Our Big Purchase

So, as I told you on the 4th. We go canoeing every year on July 4th. We usually go at least 2 or 3 other times each summer and I would love to make it more. Last year, Martin and I decided that instead of scrounging around for a canoe to borrow every single time we want to go canoeing, as married adults whom at that point had made it through almost a year of marriage without a single large purchase (sidenote: some people may call us me cheap. I call it thrifty. We acquired most of our furnishing at that point from either the side of the road or garage sales). We decided that maybe it was time to invest in something we really wanted. A canoe seemed like the obvious investment at the time.

Because I really like the idea of supporting our local businesses and because we didn't really have the time to drive somewhere else to canoe shop, we first went to the local canoe shop on the river where we typically canoe. The owner is leading us through tons and tons of canoes, all the while informing us that canoeing is like any other sport and you can spend as much or as little as you would like.

He first takes us over to the cadillac of canoes which could be purchased for the great value of $2000! with an excellent resale value, of course. At this point I inform him that we are probably interested in canoes more in the spending as little price range. He then leads us around showing us canoes at varying price points with all of them generally hitting in above $1000.

Ok. Maybe we should move on to used canoes.

So, we take a stroll out to the used canoes. These too have prices on them that will make your jaw drop and we eventually find out that the cheapest canoe we can purchase is for $575, provided that we pay cash. $575 for a canoe that looks like it was used in Vietnam!!Apparently we were completely unprepared for the value of these products.

We're sorry, but we don't think we'll be able to afford one right now.

So, once again we ended up borrowing a canoe for July 4th.

But then, a couple of weeks later we headed up to Dick's to check out their selection of canoes and were able to purchase an Old Town (name brand, baby!) canoe with Three Seats!, a built in cooler under the middle seat, and a watertight compartment. All to the tune of $375.

I can honestly say, its probably one of the largest purchases we've made as a married couple and definitely my favorite!