How do you guys with the G23 afford these boats?? Am i missing some trick?? LMK

[GCSuper]

Possum Kingdom, North end. This is where I sit and watch the world go by.

[gate9869]

If you can point me to a decent lake house for $180K, I'll buy today!

I get your point though.

We got to Norris, Cumberland, and dale hollow. You can find nice small house there under 200k all day long. Don't get me wrong there are Plenty of 500k- million dollar homes to haha idk just find it hard to believe someone would invest 180 into a wakeboard boat. But hey I think the people who pay $500 for a golf club are crazy haha to each their own !!

[swc5150]

I guess I live in the wrong part of the country... Not as many lakes around here as there are up there.

We have a lake or two here in WI, thank goodness

[moto822]

Like the title states, I was curious as to what you guys do for a living to afford these g23's. I was wondering if you guys know something that i don't as far as affording one of these beauties. I make very good money and have no car payments and no debt other than a mortgage and there isn't a way i could fit on of these into my budget monthly. What are you guys doing?

Hey There 1Sicknautique,

I will tell you how I did it. I don't have a G23 but I did just upgrade my 08 Calabria to a new 2010 230 SANTE last year which had 2 hours on it. I work in the IT industry as an IT Consultant and do make a decent salary. I didn't want to spring for the whole thing myself at this time so I found a brother who splits the boat with me. I could have afforded the payment myself but I live in Wisconsin and we cannot ride year round. This leaves me with the decision of having a year round big payment or only half the payment. Over time either I will buy him out or he will buy me out and we will get our own boat. Now, not everyone has family but we do have friends. If you set the rules upfront you can make these type of deals work in the favor of both you.

On the side note, you can do this without putting a bunch down. We financed ours though a bank with "0" down and stretched it out 10 years and it kept our payment just under 500 a month. Boats are an expensive toy and it is pretty common to find someone in troubles that needs to dump it. Work of advice is to do your research and be patient. Great deals are out there, just make sure whatever you buy you get a deal that can be turned if you are in trouble.

Moto

[swc5150]

I kind of followed moto's, only my brother paid for the entire boat

[vision]

Work my *** off. Never buy anything with a loan. The latter can easily save your a few 100K over a decade.

[uncalumx2]

Work my *** off. Never buy anything with a loan. The latter can easily save your a few 100K over a decade.

Got a good education. " Bring it " every day at work. Try not to waste time not producing. Save up your money to buy your car s, boats and vacations.

[lucky7t]

I'm self employed and make great money. I have built my company with lots of blood sweat and tears. I work 6-7 days a week, sometimes till 1 or 2 am so my family can benefit.

I had an 03 nautique and kept it almost 4 years of which it was finally paid for. I got an offer for it and sold it. I took 35k and put it down on a repo 07 nautique and then sold the 07 shortly after and mad money on it. I then ordered our dream boat , a brand new nautique 210 and put 40k down and borrowed the rest.

[perry386]

Believe it or not....My last few brand new 230s have been bought well under what used ones are currently selling for...

A lot of people would likely choke if they saw the deal sheet I had on my last few boats.....

I believe you. A buddy of mine swaps out between a prostar and a crossover nautique every year and only loses about 100 bucks.

[JEbmwRX1]

Very well put... your insight is very respectable and for most is hard to comprehend. Build wealth, don't just spend it when received.

hi 1sicknautique. i agree with ffmedic that i'm sure we all just feel blessed to be able to get out on the water and have a good time. i don't know for sure but, i would imagine you are asking the question because you are young and considering what you are going to do for a living? i'm sure many on this site have high incomes through a variety of careers/industries. i am self-employed and have grown my business through years of blood, sweat, and tears. i've won and i've lost (big on the lost part). i recently spoke to a group of young people about career choices and i told them i felt the best chances for success are to stick with one thing and become better at it than anyone else. Don't jump around from one job to another. be the master of what you do. 2. fall in love with your work. be willing to give 80-100% (about the same level of energy, you probably give to your wakeboarding btw!). if you have passion for your work, people will naturally want whatever it is your business is selling. and 3. spend less than you earn. invest the difference. This one is not fun but, important for building wealth, unfortunately.

i'm no tony robbins, but that's my .02. i don't have a G23 but, i ordered one a couple of weeks ago (550 mtr) for spring as a personal reward. i had set a goal early in the year that if i could get an important contract for my company, i would get the G23 as a reward. i told my wife, i would not get the boat without the contract and believe me, she kept me to it (she has a hard time understanding what the big deal is on the G23...crazy, i know). i have a personal rule that i don't finance my personal items which is part of my belief system too.

don't know if that was the intent of your question but, if not, just ignore what i wrote .

