My house doesn't want me to go back to Africa

[matt85]

This post is just me complaining.

Last time I was in Africa it was 2016 and I enjoyed an excellent PG hunt in Namibia. Well it's 2023 and I just can't seem to make it back to save my life! Every time I save up the money, something stupid happens to my house and I end up back at square one.

Back in early 2021 I had the money and the time off from work. The plan was to wait for panic to die down a bit and then go find a nice hippo. But no, my house began to have major problems that ended up requiring me to put a new manufactured home on the property. This cleaned me out financially and meant no hunt for me!

Flash forward to October of 2023 and I've once again scrounged up some money for a hippo hunt in either 2024 or 2025. BUT MY DAMN HOUSE STRIKES AGAIN! A couple days ago my septic system alarm went off. Yesterday a guy came to fix the system and by the time he was done, my Africa money was once again GONE!

I will try again and maybe Ill be back by 2027.

-Matt

 

[Rimbaud]

Try this: save all bills and coins $5 and under. You will never miss it, and you will be back in Africa in no time. Good luck!

 

[BourbonTrail]

I feel your pain Matt. I’ve put two roofs and 2 HVACs on 2 houses since 2017, all out of pocket. Also, I had a full remodel on the last one just to be able to sell it and get out from under it (it was a total lemon).

My trip last year will probably be my only trip until 2030.

 

[CBH Australia]

matt85, is it to late to a plumbing apprenticeship?
Those guys make all the money.

Here's hoping you sort something out

 

[R.M.C.]

My fuckin house is definitely keeping me from Africa too lol

 

[R.M.C.]

Try this: save all bills and coins $5 and under. You will never miss it, and you will be back in Africa in no time. Good luck!

I save one dollar bills and change, it adds up quick. I rarely use a card so I'm always breaking big bills.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Sell everything you don’t need or use.
Anything you can’t leave to someone else when you die or they will sell anyway, sell.
Defer all gratification.
Get a second job.
Cancel all memberships or items that aren't helpful or meaningful.
Change/stop all the bad habits that cost you money.
Create a serious budget.
Learn to fix things yourself or trade/barter work.
Cancel your cable.
Don’t loan money or give it away to people that don’t really need or deserve it.

I waited until I had a life changing event to start living my real dreams. We only have so much time to experience life and create good memories. Figure it out… You are not promised tomorrow.

Nighthawk life coaching services!

 

[matt85]

Saving money isn't an issue, my two expensive hobbies are guns and Africa. Seeing as I live in a communist state that has largely banned most guns... I'm not spending much on those anymore. I sold all the guns I was willing to sell and pinched all the pennies I could to save up the money I just dumped into my septic system.

I will be able to save up for another hunt. It's just with my somewhat fixed income versus the ever rising cost of living, it will take a while. I'll make it back, I just might have a lot more gray hair by the time I do.

-Matt

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Saving money isn't an issue, my two expensive hobbies are guns and Africa. Seeing as I live in a communist state that has largely banned most guns... I'm not spending much on those anymore. I sold all the guns I was willing to sell and pinched all the pennies I could to save up the money I just dumped into my septic system.

I will be able to save up for another hunt. It's just with my somewhat fixed income versus the ever rising cost of living, it will take a while. I'll make it back, I just might have a lot more gray hair by the time I do.

-Matt

Hey Matt,

I appreciate the struggle… I’ve been going through things that I don’t need or use and I’m having a helluva time parting with some of it, especially guns. Of which I don’t use and am not likely too. I’m not certain if it’s sentiment or pride, but it’s tough. I’m also updating my trust to include some of the stuff that I can’t seem to part with. Then I realize that my brother, who doesn’t hunt, will just sell it! And, I can’t blame him. He doesn’t hunt or doesn’t want to shoot a .450 or .375 or any of my prized rifles… So I know I need to part with a lifetime of wants, to make room for the needs… I have a dream of having an extended stay in Africa to have the time to hunt multiple countries for dangerous game and other special animals to have the Safari experiences I want. Also to experience and absorb more cultures… I know I need to plan and budget for that. So, I sacrifice on my level, delay gratification, and work more where I can.

