As prices have continued to rise and as my collection has really grown over the last few years, I have really started thinking more about my spending and limiting it significantly. Part of this is because of continually rising toy prices and part of this is because I find myself having less and less time to spend enjoying my collection. I know I am not alone based on a lot of posts I have seen over the last couple of weeks. Was wondering how others approached their spending and would be interested to know how much everyone spends a year on toy/ comics/ movie/ game related hobbies
My budget is supposedly $40 a month, which would be $480 annual, but honestly it's pretty much always $50-60 monthly
I really don’t want to add it up, honestly. All I know is that I make more than I spend each month...with neither number being particularly large...and life is good. I’m a bit of an outlier in that I spent a lot more on this stuff last year than I expect to moving forward after getting back into this stuff in late 2017/early 2018. I played “catch-up” last year and am more or less in maintenance mode at this point. I don’t feel any need to buy everything and really just cherry pick those items I truly like and have space for.
My purchasing isn't really consistent. I've picked up a great deal over the year, but since I had a goal in mind, all I've got is pre-orders for TFs. Recently I've completed (and will post them in Toyark section) the Akibarangers set (quite nice I might add).
My budget is $25 bucks a month (gotta pay for 2 kids, car and mortgage, plus NEC mass transit so it’s lower than I’d like.) I supplement with whatever EBay sales proceeds I reap and with birthday/Christmas money so I hit the $450 annual mark.
Collectors shouldn’t be afraid to do the math and budget. Even if you’re shocked at the numbers, GOOD! You should be aware of what that number is and adjust accordingly.
Based on last year’s purchase (one of my all-time highest) I’d say <$250. I only buy “standard” figures and no 3Ps and Masterpieces, yet even that’s enough to scare me from actually mathematically calculating the true value.
I guess self imposed allowance would be more accurate than budget yeah. And by "supposedly", I mean that's what I designated for myself it to be, but I often don't stick to it strictly
I'm on the lower end right now, not sure how much more I need to buy after Omega, at least until Christmas. Thankfully I have few other hobbies. I have some of my budget as store credit right now, so that delays some of my spending until next month. I keep track of it on a little sheet.
I don't really have a budget. Basically, it's become whatever's at retail. If Hasbro ain't makin' it, I ain't buyin'. 3rd party has taken an extreme backseat.
I plotted out the year (of so I thought) in January. Made plans for all of siege and some upgrade kits for my combiners. Plan was $25 a week. That gave me $1300 to work with. I had to some soul searching on what I really wanted and cut some things out. I thought I nailed it. I came across some deals on vintage stuff and that pushed me out of budget. Then they announced more siege/selects. Now I’m tracking for spending $1800 this year. Sales have helped get my actual spend closer to my mark....but I’m certain there’s even more coming out this year that will push me over that 2k Mark.....which is really eye opening.
My budget is a lot lower. I get a few comic books every week, one new Masterpiece a year, and have almost all the sets for my LEGO city.
