TiredSoul

I suggest you take a good look at the financial picture and discuss this with your spouse.
As a CFI you’ll make around $20-$30hr net.
Im assuming you’re around 250-300hrs so you’ll need 1200-1300 hrs for your ATP in order to move forward.
Call that $24k-$36k net income as a CFI.
If you’re a part time CFI and you fly 300/year that’s 4 years to ATP and between $6k-$8k/year income.
If your family budget is $50k/year (just picked a random number) over 4 years is $200k and being a CFI brings in $36k.
Thats $164k difference.
Obviously adjust the numbers according to your situation but you need a ton of savings to bridge that gap.
Add two years at the Regionals with less than stellar pay and you’re looking at a $200k gap
You have the savings to bridge that gap?
Im gonna go and stick my foot in my mouth and say that your spouse is supportive because she probably does not know the entire financial picture.

TiredSoul

Edit time expires hence a new post.

Let me share a story with you,
Once upon a time I knew this guy who had big plans to become a pilot. Decent paying job nothing outrageous.
Then he got married, alright no harm done…yet. Then they decide to buy a house.
Come Instrument rating time he decides to buy a new truck. Now they have a child and he doesn’t have his CFI yet although he’s been at it for 3-4 years.
Very likely can’t live on fulltime flight instruction because he has house and car payments. Can’t move for a better paying CFI job because he’s got a house and a little kid.
Of course he can sell the house and move but by making a series of ‘normal’ life decisions he’s put himself on a track from which it’s very difficult to redirect.
His wife is very supportive too, just doesn’t have the bigger picture of the process and what’s involved.

This should have been: wait with the house, wait with the new truck, alright we can do the baby but I need to hurry up with my training so when the kid is 3-4 I am ready for the Regionals or whatever step after CFI.

Todays market is no garantee for next years or three years from now.
Just to put my tinfoil hat back on, we’ve had 4(!) major black swan events occur about every 10 years since I got my Private.
Early 90’s, 9-11, 2008/2009 economic downturn, COVID.
There will be another one come 2028-2030.

TransWorld

Black swan events every 10 years reminds me how people said a President dies who is elected in even decade ending in 0. 1860 elected Lincoln. 1880 elected Garfield. 1900 elected McKinley. 1920 elected Harding. 1940 re-elected FDR, 1960 elected JFK. All died in office. So, predictions were very strong the 1980 elected President, Ronald Reagan, was absolutely certain to die. Then the 2000 elected President, George W Bush was absolutely positively certain to die. Neither did. This goes to show past occurrences do not make accurate future predictions. Black swans can and will happen. But they are not an every decade certainty.

TiredSoul

It’s silly to ignore the eventuality of an event.
You do need the luxury to be able to plan for it and at least 40% of the US population isn’t in that position.
If you have house payments and car payments and your budget is stretched and you don’t have the luxury of building a financial emergency fund you’re toast if you get furloughed. Car repossession, home foreclosures etc etc etc.
Back to the original post.
My intend with my previous post was a gentle reminder to not paint yourself into a corner any further.
If you use all your savings to sponsor 3-5 years of limited income you leave yourself wide open when a furlough does happen.
This probably sounds like don’t go outside as the sky might fall down.
I have…many....many years of experience with financial insecurity and believe me when I say never again.

tnkrdrvr

I agree with your advice to not put yourself in a financial position where an industry downturn could ruin you financially. However, if he is only instructing part time, he can presumably work a second job to mitigate the pain. Personally, I’d recommend devoting yourself to flight instructing full time for one year if a gig presents itself where you can rack up well over 700 hours/yr. The idea being to reach the regionals while they are desperate for bodies. Current regional pay should be enough to financially float your family’s boat so long as you live modestly. In this stage of a flying career two things are critical, building your resume (hours, TPIC, check airman, etc) and being very circumspect with your money. Don’t buy that house, drive a paid off vehicle, avoid credit card debt, etc. These two things will maximize both your opportunities and ability to accept them.

TransWorld

I agree you should have backup savings. You should have a plan B job, if and when you cannot fly. Black swans and other things (like health problems) can and will happen. (Carry disability insurance, in case you cannot do any work. If you have a family, carry life insurance.) You will suffer furloughs. It is almost a given. My point is do not count on it happening every 10 years. It could happen sooner. It could happen later. Just don’t plan for it every 10 years.

TiredSoul

Term life insurance for sure.
My spouse can pay off the remaining mortgage lumpsum and immediately stop working if I ever end up in a smoking hole.
My whole previous point was that you need to be able to make the numbers work and both of you need to understand the bigger picture and be good with it.
End of speech…..almost.

Like I did nothing of what I’m preaching now.
I had half baked plans, fully baked dreams, borrowed a satchel of money, defaulted on the loan, haunted by debt collectors to still end up on the sunny side of the street.
So it’s from experience that I say, don’t do what I did.

TransWorld

Actuarial tables make it clear, you are much more likely to be disabled and unable to work for some period of time than die. A lot of people have life insurance, but miss this much greater likelihood.

TiredSoul

That’s another good reason why we’re racing to get the house paid off….loss of Medical.
Once the house is paid off we just sell a car and drop cable TV if I turn into a vegetable.

TransWorld

Disability insurance is for more than just covering your home mortgage payments, car, and cable. You have to eat, you have to pay your medical bills (usually pretty high when you are on disability without medical insurance), and other expenses you don’t even think of.