Well like I said I've had it 8yrs. I don't know how many times it's been slammed around but in and out of Kenya, China, Japan, Thailand, Morocco, England, all over the carribean, India, Cambodia, Egypt, Uganda, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and countless snow skiing trips ect. Not to mention being used weekly while in college(5yrs which got abused more than at any airline). So I'd say it's gotten tons of actual use and it's 8yrs old. I'd say it's been shoved a fair time or two and it's still in great condition. So if it ever does break. I'll get another $40 one. Just because you fly an RJ doesn't mean anything financially. I paid for all my flight training, over $40k worth on my own while holding jobs in college and investing. I had to put $2k on a visa after I graduated but that's gone. The only loan I have out is the one on my truck. So after all of my college, all of my flight trainging, living expenses ect. I have zero debt, money in savings, maxed out Roth IRA every year, ect. and I'm still a CFI. I did have to sell my stock to pay off my credit card debt from additional training. I wasn't making more than 22% on the stock so it had to go though. But I dont know of anyone my age right now that isn't just assbackwards in debt. So I'd say my financial sense is pretty good. Good enough to where yes... $300 on a bag that does everything my $40 one does isn't a wise choice. Sorry to break it. No matter how much you try and justify it, spending 2% of yearly income as a regional pilot on luggage is retarded. So if a $40 bag breaks on you in 5yrs. By then you'll be making much more and it won't be as large of a chunk of your total earnings, you can buy another $40 or get the $300 one. So if you take my $40 bag vs. your $300 bag. We'll pretend mine broke in 5yrs (even though 8yrs old and used constantly)... If you would ahve invested that $260 difference and made 15% a year on it. You would have made an extra $522.00 off that one bag. But since you haven't made it that's how much you've spent on it. If we kick it up to 8yrs. That bag cost you $795.35 more than mine did. And if you had to make payments because as an FO you didn't make as much ect to pay it all off at once you really were taken to the cleaners with 20+% interest.

You think flying a jet has anything to do with numbers you're dead wrong. There was an investing company that ran comercials all the time on this exact thing. Showing what spending a little extra now cost you in the long run. That $260=$34,625 by time of retirement(age 60). If you saved it till age 75 and never touched it you'd get over $140k....

You're just like someone trying to tell me it's better living in california vs. texas financially speaking when cali has a 76% higher standard of living cost making that $21k salary even smaller.

So you had one question for me there's one answer. If you fly a bigger, faster, more powerful aircraft than me.... You're financial decisions don't mean crap. I actually average over 15% on my Roth IRA setups so I'd say when I retire I won't be an old pilot complaining about how crappy the industry is and how after all that hard work I have nothing to show for it. There are those on here that do.

I'd still like to know why the hell you wanted to bring this into a converstion based on 121 rules, regs, and procedures of airlines. Has no place. However I'm not going to shy away from that statement. It isn't financially sound to spend a ton of money on something that can be done with a little money. If none of that makes sense to you then I'm done with your little arguement.


Duck