How do you pay for your gear?

[CorbLand]

Been there and enjoyed it, but like turkey hunting, it just doesn't excite me enough in last 10 years to bother.

I went turkey hunting once. Made me want to climb to the top of their roost tree and jump out head first.

 

[KenLee]

I went turkey hunting once. Made me want to climb to the top of their roost tree and jump out head first.

I'll take a kid every now and then to pop a turkey IF I see a nice gobbler on any of the properties I ramble. Not for me anymore and I wouldn't clean one if I had to eat it.

 

[lyingflatlander]

I allow myself about $1000 a year and buy a few quality pieces. Slowly I’ve built up a pretty nice collection of items. I think a key is to just be patient instead of just throwing money at it. Odds are better that you will be more select in what you purchase this way. Then again I’m the type of person that takes really good care of my stuff.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

cash earned from hard work....no debt for me.

WHAT HE SAID

 

[Geewhiz]

The issue I'm seeing here is determining what exactly falls under the category of "hunting gear". Hunting gear really spreads into just about every aspect of my life. Cargo trailer built with living quarters that I use to hunt out of? Four wheeler? Tonneau cover? Jump pack? Tires for the pickup? Avgas for the airplane? Or how about the airplane itself?

I don't have a hunting fund but rather more of a "life" fund and I work my tail off to make it all happen.


Hunting isn't really a thing that I do, but rather the thing that I do, so like many here, there is a significant amount of time, energy, finances and resources that go into it.

 

[el_jefe_pescado]

Get a part time job at a sporting goods store... or find a friend who does. Even if it is one day a week for a few hours. Once you get that pro deal and see how bad that stuff is marked up, I promise you will never want to buy gear at full price ever again.

Yep. My second piece of advice was gonna be avoid paying full retail at all costs. It's insane.

 

[TaperPin]

I was about to say if a guy can’t pay cash out of fun money budget he has no business buying it, then I remembered in a person’s 20’s it’s a requirement to run up too much credit card debt, then in the 30’s to wrap that into a high interest mortgage, then in the 40’s to wrap that into a bigger loan when getting a bigger house, and finally in the 50’s to refinance it at a decent rate.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

"Scrap" copper recycling with some manwhoring on the side.

 

[wind gypsy]

It was a chunk of change getting geared up in the early years but was easy as a single guy with near zero living expenses. I used to know the ins and outs of damn near every gear choice when i was getting everything bought a decade ago.

Once you've got the stuff, its just a matter of avoiding the shiny new stuff..

 

[magtech]

I schedule all my bills to come on the same day of the month. This lets me do a quick check of my account to see where i'm at and if I have the funds to purchase XYZ. If i know I have $2k in revolving bills due on the 25th, and I currently have $3k in checking I'll pass on buying something to the end of the month to allow for keep myself above water.

I personally hate credit cards because it just masks your spending behind another account that can build up fast. I like to know that I can buy whatever I can afford just by spending what I actually have. Not, what I could possibly get at some ungodly high interest rate.

 

[TaperPin]

I have a friend who does all the grocery shopping in the family, which seemed strange, but turns out he always takes cash out - his wife doesn’t look at the receipt to see the cash and that goes right into his fun money! Lol

 

[Geewhiz]

I have a friend who does all the grocery shopping in the family, which seemed strange, but turns out he always takes cash out - his wife doesn’t look at the receipt to see the cash and that goes right into his fun money! Lol

Why are you spending $700/week on groceries??

 

[turbo406]

$20 is $20

Ironically enough i read your name as "turboTrick" at first so that checks out

 

[bigmike23]

Unlimited OT

 

[waspocrew]

Activejunky was brought up earlier - that’s been a great way to get some extra cash back on purchases. If it’s a big purchase, I’ll try to wait for a sale if possible.

Just a week or two ago, Scheels had a card member sale. 7 points back on all purchases made during that time at Scheels. I had been eyeing the Swaro sale on the 12x NL pures and finally pulled the trigger. They were on sale for $3049 (reg $3549)

$50 off coupon code
$400 in Scheels gift cards (earned from just using their card)
$210 cash back going through activejunky

New NL pures for $2390 was too good to pass up. Then I earned $175 in gift cards from their promotion.

 

[rcb2000]

Commit fraud,, become ungovernable

 

[bucksnbirds]

I buy the nicest of whatever I need the first time around. My wife is extremely understanding and hunting is really the only hobby I invest so much time and money into. As long as the family and home is taken care of, I have no budget, but stay within my means. If something is more expensive than I want to take out of the account, I can make an easy extra $500/day working on days off.

 

[IDVortex]

The tax payers pay for my hobbies. So thanks Idaho residents!

Besides my full time job, I'm working on getting my construction business going again. This year is the first time in a long time to up grade gear. Everything I've bought hasn't been the cheapest, but it's also something that is a buy once, cry once kind of deal (minus my boots, my boots suck weewee). Oh, also have a loving wife that's allowed me to spend a decent amount on hunting. So that's been helpful, but we're trying to get a house so now no more spending.

 

[pirogue]

Buy it all on my Scheel’s credit card. Pay it off monthly, never an interest charge. Then when I get that free(cash back) gift card monthly, I accumulate or go to Scheel’s, use it, and repeat step one, if necessary.

 

[HandsOffMordecai]

I have a friend who does all the grocery shopping in the family, which seemed strange, but turns out he always takes cash out - his wife doesn’t look at the receipt to see the cash and that goes right into his fun money! Lol

This is the way