Lifetime Licenses

[BronzeBrother]

Having the ability to just go online and print out the lifetime license would be a good selling point I would think... Any license... I can go online and buy/print a non resident license for hunting and fishing for some states, but not here in MN...

[jwmiller33]

BronzeBrother,

great point! we always go online and buy our non resident Alaska fishing licenses a week before our trip. Its one less thing you have to do when you get on vacation which is very convenient

[amateurfishing]

I was going to get lifetime fishing this year from tax returns as my treat to myself, but after doing the math, i realized it was a break even proposition for me @ 42 and that would not include my wife or trout stamp. Figured if i have to make the extra stop for wife/walleye/trout stamp, may as well just get mine on yearly basis and not put it all upfront. Would be very nice to have husband/wife version of this also. Obviously the wild card in this is how much will rates go up and how often? Ill just look at it as a little extra donation to wildlife for next 20 years on a yearly basis, really whats an exta 5 or 10 bucks a year.....well unless i live to be 90. If I would have had it in 20's or 30's, would have been a good deal, @ 42 its not.

[spearchucker]

My two year old is getting a sportsmans license in the very near future. What an investment if you can get them early.

This is more of a feel good thing than an investment. In fact it is a terrible investment as far as investments go. Why give the state your money well before you need to. Assuming your kids even wants to hunt and fish he/she would need a license for another 14 years anyway and at curent prices you won't get your money back for 25 years. I wouldn't call that an investment.

[ozzie]

it is a great deal if you see yourself moving out of state but coming back often to hunt or fish...otherwise it is a bad money wise investment at the rate they are raising lic. fees....now if lic. fees go up dramaticly in the next 20 years then it might be a good investment now....

[SkunkedAgain]

If you do a search, you'll find a thread on this from a year or two ago. There was lots of discussion and a few of us actually whipped out the calculators and spreadsheets to do a real financial analysis of getting the lifetime license.

I may be wrong, but if I remember correctly it made better financial sense to keep buying the annual license and investing whatever you would have spent on the lifetime license. Assuming a modest rate of return, the investment income would better cover the future license costs (including increases) than giving that lump sum to the state right now.

[spearchucker]

I would agree. You don't pay your taxes 25 years in advance do you? That is assuming you live that long as well.

[lindy rig]

Big problem, nobody will take the difference and invest it. Nobody.

I am 32 yrs old and just figured the break even would be 20 years on a sportsman license. That does not even consider rate hikes over that span. I think I'm going to get one.

[LoonASea]

I picked up my lifetime lic when I hit 51 ,,,no regrets what so ever ,,,even tho I fish the Wi side of Lake Superior most of the time ,,,another 7 year and its paid for itself!!!!

I dont consider getting a paper lic an inconvience as I buy the trout stamp any way

I would rather fish then complain about the hassle of getting a paper lic but what do I know ,,,Im old

LAS

[spearchucker]

Whether you invest the money or not, why give the government money that you don't need to.

[jwmiller33]

Randy, your not THAT old

[LoonASea]

Thanks Jake ,,,,I feel better now

[amateurfishing]

@lindyrig, yes @ 32 it is a good investment, @ my 42 it is not, we always get husband wife so for me to do it myself, then to pay full price for wife individually makes no sense at all. this way she gets 50% off every year.

[Maverick]

I just bought my 9 month old grandson a lifetime license for $227. Here is my math.

If I invested 227 for 15 years at 5% when he turns 16 I will have $472 at which time he will need to start buying a fishing license at $17 (I am not figuring any increase in costs)

Not including additional interest he will have enough money to buy a license for 28 years. He will run out of my money when he is 44 years old ( I will be dead).

Assuming he lives until he is 80 he will have to continue to buy a license for 36 years at a current cost of $612.

The only money I lost was the interest for 15 years ($245), but he saves the $612 having never had to buy a license.

The math is not perfect, I may have missed a little compounding during the 28 years he would have bought a license, but for $227 I saved him $612. That is at 5% which I doubt you could find for a principle of $227.

Other than the fact that I am a really nice grandpa, the math works out just fine and if he moves away from Minnesota and comes back to the cabin I will leave him in my will, he really makes out.

[LightningBG]

I just bought my 9 month old grandson a lifetime license for $227. Here is my math.

I like it. If it makes sense financially or not. It's one thing he will never ever have to worry about. And he'll always think about you when he's using it.

[amateurfishing]

and sometimes its not even about the money that make it an awesome idea or deal like your case

[My_Key]

I've been tossing around the idea of buying the lifetime license for my son, but until my financial situation makes a major change for the better, I just can't afford to drop the money on one. To me, the lifetime license makes most sense for children through the age of about 30. After that, a year to year license seems more costworthy.

[Sportland_Bait]

I think it is a bad deal even when buying one for kids. For multiple reasons. I don't like the idea of investing my money with the state and getting a zero percent return on my investment. I could invest the same amount of money into anything else and draw out a little money each year to buy a license. It takes a long time to make the lifetime deal worth it. I have a 3 year old child and a 10 month old. There is no way I would buy them a lifetime. Even though the simple math says it is a good idea, there are just too many variables. My kids may grow up not interested in fishing, or they may go to college, move away and not have a chance to use it. When they get old enough I'll give them the money for a license if they can't afford it. I just don't think the normal yearly license fees are that overwelming even if they do raise them in the future.

Jason

[Maverick]

Sometimes the glass is half full, sometimes it is half empty. No need to justify one way or the other that's what is cool about it, it is a choice.

[CoorsCaptain]

My Grandpa loved to fish. When he passed away he left me alittle money. I used that money to buy my 3 kids the lifetime license. If my kids move out of state they will be able to come back and fish for free.

Thanks Grandpa

[muskE]

I don't get why they can't just give you a laminated card that says LIFETIME LICENSE on it and elmininate the need to go get a license.

Three words...Deadbeat Dads & Poachers.

Having people "check in" is a good thing to help keep people honest. It's an unfortunate thing that we have to go there in the first place, but it parallels why prices go up when shoplifting thefts are on the rise...the innocent pay for the guilty.

[muskE]

Whether you invest the money or not, why give the government money that you don't need to.

Ever paid for EZPass use on tollways (MNPass here)? You load the transponder (pay your tax in advance) and then the total deducts as you tick through the gates. In IL, the tax for a one-time cash payment is double the original toll, so there's the incentive.

[spearchucker]

Ever paid for EZPass use on tollways (MNPass here)? You load the transponder (pay your tax in advance) and then the total deducts as you tick through the gates. In IL, the tax for a one-time cash payment is double the original toll, so there's the incentive.

Do you buy 25 years worth of them at a crack though?

[spearchucker]

As a gift and a nice gesture I can see, but not as a money saving investment.

[lindy rig]

Another reference to "I could invest the money". Fact is, you are not investing the money. You are spending it on something else, and most people probably couldn't even tell you where it goes.

Buying in bulk is a one way to get ahead; this is a similar concept. Part with a couple hundred bucks now and be set for life.

Just read an article about hunting and fishing license fees to rise..........