Sounds like you have a plan susan. Stick with it and I hope to see both of ya'll on a trip soon, bobI’m another single mom (I have two boys) who would love to go on every dive trip too. After reading all of the other replies, I feel a little better knowing that most of the people who are able to go on a lot of these trips, either don’t have children or their children are already grown. My oldest son is 19, but he still lives at home. He works full-time and buys most of his own food and personal items. But, I don’t make him pay “rent” since he pays for his own contacts and car insurance. He has one speeding ticket, so with his age, liability alone is out of this world! I honestly don’t know how half of the male population under the age of 25 can afford to pay for their insurance, let alone have a nice car. Anyway, he’s still got a ways to go before he’s entirely self-dependant. At times, I feel like kicking his a** out of the house, but the “mother” in me isn’t really ready to see him move out on his own yet. My other son is only 8 years old. He is normally with me all through the week and with his dad on most weekends. In my present situation, I figure I’ll be able to go on one or possibly two dive trips per year. Being a mother, I’m sure you share the same feelings that most all parents can relate to: We don’t regret having our children for a minute and we wouldn’t give them up for all the diving in the world. When I think of my situation in those terms, it’s a lot easier to accept less diving. Sometimes, it just helps me to be reminded, that I’m not alone. Even when I was married, “we” couldn’t always afford to go diving as much as we would have liked to. Now that I‘m single, it‘s even harder to save extra money, but on the bright side, it also means there‘s one less diver to save money for! OTOH, I feel guilty if I leave my kids behind every time I go somewhere, so I try to take them on a vacation once a year too. That’s another big expense, especially being a single parent! WW mentioned the idea of someone posting a poll or starting a thread in the General Diving forum to see how many members have kids and how many parents would be interested in taking their kids on a dive trip. I’ll save my thoughts on that subject for now, since I haven’t looked to see if anyone has started a thread on that topic.1. Who actually gets 12 weeks of vacation a year?
2. Who actually has 2-3K to spend on a dive trip?
But seriously, what are some of the things you do to make it happen. Are there any other single moms out there, and do you run into the same problem? I would love to do every trip, but it just isn't ideal.
About four years ago, I bought an industrial, “Circus Size” cotton candy machine as a means to make some extra money on top of my full-time job as a nurse. I’ve been lucky so far that I haven’t had to replace any expensive machine parts. It’s not exactly the kind of job I’d want to do full-time, but it’s been a great source of extra income for me.
Before I bought the cotton candy machine, I used to clean and paint vacant apartments and rental houses for extra income. With that type of work, I was allowed to take my youngest son with me, which saved me from paying a sitter. I know of several small businesses that hire people to clean their offices after business hours and I’ve known other single moms who have worked these kinds of jobs and were allowed to take their children as well. I realize it’s not always safe or practical to take kids to work, especially If they’re real young or you have a lot of kids. But, it might be an option for some.
By reading the other replies , I’ve learned some new tips to save money too. I hadn’t thought of a separate account for scuba savings, but that’s a good idea and one I’m going to try. I haven’t tried living on a budget for years either, so it might not hurt to try that again. Several months ago, I “downgraded” to a basic satellite package when I realized how much extra I was spending on the movie channels. I would have done away with TV all together if it weren’t for the kids, but they would drive me crazy if they weren’t able to watch TV! I also got rid of caller ID, call waiting and I removed the long distance carrier from my home phone line. I was already making all of my long distance calls from my cell phone since I have a plan with free long distance and unlimited night and weekend minutes. But I didn’t realize I was being charged a monthly fee PLUS several types of “taxes” just to have a long distance carrier assigned to my home phone line. I’ve never heard of half of those taxes that appear on my monthly statement for my home phone line!!! A home phone is another thing I could live without if I didn’t have kids! There is one thing I don’t want to live without, and that’s my Starbucks coffee, but I buy it by the lb. to make at home. I usually pour it in a thermos when it’s done brewing so it doesn’t set on the burner and get old. Then, if I’m going somewhere, I can throw my thermos in the car and take it with me instead of shelling out a couple dollars for each cup. When I eat away from home, I usually order water to drink instead of a soda (water is still free at most food establishments where I live). The exception to that rule is when I go out to eat and have fun….water or soda aren’t exactly my definition of funI guess that makes 2 things I don’t want to live without.
As for the limited vacation time, I ask for extra days off previous to or following a 3-day weekend. If you don’t have enough vacation time, some employers will let you take extra days off without pay, as long as it‘s not a busy time of the year. I realize taking days off without pay isn’t going to add to your “dive trip savings”, but the odd jobs I mentioned above can help make up for the lost wages.
With your scuba clothing, soap and stickers, it sounds like you’re already on your way to earning more money for dive trips! Maybe some day soon, you’ll be “self-employed” and hopefully in a position to take time off whenever you want. Do you have pictures and prices of your items you could send me in an email? I might be willing to spend a little of my “scuba savings” since your items are scuba related!!! I wish you the best of luck with your sales.
Susan
