How did you pay for your skydiving training?

[skydivermom 0]

Just curious how all of you have funded your training in this awesome sport. I'm sure there are some creative and interesting stories.

I am a homeschooling mother of two so I HAD to get creative. I babysit a darling 9 month old from about 7:15AM to 4:30 (at the latest). I have two after school kids (which I pick up) from 3 to 5. Then 3 evenings a week I pick up a 3 year old from day care at around 5:30 and he stays until 7.

I am completely exhausted and some of you may think I'm crazy, but it all becomes worth it when I'm flying that canopy! I must REALLY be addicted.

Mrs. WaltAppel

All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

[BillyVance 34]

I was kinda poor and in the middle of college so I didn't jump very much, but I did pay when I could, from my checking account.

Edited to add: I did the Static Line training course, so jumps were $35 to $45 apiece, which was a lot easier to swallow than AFF...

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Feeblemind 1]

Worked overtime and saved. Then paid cash all at once (in for a penny, in for a pound).

Fire Safety Tip: Don't fry bacon while naked

[nate_1979 9]

I stopped drinking...

It's sad, but true. (sad that I would party and drink enough, that to quit would allow me to be able to afford this sport, quite happy that I dont go out anymore actually.)

Ofcourse, that now means that I dont have a life if I dont skydive I remember what I did before skydiving, and dont really wanna go back to it.

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

[skydivermom 0]

***I stopped drinking...

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Good for you! I'm sure you are much healthier for it.

Mrs. WaltAppel

All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

[fallingchip 0]

I did a tandom first. Fell in love with it of course. Saved for a year and returned paying for the eniter AFF over two weekends.

______________________________________________
"A radical man is a man with both feet firmly planted in the air."
-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

[bob.dino 1]

Savings. I used to work in London and made quite a lot of money doing so. I spent it on learning to skydive, buying gear, and drinking a bit too much beer. All good .

[grue 1]

I sold my soul.



















Ok, fine. I worked my ass off. Same way I'm barely affording my new rig

cavete terrae.

[heidihagen 0]

Quote

I have two after school kids (which I pick up) from 3 to 5. Then .

i sold my kids. now i'm just selling my body

i didn't lose my mind, i sold it on ebay. .:need a container to fit 5'4", 110 lb. cypres ready & able to fit a 170 main (or slightly smaller):.[/ce

[ladyskydiver 0]

Cash (aka check)...some credit card but mostly cash.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

I had a kick-ass job at the time that was paying me bank.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[pa2themd 0]

sold my car, sold stuff lying around in my house that I never used like windsurfers, etc etc

Worked manifest (actually still do, thats what pays for my jumps now). Changed my lifestyle ... I love it .. more natural .....

I also dont think I would wanna go back to what I used to do before, I however would wanna try more stuff like Adventure Racing, canoeeing and stuff

"Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's
addressed to someone else!" Ivern Ball

[popsjumper 2]

I'm SO old-school...paid credit card.

BUT I know a guy who paid for AFF with:
2 TVs
1 Play Station
2 couches
1 microwave
2 weeks of mowing grass.

or multiple similar items...

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

[skymama 37]

I paid for my training with an income tax refund and paid for my rig with cash from a second job.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[PLFXpert 0]

I was a poor college student.

I only did 1 level/month (but fortunately was able to skip 2 levels) as that was all I could afford. It took me 4 months to complete AFF.

My uncle who used to skydive in the military and now works top secret, mysteriously sent me a check after completing my AFF to buy myself a rig, helmet, altimeter, etc. That was the first time I'd ever heard from him in my life. Apparently my mom had told him about my new passion and he was extremely pleased Without that, I don't know what I would have done. Having your own gear after AFF is so important to the cost effectiveness of jumping.
Edited to say: I also sold two surf boards, 1 wakeboard and my scuba gear. I don't regret anything, but I do wish I still had my own scuba gear.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[Dumpster 0]

Paid for my training and I still pay for jumps by:
Working mad overtime, especially in the off-season to bank for the summer months-
Scrounging and selling scrap metal (non-ferrous metals are up! Copper is like a buck a pound!)
Buying and selling stuff on eBay.
Pimping myself out -
Packing.
Ratholing cash when I can.
Buying/selling gear.
Always looking for more sources of income- May go the AFF/Tandem route of funding my habit next year. I'm also beginning to play with video.

Easy Does It

[sunshine 2]

The guy i was with at the time paid for it.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[popsjumper 2]

Congrats on your Sugar Daddy!

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

[StevePhelps 0]

multiple second jobs ... substitute teaching, web design, cartooning and illustrating for magazines and books.

[BRYANGOESBOOM 0]

Stopped giving expensive gifts on holidays

Not only will you look better, feel better, and fuck better; you'll have significantly increased your life expectancy. --Douva

[sunshine 2]

Quote

Congrats on your Sugar Daddy!

Save the congrats, i said "with at the time." No more sugar daddy for sunny.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I applaud you for doing what it takes to do what you have found you love.Good luck with your skydiving.See you at a boogie somewhere.

[PsychoBob 0]

Began franchising Meth-Labs in Alabama.

"I'm not a gynecologist but I will take a look at it"
RB #1295, Smokey Sister #1, HellFish #658, Dirty Sanchez #194, Muff Brothers #3834, POPS #9614, Orfun Foster-Parent?"

[Bodyflight.Net 0]

Quote

The guy i was with at the time paid for it.

Me too

but I married the guy 10 months later

Pink Suits, Blue Skies & Fast Air,
Dawn Suiter

[tigra 0]

Overtime- and lots of it!