar more per gallon. Hence, you will be saving money on gas.
Usage of Moorings Instead of Slips
Using slips is a great option because they are quick, convenient, and easy. Your boat is always plugged in with batteries so that you can enjoy it on the weekend, but the slips are expensive. You will be able to save a lot of money on a mooring because they save 50 to 90 percent of the season’s slip cost in the marina.
Avoid Mysterious Marine Labels
Putting a Marine label on the products doubles the prices. The original products manufactured for boats are labeled with marine. Some of the products come with the marine label but they cannot be up to the standards to keep your boat safe from malfunctions. You have to be careful not to spend money on fake marine-labeled products.
Boat Ownership – Not as Easy as It Seems to Be
Owning a boat cannot be an easy thing to do. Firstly, you will need to save money to own a boat and to sail on the waters. When you own a boat, you will have to look for options where you can save money. Instead of paying extra money for new equipment and gadgets, you can go for second-hand equipment.
Keep in mind that owning a boat will also require maintenance because you don’t want to be stranded or drowned in the waters. Saving money and making a budget for owning a boat are necessary.