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Maintaining the Ski Lifestyle

MadMadWorld

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Jan 10, 2012
Messages
4,082
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Location
Leominster, MA
Hey everyone,

I'm finding it harder and harder these days to maintain the same lifestyle that I enjoyed in my younger years. With 2 little ones at home, daycare costs, work, and other commitments I am finding it impossible to stay in skiing shape let alone the disposable income needed.

My wife has started doing direct sales for Lularoe (or whatever it's called) but she thought maybe we should do Beach Body. She's hoping that we can lose a few lbs and subsidize our skiing costs.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or become a beach body coach? Thanks everyone in advance!

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drjeff

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Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
19,212
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn, CT
Hey everyone,

I'm finding it harder and harder these days to maintain the same lifestyle that I enjoyed in my younger years. With 2 little ones at home, daycare costs, work, and other commitments I am finding it impossible to stay in skiing shape let alone the disposable income needed.

My wife has started doing direct sales for Lularoe (or whatever it's called) but she thought maybe we should do Beach Body. She's hoping that we can lose a few lbs and subsidize our skiing costs.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or become a beach body coach? Thanks everyone in advance!

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Paging Nick to chime in on this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Tin

Active member
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Messages
2,996
Points
38
Location
ZooMass Slamherst
I've made tons of money through beach body's triangle-like (NOT PYRAMID!) business structure and lost 3 pounds (43" though!).
 

dlague

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Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
8,792
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Location
CS, Colorado
Skiing lifestyle is more of a mentality. No matter what you do there will be times where getting 10 days per season is the best you can do and then seasons where 50 is easy. With a family and mid career choices, it does get harder since the family dynamic plays such a huge role. If the entire family is committed to the sport it is obviously easier. I slipped away for skiing for 12 years due to these same time of issues but came back with a stronger will and desire inspired by my first son and teaching him the sport.

As far as beach body, I have a relative that is doing that and he has his ups and downs. He works at it very hard but for him it is not easy being public about fitness and diet. But he know many that are killing it. The effort will drive the results.



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tnt1234

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Sep 12, 2014
Messages
1,492
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It's tough to find the time. Between work and family - even if family skis, which mine does.

Also, run a small business, so when business is strong, it's hard to leave the office during the week, even though I can afford an extra trip or two. When things are slow and I could be out of the office, I need to be hustling to bring in new business so we aren't slow for long....

Oh well. It is what it is. Trying to focus on staying healthy so skiing can be part of my life for a long time. Make up for not skiing a lot every season by having a lot of seasons,...
 

Tin

Active member
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Messages
2,996
Points
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Location
ZooMass Slamherst
Dropping a line in the deep water, MMW?


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SkiMom80

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Sep 1, 2016
Messages
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6
As a 2 working parent household with 3 young kids (8, 6, and 3), I get where you are coming from.

There is no getting around the fact that skiing is an expensive sport, but this year we've gone "all in" and will be skiing 40+ days with a family of 5 for about 6k. We've rented a house up north for winter, sharing it with another family, and head up every weekend. We also go up for school breaks/long weekends. We got season passes to 1 mountain, because the 3 kids can ski for free there (the 8 and 6-year-olds got free passes with seasonal ski rentals). Having the house up north makes the traveling easier, and allows us to bring the 3-year-old there for naps (my husband and I take turns leaving early) as he can't ski a full day. It also gives us access to a full kitchen so we cook all our meals and bring lunch/snacks to the mountain and don't spend money there. Yes, it's a LOT of money, but we've found it be the cheapest way for us to "go on vacation" every weekend and enjoy the sport we love.
 

VTKilarney

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Feb 5, 2014
Messages
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Location
VT NEK
To be frank, there is no magic answer. Skiing is an expensive sport. The only question is how much money you can save within that context.

The hardest part is that deals are much easier to come by midweek than on the weekends. For a family with kids in school, that does not make deal hunting easy.
 

4aprice

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Joined
Mar 14, 2008
Messages
3,904
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Location
Lake Hopatcong, NJ and Granby Co
As a 2 working parent household with 3 young kids (8, 6, and 3), I get where you are coming from.

There is no getting around the fact that skiing is an expensive sport, but this year we've gone "all in" and will be skiing 40+ days with a family of 5 for about 6k. We've rented a house up north for winter, sharing it with another family, and head up every weekend. We also go up for school breaks/long weekends. We got season passes to 1 mountain, because the 3 kids can ski for free there (the 8 and 6-year-olds got free passes with seasonal ski rentals). Having the house up north makes the traveling easier, and allows us to bring the 3-year-old there for naps (my husband and I take turns leaving early) as he can't ski a full day. It also gives us access to a full kitchen so we cook all our meals and bring lunch/snacks to the mountain and don't spend money there. Yes, it's a LOT of money, but we've found it be the cheapest way for us to "go on vacation" every weekend and enjoy the sport we love.

