[pct-l] (Guest Post) Affording a thru hike

[chwillet at indiana.edu (Christopher Willett)]

I think the cost of a thru hike is a little more complicated than this. 
One has (fixed costs)+(money spent on trail).  Some people might want to
factor in lost wages.

But, we can certaoinly subtract from the total (fixed)+(spent)+(lost
wages) the 
amount of money one would usually spend if one was at home. Although 
I don't live flamboyantly while at home, I still spent a lot 
less during the 3.5 months on trail than I would have if I had 
remained at home.
That is, using this way of figuring the cost, I actually made money by
hiking.

Chris

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003, Platypus wrote:

> * Message posted to PCT-L from the National Scenic Trails Website
> * by our guest Platypus <PlatyHiker@yahoo.com>.
> * Please use <mailto:PlatyHiker@yahoo.com> to reply to the sender.
> 
> How to afford a thru hike?
> 
> I always find this a very interesting question.  One way to define the cost of a thru-hike is:  fixed costs during your hike + your expendatures on the trail.  Fixed costs include things like medical insurance, mortgage, spousal/child support, etc.  Getting your fixed costs as low as possible is a big help.  To get low fixed costs, you should not be paying for an unused dwelling (put your stuff in storage and give up the lease on your apartment, or sublet; if you own property consider whether you could rent it out to get some income from it), have no other people (spouse, children) who need your financial support, and have no debt (including car loan/lease).  Now, not everyone will be able to meet these conditions, and I'm certainly NOT recommended anyone divorce their spouse or neglect their children to make a thru hike less expensive, but the more your fixed costs are, the more money you will need to save up before your hike (or deal with more debt after the hike).
> 
> Everyone needs to have some money saved up for a thru hike.  Saving money really boils down to spending less money than you earn.  There's slews of little decisions that we make that add up to significant amounts of money over the months and years.  How much do you spend on lattes over a week? - multiply by 52 and see what you spend in a year.  How often do eat out or get take out, when you could have cooked at home?  How often do you go to movies, rather than hiking?  There's also big decisions that have financial consequences.  Do you buy the house with the biggest mortgage the bank will let you have for the status of the "good" community, or do get something more modest that fits your true needs.  Do you buy/lease more car than you really need?  How often do you get a new car?  Have you considered getting a used car and owning it longer?  The list goes on and on ...
> 
> There are two books about money that I really like.  One is "Your Money or Your Life".  In it the authors advocate saving aggressively, buying bonds that generate interest and eventually getting to the point where the interest from the bonds covers their expenses and you can quit your job and do what your truly want.  I'm not going that route, but I really like their discussion about money, spending, work and how it all affects you.  Are you working in a job that makes you miserable (but pays well), in order to be able to buy stuff to cheer yourself up?  What would happen if you cut your spending significantly and took a different job (possibly low paying) that makes you happy?  It really gets you to think about the choices you are making and consider what really matters to you.
> 
> The other book is the "The Tightwad Gazette" book, which was origially published in three volumes, and then came out as one big book with all three volumes, plus some follow up material.  It covers a bazillion different ways to save money, big and small.  Through it all, runs the theme of matching your spending to what your goals and true wants are.  I also like the way this book makes me feel comfortable for doing things differently than many of my friends and co-workers.
> 
> Both of these books are available at most public libraries.
> 
> As long as you are not defrauding anyone and meeting your financial responsibilities, there aren't any "right" or "wrong" way to earn, spend or save money, but there are many, many choices.  The better you understand what your goals are and consider which choices work for and against your goals, the more chance you have of achieving those goals.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> pct-l mailing list
> pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> unsubscribe or change options:
> http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
> 
> 
> 


----------------------
Christopher Willett
Department of Mathematics
Indiana University
831 East Third Street
Bloomington, IN. 47405-7106
(812)-855-1883
chwillet@indiana.edu
php.indiana.edu/~chwillet