Your hobby budget?

I haven't totaled everything that I spend on this hobby in the course of a year - on purpose because I'd likely croak at seeing the amount!

We have a son in college and a daughter in pre-school.  My wife "works" - selling a variety of things she either makes or buys for re-sale, and markets electricity, but my income is the primary income of our household.  We are currently sitting through the Dave Ramsey class that amazes me - that man has made millions by marketing common sense!  So lo and behold, the budget has returned to our household.  My wife, an accountant, has set my hobby budget at ~$50/month.  Seems fair to me but given my last 2 model purchases (Airfix 1/24 Mossie and Fine Molds 1/72 Millennium Falcon), I would not be able to make such purchases without first saving for a long time.

So next year I am going to do my best to limit my modeling purchases to supplies only.  It's really all I need as my stash is ~130 kits.  I need to get to building more and buying less!

Just the wife and myself...  no kids. We both work, so that helps.....   Plus we've been married for 35+ so we can each indulge on our hobbies a bit without worry (mine being modelling,, hers being shoes!).

I try to budget no more than a single "order" per month,,,,, IF something intrigues me in that particular month. I don't set any real dollar limit, per order, but I don't go totally overboard either.

Enjoy the hobby!

It's just me, I'm a college student but I have no debt and I work part time. So my expenses are are kept to minimum, though I do spend around $100 a month just on prints/copies and materials for model-making in the studio(architecture). So whenever I do find the time to make it to the hobby store I don't really have a budget of what I can spend, however 99% of the time I only buy something on clearance or sale. The same goes for shows where I look for the best deal.

That said I don't have a budget, but I do like keeping my expenses to a minimum whenever possible. So I may go months without buying anything model related, or if it's a deal I can't pass up then I break out the greenbacks.

Easy for me. When I run out of money I quit spending it.

I had a brain aneurysm a few years back which has left me disabled and unable to work.  I survive on the less than $1K a month I get from SSD.  My wife lost her job almost three years ago, just two weeks before xmas, and she has been going to school ever since, trying for a nursing degree.  She get's a small amount from her work study.  We get food stamps to help a bit.  We have a Daughter about to turn 14, so we have to deal with that.  My Wife gets a stipend every 3 months for her school expenses.  So money is incredibly tight over here.  I only get a kit occasionally (once every 2-3 months) and it usually has to be a total of under $20.  I then have to hope I have the paint and glue I need for it or it sits in the stack for a bit.  My wife understands that I need to have something to do since I am pretty much housebound and without at least one hobby, I would go stir crazy.  I only get out to go to Doctor's appointments and the like so she doesn't mind if I occasionally get one used cheap kit.  eBay is my best friend.  Occasionally I get lucky and find a gem on eBay at an affordable price that someone got at an estate sale or something, and has no idea what it's worth.  I also don't even bother with collector kits.  I just buy builders and occasional parts kits which I can usually cobble into something usable.  So I really have no budget.  Kinda like the US government.. :)

stikpusher

A while back we had a poll about the average age of folks here. Here is my follow up related question- how tight is your hobby budget compared to your income? I am not asking for IRS type info, but just a rough idea.

Are you the sole supporter of a household (wife & kids)? Are you retired on a fixed income and having to watch your money carefully? Are you a young student, the proverbial starving college student? Are you financially secure and not having to worry about your hobby prices?

As for me, I fall in the first category- my budget these days is dictated by whatever extra cash I can squirrel away after household and family needs are met.

We are a one family income which is modest at best...puts food on table, roof over head, and clothes on back.  Rarely do I use household money for the hobby.  My wife lets me keep per diem money from my business trips which isn't all that much, but I don't spend beyond that limit.  But my bride often lets me dip into general funds for supplies.  She is a saint.  I would have a hard time justifying household money on new kits, since my stash is enormous!!!

Hey , STIKPUSHER, you hit the nail on the head.My budget for these critters and the stuff to build them is and was critical. I did this ,I started taking commissions again. this money is HOBBY MONEY !!! I could just live off the check , but , I will be honest.I would need to sell all the models I probably may never build .This means ALL the cars and aircraft. AIN,T GONNA HAPPEN !!! So I just have two mags come to my home FSM amd SA.Now that I am doing commissions again I am actually getting quite a few of my own done .I just decided I would work on "COMMISSION" five days. the other two are for ME! Since that decision I have finished four cars and six ships. I alot certain monies to supplies each month and I make sure it does not top $40.00 . So far so good     tankerbuilder

What is your favorite type of build (armor, aircraft, etc.)

Scale?

the previous message was for sparrow,,,   ,,,, ,,,   ,,,,

  I usually prefer aircraft, except biplanes (too fragile), in as large a scale as I can get.  Small scale and shaky hands do not mesh well.  I also like some scifi models from old scifi shows and movies, but not anime related, they tend to be too small for me to work with without ending up with a large lump of vaguely robot shaped plastic.

BaBill212

What is your favorite type of build (armor, aircraft, etc.)

Scale?

I don't have a budget.  I'd like to but the reality is that its just not possible right now.  I have a kid in college, one in HS and another in private school, two dogs and house to maintain.  Since I've been gone from the hobby for a long time it has taken a toll on the wallet to re-stock my tools, paints and kits.  My wife is on-board with me making a comeback; so much she surprises me with a kit here and there.  I take kits from anyone needing make some room and make them my own.