Damn this sport's expensive...

[jbh186 0]

So, I've been reading posts/polls for a little while now, and I don't think this one has been done yet.

I just recently got Quicken, and started tracking finances, budget, etc...

Of course, skydiving has it's own category, and I realized I'm spending a good bit o' cash supporting the local dropzone. So...I had to do the math...since my first jump, I've spent about 10% of my NET income on the sport. Is this right on par with others? I can't take it with me, so I might as well spend it while I got it.

Does anyone actually make more coaching, filming, etc. than they spend fun jumping, buying gear, etc?

[pilotsR4pimps 0]

i SHOULD do a self budget but I know the amount is well over 12K in two years. I'll just pretend I dont know

[cocheese 0]

When I first started, my coach said "I spend 1/3 of my income on skydiving".. I said "How?" He said gear, boogies, and jumps add up.

Well he lied. You will spend all of your money on this sport. You will put some things on credit too.

People that work in the sport often don't make enough money to ever get ahead of the game, yet even a packer can make a living at some drop zones.

It's a good idea to have a budget, but not a good idea to keep track of the cost of things that are priceless.

Places where the money can go:
Gear, insurance, campers, injuries, wind tunnels, travel, beer, women, new gear ...extra rig, or wing suit, or camera helmet, packers, BASE rig, reserve repacks etc.... It never ends.

Save your money and throw it out of the plane like confetti. You're the confetti.

[Skydave103 0]

Avg of 10%.....better than giving it to that place you are supposed to go to on sundays!!

LifeshouldNOTbeajourneytothegravewithawellpreservedbody,buttskidinsideways,cigarinone hand,martiniintheother,bodythoroughlyused upandscreaming:"WOO HOO!! What a ride!!!"

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

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I just recently got Quicken, and started tracking finances, budget, etc...

Clearly your problem isn't how much you are spending on jumping... It is that you are tracking it. No good can come from that.

Back away from the keyboard slowly......

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

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I just recently got Quicken, and started tracking finances, budget, etc...

Clearly your problem isn't how much you are spending on jumping... It is that you are tracking it. No good can come from that.

Back away from the keyboard slowly......

+ 1

I did the same thing from my 1st tandem in July until now.... YIKES.

Definitely nothing good can come of that. I call it evidence if someone ever got ahold of it.

Always be kinder than you feel.

[jbh186 0]

It's all the freakin' gear that adds up quickly. I can stomach the $18.00 per jump, but being a newbie, acquiring all the gear hurts.

Oh well...I guess after the purchase, you usually have something to sell to offset the costs...

I should have taken up bowling
Oh, and I'm definitely envious of all you bastards that actually get paid to do this.

[Squeak 17]

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i SHOULD do a self budget but I know the amount is well over 12K in two years. I'll just pretend I dont know

12k IN 24 MONTHS IS NOT BAD AT ALL

I spent 17K in my 1st 12 months and th e ONLY reason that I spent 17K was because I ran out of money

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[MudPuppy 0]

I have spent at least 10k since september 08....


But hey, this isn't just a sport... it's an addiction, a lifestyle, and way cooler than anything most people do.

Skydiving..... Good to the last drop©

-MudPuppy the Sky Pirate- Dirty Sanchez #453

[Tuna-Salad 0]

I estimate my expenses to be about $500 a month

Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night.

[diablopilot 2]

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Oh, and I'm definitely envious of all you bastards that actually get paid to do this.

Don't be, I'm into it for far more than you are and I miss out on a whole lot of fun jumps because I have to work.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[skyjumpenfool 2]

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...I just recently got Quicken, and started tracking finances, budget, etc...

Clearly, this is a priorities related problem. As you can see from your statement above, your priorities are out of wack. Quicken is a very expensive program that probly cost you a couple of skydives! Then there's the computer which probly cost over 50 skydives... you get the idea.

That coupled with the fact you still don't yet have a clear understanding of "Skydive Econimics"... let's see if I can explain;

Forget about the "Dollar", a skydiver's econimic currency is the "Jump". A pizza is worth about one Jump, a new car can be as much as a thousand jumps. Once you've gained an understanding of this economic model, and you've realigned your priorities, all will be well in the world!

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[jbh186 0]

Ahh...now I understand.

Hows this? I got 2 jumps for 1 "jump" today!!!!

[skyjumpenfool 2]

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Ahh...now I understand.

Hows this? I got 2 jumps for 1 "jump" today!!!!

Excellent! You're getting the idea. You've even jumped ahead a lesson to "Getting the greatest value for your "jumps"!!

Next week we'll be discussing "investing your jumps".

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[jbh186 0]

I'm a quick learner. I just recently invested them into a nice G4. I hope to get some decent dividends out of that.

[cocheese 0]

Yes you are a quick learner. Good job.

[tbrown 26]

There's a poem in Andy Keech's first Skies Call book that bemoans the expense of our sport, and that if he hadn't spent all his money on it he could have "lived the heady lifestyle of Playboy magazine".

"But if I had the money back in one financial lump,
I'd go south for the winter,
And I'd jump, and jump, and jump."

Says it all to me.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[virgin-burner 1]

why not post the whole thing!?

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If I could retrieve
the fortune I have spent
Worrying where it came from
not caring where it went
I could live the heady lifestyle
of Playboy magazine
I would see the worldly sights,
that still remain unseen.

I must amount to thousands
I've squandered on the sport
The mark of any jumper
a balance close to nought
But if I had it back
in one financial lump
I'd go south in the winter
and jump and jump and jump.

- Skies Call

love it!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[Misternatural 0]

I figure- I'ts really none of my business what I've spent so far.

Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires.
D S #3.1415

[popsjumper 2]

Me and my bank account have an agreement...don't ask, don't tell.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[JohnMitchell 16]

I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on jumping. The rest of it I just wasted on food and housing.

[ladydyver 0]

I just go and jump......then leave it to doc to figure out the financial stuff. He hasn't cut me off of jumping yet.

DPH # 2
"I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~
I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc!

[Iceburner 0]

my deployments are the safety net for my bank accounts. Even when i was working regularly for a DZ i was lucky to break even...and it's paid the most of any DZ i worked at!