Well, that's marriage. I'm not married, and certainly not planning on it any time soon. But if I had a family to support and a kid, I'd want them to be comfortable, and for my kid to have a future with a college education in it. Until then, I'm going to have all the fun I can as a single feller with a smaller-than-most income (probably $13,000/yr bring home). I've got way too much stuff I want and will want for the following years to come. I'll get married and worry about children after I start making $50,000/yr .
1. Compromise is part of marriage. I've been married for 10 strong years now and we have BOTH made compromises over the years. Living under a budget for a hobby is not such a big deal in the grand scheme. 2. We (who are married) paint a biased picture here, but it's all in good fun. I think my wife is extremely patient and reasonable and I have tried her patience more times than I'd like to admit so I'm not complaining.
I have a mental picture of my spending per month....and this is very quickly thrown out the window when a G1 vintages come along unexpectedly....
the problem with me is i collect to many other things!! so i have to decide what i want most out of everything...and i just bought a house, that has taken a lot away from me getting what i want at the time it comes out!! i have to be very selective now!! but i cant wait to get these guys outta the bins for all to see, in the new house i get two rooms for display!! so yes i have a budget, but its whats left after everything is paid!!
I don't have a set dollar amount I set aside every month - but I tend to have a mental idea of "enough is enough" if the month starts getting too purchase heavy.
I give myself $150 a month, and I'll set aside money for bigger purchases like TFC Hercules or what-not. In fact, you can check out my wants thread for real time updates on my monthly budget!
I plan out as the year goes on. Usually there are leaks of what may be released the coming year, preorders go up months in advance which allows me to really plan out my purchases. The only hard part is when a surprise announcement pops up...
I can say comfortably that this year, just so far, I have spent more on TF's than ever before, and it's just getting started. So much goodness this year.
This. The truth is she's very reasonable and understanding. I describe the way we compromise as needing approval because I think its funny, but in truth we just mutually agree on all our large purchases. Let's be honest, collecting toys is not the highest purpose to which I can put our money. ...I do love me some MP Transformers, though.
at my house just the same. before we were married en got a kid, it was a lot easier, i had more money to spend each month, now its just more difficult. its more important to me that my wife and kid are happy, then me buying TF's. so now its just now and then that i buy something, but only the thing that i really want! saving up to buy an G1 Raiden giftset...so for the entire year no further hauls for me
Rather than a monetary budget I work on a character-based one. Just one version of each character, absolute G1 definitive, and that's it. So basically I'm MP only It'd probably be wiser to be monetary budgeting, I have managed to spend £500 in the first five months of this year after all. But then, there's nothing (yet) for me to buy in the second half of the year so it kinda balances out.
