Should I put in a pool?

**disneysteve** · 05-09-2017, 05:33 PM

Originally posted by chris g View Post

My wife and I make a combined $100k/yr, have a 20yr mortgage with 3.69% fixed interest and low payments since we bought after the 2008 bubble. Our house is in a nice neighborhood where home values have gone up a lot over the past few years. Very little debt other than an $800 medical bill and a small amount on a Home Depot card. We just bought a slightly used car for $21k for 5yrs. That's basically it for debt.

We want to put in a pool. I know the returns if we ever sell will be less than the $25-30k we will spend on getting it installed, but we live in the sun belt and have wanted one for a long time. We're in our late 30's and have two younger kids who will use it a lot. We did the math and it seems we can afford it and still have some $$$ left over each month, but taking on $50k of debt between the car and pool in one year, when I think about it, sounds scary. Am I about to jump off a financial cliff and be stupid with my money?

Welcome to the site.

I wish you would have come and posted a poll before sinking 21K into a car for 5 years because I absolutely would have voted "No way!" on that one. But that's done so let's move on to the pool question.

We really can't answer without more info.
What's your monthly income?
How much is in your emergency fund?
What percentage of income are you saving for retirement?
How much are you saving each month in college funds?
How much is your mortgage and monthly payment?
What are your total current monthly expenses?
Do you have adequate life insurance on both of you?

**Jluke** · 05-09-2017, 05:45 PM

Payoff the medical bill and the Home Depot card before you take on any more debt.

If you don't have the cash to buy something (like the pool), you probably can't afford it. I can see the debt cycle starting.

Interested to see the answers to disneysteve's questions.

**HundredK** · 05-09-2017, 05:54 PM

Not sure that can definitively be answered in a poll question, but based on the info that's here, I'd say no.

**disneysteve** · 05-09-2017, 05:54 PM

I'm also confused by your poll options. What's the difference between "No way" and "You can't afford it"?

**disneysteve** · 05-09-2017, 05:57 PM

Originally posted by Jluke View Post

If you don't have the cash to buy something, you probably can't afford it.

As a general rule, luxury purchases shouldn't be financed.

You need a house, so a reasonable mortgage is okay.
You need a car, so a modest auto loan is okay (not 21K for 5 years).

You do not need a pool. There's nothing wrong with having one if you can afford it but just based on what you've posted, it doesn't sound like you can afford it.

**TexasHusker** · 05-09-2017, 06:02 PM

Of all of the people I have known who installed a pool, every one of them later regretted it.

My son cares for our neighbor's pool (which they also regret installing). My son often comes in and says "I'm never getting a pool."

Surprisingly, a pool is often an impediment to selling your house, as your "pool"

of interested buyers dives.

Electricity to keep it heated is enormous.

Your kids won't enjoy it once they are teenagers - they will want to go hang with their friends at the country club pool. Swimming is pretty much over with by then.

People drown in residential pools all the time. Inquire about how much $ your homeowners insurance will increase, and buy an umbrella policy to boot.

The plethora of pumps, valves, heaters, leaks, chemicals, vacuums, tools, and keeping the thing clean will drive you to take up drinking.

The upsides to a pool are far outweighed by the laundry list of downsides.

Good luck !

**HundredK** · 05-09-2017, 06:35 PM

Originally posted by TexasHusker View Post

Of all of the people I have known who installed a pool, every one of them later regretted it.

My son cares for our neighbor's pool (which they also regret installing). My son often comes in and says "I'm never getting a pool."

Surprisingly, a pool is often an impediment to selling your house, as your "pool"

of interested buyers dives.

Electricity to keep it heated is enormous.

Your kids won't enjoy it once they are teenagers - they will want to go hang with their friends at the country club pool. Swimming is pretty much over with by then.

People drown in residential pools all the time. Inquire about how much $ your homeowners insurance will increase, and buy an umbrella policy to boot.

The plethora of pumps, valves, heaters, leaks, chemicals, vacuums, tools, and keeping the thing clean will drive you to take up drinking.

