Financially where do you draw the line?

[ca1ore]

I have three main hobbies - reefing, home audio and wood-working. My audio system is as good as it possible to get without spending absolutely crazy money and I have all of the woodworking tools I need; so, reefing is really the only one of the three that involves any sort of significant outlay. Plus I'm a finance guy by edumacation, so I don't exceed my means.

 

[mfinn]

For me since I'm retired most of the year and on a fixed income, it depends on how much money is left in my bank account.
So that line to cross is fluid over the course of the month.

 

[BestMomEver]

I have three main hobbies - reefing, home audio and wood-working. My audio system is as good as it possible to get without spending absolutely crazy money and I have all of the woodworking tools I need; so, reefing is really the only one of the three that involves any sort of significant outlay. Plus I'm a finance guy by edumacation, so I don't exceed my means.

Edumacation! I love it.... I thought I was the only person that said that...at least in public.;Cyclops

 

[ca1ore]

Edumacation! I love it.... I thought I was the only person that said that...at least in public.;Cyclops

Hee hee! The key is to know that it's not right but to say it anyhow.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Edumacation! I love it.... I thought I was the only person that said that...at least in public.;Cyclops

Seems we have all Gradjitated with a good Edumacation and only spend what we can, most of the time lol. I love those 2 and do use them in public and the workplace.

But as for budget, I plan accordingly, sometimes I have spent more then I should have, but never broke the bank. As for credit to finance goods for this, nope. I also have seen where you can use a lender to buy a skimmer, what is that? Only $22 a month, with a 26.7% interest rate, compounded daily, and a service fee. Holy crap a $250 skimmer now cost $750. That is nuts.

 

[Lingwendil]

I have three main hobbies - reefing, home audio and wood-working.

Ayyy, another audio guy My main system is tubes


I have many hobbies to keep me busy, and it's actually the main way I deal with my depression in a healthy way.

I have spent beyond my means a few times, but as a rule I'm pretty frugal on the details- I rarely spend more than $20 on a frag, and I'm not into "designer" varieties of coral. When I have larger setups I'm not likely to spend more than ~$60 on a small colony either. I'm not into expensive gear or all the fancy automation- I'm old school and trade some of that saved money into other hobbies or household expenses. I'm very DIY oriented, so tend to look to affordable solutions more often than not, and it keeps me way happier than simply spending money on something and plugging it in. The journey is as fun as the destination, and the destination is an ever-evolving thing in itself.

The girl only stipulates that we can still pay rent and bills- so long as we aren't behind she doesn't really mind what I do. We don't have much play money but we rarely spend much on things that aren't necessary unless it's for my sanity projects

 

[Lukas75]

I have three main hobbies - reefing, home audio and wood-working. My audio system is as good as it possible to get without spending absolutely crazy money and I have all of the woodworking tools I need; so, reefing is really the only one of the three that involves any sort of significant outlay. Plus I'm a finance guy by edumacation, so I don't exceed my means.

I'm a science guy by schooling and the wife is business. I tend to put together the best thing out there with every i dotted and every t crossed and propose it to my wife. She looks at the outlandish price tag and I get that "no way in hell" look. In response she gets the somewhat shocked, "what?" look.

 

[BestMomEver]

Hee hee! The key is to know that it's not right but to say it anyhow.

I went back to get a second degree... just cause I could! I said that at school all the time and the kids just stared at me!;Smuggrin

 

[Cali-Saltwater-1st-Timer]

Define "beyond your means." Am I spending more than I should? Probably. Am I spending so much that I'm putting myself in the poor house? No.

 

[jwshiver]

I haven't needed to get a second mortgage on my house so I am still within my reefing budget.

 

[Tyler Bullock]

I'm all over the place.........I over spend here, I under spend there. If I feel like I need something I'll convince myself its ok to buy. My wife has not clue how much stuff is for this hobby aside from fish.....cuz she wants all the fish I cant have in my tank.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

My spending on the hobby tends to come in bursts. I will spend very little, just food, supplements, and filtration for months as I save up any extra income (which doesn't come easy as a teacher) and splurge on some new corals/equipment.

 

[Greybeard]

Make a Budget... and live with it.

I've got a line on my budget for 'hobbies'. Included in that bucket are the 47 CJ2A I'm rebuilding, Guns and Ammo, Fishing/Camping gear, and my aquarium. The percentages within the category vary wildly... I just bought a correct vintage L134 engine, that pretty much consumed the budget for a while. Back when I was actively building my aquarium setup, that consumed all of the budget.

The one thing I WILL NOT do, is spend beyond what is available in that bucket. The other line items on my budget (Bills, Retirement, Savings, Vacation fund, Emergency fund, ETC) are, IMHO, far more important than the hobby bucket.

 

[Mical]

I stick to a budget unless it's a "need" then I don't cut corners, just bite the bullet. Currently I'm on a tight budget as we just bought a new home and are moving two tanks and converting one of them a 60 gal into 120 gal in three weeks. Moving and juggling tanks is not my idea of fun.

 

[RichReef]

I buy everything used.

It just makes sense.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

I've never spent so much that I missed a mortgage payment if that's what you mean. I have purchased a couple of expensive things without talking to the wife first and she wasn't too happy.

 

[Journeyman]

The line is drawn when I can no longer pay the bills

Sometimes...

 

[Greybeard]

I buy everything used.

It just makes sense.

Yes... and no...

It's a hobby. One I've been at for a long time. I figured out long ago that if I buy something that is less than what I really wanted, I'll just end up buying what I really wanted later. Buying twice is no way to save money.

Take that big glass box, for instance. My current system, I invisioned a fat, wide, short aquarium for a specific location and a particular 'look' I was going for. Good luck finding a specific, odd shaped tank in perfect condition, used. Had to go new to get what I want. DBP makes an 80 gallon rimless tank, 48x24x18. It's close... I really wanted a bit longer, a bit wider, but it would have worked. I ended up ordering a custom 60" x 30" x 18" tank from Planet Aquarium. Could have bought several of the DBP 80g frag tanks for less money. Why did I go that route? That's what I wanted. With a little luck, I'm going to be looking at that glass box for the next decade. If I'd have gone cheap, I'd be kicking myself for a long, long time. As to cost, well, if you really think about it honestly, the glass box, even a custom glass box, does not make up an overwhelmingly large percentage of the total cost of a reef system. Add up all the other major components, I bet most of us would have several times as much in other equipment than we do in that glass box.

Sometimes, it pays to get what you want. Even if what you want is custom, and expensive.

Now... I did light that expensive glass box with a used Tek T5 system Why? Why not? It was cheap, and IMHO, there's nothing better than T5's for lighting a reef. Put in new ATI ballasts and bulbs, just like new.

 

[ca1ore]

My main system is tubes

Me too (VTL MB450's) - only way to go if you're serious about audio quality. Ribbon speakers too …...

 

[Demonic]

I have three main hobbies - reefing, home audio and wood-working. My audio system is as good as it possible to get without spending absolutely crazy money and I have all of the woodworking tools I need; so, reefing is really the only one of the three that involves any sort of significant outlay. Plus I'm a finance guy by edumacation, so I don't exceed my means.

My exact hobbies as well, maybe I will add in ice fishing too. I live woodworking though. I like to collect some of the old tools there as well.

My budget is whatever I can get away with. My wife sets my budget, when she starts to give me the look, I know I need to stop for a bit. When things calm down I spend a some and just hide from her for a few days downstairs in the basement. It's a viscous cycle