So I was thinking to myself, "realistiically, how much money could you really take effective advantage of to skate without being wasteful?". Indeed, I wanted to be somewhat budget minded about it to get a realistic estimate...

So I started adding stuff up for my wishlist:

• Monthly freestyle session adult flat rate pass at nice rink: $130/month
• Public sessions at cheap weekend/evening rink: $100/month
• 1 hour of lesson time per week: $260/month
• Weekly Theater-on-Ice class: $100/month
• Ballet class 2x per week: $110/month
• Misc stuff (group edge class, the odd session at other rinks, etc.): $50/month
• Budget for new skating gear and maintenance: $50/month
• Gas: $50/month

Total: $850/month

If I weren't being conservative, I'd up the coaching to 2 or 3 hours a week to include some pairs and ice dance. Assuming 3, that would bring it up to $1370.

That's $10,200 - $16,440 per year. My current net income is somewhere in that range as well. This poses a bit of a problem...

What does YOUR wishlist look like?

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

I totalled my current skating expenses and got about $2,500/year. I'm pretty frugal, especially with coaching because it's by far my largest expense. I pay attention and don't waste time in lessons!

My wishlist would include going to Adult Sectionals and Adult Nationals, 30min each of moves, freestyle and dance lessons per week, and 2 hours of ice time 5 days a week. That would probably cost me near $8,000.

WOW! I'd be divorced by now if I spent that much money on skating....

Private lessons: $26/30 minutes every week=$104 per month
Ice time: for club =$65/month
Ice time: public sessions =$72/month
gas: $95/month
Ice Dance Lessons: $50/month
Total=$386 per month (this is just for me-my husband, daughter, son all skate....)

I'm frugal and make things to sell in the pro-shop-costumes, stinky feet spray, etc.

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

hmmm if I wanted to do what I want with skating?

Year Pass: $1500 (equals $125pm - all ice time - free & public)
Coaching: free (hubby) or $30 half hour x 5pw = ($600pm)
Ballet Lessons: $60pm
Capoeira: $60pm
Off Ice: free (useful having a hubby who is a qualified gym instructor )
= $2940pa with hubby coach/ $10140pa with other coach
+ additional expenses like tests, dresses etc etc

hmmmm

What im doing now?
Ice Time: $10per session x 1pw
Coaching: free
= $40pm
= $520pa

Not much at all atm.. but it will creep up there, especially once I get back into it.. aim is for early morning sessions each day, plus my essential dance lessons and capoeira (great for balance and strength building).

__________________
--------------
-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

My Progress Report!
"Did I mention there is only ONE rink in Melbourne?!"
"If you're not flying, you're obviously not trying!!!" - courtsey of the guy who helped me up off the ice after my last spectacular and sore fall

I carefully don't add it all up, as I know quite well I can't afford it! Husband pays for most of our skating, thankfully..... but I do pay for some.

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

You know, you are right! I constantly try not to total up my expenditure for skating & coaching related expenditure for the year ... Now to think of it, I spend up to 25,000 a year without off ice related stuff coz I'm home trained with a small studio room at home as well as toning & of ice equipments + an overseas trip once a year excluding accommodation ... Gosh!

But I also think it's worth the knowledge learnt!

Well, if you consider that I never took ballet/dance/gymnastics/sports, etc at all when I was younger, then averaged out over my whole lifetime...then I'm way behind in the expense category!!!! I have some catching up to do!

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Actual expenses: Due to the way we handle family money, I've actually got a notebook with entries covering most of the actual skating expenses since I started up again in January. At a goal of about 40 minutes of lesson time per week and about 4-5 freestyle sessions, plus tests, club membership and skating fees, it's running $400-450/month for me, given that not everything gets accomplished every week.

But Casey asked about the wish list. If I actually got in all the time I could manage given my current work schedule and what my knees will handle, I'd be up around 8 freestyle sessions on 4 days (since I'm there anyway with my son) and 60 minutes of lesson time. Call it ~$170/wk or $680-700/month.

The real world number is chosen to ensure that I have enough money to keep skating for a while. My minimum baseline that I could afford indefinitely without taking in extra work or selling things no longer of interest to me is only around 2 sessions and 1 20-minute lesson per week. That wouldn't be great if I had to do it, but would be better than not skating.

