Hypothetically speaking, of course, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being most foolish), how foolish would it be to go ahead and blow half of your meager savings on another thru-hike attempt, because you can’t stand to put it off another year and let it eat at you for the whole year?
bearbait
well… hypothetically, I give it a 0 on the foolish scale. There’s no future in working for a living anyhow… Earnings Schmurnings, Savings Schmavings… Go for it dude! Live free or die! Fight the power! Take it to the next level! All that! Just do it! Thats my hypothesis…
Saftey meeting adjourned
SPIDERMAN’03
Being the economical situation as it is here in our troubled country, I’m leasing my apartment (this will cover the mortgage),using my savings for the trip plus sone stock market earns (hopefully). Going on the AT is cheaper then staying at home with no work, frustrated.
It’s the best time ever.
zammy
I would also say 0, but you are clearly on the wrong web site. You need www.wasteyourlifechasingmoney.com
Blue Jay
I think the main question here is what the money means to you. Having money in savings gives you flexibility for future expenses. Would you rather spend your money on the AT, or more fashionable clothes and furnishings, or a vacation somewhere, or to have some financial reserves for whatever may come your way? All are reasonable choices - what matters is what is in your heart. I know that our society seems to teach us to be overly practical and save money for things like houses, cars, furniture, health plans, etc, but, in my opinion, money is meant to be whatever you want it to be. In the words of the AT: Hike Your Own Hike.
Granted, I’m a little biased here. I spent too many years of my life living too practically. I worked a secure, reasonably paying job because it was safe and I thought it was what I was “supposed” to do as an adult. It’s taken me years, but I’m finally learning to follow my heart, even if, according to my old paradigm, I’m spending money on “foolish” things - like the AT and training in the arts. I may very well run through my meager reserves, but I will be following my dreams, and right now, that’s the most important thing to me. I’ve finally learned to listen to that (tiny, squeaky) voice that has been nagging at me to pursue what I’ve always dreamed of doing. I’m poorer than I’ve ever been…and happier than I’ve ever been.
I’m also in a situation where I only need to support myself. I’m not married, my parents are in good health, I don’t have kids, and I don’t have any domesticated critters running around.
Best of luck with your decision, and, selfishly, I hope to see you out on the trail. (I’m starting in a week!)
exacademic
money, you can make back. time on the other hand, you can never get back. once the moment is gone, that momnet is gone
forever. what you choose to do in the moment is what makes your life. so take that 6 months or so worth of moments and
make your life worth looking back on. because you cant take
money with you when you kick the bucket, but you sure can take a lifetime of moments !!!
ponder this while drinking a beer for better results.
good luck
crazypace
Very perceptive exacademic…and Bearbait, it’s really about what makes you happy. Some people get all the satisfaction they need from sitting on the couch looking at their bank books and brokerage statements…most of us do not.
Some talk like it’s all about dropping out of society and hitting the Trail. That might be the choice for some…but others can try to find a balance between earning what you need and taking off and spending it. The risk there is if you go in debt and don’t save, you may end up having to wait until it’s too late to follow your dream. I was fortunate enough to be able to retire when I still had the wherewithal to hike (besides having an understanding spouse.) Before I retired I hiked durng almost 80% of my time off. If you have the self confidence to re-enter the job market after your hike…go for it and don’t let the $ worries interfere.
There is some debate about what it costs to do the Trail…but if you’ve done your homework, you know what it will take to get you from Springer to Katahdin.
Best Wishes to all of you who have made the decision to hit the Trail. Take Care & Hike On!
Skeemer
saving money is overrated, how i see it is how am i guranteed that i’m gonna be around to use this money i’ve saved, for all i know i might not see the sun tom., so i better do everything i can today, and if that means spending money, then so be it
clong
clong
For my humble 2 cents worth about this topic, first of all you have to put things in perspective (your own perspective). If you have ordinary, dutiful responsibilities - be it family life, financial, relationships, whatever - I think you have to deal with that first. Other than that, money is WAY over-rated. A steady, boring job is WAY over-rated. Been section hiking the AT, but I imagine that a thru-hike would be like taking a 6 month college course in LIFE. And if there were tuition costs for that experience, I believe I would pay out BIG money and savings for it. Even if it wiped me out.
