So ...
Looked at another farm today to potentially move Hamper to.
My money situation is forcing me to make some decisions.
Sell the truck. Sell Hampton. Or move Hampton somewhere for cheaper board.
I'm trying option #3 first since 1 and 2 aren't appealing.
So. I LOVED the farm.
- Large indoor arena with slanted walls. Nice footing, a plethora of jumps to play around with.
- Large stalls, automatic waterers.
- Hay was of nice quality
- Right now horses are on night turnout.
- Horses looked in good condition, happy. Even saw an old cushings horse who appeared happy and well taken care of.
- Huge, air conditioned tackroom.
- Bathroom with running water
- Two big washracks.
- Plenty of ventilation.
- Hay and supplies kept in a separate barn.
- Clearly a laid-back, no pressure atmosphere.
- Board is way cheaper. ($100+ less) Possible option to work off even more of it.
THE ONLY problem with this new place is the distance. Our current farm is about 15-20 minutes away. This new farm is a solid 30.
Is it practical to move with the cost of gas?
This is what I have to figure out.
Thoughts?
Edited to add cost calculations:
New barn: 20.3 miles one way. I'm going to say my truck gets 8 miles to the gallon. It prob does a little better than this, especially on the highway, but I'm going to go with worse gas mileage estimate. This comes out to one way using a little less than 3 gallons. So, roundtrip = 6 gallons, or $21 each round trip if gas stays around $3.50.
Current barn: 10.6 miles one way. Round trip uses about 3 gallons. $10.50 round trip.
Say I go to the barn 4 days week, x4 so that's 16 days per month.
New barn: 21 x 16= $336 in gas money/month
Current barn: 10.5 x 16= $168 in gas money/month
Current board: $325 a month
New board: $225 (possibly to lower this with barn work)
Board savings: $100
Gas increase: $168
... conclusion: I would be losing money by moving there. :(
Sounds like a great place!
ReplyDeleteWe live a 30 minute drive from the barn - and make that drive 6 days a week. Yes, it takes gas & time - but I love the place, our horses are healthy and happy, and we have all the amendities on our want list.
The drive gives you lots of time to think :)
oh man... i have no real words of wisdom BUT if you feel at home and don't feel that way at your current barn, maybe its worth the extra drive.
ReplyDeleteI assume the indoor has lights so daylight wouldn't be an issue with the extra drive...
Open excel. Calculate cost of gas per mile. Calculate cost of travel to current barn and new barn. Deduct the amount extra you would be spending on fuel from the savings on board.
ReplyDeleteHerein is your answer of the decision in purely a financial one.
Sounds like the wiggle room in the budget is working off board...
ReplyDeleteWould you be able to work off more than $68 a week?!
Just as an idea - do you really need a truck full time, given that it only gets 8 miles / gallon? Would it be cheaper to rent a truck when you need one, and have a small fuel efficient car? The fuel cost is a killer.
ReplyDelete