Rob Dean

(Of course, this coming month my work travel schedule and my coach's are going to be badly synchronized, so I will be in the position of having lesson money budgeted but no time in which to take the lessons. )

I am $283 a month minimum, which is more than I can afford, I really hate the cost

When I take my lessons, I HAVE TO buy the session time as well, which is $10! pretty much a toddlers session and I can't get anything done so its taking my money. I would then go to three other sessions in the week and I am not including pubic transport costs and the fact that sessions are just not practial for me because they are busy

Sessions with my student discount is $10 a pop, and lessons are about $26. I also spend ahuge amount on the dirnks machiens, because I get thirsty pretty bad during skating

__________________
starting at 28

Ice: $200/month for freestyle/dance sessions (ice is cheap because our early morning sessions are priced 2 for 1)
Lessons: $600/month
Tests: $50-$100/year if that much
Competitions: $200-$300 including entry fee, coach's partnering fee for Pro-Ams, and travel costs
New Dress if necessary: $1200 (about once every year or 2... these are custom designed & constructed)

__________________
American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

A couple of years ago, I figured out how much I had spent on skating-related expenses, which included a couple of doctor's visits and an MRI after a bad fall on my knee, plus skates, dresses, lessons, ice, comp, testing, etc - let's just say it was scary. Then, earlier this year, I calculated monthly skating expenses when I was looking into buying a house. Eeek!

I try to keep expenses low, b/c even with a well-paying job, I'm always mindful that there's so much other stuff that I could be buying - that I need - instead of putting it into my hobby.

A basic rundown:
Ice Time - about $200 per month
Lessons - $80-100 per month (plus additional lessons with choreographer as a comp nears)
Off-ice class - about $40 per month (once a week for $10 each)

If I had unlimited funds, I would probably take a second lesson each week and spend one on moves and one on FS - it's hard to squeeze in both in 1 lesson.

In addition to skating expenses, there's gas expenses - calculating roughly how many miles a week I drive to skating and my car's mpg and gas prices (which were much higher this summer but have dropped considerably), I get about $30 per month (probably about $45 this past summer). Ouch! (OK, maybe figuring all this out wasn't such a good idea - lol)

In the past year, I tested 4 times (3 MIF and 1 FS) so the total bill (including coaching) came to $224. Gosh, getting to Bronze was expensive!

I also bought new skates (which I'm hoping to not have to do for about 5 years or so) for $630, plus new blades for about $200 (old blades were 1/4 inch too long b/c I got custom skates). And then there was the new comp dress which cost me (I think) $135.

I entered 5 comps this year, at a total cost of $550, and that's just the entry fees and hotel (for NYI). Sk8pics has generously served as my (free) coach, and does a great job. For one of the comps, held at my home rink, my coach came and charged her usual lesson fee.

I don't think I'm going to be testing for a while and I'm not sure how many comps I'm going to enter next year, or if I'm going to AN, so next year may be cheaper (dare I dream - lol).

__________________
Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

This is me:
Ice Time :$200 per month for rink run freestyle, $93.50 per month for two hours of club run freestyle on Sunday afternoons.

Coaching:$134 per month

Gas:$50 per month

Competitions: Entry fees for two events :$100, hotel, $160-$200, gas $50.
I usually do three a year, but this year, I'm cutting back on that to try to move up to Bronze.

I'm looking to cut my expenses too, by possibly doing only one event at the next competition, or we have the option of splitting the club ice with someone else or paying walk on. We'll see

__________________
Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

I choose to keep my head buried in the sand and NOT look at how much I'm spending on skating each month/year! If I did that, I would be forced to admit that skating is the reason why my credit card keeps not getting paid off!

__________________
"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

When I first started skating, I looked at the relative cost of coaching and competing. It just wasn't worth it cost wise for me to compete, so I just stuck with private lessons, testing, ice time and gym till now.

Back then I figured if I ever did want to compete, I decided I could wait until I was really really good with my skills and make it worth while to spend the money on competition choreography, music, dresses, fees and the like instead of shaving off a portion of my lesson budget and ice time every year. The other thing that helped me keep costs down was to find as many empty skating sessions as possible for practice, especially on MITF. The busier the sessions, the less I got done. Finally, not taking tests until I was beyond ready for the test so that I would be almost guaranteed a pass. It helped me avoid paying additional coaching & test fees.

I know most people probably wouldn't want to "cut the fun out" by not doing competitions, or shows or programs, but for me, just the opportunity to skate is "The Fun" and my time away from the rest of the world. Everyone has a different take on things.

These days I barely have time to keep up with just building technique, due to travel and work commitments. Looking back, I'm happy I made the decision not to compete, since I can continue with just lessons anytime I want but with competitions on a specific date it would have been a waste of $$$ from last minute cancellations for work.

If I had a wish list, what'd it be? Probably more time to skate! LOL. That and going away from various skating meccas like Sun Valley, Colorado Springs, Ice castle to train for a few months. I'm crazy - I enjoy the process of training more than performing or competing. "Success is in the Journey" LOL.

__________________
Keep Evolving. "From this moment forward, every voice that told you - You Can't - , has been silenced." - Freedom Writers

I really try not to think about it -- in fact, I try to pay cash for all of my skating so that I can't see it going... -- if I don't have the cash, then I know I can't afford it!!

