Michael Vick Is Learning To Live Boat-Free

Here's a story on how Michael Vick has paid off an extraordinary amount of debt over the last five years—more than $15 million of the $17.8 million he owed creditors upon declaring for bankruptcy while in prison on dogfighting charges. It's a window on Vick's responsibility—which has, by all accounts, been unstinting—and on his commitment to living on a budget. Even if a big-time athlete's budget is still pretty luxe.

We'll never rich-shame athletes (owners with daddy's money, on the other hand, are fair game), but this quote is too good to pass up:

As part of the plan to pay off his creditors, Vick stuck to living on a $300,000 budget, because more than 50 percent of what he was making went toward taxes and legal fees.

"I had never been on a budget before, so I had to pay attention to everything that I was doing," Vick said. "Now I realize that I don't need certain things I bought back in the day, like a new boat."

Vick did like the occasional new boat. From the archives, we can find records of Vick selling at least three different boats, ranging from 22 to 27 feet. A man's gotta have a backup backup boat in case his boat and his backup boat are in the shop.

But it's nice that Vick is adjusting to life as a landlubber; those things are notorious money sinks. The only responsible boat ownership is to not owning a boat.

[ ESPN]