RV Financing..

Boy, I'd bet everyone reading this thread would pay in cash for their house, vechiles and homes if they could. But here is the reality - average people have a finite amount of disposable income and so by your method could save for YEARS before buying a house, vechile or TT or some other frivolous thing. So should they rent a home while saving for a cash purchase? Should they ride the bus or take a cab while saving up for a car? If they can afford the note on a loan for a TT should they stash the extra cash for years and years just so they can pay in cash? In the absense of capital at the time they decide to get into RVing, does the need to secure financing mean they really can't afford it? Preaching about responsible borrowing is one thing, but as someone hinted at - everyone's finances are their own business, which basically means not everyone is in the same boat. Banks are in business to make money on intrest - they give loans and people buy stuff. People buying stuff means that there are jobs for people to make the stuff. Thats what drives the economy. Not sure how Bankruptcy and credit card debt comes into the conversation as both are a result of poor lending and borrowing choices.

Just my thoughts...After trade-in, we financed $30k on our FW. We went through Credit Union and interest was the same on any RV note up to 15 years. We opted for the longest term for the following reason: I can make payments of any amount over the amount due at any given time and pay off early but if for some reason money is tight one month, my payment is lower. In the 11 months that I have owned my FW, I have made 11 double payments with no problem. If I continue this method, I will pay off in less than 1/2 the time because the 2nd payment is applied to the principal only. A financial advisor may say otherwise but it made sense to me to do it this way. We own a HVAC business and in Texas this is a very seasonal business. With that said, I was trying to be cautious with my funds and allow myself the ability to pay more or less with the seasons if necessary. My plan is to outright own the FW in 5-7 years. Unless un-foreseeable problems arise, I don't see the need to trade before then. We are vacationers...not full-timers and ours is kept under cover when not being used so it "should" hold up nicely for the time we plan to own it and still have a decent resale value when we are ready to get rid of it or trade it in. I may find out otherwise when the time comes but for now...that is my plan and. I am sticking to it!

Hey, I could have paid cash, but I'm making way more than the interest by playing the stock market with that money. Also, believe it or not, a lot of older folks just keep their rigs for 3 or 4 years before trading up. Let the kids worry....lol.

I really don't have the answer, except to say, if you wait to long and try and pay cash for everything, by the time you get there the kids are grown up and gone.

And second, sometimes buying cheap used junk, becuase you can pay cash for it, is a poor idea also. By the time you fix them over and over, pay the sales tax and then buy something better.

I would have been much better off, and money ahead, just to buy something decent in the first place, and make payments on it.

I have learned the most expensive way to buy anything is twice

" It's never stupid to pay cash" I agree with that for the most part. However at times it may not be the best choice.

I think you always want a health cash reserve. So if you wipe out your cash reserve, to buy it all cash, that in my opinion, may not be the best choice.

bid_time wrote:
There is a difference between being in debt and nearly bankrupt and having outstanding loans and net positive balance sheet with several zeros in it.

There are many many millionaires that started out with debt that would apparently cause you severe anxiety attacks. And, There is nothing wrong with someone profiting from my dept. It's actually pretty smart to risk other peoples money and keep a nice tidy profit for myself. They win and I win.

Sometimes its smart to pay cash. Soemtimes it's just plain stupid. Like I said, one size fits all answers are worth what you pay for them.

The only part where we are in disagreement is that it is sometimes stupid to pay cash. It is never stupid to pay cash.

Can debt be leveraged to your benefit? Sure, I've done it successfully. I used to invest in rental property and it was all financed. Debt does not give me anxiety because I am capable of controlling debt. I choose to no longer deal with debt.

Most people go in debt for nonsense frivolous things that they really cannot afford. The start of this discussion was about personal debt for an RV, not investing.

The average credit card debt balance carried is between 7,000 and 15,000 depending on which statistic you use.

In 2012, 1.18 million people filed bankruptcy. The number of households teetering on the edge of bankruptcy is staggering.

Can debt be used as a tool? Yes, but for the average consumer debt isn't working. The average consumer does not use debt wisely. So my philosophy is, Don't be average! :B

beemerphile1 wrote:


In a perfect world and for the perfect family with rock solid will power your points are correct. I will agree with that.

However very few people have the will to do what you suggest, and none of us live in a perfect world. We are all human, fallible, and easily swayed by desire. We might think we are being smart investors but like the old bumper sticker, "__it Happens". Even if we do it right, we cannot control the markets or any other outside forces.

There are many people that have the education of which you speak and yet they are deep in debt, have a negative equity, and are only a few paychecks from bankruptcy. It is often a house of cards ready to be blown away with the slightest breeze.

One will never go wrong paying cash and cash only. If it isn't available, it won't be spent. It worked well for our grandparents, their parents and grandparents, and et cetera.

