I have a question for all hunters. What do you do to save money for next years hunting season.
I hunt from September 1st. until December 1st. every year. I hunt everything from mountain grouse to elk. I hunt both archery & rifle season in my home state of Montana.
I have been looking at how much last hunting season has cost. I am thinking about opening a second savings account. My plan would be to put any extra money I could in this savings account & then come September 1st. everything I buy for hunting would come out of this account. This account would pay for all of my gas, food & processing.
What do you guy think? How do you save money every year for your hunting season? I am open to any suggestions.
I been looking at it hard, especially since I don't want to just hunt elk the rest of my life. Swapping hunts is one possiblity (I know that isn't exactly what you are asking about).
I've already started the separate savings account since I want to get to caribou, moose, and brownies and Africa after that.
Considering the amount of time and mental energy that goes into this Forum, ESPECIALLY since it is usually to no constructive use, I would say one of the first steps to achieving those goals is to STOP wasting time on Forums like this one.... it isn't real, you don't REALLY accomplish anything, and you could be making and banking REAL money towards future REAL big game hunts --- less aggravating too.
Or, at a minimum, go to Forums like AccurateReloading.com and find the areas (Alaskan, Canadian, and African) where you don't know anything (first hand), lurk, listen, learn and DON'T WRITE A DAMN THING unless you've come back from Canada, Alaska, or Africa and can speak from experience.
In my mind THAT will do more to increase your hunting or pay for your current hunting than any one thing. Theory and discussion is fine, but don't hold a candle to productive actions. My 2 cents,
As BJ said in a post elsewhere, "....there seems to be a never ending supply of poor stock...."
Getting Fed Up,
EKM
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Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime!
Good judgment comes from bad experience! Learn from the mistakes of others; you' ll never live long enough to make them all yourself!
This may not be answering your question in the way you intended, but its good all-around advice. You've got a couple of choices to make when setting up your savings plan. Your first decision is how you're going to go about contributing to your hunting stash. Are you going to put what you can or a set amount each payday/month, etc. One of the hardest things to do is to make the contribution from what's "left over" at the end of the month. No matter what you make there never seems to be a lot left over.
I think that the best method is to set a target and pay yourself first. Set yourself up on a budget, find out where the money goes. Figure out your take-home pay, deduct the rent, car payment, utilities, etc. What have you got left over? Don't forget the things that only hit once or twice a year - insurance, car registration, property tax, etc. Take 1/6 or 1/12 and put that in the monthly budget. Don't forget Christmas gifts, birthdays, regular vacations, etc. NOW how much do you have left? If your like most people, the pot is getting real small by now. Set up your rainy day fund, hunting fund, down payment on the next car (this one will have to go sooner or later!) etc. Set aside that money out of each paycheck. Things like eating out, movies, etc. come out of what's left over from there.
This can be a tough discipline to adopt, but it sure beats going further into credit card hell year after year. My dad preached this, some of us got it, some didn't. All things considered I've found it better to approach things this way. Rather than having to still pay for last year's vacation, I choose to forgo things unless I have the money for them now. Obviously I can only dream of handling big ticket items such as the house and car this way.
Wolf Killer----the way I save is to work an extra job. I umpire softball games in the summer & bank that money as my HUNTING cash, my regular job & OT go to the family budget. I save over $2500 this summer. This winter I'm trying to help with volleyball----hopefully another $800 or so. Right now I've got close to $5000-----I'm trying to decided on a WY moose hunt or a plains game hunt in South Africa. CB
EKM---- I hear you, I mainly just read the posts----Trying to separate all the BS is a little diffcult. I pass on most post but when I read one that's sounds right to me I REALLY try to help the guy.
I have been adding up the cost of my hunting season for my wife & I. I have kept a running tab from December-02 thru December of 03. Every penny I spent I can account for. I have records for gas, food, license, processing, pre-season scouting trips & time spent at the range. I spent a total of $7,222.96 last hunting season.[:@] This "free meat" is expensive. All of my hunting was done on public land without a guide or outfitter.
I could have bought a non-resident hunting license in New Mexico & hired a outfitter for a elk & mule deer combo hunt, for less money than I spent in my home state hunting.[&o]
I guess I need a second job to help support my hunting habit.
Saving for your 2004 hunting season?
All of my hunting was done on public land without a guide or outfitter. 
