Does your wife know

[Kevin54]

I'm going to post this in the General Garage Forum although it could be put anywhere. And I'm going to post this with a serious thought in mind......

Does your wife know how much your tools are worth? I know a lot of guys might hide what they spend from their wife, but.......BUT....if something (and God forbid)...if something tragic happened to you tomorrow, and say you have young kids that don't know, or no kids at all......would your wife know what to sell your tools for?

The reason i ask this and was reminded me by the "what's the coolest thing you have done in your garage for less than $100", but my wife and I recently had our Wills made out and got our affairs in order when one or both of us would pass away.

But she was out in the garage with me one day and was looking through my toolbox that I brought home from work. She was asking me what was what. I asked her that if something happened tragic to me tomorrow, would she know what to sell my tools for as far as worth? She didn't have a clue. She knows what I paid for some things, but when it comes to my Machinist tools, she don't have any idea. She knows what I paid for the mill and lathe. I told her that just between a few machines like the mill and lathe, plus the component bought for them, plus all of the machinist tools in the toolbox, there is well over $10,000 and probably closer to $15,000. Then when you start adding up the other boxes, the other tools, and the power tools, and the little misc. stuff, it may be pushing or may surpass the $20,000 mark. She said she never realized.

And one doesn't realize until they start looking around at everything that has been accumulated over the years. And I know that some on here has many thousands of dollars in the large Snap-on, Matco, Mac boxes along with the all of the tools in them, not counting what is sitting on the benches and tucked in the drawers.

I know that once they toss the dirt on me, I won't know and won't care, but like I told my wife, it makes a big difference when it would come to her money to live off of and instead of her thinking things are only worth a few hundred instead of a few thousand, she really needed to know.

I told her that I will take a week this winter when we are stuck inside, and I'll make a list of a lot of the machinist tools so she knows what to ask for them if something happened, and so she would also know that someone isn't going to try and take advantage of her. I've sat through a few garage sales we've had and listened to the ******** that some people spew out as to what stuff is worth just trying to lowball you so they can say that they got a super killer deal.

So anyways.....some of you may want to bring the wife into the garage, and just ask if she knows what the stuff is worth, for her future well being if something does happen.

 

[cglasgow]

No, she doesn't know. Hell, I don't know!

 

[Gary S]

Yes, she does. I don't collect tools. I buy only what I need to get the work done, so I'm not sitting here mired down in tools I can't use.

 

[crewchief888]

i've had this conversation with the old lady a couple times.
i'm an only child, youngest (nearly 15 years younger) of all my 1st cousins, no real relationship with any 2nd cousins, and no kids of my own
my tools and boxes were bought and paid for before we ever got together. i have ZERO tool debt.
there are things that she bought for me, bdays, fathers day ect, she knows what she paid for them.
for the most part she has no "interest" in tools, except for some vintage carpenters tools that belonged to my dad
she is aware of tools and toolboxes that i have at work, and to get them asap.
as far as her getting anywhere near replacement value, (approx $100k) that wont happen, and she's aware of it.

she'll keep what she wants, probably wont make a dent in the overall quantity.
i have a couple of good friends that i'd like certain things to go to, and a few things to her kids, (if they want anything) the rest will be sold at auction.

hopefully i'll live/work long enough for our house to be paid off...

 

[darwyn]

Hell, I don't know!

Ditto

 

[930dreamer]

I tell her about most things I buy and sell, she sees the latest inventory when she gets her monthly pass to visit the shop.

 

[jethro29]

mine knows exactly what all my tools are worth,we claim them on our taxes and I have spent roughly $7000.00 a year on tools and equipment for about the last ten years.and also we keep the receipts for all of the tool purchases.

 

[bgarrett]

Whats it worth? If some old lady gives you a junk car thats cluttering up her yard, Whats it worth?
If you sell it for $1500, is that what its worth?
What if your buyer sells it for $6500?

Whats it worth is a dumb question. The world is not Walmart with fixed prices. Even at Walmart you can get things marked down.
The only answer to the question of value is---Its worth whatever you can get at that moment and that value changes on every occasion

 

[Tarheelgarage]

No, don't want her to know 'cause she might try to get them in a divorce...

