Dave Says: Should I Sell Family Heirlooms to Pay Down Debt?

Dear Dave,

My husband and I aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on a motorcycle. The bike was my dad’s, and I got it four years ago when he passed away. I’d like to keep it because I grew up riding it with him, and I still ride it today. My husband thinks we should sell it to pay off debt. We make about $60,000 a year, and we have about $36,000 to go before we’re debt-free except for our home. The bike is worth about $2,300. What do you think?

Amanda

Dear Amanda,

There’s no way I’d sell that bike. If it were just a miscellaneous motorcycle, I’d sell the thing in about 20 seconds. But this bike is unique and special because it was your dad’s. There’s only one of those in the world. 

It’s like a lady in the same scenario saying she has a $2,300 diamond on her hand that’s her wedding ring. Would I tell her to sell it? No way! This bike is very much woven into the fabric of your life and your fondest memories. As a rule, you just don’t sell things like that.

Now, there may be extreme cases sometimes where a person might have to consider selling something of that magnitude. If you were in a truly awful situation making $10,000 a year and the ring is worth $200,000 while you’re $100,000 in debt, you’d have to give it some thought. 

But there’s no way I’d sell that bike in your case!

—Dave