to expect DH to sell his precious motor bike?

[landj]

We are struggling with money. He has a 4 GRAND motor bike sitting in garage, under blankets, used at the weekends. WE can barely pay the bloody rent but he is refusing point blank to sell the thing! "Its the one thing I have thats mine..." Lucky him to have one thing!! Shouldnt he sell it to help us cope?

It is easier for Op to focus on her dh and his bike, than to address some of her own shortcomings on managing her finances.

Sell the bike. Pay of some of or all of the loan.
Great.
If you still earn.......whatever,say £2000 per month and spend more.... say £2200, then you will still be **ed in 6/12/18 months time.
This seems to be a basic funadamental issue that is being ignored.

Its called LIVING BEYOND YOUR MEANS.

if he doesn't sell the bike he wont have a garage to keep it in. To me it sounds like an obsession, but he needs to think about this and do something before its too late. I would be prepared to sell whatever i could if i thought we would lose our home. My children are far more important to me than my posessions.
I hope things work out for you.
best of luck
xx

I'm a book collector, so totally sympathise. But when the chips are really down, the first editions go. It gives me something to look forward to, collecting them again when I'm more flush.

It's not rocket science. Sell the crap, however sentitmental, and aim for it again. You're family comes first. Agree to sell your books the same week on Ebay that he sells the bike. That's totally fair. They really are just things.

having read the other thread it would appear that op does not have a job, yet she expects her dh to be earning, and to be the one to give up what is his. And she is/has given up what exactly?

Selling your possessions is not the solution. It is a one-off amount of money which once it's gone is gone. The best way to deal with financial issues is to increase your earning potential. So if there is only one breadwinner in the house then the sahm needs to get a job to help to contribute financially. If childcare is an issue then get a job in evenings/weekends when dh is home to take care of the children.

If you're not contributing financially then you can't make demands on what dh should do to make things better IMO. I am a sahm but if we ended up in serious financial trouble then I would just have to get a job. Being a sahm is great and being able to go where you like/when you like and being the one to take your children to school etc is fantastic. But if it gets to a point where your income is less than your outgoings and there is still someone in the family who can go out and contribute financially, then the sahm lifestyle becomes a luxury you can no longer afford.

And look at where you can cut back on spending. By all means ask dh not to drive the bike for a bit/not to renew the insurance until you are in a better financial state, but selling it is not going to resolve your issues.

If you are both contributing financially and there is no other option to increase earnings then selling becomes an option. But until then I'm afraid op is being selfish.

haven't read it all. but can he not sell the bike on the promise that once his self employed business takes off he can buy another.

would give him an incentive to push hard with the business aswell.

Wannabe

She does have a job 'landj on Sat 19-Jul-08 15:39:54
Like I said earlier, it would be like him telling me to sell all my books and never read again. I know I couldnt do it. And yes, the resentment and snotty comments has already started. And Wannabe.. He's the one with the gym membership. We dont have sky or broadband. (I do this from work!!)

She just doesn't want to get another one.

The same situation happned with a couple I know.

I felt he shouldn't sell the bike, no. It was a huge source of pride and enjpoyment.

If it's the thing which gives him most enjpoyment in any free time he has, I'd say he shouldn't get rid of it.

is this the same motorbike that was up for sale on ebay?

here

and, i hate to say it (and perhaps shouldn't), but if money is really tight, perhaps the week in spain wasn't such a good idea right now?

It had to be said lucykate, because it's true.

It probably does feel like part of him. He probably knows that he will have to sell it eventually. I'd suggest you present him with the problem. Say you've tried to think of other ways to get out of debt and you've run out of ideas. What does he think? Perhaps if he takes over the TESCO shops....

What about shopping at Aldi, Lidl or Netto to cut costs? There are a lot of budgeting threads on here too that you and dh might want to look at, landj.

What about getting dh to give up his gym membership instead?