Need a little money saving advice

[Sponge_Bob 0]

Hello Everyone, nice forum.

Right, need a little financial advice here.
Age 26 years old, approaching 30. Time to get married around 32ish. So only 6 years left until I try every little fun activity (that I prefer) before becoming a responsible family man.

Besides that, in two months I am starting my skydiving lessons. Will go AFF to get 'A' certified in parachuting. Problem is cost. Skydiving is quiet expensive activity for middle class income persona.

Costs

Certificate:
$3000 over 6 months for skydiving certificate/training (25 jumps, 4 jumps/month)

Gear:
$1800 parachute container new
$1800-$2500 main canopy new
$1000-$1500 reserve canopy new
$1000 other stuff( helmet, altimeter, jumpsuit, etc...) new

total cost: $8600-$9800. All brand new stuff.

Question is how can I save some bucks? Looks like it can be done in gear purchase. Some people say buy used gear if you are a starter skydiver.

So "which stuff" can I buy used? Is it safe? Used gear as in 1 year old, or the number of times it was used??

Advise.

[AllisonH 0]

Any or all of the gear you need can be purchased used. You should be able to get all of your equipment for between $2500-5000 used, depending on what you get. You can also do a combination of new and used, which I did for ~4-5,000. You'll get a lot more (useful and appropriate) advice on that from your instructors as you move along in your student progression. If you tell us where you live, we may be able to suggest ways to save on student jumps as well.

[skymama 35]

Welcome to the forums!
For money saving advice, look at what you can do without. Bring a lunch to work instead of buying it, get rid of premium cable channels, condense your errands and drive around less...all of the little things add up. When I was saving for gear, I got a part-time job at night. It was a pain, but it was worth it.

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

[Sponge_Bob 0]

I stay in Washington, DC, but spend couple days twice a month in Richmond, VA.

Thus I had west point skydive in mind. www.skydivewestpoint.com/

[labrys 0]

Quote

total cost: $8600-$9800

About 1/2 what you would have spent if you'd bought an Electra-Glide instead.

As others have said, used gear is a great option when you're starting out. After I got my license I paid 3000 for a complete rig with a main, reserve, and Cypres, $40 for a helmet, $30 for an altimeter, and $100 for a used jumpsuit. The jumpsuit was the first thing I replaced with something new and fitted for me.

Owned by Remi #?

[simplyputsi 0]

Quote

Certificate:
$3000 over 6 months for skydiving certificate/training (25 jumps, 4 jumps/month)

Umm I'm lost on this part. AFF courses should be about $1000, that is for 7 passed jumps. Then if you figure $20 a jump for 25 jumps, well that is $500. It could be a little more for jumps, but you probably wouldn't add more than $50 to that number. You could have a few coached jumps in there, that could add a little.

I'm just saying I get no where near $3000 to get your A. It's been a few years since I was there, but I don't think the prices are up that much.

Skymama's #2 stalker -

[AllisonH 0]

It's pretty common to pay up to $1500 or more for the AFF part, then many dropzones require a number of coach jumps at $50-100 each to complete the student program (AFF is just the first part of the student program). Even if they don't charge extra for coaching, you're probably looking at around $50-60 per jump when you factor in gear rental. I paid less than $1400 for my A license a few years ago, but I was fortunate to be able tot do the first half at a club DZ where they offered static line training at a great price.

To the original poster: if you're looking to save money on the jumping part, look around and see if there's either a club dropzone or a place that offers either static line or IAD instruction. The progression is a little different than AFF, but by the time you get 20-30 jumps you'll end up in the same place. You'll have just taken a different path to get there, and the jumps are significantly less expensive. I'm not familiar enough with dropzones in that area to give more specific recommendations, but call around to a few local places and compare.

[Sponge_Bob 0]

goto:
http://www.skydivewestpoint.com/skydiving/prices.aspx

then scroll down to "Accelerated Freefall (AFF) Program Prices"


Training complete in 20 jumps, and than 5 more jumps for A license.

[peregrinerose 0]

Don't forget gear rental too, it's not like most people buy gear straight off of AFF.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[ceandries 0]

I agree with AllisonH. Static line is an inexpensive way of becoming certified. Don't think that means that it is inferior to AFF, just different. I was able to get my A for $750 last year by doing static line training at a small "club" dropzone.

[woady 0]

Quote

If you tell us where you live, we may be able to suggest ways to save on student jumps as well.

DON'T DO IT MAN! RUN! She's trying to rip you off! Look, if you need help give me your credit card number I'll help you get all the gear you need for FREE! Hehehe, just kidding. Everyone here has some really good ideas. You could always use your tax refund or a really good suggestion would be to put any extra cash you have in your wallet each day in a little piggy bank. It doesn't sound like much, but after 6 months, it adds up. It might not be enough for your large purchases but its good for some of the smaller gear at least.

You know what's similar between Cops and Firefighters? They both wanna be firefighters.

[siddacious 0]

Quote

Age 26 years old, approaching 30. Time to get married around 32ish. So only 6 years left until I try every little fun activity (that I prefer) before becoming a responsible family man.

Being a responsible family man is overrated. If you want to keep skydiving for the rest of your life, why not? Plus with modern medical advances extending life expectancy, no reason why you gotta have kids at 30ish.

To answer the question you did as, as opposed to lecturing you on life choices, not going broke while skydiving is twofold. I'm largely echoing what Skymama said:

Save money by buying used wherever possible. There is safe used gear available for just about everything you'll need.

Getting a custom suit is a fair place to spend a little extra money to be sure that it is of the correct size and type to suit(har har) your body and fallrate. Having an appropriate suit is KEY and will keep you from beating yourself up about 'going low' and 'being floaty', and will allow you to enjoy participating in the skydive rather than worring about your fallrate (read: I ran into this problem and a borrowed suit had a magical effect on my skydiving. PM me if you want more details on this subject)

Other than cutting costs with used gear, saving money outside of skydiving helps. Cook at home. Take lunch to work. Drive less. Rent movies instead of going out to them. Keep in mind that if you spend 20 bucks a day on food eating out, thats 600ish bucks a month!

Also, coming up with some extra income can help. Get a part time job in the evening, or learn how to pack and make some extra money at the DZ. Participate in medical experiments. Sell your precious bodily fluids. Whatever. Where there is a will, there is a way.

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