[wakeboarder3780]

I don't think I ever responded to this but I consider myself successful in the financial department so I'll throw my $.02 in here. You have a lot of good advice already here but if you are indeed young enough that you have not set a career path, here is where my advice comes in.


The easiest way to a strong steady paycheck is a good paying career. To get that most people understand you need at a minimum a 4 year degree. I would agree with this but here is where most people break down. Most young adults go to college to find out what subjects they like and then get a degree in that field because it's enjoyable, assuming good money will come their way afterwards. It is not the college's goal to get you a well paying job. It is their goal to SELL education. Their only vested interest is to make sure you keep buying more tuition and secondarily at most that you get placed after you get a degree because that effects their stats but they don't care 2 pennies about how much you make.


In other words, not every MAJOR in college directly correlates to a well paying CAREER. What I think is smarter is to "reverse engineer" the logic most people follow. Instead of going to college "blind" and "finding what you love" and then getting a degree and hoping you find a good paying job later - do the opposite. Research the highest paying careers in the field today. Research what fields are disappearing and what fields are growing stronger or need more highly trained people in them. Obviously you will want to pick the career paths that are growing - not declining. Simple google searches of "best paying careers", etc will get you a long ways. Your plan should be to have at least 5 well paying careers you think you might be interested in.


Next up, figure out what schooling is necessary for them. For instance if you find a career of "software engineer or software developer" there might not be a degree in that - the degree in my neck of the woods that directly applies is a bachelors in "compuer science". Some of the "Information Systems" professors will try to sell you that their major will land you software development jobs - my advice is good luck with that once you're in the field. Also evaluate the length of degree necessary. Understand that more schooling means more expenses up front and more debt to cover later. Think of your life like a start-up business - more schooling means higher barrier to entry (to the job market - which is your goal) and higher risk (of the job landscape changing before you get your degree - remember it will be a while before you graduate and things change). If all 5 of your careers require a 4 year degree to get in the field, great. If some require masters, or doctorates, rate those as lower priority on your list of 5 and try those last. Be very clear on specifically what DEGREE you need to get the CAREER you are researching and get multiple opinions. Calling multiple colleges even if you arent going to them and talking to multiple departments inquiring what is necessary is a good start however even better is calling for potential job postings and asking the COMPANIES what they want and what degrees they are looking for. You may find out they even favor a particular school as they find that shool's program a "best fit" for their company.


Finally, when you get to college, instead of taking all gen-eds your first year, factor in the "101" equivalent of each of your 5 interests into the year and make sure you try them all. From there your second year you can focus tightly on 2 of them and still take some classes in each field - this is very important because a lot of times "101" does not reflect the real world of that career. For instance I am a software developer. My computer science 101 class included silly things such as spreadsheets, and other stuff you don't actually work with in the real world. My next class I actually started programming and I found out what my career was all about - and fell in love.


By the end of your second year you want to have your major declared and go hard at it. At this point you should have a minimum of 2-3 classes in that major already under your belt so you should *not* be behind in the curriculum and on target for graduation. A note on schooling - resist the urge to go above and beyond what is necessary to get in the field at an average entry point. For instance I could have gotten into the field with a bachelors in computer science or gone "above and beyond" for a masters and invested 2 more years of schooling. RESIST THIS URGE. While you may think this makes you more marketable in the job market, the opposite can actually be true. The problem is that companies don't like to hire someone with a masters because they have zero field experience (the real world is very different from that of your books) and the company feels obligated to give them more money for their higher degree. In essence it can make you LESS marketable. Furthermore most companies understand the value of training and will literally pay for any schooling in your field you want. That's right if you're bent on getting a masters - your company will literally pay your way after you start working for them. The last reason I make this point is because after a short 5 years in the industry, no one even cares what your degrees are / were or what your grades were - all they care about is what you've done and how your previous employer evaluates your performance. This may be tightly related to the software development / IT industry but at least in my experience this holds true.


