Saving and Spending....

Fishing A Learning Experience, Pass it On.
1

When I read JC’s article on saving and spending money, I thought to myself, “That doesn’t exactly work for broke people.” I love the idea that someone would be able to just spend and not have any worries about it. When I spend money though, I really have to pay attention to what I’m doing. If I spend too much, or pay certain bills at the wrong time, I could end up being as broke as when I started. So I’m trying to watch what I spend, but it doesn’t always work out.

In the past two weeks, I’ve made some purchases that could have waited. For example a book called “The Fly Angler’s Identifier.” Now some of you may be saying, “That’s a good purchase.” I totally agree with you. BUT, now that I have the book, I am left with very little to buy hooks with. So now I have a book that tells me how to tie these flies and not enough hooks to tie them on. And to top it off, I lack all the materials needed to tie the flies I want to. Well I can pick up various materials at Walmart and possibly some hooks too, though all the hooks they have here are size 8 and larger.

Also I am sitting here with a rod that is completely wrapped and ready to finish, but I decided not to use the finish that came with the kit. After a quick test with it and a few questions, I decided it was best not to use it. Now this was just poor planning. You know the saying, “Proper planning prevents poor performance.” Similar, but not the same. Had I been thinking about it sooner, I would have ordered better finish when I ordered the kits. Thankfully, I have it ordered now.

So, that is my situation. If I don’t advance fast enough in this hobby/sport/passion whatever you like to call it, it’s because I just don’t have the money at the moment…

2

joerogrz, I understand you pain :D. it seems like everywhere in this hobby, people have unlimited funds for everything imaginable. I have three kids a wife who just graduated from college and a low paying job. (it was worth working for the benefits) But things are looking up for me. as the song says my futures so bright I have to wear shades. I will never be at the point that I can just buy a high end rod with out thinking and saving for it. Will be at the point soon where a new fly line wont kill my fishing budget for three months.

All of the tying materials. rods, reels, lines, hooks etc. are nice, however a person with a 9 foot six weight medium fast rod, a floating line and a hand full of buggers nymphs and soft hackles can catch 90% of the fish in the good old 48 states and most of Canada, and can enjoy fly fishing as a life time hobby. Above and beyond this is extras, not necessity, buy the extras as you can afford it. If your choice is a couple of gallons of gas to get to the water for a days fishing or some new tying material. buy the gas and get some water time. time practicing casting and time fishing are where the long term payoff will come for you.

Just my thoughts

Eric

3

George you are to be congratulated for knowing what is the right thing to do. Some people don’t put limits on themselves and end up with huge credit card debt or get into other kinds of problems. For a man to put limits on himself is the adult thing to do, the wise thing to do. For that is the responsible thing to do. If you are a married man, sometimes it comes down to another fly fishing toy or something for Momma. The prudent fellow better share in who gets the toys for a long term marriage. Balance isnt’ something to complain about, it is something to feel good about since you know that is the right thing to do. Thanks for sharing what is a tough thing to say or admit on a public forum.

Rick

4

I’m a born miser
My wife calls me frugal, my sister says I’m cheap.
What ever you want to call it, I’m not your Average American Consumer
I come from a old Yankee family and I was raised to recycle, repair, reuse, make do, or do without
I’m not about to buy stuff just to support the industry as suggested in JC’s column

The rod that I was using this morning is 50 years old and casts like a sweet dream. I picked it a year ago for for $30 and “recycled” it
The reel was a $20 Metalist, the line a $10 factory second.
Did I catch fish with my $60 outfit…yes
Was it fun …you bet !
Did I have as much fun as the next guy decked out in the latest gear… definitely… maybe more !!
Spending more that you need to, or more than you can afford to, may be the American way, but you don’t have to play that game

And I won’t

5

It may be that not all the folks that get a new vise or high end rod are well off. Vickie and I live on Veteran’s Disability which isn’t all that great. When we see something we want, a new bamboo rod for instance, we just start planning and saving. It may take 6 months or a year to get the money together, but it works. Anything worth having is worth saving for. Budgeting seems to work pretty well too. We have money earmarked for special things, like the Idaho Fish-In. We save for a year so we can attend. We also earmark money for the Central Washington Fish-In. Once money is designated for something special, it becomes untouchcable except for health emergencies. It ain’t easy, but then nobody ever said it was supposed to be easy.

6

Joe, so, you agree with me? That YOU spent more on the NEW rod finish. Thanks, I love being right. :slight_smile: You got the good stuff and supported two companies!

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JC- Yes I do agree with you, but I also believe someone should have their priorities straight before they go off spending wildly.

I wouldn’t eat into my savings to buy a new outfit or whatever may be on the list of “needs” at the moment.