PEEP
I spent years worrying about having money in the bank, just in case… Then we quit or jobs of 19 & 15 years. Got rid of everything we owned and lived on the road with whatever would fit in the back of my Chevy S10. It was the greatest adventure ever. We did things, saw things that we never would have if we had keep our jobs. We didn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out. But we had fun. Now my husband has returned to work, I have NOT!! We spend our money as fast as we get it. We decided you only live once.
So, I have to go with 0, also. Hammock Hanger:girl
Hammock Hanger
Just kidding, go hiking for god’s sake. Five years from now you will still have just a meager savings.
Walkie Talkie
You’re only planning to blow half your savings? Sounds like you’re a pretty sensible person, much more so than most of the rest of us. If you have enough to do your hike and still have something to live on for a bit when you get off the trail, then you’re set. Why wait?
Reality is, security is vastly overrated. If you wait, chances are something will come up that will end up using up your money. You’ll need a new car or a new roof or the stock market will crash again or the dentist will take all your savings. Life is short, eat dessert first.
Ginny
You have to know that you’d just get positive feedback and "0"s all around in this forum. 
If you want higher numbers than that, you’ll have to try to get some opinions off of some career-builder message board or something. “Yuppies R Us” or something. Heh.
Some people just won’t get it. But you knew this already I’m sure.
The upper management of my girlfriend’s company is so baffled by her decision to hike the AT this year that they’ve convinced themselves that she’s actually not doing something “silly” like hiking the AT - and is actually going to work for the competition and didn’t want to say so outright.
Hike it!
Live for now - cuz, buddy - it’s all we have.
Whoa
“money, you can make back. time . . . you can never get back”
Very convincing words . . .
Last fall, I had upwards of $3,000 in the bank. A thru-hike had finally moved from being a dream to a very real possiblity. But what has kept me back is that, as I was renting at the time, I would have to entirely move out, then find a place to keep all my stuff (lots of) and my dog.
This was all achievable, but then I became concerned that upon returning (either as victor or defeated) I would have no home to come home to, and I would possibly be returning in September/October, when the employment season in this region is over - meaning no definite prospects for work. It was too daunting a thought.
So I bought a place, a mobile home (meaning I’m both hiker-trash and trailer-trash). I can get that paid off sometime this summer/fall, leaving money left over for a long-distance hike next year.
I do have some cash left, though, and all spring I’ve been debating on what the hell to do with it. Should I go on a section hike, say, Springer to Damascus, the Long Trail or IAT? And then I decide to just wait . . . and wait . . . so I can definitely relate to you, bearbait.
Kineo Kid
like the old man said spent most of my money on booze, women and gambling the rest i WASTED. GO HIKING ONLY LIVE ONCE
rimrack
Thanks for the feedback. I went out last year and didn’t finish, mainly b/c the trip turned into a different experience than a thru-hike. I spent an un-Godly amount of money, but mainly ended up being a trail-tourist, with only 13-1500 miles on the trail. Of course, I wouldn’t change a thing about last year’s hike. I had a great time w/ great people. It was my first trip up through virtually all of these states, and I went out and got to know them.
Of course, once home, this thought of actually completing a thru-hike, what I originally went out for, kept nagging at me. I knew I had to get back out and attempt a true thru-hike (in my own vision, of course). I originally wanted to go this year, but couldn’t raise the money without touching the savings. So, I thought of putting it off. Then, yesterday, I had the thought cross my mind about just packing up and going, and I have been so excited about that thought that I know I have to consider it. Many of you are right. Next year, it will still be the same meager savings. I was planning on raising the money for next year anyway, so I know I can replenish it. Besides that, I know that it will just eat me up thinking about it for another year.
I guess I have some planning to do.
bearbait
Bearbait…come on…who ya foolin?
Just get your stuff ready and hit the trail…no use waiting for us to say do it. If it is in your mind it is ready to get going, so get going. The smell of Springtime, fresh fires, the sound of streams and rivers, the smiles of strangers, the friendship of a million travelers and the pains and bruises and blood of being out there is worth more then you can spend every time, but you already know that.
Yo Fren
LK
Lion King
listen, hasnt it occured to any of you that maybe the reason you keep going out there, and encourage others to, is because you can never find happiness? happiness is not the trips you take, it is in you regardless of where you are, and if you all think it necessary to continually walk THOUSANDS of miles, then a well adjusted individual could only conclude that there is something deeply wrong with you. rather than run from your problems and society at large, why dont you face the music and accept life for what it is? you are living in a dream world. its kind of pathetic.
bearbait, it you want to talk more about this, i am starting april third from springer.
milo