Should I use my student loan to heli-ski in AK?

[snowfire]

don't do it. I did something similar (not heli-skiing, but extensive travel) while I was living on loans, and while I don't regret my time traveling, I do regret doing it the way I did, now that I have well over $100k in loans that I'm paying back which are costing me over $1k/month (undergrad and grad school). At the time I thought hey, what's another few thousand dollars. Now, I know better. Don't make a stupid decision as a teenager (I've come to the conclusion that college students are just glorified teenagers... myself included at the time) that you'll regret when it comes time to pay up. Play when you have real money to spend.

[Boom Heir]

Don't spend it on a heli-trip per say, but definitely spend it on a trip.


What else are you gonna do with it? Let it sit in your bank account and slowly piss it away on stupid shit? Like booze and women? That's dumber than taking the trip.

[ProHoHater]

Telago, bills suck fucking ass. Enjoy your life as a slave to the man. At least you will have memories of your trip while your crying into your hands.

Oh, and for the love of god please report back in ten years... if you can afford a computer.

[HotCarl]

Debt is bad,mmmk.

I'm still paying off my two days.........but it was worth it.

[Fuorilegge]

Haha....you are funny for a little college shit!

JONG on fucker...enjoy paying the government back for your bad mistakes through college. If these are the sort of decisions you are even considering making now, I can't wait to see where you land your broke ass in ten years.

One thing is for sure...it sure as hell won't be Aspen!

Fuorilegge- your opinion on this matter has been disregarded. Only because in the aspen thread you told that guy to head to monarch, steamboat, or wolf creek for work/skiing. That's the worst advice I've seen on here in a long time! Sorry, but I will ignore your pompous remarks in this thread too!

I guess I phrased that poorly. I can use my hard-earned money to pay for heli trip, but I will be taking out loans to cover my tuition at that point.

What if I told you all that I think there is an 80% possibility that I would be able to pay off these loans fully when they come due.

[powdork]

Some good thoughts here. Thanks for the replies, definitely some food for thought.

The sled recommendation was a great one. That could potentially be a better idea than blowing my load in AK. I have plenty of skis, BC gear, avy courses, etc. There was a chance that a group of us might swing a full heli crew the end of march, and this was the only way for me to afford it. Giving that I live in CO and get lots of good skiing in, maybe a sled is the right way to kick it up a notch this year.

I'll keep you all informed. Til then, I'm going to keep wiping my ass with $100 bills provided by tax-paying schmucks like all of you!

note to self. if teleago ask for change for a $100, say no.

[clarnitty]

Fuorilegge- Am I a spoiled little bitch because I get to go heli skiing or because I ski circles around your JONG ass?

Wow! only 11 posts and what a bold response!!

Honestly, that sounds either totally irresponsible or like a non-issue. Either you have the money to go heli-skiing or you don't. If you have the money because it's from a government loan, then that's not real money. If you have the money because it's hard earned (and you miraculously don't have to pay for things like health insurance, medical bills, cell phone, car insurance, groceries, beer, tequila, and herbs) then go and realize that instant gratification isn't always the way to go. Besides, earning your turns is fun too! In all aspects of life!

And PS I can ski circles around your JONG ass.

[lifts4turns]

See I'm doing the opposite of you. I worked my ass off over the last couple summers, got a boat load of scholarships and made a plan with my parents and grandparents so they pay a small portion of my university expense but not all of it.

Ultimately this allowed me to invest a relatively substantial amount of money in the market that I shouldn't need to pay for my undergrad degree. I've got a fairly diversified portoflio but its concentrated in medium yield/medium risk trusts that yeild approximately 120 bucks a month. This easily finances all of my dicking around through college, the chances I get to ski and perhaps a day in a heli at some point in time. Instead of going into debt having fun I'm making money while having fun.

Of course this was moderatly screwd by the markets crashing but not a single company I've invested in have changed their dividend rates (so I still get the same monthly check) and loses arn't solidified until I pull my money out right?



To me its retarded to feel comfortable with debt out of college/university. On top of the student loan payments you'll probably add a car in 6 months and before you pay either off, most likely a house. Keep stacking on debt and a large chunk of your paycheck will be skimmed off the top each month to keep the banks at bay. Minimizing debt is key to long term financial stability/prosperity.

[time2clmb]

You filled out the application for the debt. They gave the money to you. New money is created from debt. You did not affect the chances of some other person to get a loan. If you believe this, or even if you don't, the money is in your hands and it's no one elses buisness how you decide to spend it. Your paying it back anyways.

Why even ask though?

[JimmyCarter]

Skiing circles around someone would either involve a lot of skating or a violation of basic physics. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I would not ski circles around anyone.

[hartzejr]

I probably wouldn't spend it on a heli trip all the way up in AK. Silverton, Jackson, Altabird and many other great places are closer and cheaper. If you haven't been to any of those, its pretty clear to me what you need to do.

Not trying to be a dick Snowfire but noticed a discrepancy above. Your first line says "don't do it" and the argument is well reasoned and good advice. But your signature quote is "The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. Only a person who risks is free. — William Arthur Ward". Maybe he ought to risk a little of that funding?