I guess some people took this thread that I was looking for hooks and have offered to send me some. I really can wait to get them, even though I am impatient sometimes. I’ll be ordering some pretty soon hopefully. I thank you for the offers (you know who you are), but I’m not asking for them and didn’t mean to. I really just wanted to state that people should prioritize and to share a recent experience.

8

dudley,
i doubt you had any more fun with your cheap outfit then someone “decked out”; just as they didnt have more fun than you. im 46 and i owe nobody…house paid for , truck paid for, no credit cards etc. i got this way by busting my hump 18 hours a day. i have very expensive fly rods and some un- expensive fly rods. i also still use my first a fenwick with a medalist bought in 1972 with funds from mowing lawns. i have a blast using everyone of them. to think that just because someone has nice things they are living beyond their means is nonsense. some people just find pleasure in things others dont.

9

Sometimes Joe, it is hard to get things across on here as I would like them. Hope you get a bunch of hooks and the rod comes out great.

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hang in there joe,
when your finished with school it does get better!!!
hey you need to catch a ride with jack to the michigan fish-in it would be great to meet you!

11

Joe I’m sure with you on this one.

I’m on a fixed income too. I never seem to learn tho. I saved my extra pennies for 4 months so I could buy those new STL Chota wading boots than I need/want. Did a lot of research and got a lot of really skookum advice on Faol. This research decided me to get the less expensive Cabellas Cleated felt boots. Indications are that they are well built and will nicely fill the bill and because I’d only use them twice a year for perhaps 10 days total they should last me a lifetime. A saving of a few pence to be sure.

Now the sad part. My wife suggested we go to A&W for burgers on their two can dine for $9.99 coupon. Did I listen to she who knows all? Of course not! I decided I wanted to take her someplace special. Havent done that for a while.
So I uttered those fateful lines…Oh no dear, I want to take you someplace special tonight, not a burger joint something really nice …YOU PICKTHE SPOT.

Not the smartest thing I have ever said. My little dove got this far away dreamy look in her eyes and said , Wellllll you knowwww I have never been to Rosa’s Italian restruant, lets go there. Sounded good right? How much could pasta cost right? Should be ok not too expensive and I’d still have enough left to be able to order the boots.
Her loveliness got all dolled up, even put sparkle on her cheeks. Then made me get out of my joggers and made me Dress in as She put it “something respectable”. Off we go.

The sign out front proudly said, Rosa’s voted best Italian restruant 6 years in a row.
As we enter Rosa’s I notice that every table has real crystal glasses on it. I briefly think about fakeing a seizure but chicken out. Bad mistake as it turns out.

The menu also should have sent me running out the door in fear, but the look of rapture on my little parsnip flowers face rooted me to the chair. The cheapest salad was $9.99 The rest of the menu Just plain scared the hell out of me.

We ate, I don’t remember what, only that It didn’t fill me up like $75.00 each worth of food should have. Good grief who serves mimiscule portions of pasta? Rosa’s thats who.

I paid, the $178.80 tab then tried to leave a 15% tip, Mercifully they refused it saying it was already included.
In a complete daze we left that place.

My wife positivly beams as she tells her five sisters of her special night out to Rosa’s. She tells and re tells them every detail of that wonderful meal. So in the end it was worth every penny. It takes a lot to make someone that happy. I didn’t know that at the time of course we fellows seldom do. But sometimes lady luck strikes from hiding.

So the boots are on hold till next check arrives. I can wait. A quality meal out with my Sweetie is a higher priority.

Ps. I thought about sending you some hooks but I re-read your post and decided that isn’t what you were trying to say.

However It does seem a shame that you can’t tie for just the lack of hooks. That would drive me nuts. Hooks are about the only thing about fly tying that you can’t substitute or improvise. Almost everything else can be faked.

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I like being able to share everyone’s stories and experiences here. It’s one of the best things about this site. I had a feeling that almost everyone could relate to this in some way and share their experience too. Being a college student doesn’t make it easy for me to do what I would like to do in fly fishing and I know that there are others here that can relate to it.

I’ve had several hobbies and this is the one that I really want to stick with, but in a way I get irritated when I can’t do the things I would like to do either because of lack of funds or appointments I can’t miss. I really didn’t get into as hardcore as I am now until a few months ago when I borrowed my Dad’s fly tying kit that he’s had for years, but never used. So I have this addiction now and can’t really feed it right now due to being a broke college student. In the end though, it’ll just make me enjoy it even more when I am able to do it.

13

Funny this topic comes up. I agree, there’s a lot I would like to purchase, thousands of dollars worth. But I’m too broke to afford it all. So I budget, and get a little of what I want, not always the greatest idea. But it works out…Until last week and today.

