How much do you budget on collecting Star Wars?

[Jedi Master 1]

I'm not sure if this topic has been posted before but how much do you spend a month on collecting Star Wars? My monthly budget is about £50 but i'm increasing this too £100 in January.

 

[theforceuk]

Don't really have a budget as such, just try to put some money aside and when something comes up I need just bid on it or buy it. £100 a month is a nice amount. :shock:

 

[edd_jedi]

My wife always criticises me for my budgeting, because I just don't do it :lol: If I want something and I have enough money in my account for it, I will buy it even if it leaves me with little left. Some months I spend nothing, some months I spend a lot. I just adjust my every day spending to last until pay day!

Having a fixed budget is pretty sensible and probably perfectly achievable if your'e collecting relatively low cost stuff like loose figures, but when you're collecting things like MOCs or prototypes that can vary wildly in price, it's very hard to budget.

One important thing to add though - I NEVER get in debt. It's just not worth it, and is a slippery slope. Sure sometimes I'll put something on my credit card if pay day is a few days away, but I always clear it every month. I've seen people get in to serious financial trouble over collecting and in one extreme case even get divorced over it, it's just not worth it.

 

[Robstyley]

Have trouble sticking to a specific budget. It's more a case of if something I'm after or I fancy turns up and I like the price I'll get it. I do have rules though and I know when I've had a bit of a spend up and it's time to reign it in. I only allow myself 1 Moc or highish priced item a month. Prob in a month can spend anything from about 20 quid up to a few hundred. Depends what I see! 8)

 

[lejackal]

It depends, if the other half is reading this it's £20 a month and not a penny more, if I'm being honest its probably up to about a ton although it does have peaks and troughs.

 

[sith-smith]

I've always worked on the principle that if it's on my list, it's for sale and i have the money I buy it.

Never get into debt and never used the money if it was needed for something more important.

Seems to have worked so far

 

[steve obi wan]

Budget what's a budget :lol:

I generally spend too much , but don't get into debt !

 

[olisuds]

I budget fairly strictly. I set aside a monthly amount and if I go over that I have to sell something to replace the money. I never get into debt or spend money that's required for something else. To be honest I start to panic if I don't have a fairly healthy savings account so I'm fairly confident I'd never get in a situation where I over spent. If it's something on my WTB list then it's something I've already budgeted for and I have the money ready to buy it. Sometimes however 2 or more pieces come up at the same time or in quick succession and I have to make some difficult choices and either pass on the piece (very rarely happens) or sell stuff from my collection. I've had to let go of some really nice stuff over the last few years but it's the only way I can continue to achieve my collecting focus goals without blowing my budget. The good thing is these days I'm a lot closer to achieving my collecting goals and there aren't so many pieces I'm searching for. Even then a lot of the pieces are locked up in collections or have disappeared and I can't locate them. So realistically I'm not likely to spend too much more money on my collection unless I start a new collecting focus. That's something I often think about though and it takes a lot of willpower to hold back.

 

[_Lee_]

I dont have a budget, i just collect within my means. As long as bills are paid, kids are looked after and im putting some away im good. Ive seen too many people get into debt because of collecting, and its damaged them and their family.

First rule of SW fight club-collect within your means. A £10 item is equal to a £1000 item. Its down to the individual.

 

[palitoyjunky]

Budget :?: :?: :roll: :roll: :? :?

 

[Cazza]

Have to rely on my Birthday and the money I can generate from selling stuff, so don't really have a budget at all.

 

[Jedi Master 1]

Very interesting reading everyone's comments on this subject. I personally prefer to have a budget rather than not have a budget. This way i can't accidently over spend. I only spend what i can afford so if i want something quite expensive in my budget, then i only buy that one thing instead of 3 or 4 for example. I never look at how much something might be worth in a few years either. I collect Star Wars because i love the franchise and because of childhood memories.

 

[Clarkspie&chips]

I don't have a monthly budget and if I did I'd probably end up spending it on stuff I'm not really looking for.
I have a pretty strict list of items I'm after and if they come up for a reasonable price I'll buy them.

Unfortunately with the current market it doesn't happen very often!

 

[Pomse2001]

I do not have a budget, I buy the items I want if I have the money

 

[JimboUK1979]

I have many a time passed over something (in the belief that I will find it again) only to massively regret it later. I think it's important to not let spending on the hobby get out of control. I prob spend £150.00 a month on average.

 

[Grant]

Nowadays I only budget my time browsing the forums. It's the cheapest seats in the hobby but still enjoyable enough.

 

[Survival kit Chris]

Two years ago I stuck to my budget , now I wish I never did because many items I wanted then but I stuck to my budget and gave them a miss are now selling for double the price that's if I even see them for sale anymore .

 

[Jedi Master 1]

That's life though isn't it? We all wished we had done this or the other but we didn't for whatever reason. The same reason why most of us sold or gave away all our beloved Star Wars toys and now we have a huge desire to have them all back! I wonder at times why on earth i sold all my Star Wars collection? But we all had our reasons for selling them when we did. As far as i remember, Star Wars had kind of faded away 25 years ago. I sold all my collection to buy my moped as i had no way of travelling independently.

 

[winnebago88]

Even though I've just started collecting I've just got a new job which has meant I've been able to sell my car as work is now a short bike ride away. The money I will save on insurance, tax and petrol etc will add to my SW budget. I would say il have around £150-£200 a month to spend. I'm lucky in the fact that the only things I have to pay a month are rent and my phone bill.