[AKbruin]

Did everybody here re-invest their surplus financial aid checks, grants, and scholarships, or use it to immediately pay off their debts when they were in college? I sure as hell didn't. I financed trips abroad, bought booze for the semester at Costco, and generally had a lot of fun. I sometimes had to eat nothing but Top Ramen for weeks at a time, worked part-time to make ends meet, and certainly had more debt to pay off when I graduated. I accepted these things as part of the bargain. And when I weigh my debts against the memories, I have no regrets.

Also, didn't the OP state that he had enough in scholarship and grants to pay for his tuition and living expenses? If so, he’d essentially be using his grants/scholarships to take a heli trip while assuming the federal loan debts he would have had had he never received the grants/scholarships. In my opinion, it's his money. He can spend it on heli-skiing, his debts, or a really big microscope. I don't care. But it seems to be a stretch to say that he's stealing from me as a tax-payer. He'll pay the debts back eventually just like the students who did not receive scholarships and grants. (Note: I don’t believe that Chapter 11 filings discharge student loans any more.)

Of course, this is not to say that the OP should necessarily spend all the money on a heli trip. Like others, I think there are ways to get more bang for your buck. (Also, see Jim S's most recent TR from Cordova for the worst-case scenario.) Nor am I saying that one should always accumulate debts where there's fun to be had. That’s a risk-reward balance that each of us weighs differently. My point is that the OP is not necessarily an idiot, thief, or deadbeat just because he is not as financially conservative as you may happen to be.

[.rockbottomfreerider.]

When I finished school two years ago I had paid every penny myself every semester and finished in 3 and 1/2 years. Literally packed up the truck when I finished, moved to a Colorado ski town, got a job, I buy new gear whenever, and save at least 1k a month. Want to know the secret....no school loans, no debt. Life is pretty good when you don't owe anyone anything, instead most people pay me every month now in the form of interest and dividends on the money I save up.

my 2 cents, it works for me

[Nuthon]

With the financial market these days blah blah blah blah blah, I say FKNA do it. Who knows maybe you won't have to pay them back because by that time there will be no financial market or government for that matter. It may be your last chance to do something that you'll never forget. Oh yeah, When Was the last time you saw our government do something intelligent with a loan. Just use them as an excuse when you can't pay up.

[Jer]

I say go for it. The world's ending in 4 years anyway.

[Imz]

It'll go way farther spent on hookers and blow...

Doofus.

[gisforgaper]

It'll go way farther spent on hookers and blow...

Doofus.

Take it from me, this is definitely a better way to send the money.

Honestly though, as a person who financed a racing career that way, it's a terrible idea.

[kokinos]

If you pay for it yourself, cash when you can afford it, the trip will feel much better since the $$$$$ won't be on your mind. I'd say go for a catskiing day trip if you really want to reward yourself right now.

[tahoegnar420]

what does every fucking thread have to end with the whos who of ASSHAT JONGS cunting up the original thread.

This is fuckin TGR! Id expect those kind of answers on gapicski of the other hippeforum.

Dooo IT!

[Mathematics]

what the fuck is wrong with TGR...a dude asks "should I go heli-skiing?" and the majority response is "save your money, credit crisis, people like you are whats wrong with the world, blah blah blah" ...this is still a skiing forum right?

dont listen to these mooks, do the trip.

[AMF]

Two things to consider. The debt you incur now to play is much harder than you think to pay off quickly. At some point you will most likely have to make some sacrifices to repay the loan. From personal experience, it has taken me years to pay off debt I incurred during school in order to have fun. I feel that it was all worth it given the things I was able to experience, but the payback was a bitch.

I am not sure I would recommend a heli trip to Alaska as money well spent. I went up there last year and made a total of 6 runs in one week due to weather. That rounded out, after all expenses are accounted, to about 1500 bucks a run. If the money you are going to spend is not 100% disposable, I wouldn't recommend going there. I have no complaint about spending that much money as I knew the risk before going. However, I think I would have been really bummed if I had taken a loan to sit in the hotel and watch it snow all day.

[serge944]

When you graduate, don't expect to be granted a job. I graduated in June with a Mechanical Engineering degree and hundreds of submitted resumes later, I am still searching...

During my college years, I took out a $2,000 "computer loan" to spend on a car - but that is my only loan since I was fortunate to get through school on Grants, Scholarships, and Financial Aid alone.

Good luck.

[eldereldo]

Sure, why not, that way when you graduate you can be piss poor for a lot longer, and not be able to ski while you try to dig your self out of debt.

[Steven S. Dallas]

I'm about to sound crazily lame, but you should open a Roth IRA and put $3500 in it before you do anything else.

And then use some more of it to buy DPS 138s, Dynafits, and go to AK this spring. Tour and look at the lines you'll ski when you can actually afford a heli trip.

[extreeski]

When I finished school two years ago I had paid every penny myself every semester and finished in 3 and 1/2 years. Literally packed up the truck when I finished, moved to a Colorado ski town, got a job, I buy new gear whenever, and save at least 1k a month. Want to know the secret....no school loans, no debt. Life is pretty good when you don't owe anyone anything, instead most people pay me every month now in the form of interest and dividends on the money I save up.

my 2 cents, it works for me

translation of "myself"... my trust fund paid for it.


Do it if you want to. But you'll have to pay for it one way or another. I speak from experience. Yet I have no regrets. (((((La Nina)))))