Affording the wake lifestyle on a teachers salary?

Can it be done? Here's my situation...
Just got married about a year and 1/2 ago. My wife is about halfway through her elementary education program. I originally was going to school to be a secondary ed teacher. I soon realized that most teachers in my area could barely afford a small house payment, let alone any sort of toys. I got my associates degree about a year ago and decided I would stop there until I decided what it really was that I wanted to do. Well I'm considering going back in the fall, and maybe go into teaching. I would love to have summers off, but not if I can't afford to do anything!

Are there any public educators out there? Will I be able to afford feeding my boating addiction without having to eat bread crumbs for dinner?

Side note... I don't need a brand new boat. It's always been kind of fun for me to own an older inboard and shred it better than the folks out there with the 50k+ boats. I would probably just pay cash for any boat I bought.

Yes, I'm in education and yes, you can afford it. Make it happen!

My sister is a teacher and makes good money. She is tenured and has a masters though. I know from her experience that it starts out slow, but once you get over that original hump, it pays off in the end. Just start out slow, get a decent boat, like a older Nauty, PS 205, Sunsport or something like that. Once you get on the backside of the hump, then you can look at upgrading.

Sure it can be done. You just have to have moderation in everything (used boat, used car, etc). My wife is a teacher and love the time off in the summer. Family time on the water in the summer is great. I wouldn't trade that for anything. Just decide what's important; used boat vs. new car, bigger house, expensive vacations, etc. Good luck.

Bryce, your last sentence tells a lot. If you pay cash for it, you can afford it, that simple. With your attitude, you will be enjoying great times on the water! now start saving...

bryce, our district pays 48k for new teachers...if you and your wife are both teachers thats almost 100k a year...should easily be able to do that if you dont need a mansion and bmws!

summers off + job security + teaching is just a great profession. just make sure you are smart about your retirement!

Boating is expensive. You have to cut something from your current budget to make it happen, whether it be dining out, vacations, new cars, savings, wardrobe or something else. The money will have to come from somewhere. This is true whether your annual salary is 20k, 40k, 100k or more.

My two cents would be to do the following: identify exactly where in your budget you intend to find the money (i.e. what you intend to cut from your current budget to come up with the money spent on boating) and then decide what is more important to you -- boating or what you are cutting from your current budget. If you decide boating, you should also make sure you stick to cutting whatever it is you decide to cut from your current budget.

Bryce, what state do you live in? My sister is a teacher and could teach in upstate NY where we grew up and make $65k a year to start with tenure which she more than has. Unfortunately, she moved to and teaches in SC. She's been there just over 20 years and may just now make $45 if she's lucky and that's with a Masters Degree. Affording a boat is relative to how much you are getting paid and not what you do.

Yeah, I figured if me and my wife both taught we would be fine. The thing is we plan on having kids in the next 2-3 years and I want her home with them (she also wants to be home) so I will be the provider. I make enough money right now for us to be comfortable and we almost have enough for a nice down payment on a small home. It's just me and her right now so we really don't need a lot which has allowed us to save. Here's a small timeline I've put together that might work for the short term...

After 1 year - Wife finishes school. I will have started... again. we keep saving.
After 2 years - Wife is teaching. I am still going too school. We are now saving her income and mine.
After year 3 years - We decide it's time for a kiddo. Wife stops working. I finish school. Have saved a good chunk of dough.
After year 4 - I am teaching. She's a cute mom. We have a nice amount of cash saved for a down payment (on a home we can afford) and maybe some cash left over for a boat.

Affordable monthly house payments and a boat that's paid for. Boo yeah. I like how that looks.

A lot of great advice so far! Keep it coming!

I live in Utah. One of the lowest paying states for teachers. I think they start at around 30k a year.

Can you supplement your salary other ways? That may cut into your lifestyle, but certain sacrifices have to be made if you want your own ride. I know teachers and they drive buses before and after school, others coach, others have side projects like lawn care, etc. You could also pick up spare work in the summers, or an evening job when it is winter and you can't ride.

I was a public school teacher for 11 years. I have TWO expensive hobbies - horses and wakeboarding. I love education and teaching so I went into administration. Pay is good but hours are long. Totally worth it because I can afford the things I want and there is still plenty of time during the summer to have fun.

A very good friend of mine afforded his wakeboard habit on a teachers salary in TX. He didn't have a fancy boat but we had a hell of a time. He looked fore other ways to make money like tutoring and pick up extra periods. It can be done, just budget it for it and know that when you stray from it you are taking away from your wakeboard habit. Having the summers off is perfect for this habit.

By the way, it worked until they had kids, he no longer owns the boat.

go back to school and make boat payments with financial aid!!!

Bryce,

My sister teaches in Utah, It's almost criminal what they pay teachers there. Dang Mormons J/K I am one.