It has worked for us, we are debt free, homes, cars, money in savings, and on workingman wages. I won't go further into our finances because it is private and likely no one wants to read it anyhow.

Financial planning should never be based on tax code, that is a fool's game because the code will constantly change. Many experts and pundits espouse the benefits of borrowing and tax deductions but consider the source. Those people usually are the ones that stand to profit from your debt. Money is a great motivator, you don't hear much promotion of the debt free lifestyle because there is no profit in it for the marketeers and they are the ones that pay for advertising.

Debt is what drives the USA economy which includes the RV industry. If people stopped borrowing to buy what they cannot afford the economy would crash within a month. Unfortunately the economy will ultimately collapse anyhow because it is really nothing but a global scale Ponzi scheme. Be brave, be crazy, be a rebel, do something different - pay cash and live debt free!

Okay, off my soapbox now. :B

There is a difference between being in debt and nearly bankrupt and having outstanding loans and net positive balance sheet with several zeros in it.

There are many many millionaires that started out with debt that would apparently cause you severe anxiety attacks. And, There is nothing wrong with someone profiting from my dept. It's actually pretty smart to risk other peoples money and keep a nice tidy profit for myself. They win and I win.

Sometimes its smart to pay cash. Soemtimes it's just plain stupid. Like I said, one size fits all answers are worth what you pay for them.

run100 wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:
Be brave, be crazy, be a rebel, do something different - pay cash and live debt free!

Bravo! I fully endorse your program! Honestly, I was shocked to read about 20-year financing on an rv. Makes me skirmish just thinking about it!

Living debt-free (or as close as possible) is much less stressful than being buried up to one's eyebrows . . . at least it is to us. As my grandma always said: "save your money and pay cash." And my grandma was top notch and also made great lasagna.

Yep, like the single payment method myself!

At a recent RV show, waked into a unit, nice unit very nice rear kitchen. The lady ws looking, but still had a $40K loan balance on their current unit. RV's loose value to have to finance too much of the value.

beemerphile1 wrote:
Be brave, be crazy, be a rebel, do something different - pay cash and live debt free!

Bravo! I fully endorse your program! Honestly, I was shocked to read about 20-year financing on an rv. Makes me skirmish just thinking about it!

Living debt-free (or as close as possible) is much less stressful than being buried up to one's eyebrows . . . at least it is to us. As my grandma always said: "save your money and pay cash." And my grandma was top notch and also made great lasagna.

bid_time wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:
I know nothing about financing anything.

My advice would be to save your $$ and when able to pay cash, buy a $1,500 trailer. Keep saving and keep paying cash for future trailers, cars, trucks, and homes.

Before you know it, you will be debt free, have money in the bank, and a regular inflow of excess cash.

Have you ever considered that some times paying cash is not at all smart? Read the previous posts, people are getting loans for 3.74% and 4.99%. In the last 10 years I have had conservative investments that gained over 7.5% annual annualized return. Had i paid cash, I would have lost money; even before considering the income tax deduction which effectively makes the interest rate even lower. One size fits all advice like "Pay Cash" is worth about what you pay for it. Better to be an educated buyer, know your options, the pros and cons, and make smart choices.

In a perfect world and for the perfect family with rock solid will power your points are correct. I will agree with that.

However very few people have the will to do what you suggest, and none of us live in a perfect world. We are all human, fallible, and easily swayed by desire. We might think we are being smart investors but like the old bumper sticker, "__it Happens". Even if we do it right, we cannot control the markets or any other outside forces.

There are many people that have the education of which you speak and yet they are deep in debt, have a negative equity, and are only a few paychecks from bankruptcy. It is often a house of cards ready to be blown away with the slightest breeze.

One will never go wrong paying cash and cash only. If it isn't available, it won't be spent. It worked well for our grandparents, their parents and grandparents, and et cetera.

It has worked for us, we are debt free, homes, cars, money in savings, and on workingman wages. I won't go further into our finances because it is private and likely no one wants to read it anyhow.

Financial planning should never be based on tax code, that is a fool's game because the code will constantly change. Many experts and pundits espouse the benefits of borrowing and tax deductions but consider the source. Those people usually are the ones that stand to profit from your debt. Money is a great motivator, you don't hear much promotion of the debt free lifestyle because there is no profit in it for the marketeers and they are the ones that pay for advertising.

Debt is what drives the USA economy which includes the RV industry. If people stopped borrowing to buy what they cannot afford the economy would crash within a month. Unfortunately the economy will ultimately collapse anyhow because it is really nothing but a global scale Ponzi scheme. Be brave, be crazy, be a rebel, do something different - pay cash and live debt free!

Okay, off my soapbox now. :B