Expensive sports toys and how to pay for them

You've worked hard and done well, but stopping to smell the roses isn't what you want to do to celebrate -- you want to have some fun!

Maybe you'd like to go messing about in boats, tee it up in a luscious golf course, or follow the Lewis and Clark route on a motorized "personal watercraft."

 

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Today's sports toys cost big, big bucks, so before you take the plunge, devise a buying strategy that fits your lifestyle and budget.

Let's consider your options and look at some examples.

• Dealer financing: For as little as 10 percent down, you can be in action, but you'll need good credit and several years of credit history to get a good interest rate.

• OEM financing: One option for motorized personal watercraft, as well as all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles and snowmobiles, includes a revolving credit card through original equipment manufacturers (OEM).

• Credit card: Quick, easy, accepted everywhere, no credit checks or paperwork. But unless you pay it off quickly, the interest rate on that boat might just sink you.

• Co-buying: You and your buddies might buy that ATV jointly, but what happens if someone wants out, doesn't pay or wrecks it the first time out? Look closely at the "what-ifs" to determine beforehand if your deal -- and your friendships -- will survive.

• Home equity loan: Credit unions and community banks can take the whole bill and feed it back to you slowly at agreeable terms. If you own a home, this may be the most cost-effective way to finance your fun.

• Cash: Before paying cash, remember that personal sports vehicles lose their value significantly the minute they're sold. If part of your plan is to keep your new toy in good shape, then resell it next year and get a big percentage of your money back, you may want to reconsider financing it.

• Family co-sign: Mom and Dad may be willing to help you get that loan, but what would happen if you couldn't make the payments? Plan on paying this loan back just as if you owed it to the folk themselves -- because you do.

"A good walk spoilt"
Mark Twain once described golf as "a good walk spoilt."

Well, apparently, millions would beg to differ.

According to the National Golf Foundation, there are more than 27.4 million golfers in the United States alone who play on some 16,057 golf courses. Depending on the golfer's age group, the average golfer spends between $1,530 to $2,240 each year on equipment and fees. Golf is believed to be the fastest growing sport worldwide.

If you're looking to tote a bag of Tiger Woods-caliber clubs, figure on spending in the neighborhood of $100 per iron, $200 to $500 per wood and about $150 for a bag.

And figure on paying with cash or a credit card.

"It would be awfully difficult for us to compete with credit cards," admits Hill Boswell, owner of World of Golf in Naples, Fla. "The credit card has displaced any chance of us becoming financiers."

Still, even a good starter kit runs just $400, leaving you plenty left over to pay your greens fees. To get a bargain on your first set, check into mega stores such as Costco or Sports Authority.

A hole in the water
Pleasure boating has been described as a hole in the water into which you pour money. That hasn't deterred more than 69 million Americans from casting off in search of fun on the water.

Whether it's sailing in the Florida Keys, water skiing in the Lake of the Ozarks, houseboating on Lake Powell or salmon fishing in the Pacific Northwest, if it floats, fast or slow, we're climbing aboard in record numbers.