How best to save for a mountain goat hunt

[goose21]

I live in Iowa and been dreaming about a goat hunt. I know I will have to save around 10K for this guided hunt. I know drawing in lower 48 is tough, and since I won't be able to scout, I have decided I need to go guided either way. So right now my options are Alaska and BC. What are some good ideas people do for saving for hunting trips? My work has a credit union that I don't use right now. I was thinking of opening an account and having them take out 50 bucks a pay period (every two weeks) and take that before they give me my paycheck. Some people do this at work to save for xmas presents. Any other little things that people do to save up for big hunts like this?

 

[MTNRCHR]

You could put it on a credit card and pay it off after the hunt or save tax return money for hunts.

 

[Alabama]

You could put it on a credit card and pay it off after the hunt or save tax return money for hunts.

No, no NO! Do not go into debt to go on a hunt, especially on a high interest credit card. You have the right idea saving the money a little at a time. Make yourself a budget and stick by it and you can save money a lot faster than you think. Also any side jobs you take can go directly to your hunting trip. The only things to set you back will be a major home or vehicle repair. You can never really tell when those will pop up.

 

[Graves14]

Look around you, what don't you use anymore? Ive recently sold $3000 worth of hiking, camping, hunting, archery, boating, and fishing gear. nothing big just lots of little stuff that i wasn't really using anyway. Sites like this and ebay can be your friend. combine that with good budgeting and you'll be surprised how quickly you get to your goal.

 

[bates]

like others I wouldn't put on credit card unless you have the cash sitting there and want to get the points, but I don't know of too many outfitters who take a CC, the fee's are high most want a check so that kinda rules it out.

I did recently switch over to a credit card with airplane miles, I run everything I can on it each month, I am really liking so far, I had enough miles for a recent Idaho plane ticket and should be able to cover a flight or two a year with it. Naturally its not ideal of some of the flights in and out of BC and NWT but it can get you into most stops in Alaska or Canada. Not having to worry about the cost of flights is nice when booking hunts.


either sell some unwanted gear that isn't being used to get a head start, then just start putting money away every chance you can get. make it a priority it will happen before you know it.

You are also usually booking these hunts 14 to 24 months out anyways so it gives you some time.

best of luck

 

[realunlucky]

I live in Iowa and been dreaming about a goat hunt. I know I will have to save around 10K for this guided hunt. I know drawing in lower 48 is tough, and since I won't be able to scout, I have decided I need to go guided either way. So right now my options are Alaska and BC. What are some good ideas people do for saving for hunting trips? My work has a credit union that I don't use right now. I was thinking of opening an account and having them take out 50 bucks a pay period (every two weeks) and take that before they give me my paycheck. Some people do this at work to save for xmas presents. Any other little things that people do to save up for big hunts like this?

This is what I do goose. You might think of doing a bond account so you are not tempted to dip into your funds early

 

[wyosteve]

I think the automatic savings plan is a good one, but I think you need to consider the amount taken out. Not trying to rain on your parade, but $50 each 2 wks. is not likely to cut it. That's basically about $100 month/$1200/year. At that rate it will be close to 10 yrs. before you'd have enough to pay for a hunt at today's prices. In 10 yrs. the cost of a goat hunt is likely to have increased, so you may never reach the point with the savings to pay for the hunt. Either increase the amount held out or get a part time job to supplement would be my .02.

 

[goose21]

No definitely will not put it on a credit card. I pay my credit card off every month so I can build cabelas points, but everything is paid off every month so I dont accrue interest. I was just looking for dumb little savings tips: like coin jar and automatic savings. I also take my tax return and split it into 3rds. 1/3 goes to either house/car loan, 1/3 goes to checking/ emergency savings, and 1/3 goes to fun things. So I can get some extra that way. I do have a side job and train and run a german shorthair pointer kennel. Keeps me pretty busy and with my full time job I won't have time for anything else. I think a good option is to look around and find stuff I do not use anymore and see if I can sell it. Be good for bank account and to clean out the clutter in my house. Any other little ideas keep them coming!!! Went to alaska for first time caribou hunt this year and I am hooked. Need to get back

 

[larryschwartz]

Definitely go with the automatic savings approach. You never see the money so you don't miss it.

Another approach is to look at the little addictions or pleasures you allow yourself each week. Do you smoke, get a Starbucks coffee each morning, go to lunch once each week, have a few beers with the guys every Friday? Eliminate or cut back on one or more of these types of things and put the money towards your goat hunt. Ten dollars a week x 52 weeks is $520.

Another, albeit more painful (at first) method is to change your income tax deductions. I followed the IRS instructions on how to determine your deductions and after I jumped up to a new tax bracket I was paying the IRS a few grand each year. Well, that sucked so my wife and I agreed to set our deductions to zero so that we would be sure to have enough money taken out to cover our taxes. Well, it worked so well that we actually get back about 10% of our gross income each year in our return. That can be a very effective way of saving, but it will take some getting used to since it will reduce your take home pay.

Larry

 

[bbrown]

Definitely go with the automatic savings approach. You never see the money so you don't miss it.

Larry

This is working out well for me and like has been mentioned its "gone" before I see it. $40 a week works out to $2080 a year and I will be doing a drop camp moose hunt in 2018. Make sure your savings account is not tied to your checking - too easy and tempting to transfer funds.

 

[MOshorthair]

We have a credit union that is run by the company I work for. We can have money direct deposited to this account. I have 350 per month taken out that I use for a Hunting Club I belong to, and for hunting expenses. I never see the money unless I e-mail the administrator and have them give me a check for a certain amount. Makes it easy to pay cash for some of these items that are not part of a normal budget.

Eric

 

[Arbutusbucks]

Not sure what your daily routine is but to save for points and my yearly western hunting trip I stopped going out for lunch and now I "brown bag" it every day. I still have to buy food but I would say I save about $40+ a week doing this. Second I stopped using supplements for working out. I would say I save about $70 a month by doing that. Anyway these cost savings are worthless if you already pack your own lunch and don't use supplements. Over the year I figure I save at least $2500.00 Just by doing these things.

At the end of the day I believe you will need to do a number of things to reach your goal. As everyone else has said, do the savings plan at work, go through all your stuff at home to see what you don't need and sell it, save some of your tax return, dissect your bills and really narrow down where your money is going. Good luck man, you can do it if you really grind it down and dedicate yourself. I've been thinking about how I can afford one of those types of hunts myself so I'll be watching this thread.

Jerry

 

[PNWGATOR]

Spend less. Earn more. Save.

Be debt free. 100% debt free.

Keep it simple.

 

[rpm4463]

Keep in mind there will be additional costs other than what the outfitter advertises the hunt for. Depending where you go (AK or BC) will probably pay for a charter flight, the license and tag, tips, hotel if you need to stay in town for a couple nights, plane tickets, shipping charges for meat, hide, and horns, and other random expenses. I would budget for an additional $2500-$3000. My flight to AK, charter flight to the mountains, hotel, tags, and other random stuff was $2500. I would put your name on several cancellation lists also. The hunt I went on was regular price of $11,500 but I got it for $7500. You won't have much time to plan (maybe 1 week) but you will get 30%-50% of full price. Hunts that are 2 huntersne guide are usually a little cheaper also, but you need to hunt with a person you trust and is in good shape.