Just checked my bank account today, after my girl asked me where all my money was going.

This is August so far:

Gas: $362

Bait shops: $214

I can't differentiate the amount I have spent on non-fishing Dunkin Donuts from fishing nights/mornings but I am guessing that is close to $100.

Good thing I bought all my terminal tackle in the off-season.

I hit 200 hours on my outboard this past week and did some quick math.

Averaging 10 GPH X 200 hours = 2,000 gallons used.

2,000 gallons X $3.00 per gallon = $6,000! This is since the end of last May.

Gotta pay to play, as they say.

$362 so far this month on gas isnt that bad at all.

$362 so far this month on gas isnt that bad at all.

That money equals out to the second tank a week I have been using. I could go almost a week all winter on a tank, and I am filling up twice now, so in reality my actual gas tab is almost twice that amount. I have made a couple outer-cape beach trips which certainly burn gas.

Overall, I don't think my fishing expenses will be anywhere near most guys, especially guys with boats. Every penny is worth it for the return I get from fishing.

True, the boats do get terrible MPG, if I get 3.0 mpg I'm thrilled.

Still, like you said, if I wasn't spending my dough on fishing/the boat, I'd sure be spending it on something else. Fortunate that the disposable income is even there to begin with.

Acknowledging that your fortunate is very important.

My Girl was being sarcastic about spending all my money on fishing, she knows how important it is to me. She was just commenting on the pile of reciepts on top of my dresser.

I am actually overall very good at saving-investing, but I have no problem spending in areas of passion.

Yes, the "saving" part to me is the MOST important part. This would be a good next topic for a thread, "What do you sacrifice to fish?"

My short list would be,

No AC/50 degree heat in the winter.
No Cable/Satellite/Pay TV
No buying of media of any kind, magazines/dvd's/CD's/MP3's etc.
The minimum cell phone plan, I could go on and on and on, but when it comes to fishing/boating, ALL the extra $$$ gets spent there for sure.