Should I buy?

[MHarryE]

Took an early retirement in 2009. Plan had been to do a considerable amount of traveling. Now, 4 years later, I have not set foot on a plane since returning from my last business trip although I have around 1,000,000 frequent flier miles banked. When I took overseas assignments my wife and I took advantage of our locations. Since we haven't traveled the money we budgeted keeps growing. I keep getting more involved with my limited partnerships in 2 relative's farms but instead of driving farm owned tractors I am thinking of buying my own medium ag tractor, use it for much of the farm work where I now drive, then pick up some additional acreage and use farm owned implements. Have in mind a M135GX with most of the options with which it can be loaded. Des this make any sense or should I trade my pickup for an Escalade, buy an expensive fishing boat, and go sit on the lake for days at a time? The price of the Escalade plus boat is about equal to the tractor. Funny thing is my wife says okay to the tractor thinking I know what I am doing, this after being married over 40 years so she should know better by now. What do y'all think? Do I have Alzheimer's or des this sound rational? By the way, I have had beer for $40 a glass in Oslo, got so sick from drinking tap water in Johannesburg that I spent most of a 22 hour flight Joburg to Atlanta in a business class crapper, have taken off on a runway with vehicles armed with machine guns escorting us down the taxiway and to insure against people rushing the plane, have been in Moscow during a government overthrow, have been threatened by a US Army colonel to fix his fleet of machines right or I'm going to Iraq with them, and with the help of a 70 year old Orlando taxi driver bet up 3 Paris street punks. So is the quieter life of circling fields in order? Does anyone else look at this as fun?

 

[skyhook]

Wow, here's my thought's...lol
Get the tractor, sometimes sitting behind one is relaxing...
an open field and that country air is pretty hard to beat these days.
You can always buy a 14 foot boat and motor for those fishing getaways.
Plus, you'll have a nice tractor to pull it to the lake.

 

[TripleR]

Sounds like you have had a pretty exciting life. Mine does not parallel yours, but I have had all the excitement I want and while I enjoyed my boats, motorcycles etc. when I was younger, I now find more relaxation on my tractors than anywhere else so I have spent money on them rather than other things.

There is certainly nothing wrong with the Escalade and sitting on the lake, it is just no longer for me; guess we gotta all choose the path that is right for us and enjoy it. My brother is 62 and has worked at often two jobs since he was sixteen and just bought a new tractor in preparation for his "retirement" at the end of the month. He will take a year off to catch up around the farm then start part time work driving tractors and grain trucks for surrounding farmers, that is what he enjoys.

 

[SanDucerro]

So is the quieter life of circling fields in order? Does anyone else look at this as fun?

It's all fun until the heat sets in - then it's work! Of course that's what CAB's are for! Personally speaking - I love to drive the tractor and work the fields - and - given the two options presented here, I'd go with the tractor. But then again - I don't like to fish, not enough action for my taste.

Having said that - those are MY choices. YOURS will depend on what you really want out of "retirement". Is it time to sit back and relax? Or is that just not in your nature?

Personally - I'd go crazy if all I had to do was fish on the lake. I realize there are millions of people out there who live to fish, but I'm not one of them.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I to did the World travel when younger. I still enjoy traveling as long as I can drive there in a day or two at the most. Small seats in planes are almost the worst punishment I can imagine so quit paying for punishment about ten years ago.
I've had the boat since I live near Lake Cumberland and as a wise man told me, why buy a boat when you can go to the dock, let them swipe your credit card, get on the filled boat, return, get off, sign the ticket and go home or where ever. My Brother retired here from Fed Gvmnt, he's bought two or three boats and sold them all after a year, give or take a year. He's a slow learner. He top travels alot on those free perks. He just returned from Barbados with E Coli which he's shared with his wife sooo he has now declared nevr to leave USA 50 states again.:laughing:
Any way, I bought my first Kubota about 10 years ago (a few years after retiring from Gvmnt, Teaching, Real Estate) and have bought several Kubotas since then. I still do some things like rental property and Personal Counseling but at my schedule.
Fishing, well to me I'd rather be beat even though I'm going to Crossville, Tn in a few weeks for a week with Grands to a Condo with it's own dock out the back door. I'll watch them fish, wife likes fishing.
If you like fishing then maybe that might work for you. Me, I'd take a tractor with implements any day over fishing.:cool2:

 

[fordmantpw]

Buy the tractor and dig your own lake for fishing!

Seriously, though, we can't answer the question for you. You will get a lot of "get the tractor" answers on this forum, but on the "boats and fishing" forum you posted on, they'll tell you to get the boat. We don't know what you enjoy, so we can't really tell you which way to go. You aren't crazy if you are doing what you enjoy and can afford it.

To keep both options open, maybe buy a used tractor, keep your current vehicle, and buy a smaller, less expensive boat. That way you can have your cake and eat it too!

 

[MHarryE]

With all the other BS I added, I didn't mention that I live on a river where I can walk 200 feet to my dock, get in my daughter's kayak or one of our 2 cheap boats and be out fishing. Well we have our seed wheat coming Wednesday and Thursday, unless it rains I will be out spreading fertilizer on Wednesday. I see a lot of agreement here to see if I can get the new tractor delivered to do at least part of our spring work. Thanks for the support. To be frank it scared me when my wife said, "Go ahead and do what you want. I trust you to do the right thing."

 

[TripleR]

Buy the tractor and dig your own lake for fishing!

Seriously, though, we can't answer the question for you. You will get a lot of "get the tractor" answers on this forum, but on the "boats and fishing" forum you posted on, they'll tell you to get the boat. We don't know what you enjoy, so we can't really tell you which way to go. You aren't crazy if you are doing what you enjoy and can afford it.

To keep both options open, maybe buy a used tractor, keep your current vehicle, and buy a smaller, less expensive boat. That way you can have your cake and eat it too!

Good points and I imagine the road to happiness may well lie somewhere in between.

We use to have a boat, pontoon, home on the lake etc. and enjoyed it, but sold it all some time ago. I like to fish and we have several lakes, but I haven't caught a fish in years; grandkids love it though and that makes me happy.

 

[dodge man]

If I were you, I'd go for it and buy the tractor. Farming is pretty much a two week a year job, a week in the spring and a week in the fall. Just kidding. I'd look at it this way, if the work you would be doing with your new tractor can be done when you feel like it, it would be good as part of retirement. If it ends up being something you have to work everyday at it for weeks on end, then it becomes a job and I wouldn't want that as part of retirement.

 

[bigbull338]

your putting in time working on 2 farms driving tractors alot.so i say buy that new tractor an enjoy working it.