We were similar to this except we were lucky enough to have a family place up in the Pocono Mountains at the time. We basically stayed to 1 mountain close to home here in NW Jersey and Pocono house for many years. The boy who is the youngest got himself on the race team and as he got better and older travel increased. The girl got into teaching as soon as she was legal, and was a teacher at Killington during her college years and still teach's at Camelback on weekends. 15 years shot by and now its back to just the my wife and I and we are having fun. We found it a great family activity.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 

Smellytele

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Jan 30, 2006
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Right where I want to be
We made some sacrifices - well my wife has :). When we had our 3rd kid she left her full time job and got a job at the ski area for a few years until they were all in school. We had free day care during the ski season, the kids had free lessons and ski camps and rentals. We all skied for free and got a few comps to other areas to mix it up. When she went back to work she started to run the town ski school program which gave us all free season passes. With having the free season passes I don't mind skiing around at different places if I can find discounts (liftopia, warren miller movie, ski show and buying early). Now with one in college, 1 a sophomore and one in 8th grade, this is our last free year as she has final decided to let some one else run the program. hopefully Peaks does their all for one season passes next year and I will get those.
 

jimk

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Sep 1, 2012
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Wash DC area
Don't know how deep into the lifestyle the OP was, but if it was 50+ days per season unaccompanied, there could be big changes ahead assuming marriage and family are now top priority. You gotta do what you gotta do to please spouse and be there for kids. Most avid skiers or sports enthusiasts of all kinds are going to have to throttle back while raising a young family. If your spouse is as avid as you, then it may be only because of child care issues and you might not have to throttle back as much, or go all in like skimom80's family. The thing is to keep skiing, even in reduced frequency because the day will come when you can ramp up ski days again and you don't want the flame to die out. Although dlague proves that even after many years away you can come back to skiing with as much joy and enthusiasm as ever.
Can't comment on the beach body money making thing, but I did things like pushing a child in a stroller while I went jogging, towing a child in a float while I swam laps, toting a child in a bike carrier while I biked, or backpack carrier while I hiked. Make exercise so that you get a workout and family time at the same time.
 

wtcobb

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Feb 28, 2012
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North of the Notch
Tomorrow will be day 21 for me and the first day I've paid for skiing all year.

Volunteer.
Get an uphill kit.
Profit (at least stop spending).
 

wtcobb

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Feb 28, 2012
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North of the Notch
Also helpful for the "lifestyle": drive a crappy Subaru with a roof box affixed Nov-May and leave 2-3 jackets, 3 gloves, and a helmet rolling around the back seat at all times.
 

SkiFanE

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Oct 14, 2010
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New England
We didn't want to become 5 day/yr skiers. So we went full in with 2 kids, and bought an inexpensive off- mountain home, then had 3rd kid. For sometime it was 5 passes and 3 kids programs. Next year it'll be just 1 kid (one in college now and 2 ski instructor with pass included). We get 50 days/yr. it's truly a lifestyle - kids are used to Friday night 3 hr trek. At orthodontist now at 4:30 on Friday - run home and find something edible, pack and be on road by 7:30 or so. Arrive by 11 and get two great days of skiing in. Some can leave early Friday but we can't. Packing is easy, kids have friends, we have friends. Sacrifice. Our two homes square footage is still less then some peoples one home. We watch our $, I am a working mother and we sacrifice things to allow us to do this. Thankfully we can.
 

kingslug

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Dec 30, 2005
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Stamford Ct and Stowe
Joined 2 ski clubs..one has a house in VT...other just runs trips...next...retire and move west...get job in...ski resort...live happily ever after.
 

drjeff

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Jan 18, 2006
Messages
19,212
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Location
Brooklyn, CT
Totally became a lifestyle for my wife and I, before we had kids which made it easy for both of us to decide to spend the money early on that helped get both of our kids into the ski lifestyle

Kids programs, seasonal home rentals at first, then ownership at Mount Snow, continued kids programs (now going on 12 out of the 13yrs of my oldests life between daycare, ski school and now race team, and 11 out of 11 yrs for our youngest through the same programs) and while it's been a lot of $$, to see how my kids ski now, and ski together as a family, and have such a great network of similar thinking families of friends up at Mount Snow for us, makes it 100% worth it, and giving up a bunch of trips to Disney and having my kids in seasonal, not year round sports programs at home!!

Plus when you're around other families with like ski lifestyle mentalities 20+ weekends a year, you feel way more normal!! 😉

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