At our house we clip coupons and scour the grocery ads weekly for sales, don't eat out without a coupon and limit this to once a week as a family treat, and take our own lunches to work each day. I have started to keep track of our savings and it is adding up super quick!
Do not smoke or drink alcohol.
Buy my gear only when on sale off season.
work overtime when its offered at work.
Buy what I need not what I want
Take a lunch everyday (usually leftovers). Use the library to get reading and watching material. Wash your vehicle yourself instead of making the carwash rich. Get used to using the same hunting gear every year, the latest and greatest gear will not make you a better hunter. Quiit the gym and do your own workouts in or around the house (just takes a little thought). Buy store brand food (typically has less ingridients=healthier). This year I'm going to attempt to dehydrate my own meals for hunting (cost factor will be close, but I will be making more for dinner then dehydrating some and taking the rest to work for lunch. Find out what vices you have, and figure out how much they cost you. Then seriously ask yourself what is more important to you...a moment of enjoyment or a lifetime of memories?
Pick up a 2nd job. I've had 2 jobs since I left the Army in 1994. The days of having one job and living comfortably are pretty much over for the working class. Pay yourself first. Just do the math...$50 a week adds up really quick. It's all about balance.
You will find it, but you need to be looking or you'll never see it.
Rarely eat out. I'm salary so I don't get overtime. The only way to get a raise that will cover the raising cost of health care and inflation is to work hard and to things out of your comfort zone for recognition. That'll get me the rare 3.8-4% raise every other year.
Also, we have a credit cards at work and if our machines run good, the company will put on about $100 per month +/- $20. That money is my hunting budget. Actually ordered a dozen FMJ arrows last night with it. This is the money that allows me to upgrade one piece of gear each year.
To help keep things on the up and up at home and help balance the budget, I actually created a cash flow spreadsheet and leverage the money I front for states like Wyoming and use the refunds if I don't draw to front money in the next state like Colorado. After I get that refund I use the money to apply for or buy an Idaho tag. It takes creativity not to break the bank and still do the mountain hunts I'm addicted too.
It's amazing how much can be saved with coupons and online deals with just a tiny bit of effort. We never pay retail for anything anymore.
I need a good backup compound bow so instead of dropping a bundle on a new one, I'm buying a lightly-used one from IAHunter that he doesn't need anymore since acquiring a new Mathews NoCam from his savings from Bridget clipping coupons!
:-)
Also, I would highly recommend getting some type of money management/budgeting course. Dave Ramsey has an awesome one called "Financial Peace University".
My job is to keep all 3 working.
As far as retirement, we started our post-retirement budget planning two years before pulling the trigger. I began tracking everything on a spreadsheet, then started estimating future expenses on a timeline. Amazing how all the little things like dog food and meds, new tires, new furnace, increases in prescription and deductibles, retirement fund valuation and inflation, etc. can add up to BIG numbers when you rely on a fixed income.
Underfunded retirement is the second-biggest problem for most seniors, right after unexpected health costs.
Since we both have the same employer, you and I get paid on the same day [once a month] and I sure like that. But there are many times that there is too much month at the end of the money!
A few things I do:
Budget! Pay yourself first. I shop once a week. Shop for deals. I make meals that have leftovers. Dont buy coffee that costs ~$50 per gallon [StarBucks]. I do my own vehicle maintenance. I installed a programmable thermostat [that alone can save you a bunch]
I have also sold plasma to fund some more expensive items.
Frugal? Thats me. I can turn pennies into copper wire...
If you don't need a 4x4 for the hunt, swallow your pride and drive a car that gets good gas mileage instead. I've done several out of state hunts out of my Honda Civic - 39 mpg.
Prioritize. That's the key. All year long never lose sight of what it is that you really want to do. You won't make many memories sitting on a bar stool or sitting at the casino.
Never say that again....
I hunted every big game animal in North America before I got married. My marriage cost $40.00 and she wanted to go to Cabelas for her honeymoon. Nancy loves to bowhunt, but let's me do the hardcore hunts by myself.