 

[uniballer]

I have friends that will help her sell it all, unless she keeps them?
But all my gold and silver will stay in the safe till the market pics up a little.(she knows the stock market). But all my cars are auctioned and one for each kid stays.

 

[ddawg16]

Mine knows......they are worth a bit more that her batch of tools....

 

[RocketTR]

Best way for a widow to avoid unknowingly dumping tools too cheaply is to auction them off to the highest bidder.

 

[Kevin54]

Yes, she does. I don't collect tools. I buy only what I need to get the work done, so I'm not sitting here mired down in tools I can't use.

i've had this conversation with the old lady a couple times.
i'm an only child, youngest (nearly 15 years younger) of all my 1st cousins, no real relationship with any 2nd cousins, and no kids of my own
my tools and boxes were bought and paid for before we ever got together. i have ZERO tool debt.
there are things that she bought for me, bdays, fathers day ect, she knows what she paid for them.
for the most part she has no "interest" in tools, except for some vintage carpenters tools that belonged to my dad
she is aware of tools and toolboxes that i have at work, and to get them asap.
as far as her getting anywhere near replacement value, (approx $100k) that wont happen, and she's aware of it.

she'll keep what she wants, probably wont make a dent in the overall quantity.
i have a couple of good friends that i'd like certain things to go to, and a few things to her kids, (if they want anything) the rest will be sold at auction.

hopefully i'll live/work long enough for our house to be paid off...

Estate auctions will set the price. As said above, its a liquidation sale not a resale.

I bought 500LBS of highend tooling and tools for $400.
Dead dads daughter had top line starett marked at half catalog price at yard sales. MONTHS later she had moved $300. She put the 500 lbs on Craigslist for $1500.
I gave her many weeks to sell them. I called her, told her to bottom dollar me and I'd make the 130 mile drive. She said $250. I gave her $400 and returned her dads personal notes I found.

Punchline;
Don't put your wife through the "what's it worth".
Drop it at the auction house...she picks up a check.

Do you really want her trying to get top dollar for 7" inside diameter guages?

Goddamn.....Everyone get up on the wrong side of the bed today?

I'm not talking about collecting tools or being mired down by what you can't use, or dropping off **** to an auction house. I don't give a real **** about the fact that you paid $400 for 500 lbs. of tools. Maybe you were able to put the screws to some ******* wife that didn't have a clue. If so, good for you.

I was merely stating that if something tragic would happen tomorrow, that the wife would have some sort of idea what she MIGHT be able to get out of things pricewise in a garage that otherwise she wouldn't have a clue about.

Myself, I have it set with life insurance and with what we have in investments, that if something happens to me, my wife won't have to worry about things to survive. But she also needs to know what the difference between $5000 and $50,000 is when it comes to everything in the garage. I know if I kick the bucket tomorrow, she sure as hell isn't having an estate sale either. My wife IS smart enough to also know that if I paid $1000 for something new, that it won't be worth that next week.

I just figured I'd mention it for some. I others want to make a huge ******' deal about it, then don't tell your wife or keep her informed. That's entirely up to you. And I sure as in the hell am smart enough myself to know that the 7" inside diameter gage won't bring top dollar. Maybe if you would kick the bucket, I could pick it up off of your wife for $.50 because she wouldn't have a clue as to what it's worth.

 

[Spareparts]

We had a insurance issue at work, wanted more coverage on out tools, so everyone made an inventory of their tools. Well I went a little farther with a video of each drawer and value of each. $56,000 in tools and $7,500 in boxes. We also did the same thing at the home shop and was about the same value with all the machine tools and tooling, plus equipment that I had fab. All this and the video is in a fireproof safe with dessicant stored in our dry basement. Also she knows what all is worth and she reminds me of this every once in a while, especially when she wants to purchase something silly,

 

[Tarheelgarage]

Best way for an ex-wife to avoid unknowingly dumping tools too cheaply is to give them to her new boy friend

fixed it

 

[Toolman12]

I hope when i die my wife doesn't sell my tools for what i TOLD her i paid for them.

 

[Helbz]

Goddamn.....Everyone get up on the wrong side of the bed today?

