New Referee Basketball

[bucky]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

I've been officiating football for 11 years, basketball for 9 years, and baseball for 8 years.

Just looked at my income/expenses spreadsheet, and in that time I've got a net income of approximately $28000, which basically amounts to $2500/year AFTER expenses, mileage, income taxes (yes, I report my income to the IRS) and all that.

Could I have done something more valuable with my time? Perhaps. But how many other people have a avocation or hobby that actually gives them a positive cash flow?

I would suggest digging deeper into the ledger. Most, around me anyway, do not report officiating income for tax purposes. Indeed positive cash flow but...at what actual expense. There is a looooong list of hidden costs but, to name a few:

Physical toll - knees, hips, etc.
Mental stress from countless sources from the minor (keeping an availability
calendar up to date) to the major (ejecting several players for a fight)
Actual money made per hour (remember to include packing a bag, laundry,
driving to/from game, meeting attendance, shopping for gear, camps,
emailing a partner, and all the other tiny bits of time involved)
Impact on life - work, sig oth, spouse, kids, etc..

Again, not trying to be a Debbie Downer but one has to consider everything and very few actually do that before jumping into it.