Ha. The financial aid boat payments isn't a bad idea...

Yeah, I just asked my wife what starting teachers make here. She said $26-27k. Ouch... That's a lot of education for such little dough. Well, I'm not ruling out teaching. It's pretty much between teaching and nursing at this point. Nursing pays better and I still get to hang out with and help people. I just don't know if I can handle wiping other people's butts...

Bryce - volunteer time instead and lower amount of money and consider the following:

Organize a wakeboard club within university or school cop or municipal district

Organize a clinic/tournament series with local pro shops or boat dealerships.

You do not have to be a good wakeboarder for the above but a good manager and love for the sport. USA Wakeboard has an excellent grassroots program

As long as you don't live in So Cal. My wife is a teacher and makes good money because she has a masters and is into her 10th year (I think). We would not be able to afford kids, house, and boat on her salary.

You can do it.
Really I'd just try to network getting pulls from someone else and maybe be a certified driver.

After I bought the expensive boat, all the people I met had boats too so we rotated boats. Really sometimes I've thought about selling my boat and I'd have no difference in the number of pulls. Spending family time on the boat would be sacraficed though.

As a boat owner, having a reliable crew and someone who can drive well is hard to come by.

Once you have kids there is going to be a period where it's just you and friends on the water. Hard to get newborns and wife on the water for those first few years.

to be honest - I don't understand how you are "banking" so much money over the next few years. Doesn't school cost a good amount of money? How is that a recipe for saving a ton of money for a boat? And a house, and a baby in a few years? I'm not saying to can't be a boater though, just that you might want to find a $10-12k boat that you can pay cash for, and learn to do your own maintenance.

Just get on a good crew make friends you dont have to have a boat. I need more people where do you live?

My dad is a teacher. It was awesome when I was growing up! I never went boating on the weekends. I thought people were crazy that did! We hit up the glass every weekday during the summer. Ah, being a kid was awesome. I would say, if you can, get a V-drive if you are interested in wakeboarding. Spend a little more and get something you will be happy with for a long time like a 2000 Malibu Sunsetter VLX. Make sure you get the SV23 hull and not the Diamond hull. Those boats are running anywhere from 17-23ish grand. Super Sport Nautiques are nice too, but they are a little smaller inside. Its a Super Air Nautique Hull. They started making them in 95. You should be able to find one at a good price. Direct Drives are cool, but they start to feel small once you start adding weight to them. Good starter boat, but when you put tons of friends in it, coolers, toys...they get small real fast. At least with a v-drive you get a lot more storage.

Spend a little more and get a V drive IMO

Bryce, first you gotta post a picture of your wife to see if all this scrimping and savings is going to work out.
"I know teachers and they drive buses before and after school, others coach, others have side projects like lawn care, etc. You could also pick up spare work in the summers, or an evening job when it is winter and you can't ride."
Sure doesn't sound awesome to be a teachers and get the summers off.
$$$Kids are expensive$$$
its all perspective
want this?

buy this.

or just live on your boat


(Message edited by joeshmoe on January 21, 2010)

I've know some university teachers that do quite well..... Again, you usually have to have your masters, but maybe worth looking into for the long haul.

You might consider picking up a bit of sidework during the summer. Not sure if your into construction at all, but that or waiting tables could make you enough extra coin to keep the boat full of gas and still afford you the time to ride plenty.

It's more than doable but it's just a matter of what you're willing to give up. I've often heard that if you get the big 3 right then you'll have margin in your life to do other things. The big 3 being house, cars, and education.

We don't have a ton of money (SIWK = single income with kids) but have paid for cars and our boat with cash, bought a modest house, and have no school debt. Those things have allowed us to have/keep a boat and still keep on wakeboarding. The day we start pursuing newer and nice cars, a newer and larger house, etc. is the day my wakeboarding career dies!

I have been teaching for 16 years and just topped out in salary unless I get my PHD. Ughh. Anyway, I just started getting into wakeboarding and bought a 97 Maxum Fish ski boat and put a tower on it all for about 6K. Paid cash of course and it has been worth every penny. Lots of good times and a solid boat that throws a decent wake. It is doable! Of course I coach 2 sports, score SAT tests 6 times a year, do lunch and detention duty, and work a few weeks in the summer, but we manage. In the end it is worth it.
I agree with what others have said though, if you can swing it, get a V drive. My boat is good for now, but when loaded up with kids and dogs it seems really small for a 20 footer. Just keep looking for a good boat deal.

There are guys living the wakeboard life making less than $10/hour that ride with us all the time. Having time is more important than the donero to living the wake life. Anybody that knows their way around boats and wakeboards, shows up on time with some gas money, and is easy to get along with will find pulls. Might not get to ride when it suits you every time or bring six of your buddies along, but the pulls will be there.

