Financially where do you draw the line?

[fish farmer]

When the wife and I were young, yea we had credit cards and learned our lesson. Now no credit cards, except for one. We funnel all the bills thru it and pay it off every month, we never carry a balance and rack up SkyMiles like crazy. Flying for free is pretty sweet.

See that's the smart way to use CC, use them for the things you normally buy in a month. I have 5% cashback and 1% cashback on a couple of cards and pay them off at the end of the month and don't carry a balance. This is the way to getting a great credit score. A buddy of mine never had a credit card or a checking account until he was around 40.....his credit score wasn't great since he was a mystery to lenders.

 

[cracker]

I won't buy anything expensive unless I have too. I have no problem using Jebeo's rather than super pricey wave makers. New Tank,good lighting , decent sump & overflow, I'll spend.

 

[120reefkeeper]

I voted no because if anything I’ve been called cheap. Lol

That doesn’t mean I haven’t spent loads of money because I have and I do, but this all depends on your level of disposable income.

I always stay within my budget!

 

[Dacotahk]

He who dies with the most toys, wins.

He who dies with the most toys, still dies!

 

[AwildcatsZ]

So...here was my plan...and its currently paying off as I had hoped it would. I used to buy the cheap corals and keep a decent tank. I was happy, but I always kept my distance when a coral got too pricey. With my last build I decided to spend a little money up front on some high end corals (Jawbreaker, Speckled Krak, Hallucination, Kryptonite and Bowser Zoa). My goal was to grow these out to a point that I can frag them and begin to trade them for other high end corals. Over the last year my collection has expanded and now includes corals such as WWC Bounce, Gold Torch, Dragon Soul Torch, Rainbow Hammer, Cali Kid Soul Sucker, Cali Kid Saturn Rings, and many more. In theory, I was growing "money". This allowed me to spend little out of pocket money on coral, but continue to grow my collection of high end pieces and in the process meet some amazing people, most of which I have traded with multiple times.

When it comes to equipment, you get what you pay for. I've never been stingy on equipment, but have also looked for great deals on used stuff.

Have I ever spent beyond my means, no. Have I ever spent more money than I thought I would, yes. Has it paid for itself, more likely than not.

 

[tony'stank]

I have never overspent. The most I have on a specimen was $180. For a Scoly . That was a rare purchase and I could afford it. Almost all my fish were bought as small juveniles and I have them for years. Most of my corals were bought at frag meets. I will not pay outrageous prices for designer frags

 

[VA5]

I hated when I saw that certain online retailers were offering financing. If you have to finance a non-essential hobby purchase..... should not be buying it.

I buy from them (bot the financing tough)
It is each individuals responsibility to control their finances

 

[Musovski]

have not spent more than $30 the past two months on my tank. $30 was on food. Putting the tank on a hiatus. Let things grow out, let things have babies. you know the deal.

 

[Dacotahk]

This hobby is probably like many others in that there is a constant urging to get a bigger tank and buy better equipment. After awhile, you realize that if you find a size tank that suits your home and financial means, it becomes a much more satisfying hobby. After finding that ground and maintaining things in a responsible way, it becomes much more enjoyable. That way, you’re happier with the results of the livestock that you house rather than constantly feeling like you come up on the short end and want more. There will always be “new and improved” but if what you’re already doing is working, why change it? It’s like all of life—find balance. There are many fish that are in the lower end of the price list but really have a lot of character and are more fun than some that are pricy. I could purchase an expensive fish or coral, but really rarely do because it’s all about enjoying the tank rather than status. If we work at being better tank keepers, we (and the inhabitants) will be happier. Just my 2 cents.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Simple:

Bills come first.


Then when there's temptation:

 

[corky1966]

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

What he said!!

 

[Bolingsw]

My wife and I try to keep our spending low on our current tank. We are getting things together to build a 150 gallon tank sometime this summer. We have spent too much in one week and had to scrape by until the next payday. It easy to do, now we are planning our purchases.

 

[Steve1500]

I always buy the best quality that I deem necessary to be successful and then I may bump it up a notch for good measure. I do this with almost everything except clothes. I NEVER buy if I don’t already have the money in the bank; otherwise I wait.
What kills me is when I buy something like a coral and it dies in a few months. Yes, that’s part of the learning experience but it still hurts throwing hard earned money away.

 

[Dannyboy]

I'm glad I saw this post... yesterday I told my wife no! we can't buy season passes for great adverture this year because for a family of 5 will be $460 bucks and we are saving for a family vacation to disney planned for next year... But in 2 weeks I plan on getting a calcium reactor and the accessories needed to get it running than I've been saving for... And the cost will be $1k... I'm in trouble...lol

 

[n21benson]

I draw the line once my wife finds the receipts ..

 

[11cmortarman]

This hobby is basically an endless money pit. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love this hobby and it has helped with a few conditions that i have picked up through my military service. I have never had a hobby more personally rewarding so I just deal with the cost. I essentially put myself on a monthly budget and wont go over. If I need something more expensive I just have to save.

 

[SeaJay]

Didn’t know what I was getting into when I started. Had I known what I would end up spending just to get a tank up and running, I probably wouldn’t have done it. Now I’m glad I did and would do it over again. And I probably will at some point.

I wouldn’t do a hobby that I couldn’t afford. The only other hobby I’ve ever wanted to do that I haven’t yet been able to afford is flying and owning my own plane. Been thinking about it for 25 years or so, may be time to start budgeting...

 

[Jess Ramirez]

I saved for about 3 years to get all my start up equipment. My aquarium has it's own back account at home where I put a X number of dollars into every month. If I need something it comes from that account. If the account doesn't have enough funds than I continue to save unit it does.

 

[Steve Ruddy]

I think crossing the line is different for many. I’m sure some folks don’t even have to worry about crossing a line. For me if I had to finance something that would be it. Luckily I never see any amazing corals for sale other than online. Put face to face with an opportunity to overspend on something I deemed amazing could potentially pose a problem! It took me two years after purchasing my recent tank to start putting in corals. Now it’s full and after 35 years of keeping aquariums this will very most likely be my last.

 

[REPOWER]

Voted no. I won't buy anything for the hobby unless I can pay cash for it.