Saving Up Cash For The Hunt!

[ElkNut1]

How do you do this? These days the cost of elk hunting can be a spendy proposition, what creative ways have you come up with in saving the needed funds & possibly hiding it from the wife/girlfriend? Heck, we need clothes, gear, gas money, etc. It seems to be never ending at times. Those living 15-30 hours away even have it tougher, how & what do some of you do to gather the needed funds? This could help out others as they mull over ways to make & save for the extra needed spending monies we all seem to need to feed our passion!

ElkNut1

[patdel]

200 bucks from every check goes into a separate account. I use it for gear and hunting and fishing trips. Also somewhat as an emergency fund. My married buddies tell me they need to establish something called the double secret fund. Same principle just hidden better.

[Z Barebow]

I have a dedicated savings account. I donate plasma and the proceeds go into this account. I have named account "Blood Money"! I can earn $70 per week by donating.

[elkaholic]

Along with paying off bills I build log style furniture in my "spare time" and build a little hunting fund every year. I am lucky and live only 3-4 hours away from my hunting spot so fuel costs are not as bad as some.

[Wyo67]

All the cash obtained from second jobs such as adult league baseball umpire and youth/adult hockey referee go to the hunting fund.

[Trophyhill]

I work every chance I get including weekends. I chose these sacrifices, they didn't choose me. Not going elk hunting is not an option!

[Swede]

I have everything I need except for gas and maybe a very few small items not counting food. The process of getting fully equipped has taken years. I buy equipment that is solid and does not need to be replaced often if at all. I would rather go without some luxury items than to compromise on quality. Now by setting aside only a little at a time it is affordable to go hunting and scouting.

[stringunner]

When my wife and I got married we decided to give each other $100 each month to help fund our separate hobbies and give us each some spending money in the wallet each month. It's not much but I make it work for my hunting needs.

[rowdycwby1]

This year all the profits I make shoeing horses on the side will be put back for my hunts.

[BrentLaBere]

I have a dedicated savings account. I donate plasma and the proceeds go into this account. I have named account "Blood Money"! I can earn $70 per week by donating.

^^^Same thing as Z, although they just stopped the 70$ a week and dropped it down to 60$ out west here! No matter though, I have my trip paid off for this fall plus some extra money for gear improvement if needed.

[ericleep]

I use to donate plasma. I love telling my wife that my binoculars and pack were bought with plasma money. I too set aside a little every month and then make it work. Sometimes I can con my wife into letting me use the grocery money since in the end me in the woods is equivalent to her going to the meat counter. It may not be packaged as nice but tastes better.

I like the part about quality products.

[Fridaythe13th]

Work 2 extra jobs work at a bar and doing pull tabs. And best of all got rid of dish TV, paying way to much money to watch TV waste of $60 a month. Nothing on anyways

[ctdad]

I do unspeakable things to horses for money. Don't judge me, I'm addicted to hunting and gotta get my fix.

[Lefty]

My wife keeps track of every penny.

Good years I can spend what I want.
Last year, gas food and a set of broadheads

At one time I spent some of my fur check on outdoor stuff, for years it was selling off trapping supples and equipment.

[Elkduds]

We drive cars/trucks that are 10-20 years old, bought w cash, so no car payments. Also no paid TV service. That leaves some slack in the budget. If the drought ever ends, I'll resume my only out-of-state hunt, roosters in KS for 4 days. Otherwise, my hunting is all here in my home state.

[Olydog09]

I run a pretty firm household. First I make sure my wife works 3 jobs. Then I make sure that all extra monies are funneled into my account. Secondly I am mormon and have 8 wives who all work 3 jobs. During the winter all kids shovel snow in the neighborhood and get to keep 20%. Same in the summer except it is lawn mowing and odd jobs.

[Indian Summer]

Gimme a minute to stop laughing at Olydog..........................................................................................................

Ok I'm breathing again.

I set other hunters up with hunt plans so I can make some for myself. Elk for elk. Seems kind of appropriate doesn't it?

I've pretty much accumulated all the top notch gear an elk hunter could ever need. It wasn't "half bad" because I am enrolled in all of the manufacturer outfitter/guide programs which means half off. My main costs are licenses and gas followed by horse leasing. That is until I log on here and someone shows me another must have item.

Which reminds me: Lately we've picked up some new members. Have you guys checked out the Clip-Shot from one of our sponsors? Probably one of the least expensive must haves I know of.

[rowdycwby1]

Which reminds me: Lately we've picked up some new members. Have you guys checked out the Clip-Shot from one of our sponsors? Probably one of the least expensive must haves I know of.[/quote]

Oh great! How am I supposed to save money when you're showing off more gadgets

[slim9300]

I run a pretty firm household. First I make sure my wife works 3 jobs. Then I make sure that all extra monies are funneled into my account. Secondly I am mormon and have 8 wives who all work 3 jobs. During the winter all kids shovel snow in the neighborhood and get to keep 20%. Same in the summer except it is lawn mowing and odd jobs.

Best. Response. Ever.

[slim9300]

Thankfully I generally get 2 bonuses and 2 'extra' paychecks per year (2 months I get paid three times). Basically all that money goes to hunting. I know. I have a serious problem!

[stykbow67]

Overtime and lots of it! Will probably hit over 400 hrs again this year way more than I want or need but we're short 2 guys so we have quite a few shifts to fill!

Steve

[dreamhunter]

I think we all can come up with ways to earn extra income when needed. I have a handyman business that is my full time gig. I take care of the household through out the week and do other jobs in the evening and weekends sometimes.Craigslist is another way to fund my hunting.With what I do for work I get a lot of stuff to haul off every now and then and it goes on craigslist. This is how i bought my new Wall Tent from the Wall Tent Shop. Also how I bought my new Vortex Razor Binoculars from Paul at Vortex optics.

[dreamhunter]

I drive from South central Kansas to South central Colorado to hunt. It's about a 9 hr drive.I usually take 1500.00 with me to cover all expenses and usually end up with 300.00 plus dollars when I head home.

[Olydog09]

I run a pretty firm household. First I make sure my wife works 3 jobs. Then I make sure that all extra monies are funneled into my account. Secondly I am mormon and have 8 wives who all work 3 jobs. During the winter all kids shovel snow in the neighborhood and get to keep 20%. Same in the summer except it is lawn mowing and odd jobs.

Best. Response. Ever.

Thanks Slim I appreciate you getting my sense of humor and laughing with me.

Honestly though my wife and I both work. We have a certain dollar amount per paycheck that each of us is responsible for. Whatever monies each of us has left after our monthly payments and savings has been made are our own to use for ourselves. I try to purchase items throughout the year so that it is not a big lump sum to come up with in September. Also at my work instead of a cost of living raise annually we receive 1 check usually in August that is roughly equivalent to 2-3% of our annual pay. What ever I do not have paid for by then gets covered with that check. Other than that I do some side work on the weekends for buddies that own businesses to earn a little extra $$ to add into the pot.

[ElkNut1]

Olydog, you really got me to thinking about those multiple wives there, I wonder if my wife would go for that too? Hmmm (grin) It's great to see how many guys do whatever it takes to get out west to elk hunt, sweet! It's no doubt a passion we all share!

ElkNut1

[pointysticks]

This year is gonna be tight. I have to go to Taiwan for Christmas. My wife said some village allows bow hunting for some goat over there. That would be sick !

I don't know how this year will play out.

[Screaming_btf]

Gearing up with top notch gear can be costly, even more so if you pick your gear up just before hunting all at the same time. I spend the off-season shopping around for the gear I want at the best possible price I can find. Camofire, Steep & Cheap, Leftlanesports, Ebay, Amazon, Sales and coupons from major retailers, newspapers, and Google searches are all tools I use to search. This will also spread the cost over time and can help you get the gear you want and not settle for ok gear at the last moment. I usually pick up most items at 30- 50 % off and can even go as low as 60%-70%. This helps me allot, maybe it can help you as well... Most new 2014 gear I know of has been announced and previous models are discounted so you can see if the older models your looking at have any sig. differences than newer usually more costly gear.

[ST52V]

I do what most do. Buy everything on sale , use coupons for groceries and restaurants for the few times we do eat out. I work in the steel industry and it goes up and down. When the overtime is there I work it. There have been years where I have worked 7 days a week , 10 hrs a day for months on end. I have worked 800 hrs of ot in a year. What I made was twice what I should have made in a year based on my hourly rate and 40 hr work weeks. I also split things with my father in law and brother like tents ect.

[ST52V]

Maybe we could add a new section to this site called (best buys) . Rokslide has on and people post up deals that they find so other folks can cash in as well. Today someone posted Amazon had a deal on Zemberlan Dakato 10" boots for $135 or something. They still had size 9 an hour ago.

[ishy]

Glad to hear I'm no the only one donating plasma. I can sneak in my resident Idaho tag yearly, but have 13 Utah points that are getting really itchy but never seems doable when I look at our account. So I started doing plasma, but seems bills keep growing more than my income.
Olydog09 so I'm mormon too, but my wife doesn't get along with other females. How'd you get your wife to figure it out? All of you not familar with polygomy the wife is the one that actually picks the other wives.

[Washington Wapiti]

That's a good question! Normally I don't have to. It's only a two hour drive to where I hunt elk and I have most of the gear I typically need. Usually, I'll buy food and a few last minute odds and ends before I go. This will be the first year I'll be hunting out-of-state as a non-resident, so I will be squirreling away funds each month to make sure I'm covered. I'll also make small purchases over the next several months on any gear I may need.

[Olydog09]

Glad to hear I'm no the only one donating plasma. I can sneak in my resident Idaho tag yearly, but have 13 Utah points that are getting really itchy but never seems doable when I look at our account. So I started doing plasma, but seems bills keep growing more than my income.
Olydog09 so I'm mormon too, but my wife doesn't get along with other females. How'd you get your wife to figure it out? All of you not familar with polygomy the wife is the one that actually picks the other wives.

Ishy,

I apologize as I was attempting some humor with my post. I am not of mormon faith but I do respect those that are. I realize now that it may have been in poor taste and want to apologize to anyone who may have been offended.

I did not know that the wife picks the additional wives for her husband. That is interesting but I like it as it gives the wife her choice of other significant others and I would bet it makes for a much nicer family environment when done like that. Personally Ishy, it sounds to me like your wife really loves her man and wants to keep him all to herself. That makes you a lucky man in my book brother.

[ishy]

No offense taken- that was a great post!

[six]

$50 direct deposit out of each check goes into my "Colorado fund". My license refund check buys my otc license.

[elk.addict]

I've got a buddy (not a hunter) that spends a lot of money on climbing gear. All of his play money comes from cutting firewood. Last season he made over $3k. That's a lot of firewood to cut in your spare time!