Buying toys

For those of us out there that are trying to do right things with money such as get out of debt, save, invest, and give (you know - wealthy people activities), all of us probably deal with seasons in our lives in which we want to go out and buy some "toys."

Toys can range from sports cars, motorcycles, sports equipment, RV's, campers, etc. Toys are all the things that we really want NOW but can't necessarily afford today (or wouldn't be a wise purchase to make). In a previous post, I put together a listing of my family's current needs and wants. Fortunately over the last several weeks, I've been able to check off a couple of these need items from our list.

Well, at the bottom of our goals and wants list, I have listed the installation of a ball and hitch on our (debt free) Odyssey van as well as the purchase of a pop-up camper. I've got the impulse to really get these 2 items done sooner than later while my daughters are still young and would enjoy this type of family activity. When they get to be teenagers, I know they probably would not enjoy camping as much. Another benefit (for us) of owning a pop-up camper is saving on hotel bills (over the long term) due to making trips to Ohio and Michigan to see my family, summer vacations, etc.

An additional benefit I see with this camper purchase is a restructuring and a rethinking of our vacation time. Instead of taking one BIG summer vacation trip, we could just take a few days here and there throughout the year and get away on a more regular basis.

My biggest requirement on this purchase is that it needs to be a cash purchase - zero debt! So, over the last 8-10 days, I have been scouring Craigslist looking for a deal! If I can find just the right used pop-up camper, I'm planning on walking into the deal with cash in my hand and doing some serious negotiation.

This cash purchase is going to be a bit of a stretch for our family on the front end, but I believe it will save us money on the back end. More importantly, though, I believe having a "toy" such as this will bind our family together in a positive way.