Winter is Coming!

I've never been good at skiing. I never got good at it, and I hate being cold. However, winter is long, cold and rainy here in the Northwest, and I decided this year is the year to embrace the winter--so I'm going to learn to snowboard. We're surrounded by ski resorts, the closest only being 45 minutes away.

Snowboards are expensive...really expensive. However, a few weekends ago I found a store called Next Adventure, in Portland. Oregon. This store is super legit. Not only do they have an actual "bargain basement", but this time of year, it's full of used ski and snowboard gear.

I picked up a board (pink and girly!), super nice bindings, and Salomon boots, all for $165.

Bottom Line:
Snowboard: $90 (instead of $300 plus)
Boots: $50 (instead of $250)
Bindings: $25 (instead of $150)

Total Savings: $535

Snowboard rentals at the mountain are between $30 and $50 a day, so as long as I go snowboarding at least 5 times this season, I'm in the clear, and will have the new gear for years to come.

If you are interested in learning a new sport, find a local used sporting gear store near you. Make sure you like the sport before investing a lot of cash into first-rate gear.

Now I just need to learn how to snowboard...