Last couple tidbits - while you are in college - do actually focus on becoming a master of your topic of study in between parties / relationships and all the other fun distractions that can come with college. I'm not saying don't have fun - but make darn sure you are learning what you need to. That means if you're totally confused and feel like you don't understand something - raise your hand and ask dumb questions. If you feel you need to - take an entire class over again the following semester to make sure you get it. If you are faced with a choice of getting "good grades" by taking the easy professors or getting worse grades and learning more by taking the harder professors do the latter. Your grades don't mean squat when you're in the real world and you need to perform. If you think you can fake it till you make it you're wrong. I know guys that took the easy professors and even went as far as cheating on tests to get good grades. I have followed them as facebook "friends" after college and I guarantee you I'm making an abundance more than them simply becuase I chose to focus on learning instead of grades. Furthermore, when interviewing for a job position it's a heck of a lot easier to interview when you're confident you know your stuff other than hoping you can rely on good grades alone to float you a job. Become a master of your topic in school. That will carry over and fuel you during your career. If you do it right it will carry your entire life and "money" will be the last of your worries.


In my opinion it's all about being pragmatic in your preparation. If you prepare like above, I doubt you'll have problems finding financial success and a G will be the least of your concerns if that's something you really want.

[Woody_tobius_jr]

Great write up! I wish I could have had this advice back when I was in school.

[bradw]

I don't think I ever responded to this but I consider myself successful in the financial department so I'll throw my $.02 in here. You have a lot of good advice already here but if you are indeed young enough that you have not set a career path, here is where my advice comes in.


The easiest way to a strong steady paycheck is a good paying career. To get that most people understand you need at a minimum a 4 year degree. I would agree with this but here is where most people break down. Most young adults go to college to find out what subjects they like and then get a degree in that field because it's enjoyable, assuming good money will come their way afterwards. It is not the college's goal to get you a well paying job. It is their goal to SELL education. Their only vested interest is to make sure you keep buying more tuition and secondarily at most that you get placed after you get a degree because that effects their stats but they don't care 2 pennies about how much you make.


In other words, not every MAJOR in college directly correlates to a well paying CAREER. What I think is smarter is to "reverse engineer" the logic most people follow. Instead of going to college "blind" and "finding what you love" and then getting a degree and hoping you find a good paying job later - do the opposite. Research the highest paying careers in the field today. Research what fields are disappearing and what fields are growing stronger or need more highly trained people in them. Obviously you will want to pick the career paths that are growing - not declining. Simple google searches of "best paying careers", etc will get you a long ways. Your plan should be to have at least 5 well paying careers you think you might be interested in.


Next up, figure out what schooling is necessary for them. For instance if you find a career of "software engineer or software developer" there might not be a degree in that - the degree in my neck of the woods that directly applies is a bachelors in "compuer science". Some of the "Information Systems" professors will try to sell you that their major will land you software development jobs - my advice is good luck with that once you're in the field. Also evaluate the length of degree necessary. Understand that more schooling means more expenses up front and more debt to cover later. Think of your life like a start-up business - more schooling means higher barrier to entry (to the job market - which is your goal) and higher risk (of the job landscape changing before you get your degree - remember it will be a while before you graduate and things change). If all 5 of your careers require a 4 year degree to get in the field, great. If some require masters, or doctorates, rate those as lower priority on your list of 5 and try those last. Be very clear on specifically what DEGREE you need to get the CAREER you are researching and get multiple opinions. Calling multiple colleges even if you arent going to them and talking to multiple departments inquiring what is necessary is a good start however even better is calling for potential job postings and asking the COMPANIES what they want and what degrees they are looking for. You may find out they even favor a particular school as they find that shool's program a "best fit" for their company.


Finally, when you get to college, instead of taking all gen-eds your first year, factor in the "101" equivalent of each of your 5 interests into the year and make sure you try them all. From there your second year you can focus tightly on 2 of them and still take some classes in each field - this is very important because a lot of times "101" does not reflect the real world of that career. For instance I am a software developer. My computer science 101 class included silly things such as spreadsheets, and other stuff you don't actually work with in the real world. My next class I actually started programming and I found out what my career was all about - and fell in love.


By the end of your second year you want to have your major declared and go hard at it. At this point you should have a minimum of 2-3 classes in that major already under your belt so you should *not* be behind in the curriculum and on target for graduation. A note on schooling - resist the urge to go above and beyond what is necessary to get in the field at an average entry point. For instance I could have gotten into the field with a bachelors in computer science or gone "above and beyond" for a masters and invested 2 more years of schooling. RESIST THIS URGE. While you may think this makes you more marketable in the job market, the opposite can actually be true. The problem is that companies don't like to hire someone with a masters because they have zero field experience (the real world is very different from that of your books) and the company feels obligated to give them more money for their higher degree. In essence it can make you LESS marketable. Furthermore most companies understand the value of training and will literally pay for any schooling in your field you want. That's right if you're bent on getting a masters - your company will literally pay your way after you start working for them. The last reason I make this point is because after a short 5 years in the industry, no one even cares what your degrees are / were or what your grades were - all they care about is what you've done and how your previous employer evaluates your performance. This may be tightly related to the software development / IT industry but at least in my experience this holds true.


Last couple tidbits - while you are in college - do actually focus on becoming a master of your topic of study in between parties / relationships and all the other fun distractions that can come with college. I'm not saying don't have fun - but make darn sure you are learning what you need to. That means if you're totally confused and feel like you don't understand something - raise your hand and ask dumb questions. If you feel you need to - take an entire class over again the following semester to make sure you get it. If you are faced with a choice of getting "good grades" by taking the easy professors or getting worse grades and learning more by taking the harder professors do the latter. Your grades don't mean squat when you're in the real world and you need to perform. If you think you can fake it till you make it you're wrong. I know guys that took the easy professors and even went as far as cheating on tests to get good grades. I have followed them as facebook "friends" after college and I guarantee you I'm making an abundance more than them simply becuase I chose to focus on learning instead of grades. Furthermore, when interviewing for a job position it's a heck of a lot easier to interview when you're confident you know your stuff other than hoping you can rely on good grades alone to float you a job. Become a master of your topic in school. That will carry over and fuel you during your career. If you do it right it will carry your entire life and "money" will be the last of your worries.


In my opinion it's all about being pragmatic in your preparation. If you prepare like above, I doubt you'll have problems finding financial success and a G will be the least of your concerns if that's something you really want.

My parents always asked me what i wanted to do when i left school and i had no clues they were pretty chilled and were keen to let me follow my own path so long as I didnt expect to go snowboarding/wakeboard every day and/or sit at home doing bugger all! I quit school and did a diploma and then used the that to go to uni. 5.5years on im now a senior electrical engineer with other engineers reporting to me.

I worked my butt off for ten years to get to where i've got to but now ive got a decent job, a G23 on order and a pretty decent investment portfolio. If you want something bad enough you'll make it happen.

The worst decision i made was to sell a boat and not buy another one! its taken FAR to long to get another!

[lucky7t]

I too am self employed. I didnt finish college due to my business growing. I agree college is a large factor but also disagree that its the only way to be successful. Hard work is the key period. Nothing in life is free! You want it then go get it. I built my company from nothing 11 years ago. Truly don't sleep much and work a minimum of 80 hours a week. I don't take vacations, I work New Year's Day , etc..

I don't own a g23 but could buy one tomorrow if I wished. I started with an 03 to try it out then an 07 of which I completely restored and gel coated myself that was abused by PO.

I made 18k in the 07 so bought new 210.

Personally I don't have an issue with financing items as long as the interest makes sense.

My 2 cents

[V8 Killer]

I'm closest to lucky7t. Self-employed, college drop-out (with full scholarship++++). Started my first business at 18 with $500 I made as a waiter. Made $47k first year with nothing but hard work and trying trying trying. Made $120k in year 2 at 19, quit my weekend waiter job and dropped college. Figured I had no business in college if I was making more than all my professors who were supposed to be giving me the tools to make a living.

Currently have several businesses, most are investments, I only focus daily on my main company which has grown year over year for 14 years straight. Bought my first Ferrari at 25, my first boat (new XStar) at 28. I buy a new boat every 3 years, my new G23 (and first CC product) is sitting at Buxton right now (waiting on a trailer which is grinding on me hard but that's another topic).

Advice / Rules:
#1: There are no shortcuts or hand-outs (unless you have the right last name by luck of the sperm)
#2: WORK YOUR *** OFF (see #1)
#3: LOVE what you do (it helps a LOT when it comes to rule #2...if you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life)
#4: Trust yourself first but take care of those that take care of you
#5: Unlike someone here said - YES you do borrow money. You use other peoples' money to make you more money. Let those suckers make their 3%. If you're savvy you turn their 3% into double digits for yourself. Paying cash is nice, I've done it. But what someone that always pays cash clearly does not understand (no offense) is this valuable metric called Opportunity Loss.
#6: Money isn't everything - it does not buy happiness - but it does buy health (your most important and least replenishable asset), mental and physical comfort, and a lot of life experiences (in the end, that's what you'll have (well that and the hottest nurse you can afford (just kidding...sorta)))

Best,

Dusty