The upsides to a pool are far outweighed by the laundry list of downsides.

Good luck !

All of this is so true. And it isn't just kids who drown. A friend of mine in her mid-40's drowned in her pool last year when she decided to go for a nighttime swim after a few cocktails.

**TexasHusker** · 05-09-2017, 07:35 PM

Originally posted by HundredK View Post

All of this is so true. And it isn't just kids who drown. A friend of mine in her mid-40's drowned in her pool last year when she decided to go for a nighttime swim after a few cocktails.

My son's golf team had a team dinner at one of the player's homes who had a pool. They were horse playing and one boy somehow cut his foot wide open on some flagstone on the pool edge. He then got a serious infection from supposedly a bacteria or some such in and around the pool.

Needless to say, it was a WHOPPER 😜 homeowners claim - liability, medical, the whole nine yards.

Don't. Just don't.

**~bs** · 05-09-2017, 07:41 PM

from what i understand pools are one of the worst things you can do to a house. they're expensive to maintain, a liability if someone drowns in your pool, and don't see enough use to be worth it.

If you or your kids like playing in a pool, visit a community pool. my .02

**AJ444** · 05-09-2017, 07:45 PM

Isn't there a public pool or a YMCA or something else in your neighborhood that would be much cheaper and less hassle than financing a personal pool?

If you are carrying Home Depot debt and an $800 medical bill it is also telling me you don't have an appropriate emergency fund and it would be inadvisable buying a pool even if you justified it worth the PITA.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 05-09-2017, 08:21 PM

Maybe if you could afford it next year. BUT OMG I am one of those buyers who RUNS away from the pool. Runs away from the pool. We saw a few in photos and my husband refused to go see it. I see it and say can we fill it in? I love swimming but I hate having a pool.

**kork13** · 05-09-2017, 09:21 PM

I'm not sure if I've seen this kind of strong, unanimous agreement on a question around here in years....

And I'm right there with the rest. If you are carrying peanuts debts around like an $800 medical bill & something on a Home Depot card, you clearly don't have sufficient savings to justify installing a pool. They're stinking expensive to install, expensive & bothersome to maintain, high liability risk, low return on investment, and difficult to sell the home later. If you're going to literally throw money in a pit, you need ALOT of other money in order for that pit of yours to not bury you.

I'll add this: I love to swim. My family does. But we never want to own a pool. My advice: Find the nearest public or club pool, and get a membership. Whatever it costs, it'll be far, far less costly than installing a pool at your home.

**chris g** · 05-09-2017, 09:59 PM

Posted some edit notes above answering disney steve's questions

I added some numbers above. Read below my original post for additional info about financial situation. I really appreciate the feedback.

**Fishindude77** · 05-10-2017, 04:42 AM

You are getting a lot of negative comments about pools, I feel differently. Pools are a bunch of fun, particularly if you have young children. We had one for many years when the kids were young and it was constantly getting used. Had a million weekend and evening cookout parties with friends that had kids of similar age. A whole lot of mini vacations without the travel. I always liked a refreshing dive in the pool to cool down after yard work or before going to bed too.

We had an above ground pool, and since those look like crap standing by their lonesome, I built enclosed deck all around the thing so it didn't look like an above ground pool. I wanted to option to remove easily in the future. Cost to keep it going wasn't bad. If you can afford to heat your house thru the winter, you can afford to keep a pool going in the summer.

After the kids moved out we had a couple cool summers in a row plus they and their friends weren't around to use it. Note - The best way to keep a pool clean is constant use with kids in there playing, stirring up the water. Rather than keeping up a pool we weren't using much, we removed it and the deck around it, restored the lawn and put in a hot tub. I have no regrets about the pool, it was not terribly expensive and we got a good ten years of fun out it when the kids were little.

Having said all of the above ..... You can't afford a pool. A pool is a "toy" much like a boat or a motorcycle and it's bad business to borrow money for toys. If you're serious about it, come up with a plan to save a bunch of money fast and pay cash for it.

Should I put in a pool?