I also thought recently of posting a question, although it would likely just be for the cathartic effect, about why I am struggling with the idea of parting with 10 or more rifles I’m not using? I guess sometimes we need to just get it out…

 

[LivingTheDream]

Just finance it. Hell inflation will make up for whatever interest you get.

*Not financial advise

 

[matt85]

Just finance it. Hell inflation will make up for whatever interest you get.

*Not financial advise

This made me laugh out loud, thank you!

@NIGHTHAWK I'm down to just two dangerous game rifles and two short range medium/large game rifles (for local hunting). I don't even have a suitable medium/long range PG rifle at the moment. I've got nothing else to sell!

-Matt

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

This made me laugh out loud, thank you!

@NIGHTHAWK I'm down to just two dangerous game rifles and two short range medium/large game rifles (for local hunting). I don't even have a suitable medium/long range PG rifle at the moment. I've got nothing else to sell!

-Matt

Ok, I’ll sell you a Winchester in .300 WBY or a SS Browning A Bolt Stalker in 7MM REM MAG!

-then that voice in my head starts reminding me that 7 MAG was my first new hunting rifle, all the successful hunts we had together, and how it never failed me…

 

[tay50]

Matt85 here's an idea, if I were younger I would consider doing this. I just got back from SA last month and sure as heck my furnace needed replacing, so a buddy and I replaced it just this last Friday, I told my friend now the worst part is getting rid of the old furnace. My buddy said call young Steve C. he'll come pick it up, I did and Steve showed up the next day. This is the idea part, Steve tells me, I decided I want to buy a cabin so I started scraping metal, and he gets all his metal from HVAC shops that replace furnaces and AC units, in one year he has collected over $14,000.00 towards his cabin. So if you have a pickup truck and are willing to find a shop or two that will let you haul the old stuff away, there's money to be had? Good luck.

 

[Andrew62]

Maybe it's time to live like Matt Foley lived, 'In a van down by the river!!' lol

 

[AimSmall]

Africa wants you.

 

[Rimbaud]

I save one dollar bills and change, it adds up quick. I rarely use a card so I'm always breaking big bills.

If you use a card, many banks have a round up feature. Say you spend 50c, the other 50c is deposited into a savings account. I’ve used this to seed an account for one of my kids. When the savings amount adds up, I sweep it to a brokerage account and buy stock for him. We have turned a 3k-4K into about 16k over the past 10 years. We never miss the money.

 

[LivingTheDream]

@matt85 if it makes you feel any better. I could have paid for a desert sheep hunt if it wasn't for a variety of HVAC, water heaters, piping/plumbing, car problems, etc, etc.

But keeps me motivated, God forbid I ever do all the hunts I want to do, I will probably become a Starbucks Batista somewhere.

 

[matt85]

Matt85 here's an idea, if I were younger I would consider doing this. I just got back from SA last month and sure as heck my furnace needed replacing, so a buddy and I replaced it just this last Friday, I told my friend now the worst part is getting rid of the old furnace. My buddy said call young Steve C. he'll come pick it up, I did and Steve showed up the next day. This is the idea part, Steve tells me, I decided I want to buy a cabin so I started scraping metal, and he gets all his metal from HVAC shops that replace furnaces and AC units, in one year he has collected over $14,000.00 towards his cabin. So if you have a pickup truck and are willing to find a shop or two that will let you haul the old stuff away, there's money to be had? Good luck.

If you have time and a truck, this isn't a bad idea.

I have the truck, but not the time. In order to pay off debt and rebuild my savings, I'm putting in more hours at work. I've started working every other weekend to make extra money.

Another thing I did to save money (before the septic system failed) was buy an inexpensive used commuter motorcycle. One of my biggest expenses lately has been fuel for my 43-mile commute to work. Switching from a truck that gets 20mpg to a bike that gets 70mpg should help me save a lot of money. Obviously not a year-round solution but at $5 per gallon for fuel, it will be a big saver!

-Matt

 

[mdwest]

There’s always part time gigilo work…

I’d try it… but I’d likely starve before I made any extra cash…

 

[fourfive8]

Last opportunity was Nov 2020. Next opportunity is Nov 2024