I'm not talking about collecting tools or being mired down by what you can't use, or dropping off **** to an auction house. I don't give a real **** about the fact that you paid $400 for 500 lbs. of tools. Maybe you were able to put the screws to some ******* wife that didn't have a clue. If so, good for you.

I was merely stating that if something tragic would happen tomorrow, that the wife would have some sort of idea what she MIGHT be able to get out of things pricewise in a garage that otherwise she wouldn't have a clue about.

Myself, I have it set with life insurance and with what we have in investments, that if something happens to me, my wife won't have to worry about things to survive. But she also needs to know what the difference between $5000 and $50,000 is when it comes to everything in the garage. I know if I kick the bucket tomorrow, she sure as hell isn't having an estate sale either. My wife IS smart enough to also know that if I paid $1000 for something new, that it won't be worth that next week.

I just figured I'd mention it for some. I others want to make a huge ******' deal about it, then don't tell your wife or keep her informed. That's entirely up to you. And I sure as in the hell am smart enough myself to know that the 7" inside diameter gage won't bring top dollar. Maybe if you would kick the bucket, I could pick it up off of your wife for $.50 because she wouldn't have a clue as to what it's worth.

lol.....

 

[tolken4]

Many of my larger tools have been bought and paid for during large projects. For example, had to do a roof, I did it and save x 1000's of dollars and got the roof nailer out of it.

In this manner, I have been able to "justify" most of my major tool purchases.

Which reminds me of my table saw and compound 12" double bevel miter saw I bought. Mother in law is actually really into house projects and very capable. But, she thought a miter saw was a miter saw, and did not even know what a table saw was used for. So, when I bought my relatively nice once, I caught a lot of flack and was asked to "justify" them in a mostly joking way.

Needles to say, once she used mine, she never went back to her little one that never did cut straight. And as far as the table saw goes, once she found out she could rip boards down to size , she now offers to "store" my table saw at her house

To answer the question, the new ones yes. The old 1600lbs 36" bandsaw or the Rivett lathe. NO We are still working on trying to convince her of those

 

[mcmlvif100]

Good timing Kevin. My wife and I are just updating our will and while she knows a fair amount about the tools and equipment that I have, there is a lot that I could do to provide a more complete picture for her.

No, she doesn't know. Hell, I don't know!

^^^ x2 ^^^

We had a insurance issue at work, wanted more coverage on out tools, so everyone made an inventory of their tools. Well I went a little farther with a video of each drawer and value of each.

^^^ will be doing this ^^^

Have been putting it off for way too long.

 

[koditten]

I think my wife has a better idea than I do. We were shopping for insurance and the agent asked what the value of the contents were. I gave a # and the wife told the agent to double it.

We both know that the tools have the most value to us. We both know the value to someone else will be less than half.

Cool topic bro.

KO

 

[Twiggss]

You just want to cut back on the "you ****" threads huh?

 

[e-tek]

In case I change my mind (I am easily swayed);
How would a spouse go about liquidating 1000 or so tools to make sure they all go away?

A-U-C-T-I-O-N!


My wife's a farm girl and has seen 100's of estate auctions, so I'm sure that's what willll happen. It's not a large part of our overall estate and I'll be dead so I really don't care what happens!

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think the wife has some idea of the value of what I own. I tend to think she is a good enough judge of character to know if someone is lying to her about tool value. I believe she would pass some off to the daughters (their husbands) and sell the rest with the help of friends.

 

[Carsandtools]

My wife has a clue as to the worth of my tools but she really doesn't care. If it ever came down to her needing to know, each handtool has a model number and each power tool has a nameplate and google will be her friend. In any case, I want my children and grandchildren to have the first pickings of my stuff. She knows that.

It really doesn't matter because I'm going to outlive her.

 

[Weekend_warrior]

My wife knows a little and has started becoming good at selling things online. She might sell some of it and it wouldn't make much of a difference to her either way.

I have life insurance so we wont have to worry much. If she does not use them they are dead weight. Pass them on to family who will use them or cut them loose for what you can.

While I don't have kids of my own my step son or nephew might want them. More lukely I could see my nephew wanting them. My step son does not have much of the "handy gene", but I'm trying!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[JCQuick]

We have been married 37 years during that time most christmas/birthday/fathersday I would give her a list of tools or race car parts that I needed. and she would always come thru. So yeah I believe she does.