__________________
Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

To clarify, NO WAY do I spend that much on skating now...maybe I spend $100-$200 a month...and really can't afford to do that.

But that's what I'd like to spend.. And I realized I left out testing costs, the gas estimate wasn't very realistic, and I have no idea about competition costs...

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

skating costs now:

freestyle: 100/month
ice time for public sessions: 72/month
lessons: assuming 1 30min lesson a week is 160 but s/t i add 1 or 2 additional lessons a month which would total to 200-240/month

ballet class: 1-2 classes/week 100/month


so that totals to around at least 432/month hmmmm didnt realize it was that much, however considering i find my skating very therapeutic and great exercise its a good deal compared to what the cost of joining a gym and going for therapy would be

skating 432 vs therapy (1 hour visit $100)2xweek + gym (60/month)= 860

my wish list:
2 45minute lessons/every week

This is the same skating-budget plan I use.. I really don't WANT to know how much I spend on skating. I could probably have bought a vacation house!!!

Now that you all mention costumes, competitions & testing, I haven't added them in yet ... skating ... the things passion can drive us to do!

Well, i would be in a worse state if this year i didn't start helping with the Learn to Skate program, so i now (after many years) get free ice! I take about 1 lesson per week at $25 per lesson, and the problem now is trying to get enough ice time between my work schedule and our new rink's lack of public and/or freestyles.

I take what i can get, but have had many obstackels along the way. I am happy to skate!

My biggest upcoming expenses will be: trying to pass the Silver Freestyle test, passing Gold MIF test, and maybe going to adult nationals and doing 1 adult USFS competition. That is a stretch on my budget!

Too much. I'm not going to figure it out, although I know for the most part. Skating is my one guilty pleasure and I don't plan on making myself feel any guilter than I already am. As an adult skater I can still do what I want, physical anyhow, and I plan on making the most of the moment.

Chico

__________________
"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

In reality

I'm almost too scared to add it up (thinking of what else the money could be used for...), but here goes:

Ice: $525/quarter (= $2,100/year - cassarilda - could I come skate at your rink??) This covers all public and freestyle sessions.

= $175/month

Lessons: 2 x 30min dance lessons each week @$30, shared with hubby (our logic being that before we started trying to dance together we were each taking one 30-min lesson each week, so there would be no additional coaching cost in doing dance. Not sure if it's working out that way... ) We don't generally take lessons in the school holidays at all, so we have lessons for 40 weeks per year ==> annual cost $1,200

= $120/month (my share - mind you, it all comes out of a common kitty!)

Dresses, sharpenings etc

I've learned to make my own, so a dress etc costs me only the materials. I'm now also making and selling to skater kids, to try to finance the addiction (still have a way to go to cover skating costs!!) I average a new pair of tights (I wear them till they fall off) and a skirt or dress a year, so say $100 all up. (I don't stone them as they're practice stuff not competition stuff.) Skates are sharpened say 6-8times a year @ $12.

I don't test or compete (yet), so that at least is free...

All up per year, gear and maintenance costs around $200 = < $20/month (thank goodness there's something on the list that's cheap!)

All up, skating probably costs in the region of $315/month. OUCH! But cheaper than the medical bills from being unfit and miserable...

Wish list

More time to skate, and more skill and talent!!! I don't think the expenses would significantly increase if I skated more - at least not until I was at a standard where I might reasonably consider doing a baby competition...(adult skating is not well supported in Australia, so there are really no places for a beginner to start.)

I have no idea how much all of this would cost, but here's my skating wish list:

Flex job so I could skate at the empty lunchtime publics three times a week= skating fee only $18, non office job w/time during day = priceless;

1/2 hour private lesson twice per week = $320

One freestyle per week in addition to the publics so that's 4 days of skating total (I don't like to get up early I admit) = $12

USFSA membership and club membership = a bargain at $80 at my rink

Whatever it costs to test in USFSA and compete in adult nationals at bronze level = I have virtually no clue, I'm still in ISI

Cost of all competition videos to send to family up north via You Tube = $50 a pop?

Annual skate at Wollman Rink in NYC around Thanksgiving = $20

Need new blades next year = $150?

Two new skating dresses and tights = $250

Travel costs to go to adult nationals in 2008 = dunno, expensive, please let them be in Florida, lol

Sports hypnotherapist to get me over my weird mental skating blocks = also priceless

Noooooo! That would be absolute torture to me. Too far! I say Seattle, but I could stand for meeting in the "middle" in Portland or something...

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Some of you make me feel a whole lot better about what I spend on skating!

I started at the end of January (2006) and have spent $5,000, which includes 2 pairs of skates which ought to last a number of years and $300 private ice rental (which I normally wouldn't do again), so it all averages out to about $300/month - not bad!

__________________
Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )