NWFlyer

I've got plenty of closet space to store it, not to worry. And a rigger who already makes me feel guilty by refusing to charge me for the little stuff he does for me beyond straight repacks. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Or to hang onto for when I turn my current rig into a backup rig and finally buy one that was built for me. Besides, the amount of cash I could get for a Raven II makes it hardly worth the hassle to sell. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I must confess did just buy a shiny new G2 helmet, though, even though I had a perfectly-functioning full-face helmet already. But, that's the nice thing about living within your means ... sometimes you can indulge a "want" and get a new toy even if it's not strictly necessary. (Also just ordered an Optimum Reserve - also not strictly necessary but will be a nice upgrade from my Raven II and will make my rig a little less of a brick). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Employers are already doing it. I'm pretty sure I had to consent to a credit check for my current job. I had to pee in a cup, too, but that's another story altogether. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If you're already debt-free and putting money away for retirement and short-term savings, I think you're better off than a lot of people in their 20s. I think that for most people in their 20s, retirement seems so far away and short-term gains often take precedence (especially since younger folks tend to make more modest salaries. But it's the time value of money that's going to put you in the best position for a good retirement fund, so the earlier you start, the better. I raided my retirement fund to pay for some grad school expenses in the middle of my 20s - if I'd left that money where it was, I'd have a bigger retirement fund now, even though I was only putting aside a small percentage of a modest salary. Yeah, I'm making a lot more money now than I was back then, so it's easier to put money away, but my money has less time to work for me now than it did then. I've had a modest retirement account since my late 20s, but it's only been in the last three years that I have been able to afford to set aside the max amount every year, so I'm playing catch-up in terms of really getting my retirement account to where I want it to be. I guess the good news is that I started the catch-up in my late 30s rather than getting to my 50s and saying "Oh shit, I can't retire in 10 years after all!" "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

But so many people do ... and then complain about how much they spend on food. Well, if you're buying a latte every morning, having lunch out every day at work and getting takeout at night ... yeah it's gonna add up. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Sure does. (Though I don't qualify for a Roth ... no, I'm not complaining) I do have a traditional IRA where I've rolled over everything from past employers' retirement plans plus I have my retirement plans at my current employer (they don't match employee contributions in the 403b, but after 2 years of employment, they set up a separate account into which they contribute 5% of my income every paycheck ... which is fully vested from the start. ) "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I don't eat out all that much, and if I do go out I try to make sure it's for a good experience, not just convenience (doesn't have to cost a lot but I'd rather go out for something I don't typically make at home). I do spend a fair amount on high-quality food for eating at home (organic and/or grass-fed meats, organic dairy, organic and/or local produce). But I consider that not only enhancing my enjoyment of the food but also an investment in my health (which has both a quality of life payoff and a financial payoff). Same reason I pay for my personal trainer. It's an investment in my health. I'm pretty smart about buying food, though - I use my freezer extensively to take advantage of deals on quality food (plus if I always have good raw ingredients available at home I'm more likely to cook than go out). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

40K a year is perfectly reasonable in a lot of parts of the country, especially (as you've said) if your home is paid off. Like others here, I wish I'd gotten my financial house in order a little earlier, but it's in order now and I've got no plans to let it get out of order again. I pay myself first on every paycheck - max amount goes into company retirement plan, then 20% of my net pay goes straight into a savings account so I never see it - that's my short-term "keep myself afloat" account. I don't acquire a lot of "stuff" anymore - I prefer to use my money for experiences, some of which would be considered indulgent, but they're important to me so I choose to do them as long as I can afford them - skydiving of course, travel, concerts, my personal trainer. If I can find "stuff" I need used, all the better - sometimes the time/effort it takes to try to find something used makes me realize I didn't need it in the first place. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Exactly! If you're having trouble paying off $300, you've got no business adding on $300-$400 for a suit (Boom! your debt just doubled) ... and tunnel time (tripled) ... and a block of jumps (quadrupled!). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Didn't know that. I guess I'll look at the page (I've read a little of his stuff but not very much). I'm a fan of responsible use of credit cards to your advantage, but it requires discipline on the part of the user (which not everyone has, of course). I could go on a massive (and I mean massive) bender with the amount of credit that I have, but my monthly balance (that I pay off every month) is typically 2-3% of available credit. Just because someone gives me credit doesn't mean I have to use it (and I don't). It's like when I was buying my house. Just because they were willing to give me a mortgage that was 100K more than I was planning to spend didn't mean that it was a mortgage that I could comfortably take on. I set a budget and stuck with it when I bought, and I'm happy that I did (especially since I wound up selling in a down market - I was able to still make money on my sale because I bought smart). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