 

[hoffman912]

I have the same concern with car parts.. i am young (32) and not overly concerned with dying, but i travel a lot for work, i used to smoke for 13 years, i have high blood pressure, high stress and am overweight. I plan on addressing those items soon and getting back into shape. anyways.. i have some risks, and realize we never know whats going to happen tomorrow. hell i have 5 people i grew up with who have died.

anyways, my car is probably worth about 30K, and i have probably close to 10K in spare parts and other parts i have horded or invested in that are no longer available and rare, just to hold onto and/or sell if i need to make some quick cash. she has no clue what i paid or what things are worth.. she may have an idea (parted out a car two years ago and sold the wheels for $4,000 alone... she is ok with me budgeting and spending my fun money on anything i want, but that was the point she stopped being concerned about me blowing my money on a junk car).

anyways, i have told her specifically which friends to ask for help should anything happen..

 

[jcinga]

A job I had for 20+ years required that I purchase my own tools, so I have my fair share. I purchased Snap-On pretty much exclusively during that time period. I since have started my own business and my CPA suggested that since I didn't deduct them on my personal income taxes throughout the years (not a high enough percentage to qualify), that I "sell them" to my new company. Luckily I am a pack rat and had kept all of my tool receipts since the early 1980s, so coming up with a total was fairly easy. However, I could never replace my inventory for what I have invested, as tools have continually increased in valve throughout the years. Since my business has been in operation, I have continued to keep good records of tool and equipment purchases for tax purposes. So yeah, my wife and I have had the conversation regarding tool and equipment valuation, and it is a shocker!

 

[DynoDave]

Good topic...thanks for posting.

I've often wondered about how I would handle this. Or, how SHE will handle this. She, and her family (brothers, father, etc.) would not be able to help. My brothers, who live out-of-state, might be able to help a little. Aside from what she and my kids might want, I worry about them getting decent value out of the stuff. (Decent as in, not giving the stuff away, but not dragging out the process any longer than necessary to get top value). I won't say that what I have ******* in tools and car parts is a major part of what I'm worth financially, but I'm not a wealthy guy, and they certainly represent money that would be worth having if I was gone.

While I've not made it official by asking, I have a couple of friends that I thought I would ask to help her. Unfortunately, neither is in-state, and I'm not sure they'd be up for it.

It's something I need to talk to her about. No doubt.

 

[Steevo]

I have been checking out auction and estate sale companies to find one I could trust to work with my wife if she needed to sell off my shop. There is no way she could deal with selling stuff one at a time or running ads or having yard sales to try to liquidate, so she'll need someone who knows tools and prices and can run an auction or sale for her.

 

[Wood'nMetal]

Your family should know what your tools are worth. My Grandpa died while my Dad was in the Navy. The "kindly neighbor" arranged to sell his Snap On tool set and chests for my Grandma. She got $100.

Maintain an inventory of your tools and keep it in a safe place. Direct your spouse or other on how to dispose of your tools in case of your passing.

 

[shovel]

Good topic Kevin, and one the wife and I have talked about. To answer your question, No; my wife has no idea what my tools are worth. On the same token, I have no idea what her 3 sets of China & crystal, ceramic figurines or jewelry is worth. The resolve is that we both know who to go to for help if something were to happen. I have a couple of good friends that could be trusted to get her the most money and vice versa. I think the key thing here is that she knows you have a large investment there and would have the means to get top dollar for it if something happened. I am about to start liquidating some tools though. Some of the things I don't see myself or college age son ever using. I've tried to get her to do the same, but no luck so far.

 

[Kevin54]

My problem is that there isn't too many that I could trust to help her out, and in no way would I want her to try and piece meal everything out an item at a time. I know her niece and nephew would help her but the niece is an RN and doesn't know much when it comes to tools, and although her nephew works at Navistar in the shop, some automotive tools and especially machinist tools, he doesn't have a clue about. And I don't expect her to have to negotiate **** for $.50 on a $10 item. But she needs to know what she could possibly get out of them.