....and I agree with Idyllwild....I also own a Honda Civic and YES, if I can't drive all the way to a given destination, I'll sleep in the car....but I only get about 33-36 mpg.....sorry Steve-O, it had to said again.
I totaled the Lezbaru in 2014 in WY. Careened into a canyon. I never wrote up my 2014 hunt because it was a real bitch. The Lezbaru got a sex change to a Dodge truck, but I don't drive it across the country unless I have to.
First, I work very hard and do everything possible to make as much money as I can, while I can. My hunting costs are a small fraction of my income.
Second, I make sure my wife/family, get to experience even better vacations than I do on my hunts.
Never put your own wants and desires above that of your family. If you can't afford both, choose the family options.
I also went on a moose hunt with my Honda Civic (that was a VX and it got ~50mpg for the first 340,000). I ended up locking my keys in the car and had to rip the door handle off to get back in. I didn't drive it into a ravine although I was mad enough to after that key incident.
I also have been cutting my hair with a clipper for the last 20 years. It doesn't look good, but that can save you money on dates too! Win-win.
If you are married, work out all these issues today (and work on them all the rest of the days of the year). Money issues break up a lot of marriages.
Depends. Its based on your body size. From what I read on here, there are a few on here that it wouldnt take too many times... :-)
I was getting about $200/month
I went the sugar mama route. My wife is currently pulling extra Saturday shifts to help pay for our upcoming South Africa trip. :) She's also covering a pediatrician's case load while the pediatrician is out for maternity leave. So she's working 6 days per almost every week until the end of April. I figure all those Saturdays equate to one more animal I can kill on the trip :)
We always talk about being better savers, but we like eating out, traveling, weekend getaways, etc. That's just part of how we enjoy life. I hate to admit it, but I'm willing at this point to give up some hunts (don't have time for them anyways) to be able to afford things for both my wife and I to enjoy together.
Anyways, . . . . My one tip for trips is to spread out purchasing of equipment, etc. If you know you need a tent, sleeping bag, etc. etc. in September, start buying now. I'll even buy things like Mountain House months in advance, and just buy a few here and there. Instead of just going and dropping the coin on one huge purchase
I was getting about $200/month"
I have been donating since ~ 2010.
I funded husband/wife trip to Boston when I ran in 2011. I also funded our trip to Maui in 2015. (I also held onto enough money to fund running shoes and my hunting habit)
Current reimbursement for me is $80 a week. (Amount you donate is based on weight, but not how much you are reimbursed for your time).
A donation takes ~ one hour. At twice a week, that currently averages out to ~ $40 per hour. (Tax free, shhhh don't tell grandpa Bernie, or I will be paying for someone's college tuition! LOL!)
So many other ways I save. I get an annual reimbursement check from my employer for unused long term disability time. Half goes into my hunting fund. Cut my own hair (Mentioned above). Pack my own lunch and I don't care if I am "fashionable" Jeans never go out of style! (And I buy those at the local Mills Fleet Farm Store)
Scent Lok had a slogan like that didn't they? Actually that would have been a good one for Sitka Gear right! haha
I earn enough $$$ using the card that I use it to pay for a Great Lakes fishing trip every year. Last year it paid for my CO elk tag and some gear.
I also do what Bake does. I spread out the purchases of buying gear through the year leading up to a big trip. And buy it on the card.
I shoot an older bow (still kills them just as dead). I use old military camo pants. They are tough and cheap. Shop amazon and ebay. Pack my lunch, do not drink or use tobacco.
Earn More and Spend Less.
Both of them will require you to first change your mental outlook on life and yourself first.
To Earn more there have been many good suggestions: 2nd job, over-time pay, new job, richer wife, etc. Some people are willing to put the time in for education, others are willing to risk it all on a business venture and not quit until they get what they want. Your income represents how you really view yourself and earning potential. To earn more you will have to change your image of yourself and current situation.
To Spend Less there have been many good suggestions: Cut cable, land lines, No Vices (tobacco, coffee, alcohol, drugs) eating out, buying retail, too big of house too many toys, no credit to buying anything at all, nothing new, dump the expensive wife, no kids etc. But once again you will have to change your image of how you see yourself. You may be the big spender, buying everyone drinks at the bar, have to wear new clothes, or buy your wife new clothes every season, or a tv junkie, etc. How you currently spend represents how you see yourself.
