How do you people survive financially???

I'd never met a pilot that has ever said " man, I made so many bad investments my next wife can ONLY be rich"

I don't know too many dudes that target only rich chicks... Because as you stated they "HAVE TO". therefore I think your comment was incorrect. Hence my edit.

Uh, no...

I said a lot of up and coming pilots put themselves into financial peril, and then end up either having to marry rich or complain about how poor they are all the time. It's pretty safe to say most don't "marry rich", so instead they complain about how poor they are all the time. If you think that's incorrect, you haven't been exposed to very many new hire regional FOs!:laff:

A good CFI that takes his/her job seriously and works at it and makes it a business will make mid to upper 30k a year. The CFI's that use their students for hours make around 15-18k a year. Not a lot of cushion to save for 1st year regional pay,which is what you should be doing during your CFI years.

Financial peril means what exactly? Are you saying you should only pay as you go for flight training? A lot of people that pursue post secondary education need to get student loans. Is everyone pursuing an education looked down upon for putting themselves in financial peril? Or just pilots?
I am just trying to understand where you are coming from....

pilot, plus student loan, equals financial peril?

Not everyone can pay for their training as they go and need a little help in the form of a student loan. Personally, I think it is OK to get a student loan. Any time you invest in yourself, you are making a wise investment.

I have loans and have to pay them every month, just like my friends that are paying off their student loans from the college they attended.

Financial peril means great financial risk. An example would be having so much debt and so little savings that you continue to go into more debt every month... Or it might even be living paycheck to paycheck, where one little life emergency (car breaks down, sickness, etc.) will ruin you.

That doesn't mean any and all loans are to be avoided... As you said, some people simply need loans to get through flight training. But if you have so many loans that you are basically not going to be ahead financially for 20 years or something, then you might just need to rethink what exactly you're doing to yourself.

Sounds like common sense, but there are a lot of people out there with six figures or more in debt that are regional FOs... You will never convince me that this isn't extremely poor financial planning.

I see where you are coming from.

I was listening to a financial planner on a radio program a couple of years back and they said something along the lines of, "If your student loans combined add up to more than your first year pay out of college, then a person should re-evaluate their career/school choice." I am not a financial planner and am just paraphrasing what I heard.
Just thought it was interesting.

how much does it cost to be a lawyer? can i sign up at DEVRY?

Simply, my dad. (Or "daddy" for those of you who like to throw that around as some kind of insult).

Pops worked hard to let me enter the workforce with zero debt.
I drive an 12 year old car.
I don't have a data plan.

That's how I survived.
No money, but no debt. (of course I went junior college-instate university-FBO 152s.
Without pops, it wouldn't have been possible.

I think the fact I'm young is the reason I survive. I'm 20 and a first year FO. Thanks to my dad, I left flight training debt free. You guys can say what you want, but my dad is still working hard at a legacy in his 30th year to help me out. I plan to work a long time to provide for my future kids as well. All my college online is paid on scholarship. I keep bills small. I live in a room in domicile. I found it on craigslist. Flat rate with no other expenses. It is the way to go. No wife, no kids. I drive a 1998 truck that works just fine. I pay only liability car insurance. My cell phone and gym membership are my only other bills. I actually shop at the grocery store and carry a lot of food in my crew cooler. I hate eating out.

I just learned at a young age to manage expenses and keep my spending LOW. I will get some breathing room with 37/hour second year FO pay, but I'm not there yet. I plan to change nothing and save all I can, which will add to my savings I've already worked hard to build up. My dad taught me one important thing. "Prepare for the furlough".

Just the opposite here I survive on the pension I earned while slowly earning the ratings over the last 15 years!

Get a military scholarship, school for free, go to flight school in the military for free, serve, maybe retire, get hired by the majors, make decent money as a pilot. I can cite quite a few examples. A good friend made $267k his fourth year with SW, including his retirement pay of course.

...as an aside, a $900 crown at the dentist today really hurts when you don't have insurance ;(

If they had cleared laser eye surgery a few years earlier I would have taken that route.

I was fortunate that my 4 yr college was paid for by family, however, my flight school loans were not. So I do have debt, but a manageable payment plan.

I have never had to ask for money or go on food stamps, but it comes down to planning. I made good money flight instructing in Florida, then was lucky and had a good job in the Sims for FSI. Always had my own Appartments/housing, drove my own car, paid my own way. Living with roommates can help offset the cost of living expenses if you're unmarried. But now I live alone and survive alright. FWIW I fly part 91/135 in PA.

Same with a 3000 dollar bridge.

Doug, you may have stumbled on to the best idea yet for the poor regional pilot who needs to make ends meet! After a smooth flight and greaser of a landing, greet passengers as they exit with a smile and a tip bucket.

:rotfl::yup: :laff:

I never worked for the regionals. However I have still not reached the 60k mark.

I live in a house with 4 college students. My car is paid off. I have no debt.

I put 20% into my 401k and 200$ a month in an IRA as I was unable to save any money during my 5 years at scum 135 outfit based at Napa.

My take home paycheck (2x a month) after taxes and 401k is roughly 1300. The first one is rent and expenses the rest is spent on fun or additional savings.

The key is never getting into an expensive lifestyle in the first place. I hope to keep the same expenses after my captain upgrade.

Yeah, that sucks...timing is everything.

I don't