How do you fund your diving?

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I have no credit cards and i really do not want one at this point .

That's an excellent start. Me and my wife just got completely out of debt this year, and it's amazing how much money is left over at the end of each month. And you don't need a credit card to use as a deposit for rentals, hotels, etc. Your debit card should work just fine. Debt is dumb. It took me about 12 years to get out of debt, and I'm never getting in it again unless it's a home mortgage.

What I recently did is I took a long hard look at some stuff I had been holding onto which I never use. I made about $500 selling old junk I no longer needed. Have a yard sale and get rid of old stuff. Your wife will thank you!

Having your own kit is a step in the right direction. I'll have spent about $1900 for all new stuff once my kit is fully complete. (I've been certified just a little over a year) I estimate it will have paid for itself after 40-60 dives. As long as we take good care of our gear, it should pay for itself. Also, try aim for the tech diving mindset, which is a minimalist mindset. From your gear choices, it sounds like you are already on you way on this route. There's no need to be a Gucci diver unless you're trying to impress somebody. Just stick with the simple stuff that works.

Not much else I can say that hasn't already been said. Odd jobs are good for extra income. Just don't let your course work suffer!
 
how do you accomplish feeding the beast that is scuba diving? . . . Anyone out there have any other methods of funding methods for diving?
Probably not as organized as yours.

For many years I fed the beast with my corporate income. Now, as a retired person, I have to be more frugal. Like several others, I buy (almost exclusively) used gear, or buy a bit of new gear at shop 'staff' prices. I service all my own gear. I submit to indentured servitude :). I teach for the shop through which I learned to dive and through which I still predominantly dive on trips. All of my teaching income is applied to my shop account, which I use to pay for whatever new gear I need to buy, and for trips (my wife and I got back from a week in Bonaire late last night), which I paid for with shop income (teaching, doing VIPs, doing oxygen cleaning).

You may be familiar with the 'company store' which allowed more than a few mining companies to keep their workers on a financial leash (as Tennessee Ernie Ford sang, 'I owe my soul to the company store'). Well, that sums up my diving finances. :)
 
I fund my diving by doing the occasional salvage job. I salvage mooring anchors that are on average 150-250lbs and sell for about $1 a pound in good used condition.
 
You can do some nice diving without breaking the bank. In Germany you can join your nearest diving club (Tauchverein) and they'll let you use all their gear for a small fee of about 20€ per month. You also have lots and lots of lakes all over the country where you can practice. I go diving most weekends and it adds to around 100€ per month, mostly due to the gas prices.
 
Most of my gear is used (prior to my use), especially since much of the stuff I really like is no longer made. The great thing about SCUBA gear at least here in the States is that many people take up the sport, buy geat, then get bored (or married with children) and quit... creating quite a used market.

I was a devoted saver most of my life so I created a nest egg with which to buy things. I don't eat out more than a few times a year, my entertainment is largely reading books from the library, I only buy essentials. Of course that is a lot harder to do with a family. I write a weekly column on marine life that pays for my air fills.
 
Most of my gear is used (prior to my use), especially since much of the stuff I really like is no longer made. The great thing about SCUBA gear at least here in the States is that many people take up the sport, buy geat, then get bored (or married with children) and quit... creating quite a used market.

I was a devoted saver most of my life so I created a nest egg with which to buy things. I don't eat out more than a few times a year, my entertainment is largely reading books from the library, I only buy essentials. Of course that is a lot harder to do with a family. I write a weekly column on marine life that pays for my air fills.

Yeah, that's the way to do it. I was exactly like you (if not more so) when I was single. Actually I'm still that way, but family expenses have existed for 20 years. As for credit cards, I (we) use the same one all the time (don't even have a debit card). I've never been tempted to use it more than when I used cash only (MORE than 20 years ago). So I have a gazillion air points to fly free, which may come in handy for dive trips, should the money eventually exist for that. Oh, did I say "fly free"? I meant fly for the price of all the taxes, airport and otherwise, which means flying for what I used to pay a few years ago for a ticket.
 
My husband and I are both professionals so we have the ability to make a nice income. However, I have been semi-retired due to health issues and he has been a student since shortly after I met him. We have no debt, except our house and I do work part-time. When we want a dive vacation or gear, I work some extra hours or he has some forums that generate a decent extra income. He gets 1-2$ a month from his forums so that is really nice to have.
When I was a new doctor in the Army, I used to take a lot of extra moonlighting jobs, which allowed me to dive with my first husband. Also, I usually take my continuing education trips somewhere that has diving, usually CA.
Staying out of debt is key, as even with an above average income debt will sap all of your extra fun money.
Husband graduates next year but plans to teach at a university. Won't be a great income but we'll get by and hopefully, I'll start working again after my surgeries and once we're settled in a new state. We will be moving next year and I hope that wherever we move has a lower cost of living than Phoenix. Phoenix is a fairly expensive area to live and the salary I make is actually lower than when I lived in OK.
 
