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TexasFlyer · May 5th, 2008, 23:44

Here is a summary of what I did. I wanted to fly since I was 3 years old, but I had to work hard to get into a position to do such in a smart (debt free) way.

1) I got an accounting degree in 1996 because my parents told me they would let me live at their house for free if I did this. But if I pursued flying, I could just get out because it is a dead end job (sounds familair almost, does it not???). I had a loan for my accounting degree that my parents co-signed. They would not touch a loan for flying. I ended up paying back my college loans over 10 years by making double payments every month since accounting paid me okay to start and my next job even better.

2) While working I was able to get my Private. I paid cash for it. But, gave up flying by 1998 because it was depressing knowing I was "wasting money" tooling around the pattern once a month when I should be saving for a good flight school program.

3) Also, I realized I hated accounting but it as a good job when it come to paying basic bills. But it would never pay enough for me to pay cash for all my ratings and be able to make a move to a poor flying career which would require me to be debt free and have some cash in a "reserve" fund while I made poverty wages for a few years.

4) In 1999, I went into a highly stressful, but high paying sales career. It's a crappy life, but look into things like Financial Planning (sales job), Executive Recruiting (sales job), Employer Benefit Plan Sales (sales job), etc. Your first year will be a struggle to build the business but by your second or third year you should be able to clear 6 figures easily. And at that point, you'll pay off your life's debt pretty quickly and be able to save Thousands of Dollars every month!

5) From 1999 to 2007 (yes, 8 years of hard work!!!), I was able to buy a new 2006 truck for cash *my reliable transport), buy a new 2006 Harley for cash (my cheap hobby), and save up enough money to pay 100% of flight school ($50k projection) and live on for 24 months with zero income due to residual income I have coming in from the x-sales career (lets just say it's a good amount of money in savings).

Oh, and here was the ultimate test. In 2005, 2006, and 2007 I was working 60 hours a week. I was making six figures a year. I had a thick savings account. I had zero debt. I was able to live very comfortably on the money while saving around $2,000 to $3,000 in cash every single month (saving around $30k to $36k per year in cash... how long until retirement if you can do that?). I was very unhappy though since I really wanted to fly for a living. So what was the ultimate test? I quit and left all that behind. I should have my Commercial Multi Add On in about 16 hours from now. And I'll then be working toward my Instructor Certificates. I'm going to be very poor in the near future. But I am very happy with my decision.

It's not a race to the finish. Just do it right. Have a fun journey. If I would have rushed. This is the likely story. I would have had my college loans and a flight training loan totalling around $100k. I would have been hired to work for poverty wages around 1998. I would have had no choice but to defer most of my debts and paid on them as I could. The balance would not have gone down at all. I would be holding out to make Captain of a few years so then I could finally begin to pay those loans down while only hoping I did not run into any other debt issues. Then, 9-11 would have happened and I would have been furloughed after 9-11. Now I would have had a real problem. I'd probably be bankrupt and still struggling today to recover. I may also be bitter toward the industry after such events because large debts can have a way to turn you bitter when compounded by other bad things in life/ career. I'm glad I did not pick to rush and take out a big loan. I seen many people do it this way and end up losing their passion for aviation due to it.

Just my 2 cents (or maybe $1 worth)

May 5th, 2008, 23:44	#10
TexasFlyer Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 363	Re: Finance Flying? Here is a summary of what I did. I wanted to fly since I was 3 years old, but I had to work hard to get into a position to do such in a smart (debt free) way. 1) I got an accounting degree in 1996 because my parents told me they would let me live at their house for free if I did this. But if I pursued flying, I could just get out because it is a dead end job (sounds familair almost, does it not???). I had a loan for my accounting degree that my parents co-signed. They would not touch a loan for flying. I ended up paying back my college loans over 10 years by making double payments every month since accounting paid me okay to start and my next job even better. 2) While working I was able to get my Private. I paid cash for it. But, gave up flying by 1998 because it was depressing knowing I was "wasting money" tooling around the pattern once a month when I should be saving for a good flight school program. 3) Also, I realized I hated accounting but it as a good job when it come to paying basic bills. But it would never pay enough for me to pay cash for all my ratings and be able to make a move to a poor flying career which would require me to be debt free and have some cash in a "reserve" fund while I made poverty wages for a few years. 4) In 1999, I went into a highly stressful, but high paying sales career. It's a crappy life, but look into things like Financial Planning (sales job), Executive Recruiting (sales job), Employer Benefit Plan Sales (sales job), etc. Your first year will be a struggle to build the business but by your second or third year you should be able to clear 6 figures easily. And at that point, you'll pay off your life's debt pretty quickly and be able to save Thousands of Dollars every month! 5) From 1999 to 2007 (yes, 8 years of hard work!!!), I was able to buy a new 2006 truck for cash *my reliable transport), buy a new 2006 Harley for cash (my cheap hobby), and save up enough money to pay 100% of flight school ($50k projection) and live on for 24 months with zero income due to residual income I have coming in from the x-sales career (lets just say it's a good amount of money in savings). Oh, and here was the ultimate test. In 2005, 2006, and 2007 I was working 60 hours a week. I was making six figures a year. I had a thick savings account. I had zero debt. I was able to live very comfortably on the money while saving around $2,000 to $3,000 in cash every single month (saving around $30k to $36k per year in cash... how long until retirement if you can do that?). I was very unhappy though since I really wanted to fly for a living. So what was the ultimate test? I quit and left all that behind. I should have my Commercial Multi Add On in about 16 hours from now. And I'll then be working toward my Instructor Certificates. I'm going to be very poor in the near future. But I am very happy with my decision. It's not a race to the finish. Just do it right. Have a fun journey. If I would have rushed. This is the likely story. I would have had my college loans and a flight training loan totalling around $100k. I would have been hired to work for poverty wages around 1998. I would have had no choice but to defer most of my debts and paid on them as I could. The balance would not have gone down at all. I would be holding out to make Captain of a few years so then I could finally begin to pay those loans down while only hoping I did not run into any other debt issues. Then, 9-11 would have happened and I would have been furloughed after 9-11. Now I would have had a real problem. I'd probably be bankrupt and still struggling today to recover. I may also be bitter toward the industry after such events because large debts can have a way to turn you bitter when compounded by other bad things in life/ career. I'm glad I did not pick to rush and take out a big loan. I seen many people do it this way and end up losing their passion for aviation due to it. Just my 2 cents (or maybe $1 worth)