How do you pay for SCUBA?

[almitywife]

.......i really have to work hard to help make the wife understand that i NEED to buy gear for diving.

hubby system is this, he tells me something will only cost $280 but it isnt until tax time do i find out he actually spent $680 and by that time its months later so what can i do or say?

ive just completed hubbys taxes for the year. all up inc dive trips, insurance, training, new equipment, flights, camera gear, rebreather ect.... $25,806.00AUD for 1 year!

explains why we have leaky gutters!

 

[TheRedHead]

ive just completed hubbys taxes for the year. all up inc dive trips, insurance, training, new equipment, flights, camera gear, rebreather ect.... $25,806.00AUD for 1 year!

Guess you better start harvesting more eggs because you're WAY behind me on money spent on diving last year.

 

[Footslogger]

Over the past few months, as I've been doing research and reading the board, I've noticed how truly expensive the "sport" of scuba diving could be. If you factor in certification, gear, entrance fees, tank fills, traveling, boat purchase, so on and so forth, this can be quite demanding on one's wallet. I'm just curious what everyone does IE your Job, that makes it so they can go diving? I know that its listed in your profile, but I figured this would be a cool thread that would help me get to know other board members better.

I'm an 11B (Infantryman) in the US Army. 101st Airborne, Ft Campbell Ky. Been in for 6 years now.

=======================================

First off ...HOOAH ! Old 11B'er here myself - 1/509th PIR (1968 - 1971) Spin off of the 82nd after WWII; attached the 8th Inf Div when I was with them. They are headquartered at Ft Polk right now and act as OPFOR (opposing forces) in combat training exercises.

Anyway ...back to diving and how to afford it. I started diving in 1971 when I rotated back to the states. Diving was a LOT cheaper then, all things considered. Over the years the gear and travel got a lot more expensive and it has been a challenge trying to stay active, especially since SCUBA is only ONE of my pasttimes. My wife and I also are avid long distance backpackers ...but that's a different story all together.

To answer your question directly ...for me it comes down to priorities. I don't make a lot of money but I live a pretty basic lifestyle. I work my **** off pretty much all year and manage to get away at least once (and often twice) a year on a 1 week liveaboard dive trip ...which we find is most suitable to our style of diving and our logisitics.

Been to Campbell and if memory serves ...there ain't much diving of any quality in that area so like me (living in Wyoming) you gotta travel to dive. Set down some reasonable goals and save your money. You don't need ALL the latest gadgets right away. Make a list and knock things off as you can afford them. Decide when and where you want to dive, find out what it will cost you and then start putting the money away. Time will pass and you will find yourself on the dive trip(s).

There might be some folks here on SB who either live close to diving or have the money and time to dive often and in great places ...but I think they are the exception. Been diving over 30 years now and from what I've seen MOST recreational divers are just regular people with bills and obligations who really don't get to dive all that often. Being here on SB it would seem like some people eat and sleep SCUBA but that is just because of the sheer numbers and diversity of the members here.

Hang in there ...

AIRBORNE ...ALL THE WAY !!

 

[SussexMedic]

BeachJunkie,

I'm a career paramedic and my girlfriend is a physician assistant so we do OK. We're both divers so that does make it easier to justify expenses although it doubles them. When I travel for business (I'm in administration now) on trips that bring me near the ocean, I add days to so get in dives. I've also noticed that I don't tend to ski or sail as much as I used to now that I have a diving habit.

 

[PanamaMike]

... I'm just curious what everyone does...so they can go diving?

The wife and I made a pact. I work to pay for our
beautiful house in a great neighborhood in Silicon
Valley, CA and she works to pay for my SCUBA diving.

Overall, I'd say SCUBA diving is cheap. My wife can afford
it for me.

--Mike

 

[The Chairman]

Expensive is relative -

You got that backwards: Relatives are expensive!!!

As for how I fund my dives... THANKS GUYS! This has been the best job I have ever had.

 

[zackalack8999]

I work at a Dive shop, keyman is awesome.

 

[DivingsInMyBlood]

Oh you just need to take her diving with you...... Be sure to tell her that all that gear comes in a variety of colors

Theres no way i could get her in the water, anything bigger than a goldfish would make her pop her clogs

 

[motorcitydiver]

Nah, its the travel part thats expensive. The gear is actually pretty inexpensive. Unless of course one is prone to buying all the bells, whistles and other related marketing hype.

I don't know if I'd call it bells and whistles but when you set up steel 100 doubles with a manifold and a couple good regs even the cheapest is expensive. Now throw on a drysuit at a minimum of $1000, a dive computer, a couple of wetsuits for warm water diving, a few good lights for wreck diving....well it adds up to $$$ in my house.

 

[ONESPEED]

Guess you better start harvesting more eggs because you're WAY behind me on money spent on diving last year.

I think I pulled a muscle laughing at that one.

BTW, water pays for my aquatic addiction, ironic, isn't it?

Red, you owe me a keyboard.