My husband and I are both professionals so we have the ability to make a nice income. However, I have been semi-retired due to health issues and he has been a student since shortly after I met him. We have no debt, except our house and I do work part-time. When we want a dive vacation or gear, I work some extra hours or he has some forums that generate a decent extra income. He gets 1-2$ a month from his forums so that is really nice to have.
When I was a new doctor in the Army, I used to take a lot of extra moonlighting jobs, which allowed me to dive with my first husband. Also, I usually take my continuing education trips somewhere that has diving, usually CA.
Staying out of debt is key, as even with an above average income debt will sap all of your extra fun money.
Husband graduates next year but plans to teach at a university. Won't be a great income but we'll get by and hopefully, I'll start working again after my surgeries and once we're settled in a new state. We will be moving next year and I hope that wherever we move has a lower cost of living than Phoenix. Phoenix is a fairly expensive area to live and the salary I make is actually lower than when I lived in OK.
Best way to write-off a monthly weekend trip to Catalina Island. . .

Come train & join the Volunteer Crew at the USC/County of Los Angeles Recompression Chamber at Big Fisherman Cove Catalina I.

[h=2]Training Program[/h]This program is for those individuals wishing to explore the possibility of joining the Catalina Chamber Volunteer Crew. All too often, busy schedules prevent many of you from taking our five-day Emergency Dive Accident Management (EDAM) or Emergency Response Diver (ERD) courses, which, before the Mainland Based Program, were the only avenues of access to the Catalina Chamber Volunteer Crew. This program, designed to accommodate your busy schedules, makes it possible for you to participate on Crew by providing the minimum additional information and training needed to become an active member of the Chamber's Volunteer Crew. The class consists of about 14 hours of mainland classroom lectures and one weekend on Catalina for Hands-On Chamber Operations (Chamber Ops) training. Topics covered by the mainland lectures include:

  • Diving Physics and Physiology
  • Decompression Sickness, Signs and Symptoms
  • Air Embolism, Signs and Symptoms
  • Decompression Tables
  • Treatment Tables
  • Use of Hyperbaric Oxygen
  • Patient Care, Assessment and Treatment
  • Chamber Operations
  • Recording Protocols
  • Treatment Case Histories
The general schedule for the weekend Hands-On Chamber Operations class is:

  • Friday Night
    • Depart San Pedro (or Long Beach) to Two Harbors
    • Arrive Catalina Chamber
    • Walk through Chamber startup/shutdown procedures
  • Saturday
    • Perform a Chamber Dive at each crew position
    • Rapid Field Neurological Exam
    • Universal Precautions
  • Sunday
    • Perform Treatment Simulation Dives at each crew position
    • Accident Scenario
    • Depart Two Harbors to San Pedro (or Long Beach)

PREREQUISITES:
Although there are no prerequisites for attending the Mainland Weekend class there are prerequisites for going through the Hands-On Chamber Ops class to become a member of the Chamber Volunteer Crew. They are:

  • Diving Certification
  • CPR Certification
  • Medical Clearance to Dive - A diving physical signed by a physician within a year of your Island Hands-On training class is needed in order to be able to "dive" in the Chamber - you may use a medical form from your training agency, an RSTC medical form, or our Clearance for Hyperbaric Exposure form.
  • A Desire to Help


USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber
 
Last year I bought and sold scuba gear that funded most all of our diving and new gear purchases. Yes I have a shet ton of used gear taking up room in the shop. Fortunately I am on the east coast with a large military population in the area. That in itself, helps with my used gear purchases and sales. I do a lds flee market twice a year, where I take my used gear down and sell it. That money gets used towards local dive boat trips with that dive shop. I have been successfully at doing this the last 3 yrs.

I also run my own residential and commercial remodeling business, Virginia Beach Remodeling and am able to take the time off when we want to dive. We have been booked 3-6 months in advance for the last 3 of 5 yrs and that sure makes things a lot more comfortable knowing we have that income coming in.

Where there's a will, there's a way!! :wink:
 
Fund diving??? No problem!

Just decided that when we're retired and past diving, we'll eat soup and crackers, all other funds having been spent on dive trips.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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