help.........i need some life advice.
 

i have a hard decision to make. i need some money.

well let me tell you my position, i am going in for knee surgery on thursday. i blew my knee out a month ago. the problem is i work mainly on commission. the thing is that i cant work with a bad knee.

so the advice i need, is do i sell all or most of my gear and pay my bills. i just don't know what to do. or should i sell all my tools? has any one ever been in this situation......kinda a rock and a hard place. i don't want to sell all my stuff, but i also don't want to loose my car...ect.

any advice would be appreciated........kinda wondering if i poured some lead if i could sell it. just don't know how to go about it......i have about 1000lbs of lead, along with about 15 molds...


thanks for any help and or suggestion's. i don't mean to sound like i am a whiner.



jeremy:bigear:

For "Life Advice" stay away from melting lead. It is extremely toxic.

I used to melt lead in the garage with my dad when I was a kid. That's why I am so screwed up today!

Yeah, stay away from the melting lead. In fact, you would be better off selling the lead to the scrap yard and buying a GoPro (they're cheap). Go paddle around and film some Great Whites and become famous!

Oh, and sorry 'bout the knee...

lead goes for about $1 a pound on ebay. (clean)

Save your gear as fishing may or may not be your stress release during tough times. But I'm sure we all wish you the best.

wow, this is right up my alley. I teach economics in high school and used to at local junior college (you know, until the budget cuts!!). here's the thing(s) to consider.

I give my students a scenario. I'll give you $200 now or $500 in two months. You take the money now there's nothing later. You wait, you get 2.5 times the money. what do you do?

well, there's really no "right" answer. if you've got nothing going on, and the $200 would be "nice" but is not needed, you wait. in other words, you really are giving up less. but, let's say your car needed new brakes, and you needed the car for work...well, you take the money now because sure you're "losing" another $300 but in the interim you'd be losing much more with work. waiting would mean giving up much more. (it's called opportunity cost)

now, obviously you NEED the money now. you don't work, you're going to lose a few months pay, for arguments sake, say $4000. so, you keep the gear( let's say it's worth $2500), don't work, you're out $1500. yeah this is hypothetical and all, but you can certainly translate it to your situation.

you sell the gear (which in this market today will fetch ALOT less than what you paid for it, which is irrelevant either way) for let's say, half or $1250. so, you get the surgery, you're up $4000 by working and to replace the gear, you spend another $2500. now, you're up $1500.(ignore the sales value as that's spent to get your knee fixed.)

but you see the point. what ever the numbers, I'd bet that not working will be far more costly. so, get the knee fixed now.

okay, option 3.

let's say you put the bill on a credit card. some things you have to. and it might make sense. let's say you put $3000 on it for the surgery. budget a 1-2 year payoff. let's say you pay at 15% interest (which compounded, monthly, yada yada, is about roughly $1000). you are forgoing some future options. however, you are both healed AND fishing. and even if you spend $1000 in interest, it's way less than replacing all the gear. so you're up $4000 (and more over time) working, you're not out the $2500 in gear, AND you're still fishing (which is value in and of itself. not measurable in dollars, but no matter. it's represents gain.) now, you have to factor that maybe the CC means that you go out to dinner a couple times less a month, or well, fill in the blank.

sometimes it's not about option A now vs. option B now. soemtimes it's about option C in the future. it all depends on how valuable the future is. we call that the future discount rate, or time preference. right now you're very present oriented. the extra $1000 of future satisfaction you are giving up is far less than the loss you'd sustain otherwise.

think of it this way, you're giving up some smaller chunk of the future for a greater chunk of the present. but, you'll be better off in the future as well. long winded answer. sorry. hope it helped.

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Listen to Rob, He's of Nobler Character :notworthy:

simpler economics....
 

I call the above economic dissertation CASH FLOW....Profit without good cash flow is useless... ( I turn down big customers that want net 90 or 120 day payments, not worth it in this economy)

All I can say is you can always buy more play toys, or tools, especially with a good knee!!

You might make a list of different scenarios looking at cost over time, etc...Like the good advice above!

Also, most medical places take payments with little interest...just act poor!!

Best wishes....:cheers1:
cowboybill

Save the gear and look into state disability insurance, If you worked on the up an up with a good company, thats deducted from you check anyway. not much but it helps.. oh and stay out strip clubs...

Two things....

When my house was under threat from the wildfires and I was evacuated, first thing I grabbed was my fishing(spearing) gear. While staying at a friends house for a week I was kicking myself that I did not throw the kayak up on my racks. I was sure it would just be a melted puddle when I returned.

My knees were pretty shot. Tremenous pain and they would buckle under me and I would fall flat on my face. They kept getting worse and worse over the years. Doctors anti-imflamatories over time only gave me a bleeding stomach. I was facing surgery.
On a whim, I took Glucosamine/Chondroitin and Omega 3 Fish oil's and within 30 days I was almost 100%. Today I run and play soccer.
Medical report have said Glucosamine doesn't do anything, but I'm completely sold on the stuff.

Sell off your fishing gear including your kayak. I am sure you have more important things to worry about. You can get deals on kayaks and fishing gear year around. :);)

Listen to Rob
 

Never sell your gear. Someday you might just want fresh fish and that is the only way to get it. Sometimes able to be out on the water is the one thing that will keep you sane during adversity. Of course it will always help if theres a good bite on. Robs econimics briefing was excellent though>
Good luck.
C

File your FMLA paperwork for temp disability payments while not working. I just did the same thing, hmm we must be related. Sell other stuff first on Craigslist before you let all the toys go. Keep at least one toy.

Dear economist, the economy is a failure...LOL.

Rob, this one found you! :notworthy:

Keep some gear so you can still fish.
If the times get rough, it's a medication.
Great therapy - you ho what you enjoy, even get rewards for putting the time in.

But then, with an injury,
you can't really use it
and you need money:help:
tough one

same position once upon a time ,disability ,unemployment bens ,all money on the wings , fishing gear and tools are a dime on the dollar ,med bills on payment plan ,if you make enough to rebuy in 2 or 3 months you can always upgrade ,if not hold on to what you got .Some bills you just can't duck ,but dining habit changes will help but cash in hand for those right now needs is different . Sell now to pay car and rent will only get you through a month or so ,check your options for alternate cash . Good luck and god bless

Start an emergency fund after you get through this. I hope everything works out for now.

I was a financial situation that had me stressed like never before. I was laid off Feb 29th 2009 and didn't find a job until Sept 1st 2009. Bills started backing up, mortgage fell behind, kid in college(CSULB), car notes, utilities, creditors calling...etc. I finally decided to sell my 22' Wellcraft Center Console, sold it dirt cheap but got more than I thought I was in this economy. It was tuff but it was the right decision and it was a decision that paid off tremendously. I got all of my credit card companies to settle, got my home loan modification done, I got the money for my daughters tuition 2days before it was due or die.

Although my boat is gone I can still go out fishing spending 75% less than I used to when I used my boat. If you sell your gear your can always get something later, take a minute to think about what you want, what you need and what you can do without. I damn near cried when I saw my boat leaving my driveway knowing it wasn't coming back but 3 weeks later I'm in a better situation than I was a few months ago, zero credit card debt, mortgage paid up to date and my daughter back in school.

most medical providers have a cse worker who's sole job is to hook uninsured folkswith MEdicare or MediCal. Have you enquired with your docabout tha yet? Even if you don't have it a the time of the surgery, just knowing you've applied for it is enough for most providers top help ou avoid any huge out of pocket expenses.

Doing the right thing is easy....Pay your bills, no matter if you have to sell fishing gear or not.