I would say that first and foremost you need a budget to see where the money comes and goes.
Then look at yourself and see how much you are willing to change on both the Earn More, and Spend Less spectrum to get what you want.
Buy necessary hunting gear now. Tax time is sale time.
Dehydrator gets you a lot further on your food budget in the backwoods.
Try real hard to avoid the male peacock feather presentation nonsense. Never owned a vehicle I bought new, and always run them into the ground.
Regularly put a little away into a hunt account, and when it comes time to sink $ into a trip it will be there.
Try to hunt with a pal. So many expenses divide by 2 (or more) when you aren't solo. Plus the best memories are shared ones.
Always be thinking of ways to save money. My latest is buying books from the library. $1 can buy you the latest Jack Reacher (kinda dark), and reading is a good form of entertainment and knowledge.
Second tip- I never spend "family money" on my hunting trips or expenses.
Third tip- I charge everything possible on credit cards for sky miles credits for plane travel and points credit for hunting equipment. Pay bills in full every month.
I need a Friday job, any suggestions for the summer? Not mowing lawns either, the guys from the "south" have that market cornered here in Oklahoma. :)
The other advice I wish I'd heeded early is to figure out how to do some of those hunts while you can, when you can. Tomorrow has no guarantees, and as life progresses, circumstances can make the Big Adventure Hunt both unaffordable and not doable. Ditto with health issues cropping up.
So balance the saving for retirement with at least doing some of your OIAL hunts when you are younger and able. Happiness with almost all things in life is dependent upon balance and moderation.
Spend wisely, get quality, and use it for as long as you can. For example: I have a lot of clothes, but a big reason for that is I keep them forever. I routinely wear things that are 10-15 years old. This goes for hunting, business, or casual. Just one example.
It doesn't hurt to buy yourself a want every now and then but try to stick to your "needs". Anytime you put together a wish list (if you do such things), put specific practical items on it.
Like a lot of others have posted, fix things yourself. If something breaks around the house take a stab at fixing it, but know when to say when if you are over your head. The same goes for vehicles.
I'm in the camp of allotting yourself a certain amount of cash each pay check and making that amount last until the next one. If you have surplus after one, get a little less on the next. Don't give yourself too much either.
Try to stay home on the weekends instead of going out. Also don't fall for the forceful gift-giving of today's society. No need to be a jerk about it, but in general get a gift for those whom you want to get gifts for.
Keep your money throughout the year by paying less tax on your paycheck. Put the extra money in savings or invest it if you are that type. Too many go through the year paying more than they need to, and then splurge on something (usually wasteful) when they get a big refund.
Sleep in the bed of the truck to and/or from out-of-state hunts, or I guess don't sleep, but be careful on this one please.
Clothes is a big expense, your local GoodWill stores will normally have some merino wool, cashmere wool etc in sweaters .... you might get lucky and buy some very very good quality wool for $4 each
I sleep in my truck with a mattress/pad. Don't hotel it often.
Its free and anything you buy online see if they offer cash back for that site. Just click on the link off ebates and shop away like you would. Then they mail you a check in the mail every quarter I believe. I just got one the other day for 85 dollars. Every little bit helps.
That doesn't fix the time element though. I still don't know how you guys pull the time off. It's my issue regardless of income.
What Iv'e figured out is if you are currently paying your bills, there's money for a trip. Make a budget of your bills. Determine what needs to go to do your hunts and, make the sacrifices to see it come to tuition. Than pray life is good enough to you to allow you the time to do it. God Bless men.
No guides, do all our own research. Hunt public land so no lease or trespass fees.
Camp in dispersed areas so no fees.
Buy food and supplies throughout the year to spread the cost.
Used to drive my corolla on elk hunts. More than enough room for all my gear. Everyone else carpools.
Buy things on sale, never pay retail price for anything.
While I don't really have a budget for hunting I spend frugally, so it is never really noticed. The only thing that hurts is the tag....lol.