As most of you know, I dumped a bunch of money into this hobby of mine recently, in the last month, just over $1200. It was no big deal, it was extra, I earned the money. I spent it how I seen fit. But…That was all my money.

Today my car died, so I called into work, explained everything, told them I needed a day or two to find a ride (Was going to borrow my brothers).
Nope, FIRED! They weren’t rude or anything, they understood my situation and all, and were quite polite about letting me go. But, had I held onto my cash from the past few weeks, I’d still be employed. Still making bills, and rent, and food, etc. But I didn’t, car was running good, everything was paid, so I spent it…It’s not going to be easy to replace my job, since I look like a criminal with all my ink on my hands, and neck and fingers etc. But!! I have my fly fishing gear!! :rolleyes: Not to mention, that I still forgot to buy some primary materials I needed to go along with some of the others I purchased haha.

Point is, we may think at times we need more, but sometimes we don’t. I’m learning it the harder way at the moment. I learned that, purchasing little bits at a time is sometimes safer, limits are good, and more importantly, safe!

Shane.

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JC- I also understand about supporting the companies that make fly fishing possible (or support it anyway). If I had the money I would buy from everyone of them (and FAOL sponsors) just to support fly fishing. It’s one of those things that doesn’t need to go away. Kinda like westerns and old (I mean OLD) country music and blues. There’s people that are out there that don’t like any of it, but from my point of view, it’s part of the history here in the U.S…

Shane- You hit the nail right on the head of what I was talking about. I’ve been in similar situations like that, but I haven’t gotten fired for it. I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your job, but I’m sure you will find another. I hope it works out soon.

15

Hang in ther Joe
I Still have my fenwick and Medilist combo graphite from my college days and it still gets used not as much as my low end Sage… there are a lot of good people here that love the sport… and love you listen to what the ones that have both good and bad life experiences… I do believe in saving and paying cash and as Ron said ear mark it for what ever purpose and then dont touch it…I will also say that if you can hold on and delay your gratification and save a grand back for emergencies that about any thing from tires to stove , washer car repairs, it makes a big difference to not go into debt for those type of emergencies and sink you deeper… seek out people close to you that can mentor you financially
Flyfisher121

16

Thanks a lot Joe, you were right. I figured my situation was exactly what you were talking about. Felt like it anyways lol. I also have had similar situations, nothing as extreme as this, I usually have some money somewhere, weather on plastic, or the bank, or the safe or somewhere. We’ve always managed, this was just one of those things that totally floored me.

Lots of good advice in this thread. Good news and bad news for me though haha. Bad is the car is junk. Good news is (This is where you were right Joe) I’m still employed!!! They called me back, so it worked out, and I have my little brothers car for a couple weeks. So all is good again!

Yeah, like said in the above post, I’ll certainly be keeping an emergency fund from now on. Last couple days has been pretty stressful.

Shane

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Shane- So glad to hear that you got your job back. I hope it stays that way for you.

I go to college and work during the semesters I haven’t registered for and I know what it’s like to do without. I do it this way to get through it a little quicker and the work helps me pay my tuition. I say that it’s quicker, but this 2 year degree has already turned into 3 and will be close to 4 by the time I’m done. Seems like a lot of hassle and I really hope it’s worth it.

18

I don’t know what you college kids are complaining about. You shouldn’t be fishing or tying flies anyway. That’s why hobbies are expensive. So college kids can’t afford them.

If you’re in college, money is just a distraction. That’s why 95% of everyone in college is broke. It’s the way it’s always been and the way it’s supposed to be.

If you’re in college, you should spend all your time doing exactly two things: studying your butt off and chasing girls. There is no time for anything else (except for maybe drinking too much cheap beer, but that can be considered a segue between the other 2.)

I bet you’re saying, “Listen Ken, I’m no trust fund baby. I gotta work while I’m in school.”

I say BS. There are plenty of jobs that offer a college guy the opportunity to meet and chase college girls. Find one of those.

Fishing can wait until you get settled into a place in your life where you have a little disposable time and a little disposable income. Until then, you’ve got more important things to do. You owe it, not only to yourself, but to your country. Step away from the vise and crack a book or tickle a coed.

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LOL…that is good. I like the way you think Ken.

20

I disagree. Joe isn’t saying he can’t afford to fish, or it’s taking all his time etc. He’s just stating that he needs to budget money is all and not dump boat loads of it on his passion/hobby.

Saying not to fish and drink lots of beer and chase women is a contadiction to the studying your butt off statement. Money is a distraction, but chasing women and drinking aren’t? So it’s better to become an aids infested alcoholic with the stress of a couple women who are freaks and won’t leave you alone, or maybe got pregenated than to spend a little money on a passion/hobby?

Keep doing what you’re doing Joe, it’s working out and will pay off in the end buddy.

Shane