Tough economic times, here in the States. My employer cut my wages by 25%, then proceeded to cut my work week down to 36 hours per. The Sunday paper employment section doesn't fill a whole page. Outlook for a new, higher paying job is bleak, at best, but I look everyday online, etc, etc, etc.
The wife, (married 12 years, with a seven year old daughter) has "proposed" selling the bike, to use the cash to help pay the bills.
I explained to her that the approximately 5-6 thousand I might get for the bike would not do anything but delay the inevidible, if something else doesn't improve, and then 6 months from now we would be in exactly the same situation, sans bike ( which I saved for 14 years to get)
For the record, I do not feel that I absolutely must own a house, as I grew up largely renting. The wife has always lived in a house, except for in college, and when we first got married, and its more important to her than me. I know if I sell the bike, I am probably done riding for at least another 10 years, and as I am approaching 40, that really doesn't bode well for me.

What would you do?

 

If selling the bike would actually help them sell the bike and do what is best for your family but if selling the bike will not put your family in a more permanent better financial situation then it would be stupid to sell the bike for a temporary fix.

 

Sell the Bike - Bike's are a depreciating luxury item. A house is an investment that will appreciate in most economic circumstances. PLUS - it is easy to get back into a bike in the future if you want - even if it is a cheaper bike than what you have now.

 

+1

Couldn't have said it better myself. Besides, family is the most important thing in life and keeping a roof over your 7 year old is worth getting rid of your bike, car, and any other thing.

 

Sell the kids - You can always make more. J/k, actually i have no idea what I would do in your situation. I hope everything turns out for the best!

 

Howz your credit? Get a loan. Make sure that you dont have to pay it back until things get better and on top of it you will build your score.

Anything else of value that you can sell besides the bike?
Pull the ol' better gas mileage card on her.
Maybe register it as a non-op then you will have less monthy ie: insurance
Anything but the bike man.

 

dude i know your dilemma. Go a few pages back school or a bike? I chose school but you gotta do whats best for you. As a finance studying the current economic situation I would say right now is the best time to purchase a house. That is if your credit is right. Your family needs a permanent home.

 

Sell the bike, in a year or two I'll sell you mine at a great deal. Wife and family happiness comes first.

 

Thanks for the advice, so far it's all been good. Here's a little more info:
First and most importantly, my daughter will always have a roof over her head, and enough to eat, whether it is a house or an apartment, doesn't matter to me. Her college tuition is paid for via a trust fund set up by her mothers grandma, so no worries there.
Secondly the wife is college educated, (albeit in Art), yet only works part time at a nearby gas station, while I am a Tool and Die Maker, commuting 45 min. one way to work. The wife gave up a career job in Insurance to raise our daughter (who had health issues at birth, but now is fine), and just doesn't want to take up a career type job again, and there is every excuse under the sun for that one.
While I realize the house is an investment, I also know that I may never see it paid off, as we are maxxed out on our equity, and still have 25 years left to go.
The bike is the one purchase I made for myself, solely with money that I saved, above and beyond anything we have built together, and I guess I'm mainly struggling with the thought of keeping up appearances for the sake of satisfying her parents idea of success, especially when I think that 6mos. from now we would be in the exact same place! I'll stop bitching about my miserable situation now!! Sorry!

 

It sounds like your a little bitter because you have sacrificed a lot in your marriage, and your wife doesnt seem to want to take any responsibility, and here you are again, suffering for the family and your wife getting her way again.

the only advice I can offer is: what does your wife have that is of any value? If your giving up something you hold in high value, then your wife needs to step up as well. If she drives a nice car, sell it for clunker and use the extra money. Family needs to sacrifice together, not just one person taking the hit on everything. Any nice jerwerly that is laying around doing nothing but collecting dust? sell it. Does she do any extra activities.. ie unnecessary shopping sprees, getting her nails done, hair styles happen too often ect.

I lost my job about 9 months ago. I worked in a R&D department for a Tier one supplier. I went back to school and thought about selling my bike to help out with the bills. the only difference, my wife stepped up and started working more often. She still spends too much money on things we dont need, but the real thing that helps is we sat down with a budget. Its was truely eye opening. We cut extra comsumptions down.. just for the food part alone saved us well over 300 a month. I mean buying generic items, eating cheaper meals. We then started making sure our water consumption was lower, electric use was less.. ect. We managed to save over 600 bucks a month in just thing we used in excess. I had no idea how bad we were. you may not fall into this category, but I sure did.

The bottom line. We were never close to loosing our house. If that were the case, I would sell my bike in a heartbeat. A roof over your daughters head is not the same a home. Sure, your daughter would be fine in an apartment, but a house is that much better. I for one will do whatever it takes to make my childs life the best it can possibly be, even at the sacrifice of my own happiness. after all, that should any parents true happiness, is seeing the child having the best they possibly can.

On the other hand. If you have figured everything out and selling the bike will not help enough to keep your house, then no, dont sell it.