Cost of regular pioneering?

hoser

I was wondering if anybody had any figure$ on what it costs for a couple to regular pioneer if you would include the vehicle expense and the value of their time?

For me it cost me a free college education, 3 1/2 days out of a 5 day work week where I could have been working and making money instead of knocking on doors, 3 extra years of living with my parents since I didn't make enough money to live on my own, the ability to own a car, and 3 years of living with no money for anything, since what little money I did earn went entirely to giving other pioneers gas money since I didn't drive, and paying rent to my parents.

ILTSF

^ Sounds like the typical pioneer's life. I couldn't give you exact costs, though, I never got that far, thank god (ha, irony).

Open mind

Accounting cost, if they each make about $15/hr doing janitorial work, ($15 x 840hrs x 2 people) = $25,200 gross wages lost.

Vehicle, IRS for 2010 is allowing $.50/mile. Figure 10,000 miles/yr driving from one end of the territory to the other hoping not to talk to anyone = $5,000 for transportation.

$10 per service day for donuts & coffee for the happy couple x 168 service days of 5 hrs each = $1,680 dollars for coffee breaks.

So, we're close to $32,000 per year of strictly accounting costs that are lost by a Regular Pioneer couple.

OPPORTUNITY COSTS?

Incalculable.

om

dssynergy

what about the cost of their clothes? boots, umbrellas, rain coats...most pioneers I knew (women) had "service" clothes, and "meeting" clothes. When the meeting clothes weren't as sharp, they rotated them to service clothes until they were thread bare.

How much for one thread bare wardrobe?

cantleave

It is voluntary slave labour.

Aussie Oz

Cant help with the cost on a day to day basis.

we did sell our house and use the funds. We did rent a sub standard condemed house. We did work part-time in filthy jobs. we did drive an old car.

i can't say they were bad times. The bad times ironicly arrived when 'we' became pregnant and i had to go back to the daily grind.

thats how it was for me anyway.

oz

finallysomepride

I never did pioneer, never was a consideration, zero of my siblings pioneered either & 1 is an elder.

Hell they were lucky to get 2 hours per month out of me at the best of times, or I should say the best of times they got zero hours out of me.

Soooo it never was at a cost to me.

Just my 1/2 cents worth

WTWizard

My estimate for other costs: Suit dry cleanings--at least twice a week, some have rules that it has to be done daily. Each time you take your suit to the cleaners, it is likely to cost at least $16 (that cost could even be higher now). You are looking at around $1,600 a year just on suit dry cleanings, or more.

Extra clothing: Shirts usually cost around $15 each, and if you have to buy 4 or 5, only to have them change the rules on you every year, that is another $75 wasted. Ties generally run around $8 and up each, and a new suit can run from $100 and up. Shoes usually wear out after a year of pio-sneering (and can be even quicker), and cost around $40 a pair (and up). You are likely to waste more than $300 on clothing per year, plus the cost of cleaning and maintaining it.

Supplies: Field circus bags tend to run around $40. Littera-trash donations tend to run around $10 a week or more, depending on how many rags you actually place. (This figure can run even higher if you have lots of studies that bumble along.) Call books can cost as much as $20, plus the cost of the paper (the 99 cent notepad may be allowed in some congregations).

Personal maintenance: If you get your hair cut every 6 weeks instead of every 3 months, that doubles that expense. This wastes at least $45 a year, plus the time it takes to get those extra haircuts. Car washes waste around $5 a week or more, depending on if it's salty. And this doesn't even begin to count the aspirins you have to take so you can make it in field circus despite a headache, the antidepressants you will probably need, the high blood pressure medication the fast, good-tasting poison is eventually going to lead to the "need" for, and the higher chance of having obesity, diabetes, and cancer from no sleep, limits on exercise, and the wretched diet most pio-sneers have.

myownlife

There was a couple who went to my old congregation who were regs...lived in an old cramped basement apartment(beside the kingdom hall), bought all their clothes/household goods from goodwill, food was contributed or was bought at the cheapest grocery, the car they drove had no a/c and was breaking down all the time...they worked odd jobs and didn't have heathcare. The sister died from cancer that could've been diagnosed if they had been able to afford going to the doc..but this was what they chose and so seemed happy...this was years ago and is now very sad.

I don't think you can put a price tag on that.