Reference my post in the other thread you started about financial planning, buffalo (http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/sh...t=7303&page=2). Don't sell out your family to chase your dream. If you can't afford it, you can't afford it and no amount of belly aching here on the forum is gonna change that. If you wanna float on your credit cards until you can make ends meet, that is your decision but more than one person has tried that and failed. Married life may be nice now when you are home every night and making decent money. But if you are away 12-20 days a month and are not making enough to cover the bills and piling up credit card debt and ooops, now you're furloughed (a very likely possibility at Comair) then you may find that you will lose everything just to chase your dream.

Depends on the company, time of the year you go online, F/O attrition, weather, where you are based, etc etc. There were months when I flew everyday I was on reserve and other months when I'd go 2 weeks without a call. I didn't mind going days without a call since I lived in base and it was like paid vacation but if you are sitting in a crashpad away from your family it sucks. Most companies guarantee you a minimum number of days off on reserve, usually 10-12. Of course, if you commute, you can kiss 2-6 of those days goodbye. And since it sounds like money is a serious issue for you buffalo, you are going to want to be flying as much as you can so there go even more days off.