One way I was going to do it was to take a picture of a drawer at a time, just take a pen and write on the key items as to what a typical price would be for them, them laminate them and put all of the sheets in a drawer in the toolbox. For instance, I have a Sine plate I made back in '83. To buy one in similar size, would be around $400, give or take. If she were to sell it, $150 would be a good deal for someone and I feel it would be an appropriate price. It may also be a low price. But it is an item that all she knows is that it's used to set angles but has no idea it's a precision instrument. If she were to have a sale, with her just knowing that she could possibly get $150, it's better than someone looking at it and saying that they are only worth $5 or $10.

And by no means am I insinuating that she would need to get top dollar for things, but she doesn't know about tools like that and neither does her family. Neither does anyone in my family for that matter. I just don't like to see a person getting taken when a tragedy happens, especially a woman or anyone's wife. And in this day, there are a lot of people that looks for ways to take advantage of someone like that. Just like the mill I bought earlier, she thought I paid $600 for it, and I had to remind her that $600 was spent on a lathe that I have gotten rid of. She can get almost $3000 for it if it had to be sold. So that is why I told her I will make up a list for her if anything happens. How she would decide to get rid of things would be entirely up to her. If her little nephews would be doing some work of that type where they would need to have garage tools, whether mechanic or machinist, she could very well give them all to her nephews.

And at the same time I do that, I also need to get with my insurance company and get things updated with them too.

One other thing, when it comes to wives and garages, my wife has her craft building and does her thing up there. In my garage, she may come down to use the air compressor to blow out the sweeper. A month or so ago, I showed her what was in all of the overhead cabinets and explained to her about the Oxy/Acet setup. The reason I did this was in case she were home and I would happen to be gone, she could make the fire department aware as to what is inside the garage, and where things are located. She never knew how different products will flame up until we were burning some trash out back one day. I took a cup of gasoline and threw it on the fire. I then took a cup of parts cleaner and threw it on the fire. After that, I took a cup of lacquer thinner and threw it on the fire. She now knows where the thinners are kept, the paints are kept, and knows enough to warn any firemen as to the risk as they would not know what was in the garage. It could possibly save their life, or even a neighbors life if one decided to help put out a fire.

Things like that, I feel is all important stuff for a spouse to know.

 

[Bobdog]

Well, apparently they were worth the contents of my ex wife's jewelry box, since that's what she agreed to trade them for when I divorced her 3 years ago.

But, in reality they are worth quite a bit more in cash.

 

[atfulldraw]

Don't have one of those wife things.....

But I hired an attorney to worry about details like this - he drafted my trust, pour-over will and other documents like POA, living will, etc. He keeps me in line on updating my inventory. Upon my death, he will take care of selling the things that aren't specifically listed to go to my girlfriend or to my daughter.

My girlfriend gets all the hunting and fishing gear -- but she doesn't have any interest in the tools, so they will be up for auction. The proceeds then go back into the trust to care for my daughter and take care of continuing expenses on the properties.

My goal is to live forever, but if I can't manage to do that, the money I spent on the attorney was well-spent for the peace of mind it provides that my family won't have to worry about little details like this.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I've made an inventory of my guns with current values and I've drummed it into her that this is what they're worth now, just so she has that information. What she chooses to do with that info is of course, up to her. There are always vultures out there, even amongst so-called friends, so when one tells her "he would want me to have that for free" or some miniscule amount, she will at least have a choice. I've not done the same with tools, though there are fairly valuable items like Fluke meters and such that I accrued as an electrician, that I maybe should be concerned with. I'll probably do the same thing with tools.

 

[theoldwizard1]

My son gets everything. Not that it is that much. I could replace it all tomorrow for a probably less than $5,000. Auction value, less than $1,000.

 

[fury9]

Hopefully your price sheets need to be updated many times before you kick the bucket, Thanks for the idea as my wife has pretty much no idea what anything in my garage even is, Not to mention what it might be worth.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Can't say on the tools, but we have an agreement that the vises are being buried with me.

 

[shovel]

For those of you looking for a new career:
Asset liquidation seems to be a narrow field we could all use.

duckface, you are right about that. Like Kevin's sine plate, even a well-meaning, knowledgeable person could be way off on something like that. I have seen it myself. This is more reason for me to start liquidating some stuff now.