If you do get the irresistible itch to own a boat, I like the fact that you want to pay cash. A lot of people on this site that didn't have access to a 'Dad' boat started with fairly inexpensive I/Os and traded up when the economic situation permitted. I kind of chuckle when people say a 20 footer is small...my first ride that I had a lot of good times on with regular crews of 6+ was a 16 footer with a 4 banger. We certainly were not the envy of most other boat owners but a lot of people sure did have some fun with it. Sure others take the plunge with a new boat and a big loan, but you can be upside down for a while depending on how you finance it and being tied to a payment limits other opportunities you may not want now, but things you might want in a few years.

A lot of savvy advice from the experienced to the inexperienced ... but will they listen to it?

A lot of good advice indeed. I do realize that right now I'm young and my priorities will probably change as my life progresses. Owning a boat will never be my #1 priority. I know there are a lot more important investments. I just want to make sure I choose a career that will at least give me some options for my family down the road. I would just hate having kids that love the water... and then not being able to afford a decent boat for us to have a good time on.

Yeah, I figure even if I can't afford a boat for a little while it will be okay. I will find a way to ride.

Hmmm. Is anybody a nurse? How do they like it? That would be my second option which I'm still considering. (Don't give me too hard of time for being into the female dominated professions)

My wife and I have been elementary teachers in PA for 14 years. First purchase was a house, then a MasterCraft. In 2004, upgraded to a Supra. Ride every day all summer long. You might not buy the 80k XStar that sits in the slip all summer, but you'll riding on your 10-40k boat more than anyone.
Also, never buy a new car!!! If you never have car payments, you can afford the boating lifestyle. We also have 4 kids now and it's family time on the boat all summer long. You can't beat it. We also get the good water during the weekdays and laugh at the yahoo's out there on the weekends and evenings.
Get involved with your union, also. You get to negotiate your own contract and CHOOSE what your pay and benefits are. Yes, it's a lot of work and stress, but well worth it.

My wife is a nurse and she has an awesome schedule, she works 7 on and 7 off and has a 3-11 shift. She gets paid better than I do (that will change). There are great options for nurses, i.e. CRNA school. CRNA's and nurse practitioners make great money, especially when you consider how long they have gone to school for. I am a Family Practice Resident and the way it is looking for healthcare, nurse practitioners will probably be making close to my earnings potential for less investment of both time and money. If you are on the fence about what career to choose, try to find something you are passionate about. You need to enjoy your job, because you will wind up spending more time there than you do playing or even at home with your family in some cases. If you don't love it, the rest of life won't be much fun either.

RN = $65K/yr
Elementary Education = $52K/yr

Both occupations will allow a modest 'wake life', but with that modest salary differential between these 2 professions, I wouldn't choose one just for the money. Go for what you would enjoy and find more rewarding.

You can drill down at BLS figures more and get regional averages, but remember you are still looking at averages.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm

I am a teacher who wakesurfs all summer long. We bought our Sanger V210 new in 05, when I completed my masters degree. Teaching works great for me, since I would rather be surfing behind my boat than anywhere else. My husband and I take our boat on the road camping for 3 weeks every summer. The rest of the time I ride lakes close to home. In the winter I snow ski and anxiously await summer and wakesurfing.

I could see how it might be hard for a single income scenario.

i did it all summer on $475 a week!!! thats just payin for gas tho and chippin in on maintenance...

gotta be creative and live at a minimum..and have some good friends!!!

Like someone said, nursing can open up so many options. You don't have to be a traditional nurse your entire career. My mother in-law is a nurse by trade but has evolved her career over the years. Because of her healthcare background she is now a director in an ER. She makes well into the six figures.

AtTheLake.

Read the whole thread, the dude lives in utah. Probably one of the worst places to live for a teacher as far as salary goes. My sister is a teacher there and i think teachers start around 25K-27K a year. I'm sure that nurses in utah make significantly more than that there. Still not a reason in and of itself to choose nursing but the salary gap is definately greater in Utah than in other places.

Bryce If you want to teach i would move to a different state. I would check out nevada, Arizona and California. You can still find relatively inexpensive places to live in Ca that are close to water I think teachers here in Fresno start around 48K and you can buy a modest home for under 150K, Problem with most places right now is trying to find a place that is actually hiring.

Hope this helps

Yes, but would probably have to buy used boats and possibly have someone to share the payments. My friend and his brother have a house and boat.

Fabs get on here and tell him.

3 best riders on my lake:

2 in college, both bum rides off others and rarely pay for gas

1 is a boat mechanic

-If you want to ride, you'll ride no matter your job. If it isn't wake, then snow, skate, mtn, etc.