The OP was 7 years ago and the user's profile indicates an A number, so I'd say they worked it out. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

In 2001 my realtor thought I was crazy for not buying the most expensive house for which I could get a loan. Instead, I bought a house that required about half that loan amount. 4 years later I paid off the 20 year loan early. My mortgage lender thought I was nuts when I re-financed in 2007 and didn't want to "cash out" by taking out a bigger mortgage because the house had increased in value by $100-150K. I didn't want to use my house as an ATM, and I had a feeling the crazy house of cards of ridiculously rising home values was going to eventually start crashing down. Turned out I was right. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I don't disagree with any of this; but wouldn't one reason to use a credit card to support this scenario be to help build a credit history? But I'd still advise only buying what you can pay off with cash on hand. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Big mac? Happy meal? Main canopy? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Could you explain why high pullers go third? At my DZ, if I am pulling at let's say 12,000', I am last out. What is the advantage of your order? Thanks I'm assuming Ron means high relative to other freefallers - maybe someone who is demoing a new canopy and wants to pull at 5,000 but is still going to freefall. I agree that someone who is pulling out the door should be out either first or last (I don't see CRW on Ron's list, but I've seen them go either first or last at different DZs). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Devil and angel here .... easy solution - don't put more on it than you can pay off in a year, and don't wait till the end of the year to pay it off (unless you have the discipline to put the money you'll need to pay it off into a savings account you won't touch). Having been 100% debt-free for over a year now, I gotta say it's an amazing feeling to only use my credit cards to earn airline and hotel points (meaning I don't ever charge more than I can pay off in full each month without dipping into savings). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Again. C'mon people, read the rules. Don't make my heart skip a beat by seeing new threads. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

A couple more: 1) Number of aircraft flying. I separate this from number of jumpers because the number of aircraft flying could have a different impact than just the number of jumpers (could impact jump runs/spots, or if the planes are flying close enough together, the higher-loaded canopies from Airplane #2 could find themselves in the pattern with the lighter-loaded canopies from Airplane #1) 2) Number of students in the pattern. It's a sub-factor of your "active student operation" piece, but the reason I think it's a factor (though it may be what you call a "personality" factor) is the "pattern myopia" that's common among students; as much as we teach them and work with them to look before they turn and scan throughout the pattern, the reality is that students very often get into that singular focus on checkpoints and turn altitudes and successfully completing their own pattern, to the exclusion of all other visual "information" around them. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Or, it's just that people are trying to be positive and supportive and may not always say exactly the right or perfect thing but generally have their heart in the right place. It's easy to look for negativity and pick apart everything someone says, or you can take it in the spirit in which it was (most likely) intended and consider it a part of basic social conversational skills to not rip them a new one for saying something they thought was a nice thing to say. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Amen! In October when I came back to the DZ from the ER after x-rays with a boot and crutches, I was telling everyone "nothing's broken, just soft tissue damage." The common reaction was "well, that could be good ... or not." Soft tissue injuries can be worse than clean breaks. (And at the time the only injury that had been diagnosed was the sprain in my left ankle - I didn't figure out till a few days later that I'd also torn my MCL in my right knee). Neither injury required surgery, and I still spent 4 months on physical therapy till I felt like I had the strength and stability in both legs to be able to jump again without risking re-injury. Winds were high when I went up. They were high and gusty by the time I landed. I got bit, fortunately only with a "minor" injury (and great timing as the winter weather pretty well sucked anyway). Still, coming in to land and seeing the wind socks with hard-ons in several different directions was not a good feeling. Would have much rather been on the ground watching from that angle instead. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

This one appears to be legit: http://www.dropzone.com/dropzone/Detailed/1731.shtml http://www.santacruz-skydiving.com/index.html Tandem only, but appears to be a real dropzone (and says it has a Watsonville location, which is what the offer states as well). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Amen to that! I was "the show" last October and just got back from a 5 1/2 month layoff because of it (4 of that was choosing to be very conservative on the physical recovery, and the last 1 1/2 months have been more due to timing & weather). And even though it was my first day back, I chose to sit down after one jump because the winds were high/gusty above my personal comfort zone. Even with almost 800 jumps, if the students get put on a wind hold, that's a clue for me to give it some serious consideration, too. There's always another day to jump. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Nunya:1:0 FINALLY have some numbers after a 5 1/2 month break. Unfortunately the wind went up and refused to come back down, so I only got the one in, but it's good to be back. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

But wait, there's more. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke