somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

I'm a new dad with a wife taking a few years off work so we're a single income household. Things aren't tight but I now find myself scrutinizing any purchases. I have an order put together for $250 from Tower on my wish list ready to go but keep holding off. It's inevitable that I'll hit buy, but curious how I should budget something I don't really 'need' but certainly want. Need to get a build on the board.

How do you guys budget this hobby?

somegeek

summerwind

i support my addiction with a sub business related to my normal business if that makes any sense.
in my case the kids are all grown up, but the wife is taking a few months off to finish her training as an ultra sound tech.
my sub business makes me about 6-900.00 a weekend when i go after the work.
with 3 air ready planes though, i really don't need anything, but I WANT IT............LOL

Krener

Budgets are a funny thing.
We are expecting our second one now and the wife is taking time off work (obviously) with maternity leave at half pay, which does make things difficult.

If you don't 'need' it, then don't buy it.
If you have to sell something to bring you closer to what you want, then do that to.
Even though this is a 'hobby' we are supposed to enjoy, like everything else in life there are sacrifices.
No such thing as a free ride mate.

Chat to the missus and see what she reckons, thats what I do, and she knocked up a budget that allowed me to get stuff I didn't even need!!!!!!!

Just my (budgeted) 2 cents

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

Budget, what's that??? RC is an addiction of sort's, however you have to put the family first. If you can afford it and the wife agrees, then hit the buy button and get your new stuff. Good Luck, Dave

SPLIT S

I have to agree with Dave regarding the "addiction" aspect of the hobby. It's VERY easy to get out of hand and blow the "budget". But in my household RC is like everything else, if the cash is there and everything else of serious importance is taken care of, then why not. You only go around once and life is meant to be lived. But family, a roof over my head and food in the pantry should always come first. Only you can know what you can budget but I've learned even if the cash is there to get the Mrs. involved. My planes aren't going to keep me company in the middle of the night.

Dan

yellerchamp

My Feedback: (42)

I know this may sound silly but when I buy a plane I also think if I want to sell it later I buy something I know the guys in the club or in the local swap meets would buy. For instance I bought a pattern plane but realize it would never sell locally, but a nice warbird has a good chance of resale. The same with motors a good saito 91 4 stroke has resale value or a os 46fx, but anything bigger it would be hard to pedal. This is true in this area I dont know in your area. I once got carried away and had 12 planes flyable, now I have a limit and dont buy unless I sell first. Makes for a happy home.........

saramos

Two words:

Secret Credit Card! [sm=47_47.gif]

Ok, three words.

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

This is something I am pondering as well... I had to cannibalize my built-up stryker for the Hitec Rx and servos for a SPAD Sickle I built. For the Herr Pitts I am pondering building, I don't have a small enough engine in my hangar nor all the micro servos required for a 1/2A build. Thinking once I build a few more planes in different sizes... subsequent builds can use flight packs and engines from existing planes I have which I don't mind leaving in the hangar for a season which will help cut costs down a bit.

Upon hearing news of my new son earlier this year, I did sell my boat($300/mo not including gas and bait). Only so many hobbies I feel comfortable having. For now, it's RC planes only... which leaves me very content. Just need a build on the board.

somegeek

huggins

Justifying RC expenditures is really quite easy. I use RC as my personal mental health therapy. If I don't do RC for awhile, I become very unpleasant to be around. So the sooner you realize that airplanes are really medical expenses, the better off you will be. Unfortunately, my insurance says it is a non-covered expense.....what's that all about?[]

Mike

fozjared

AMEN!!!

saramos

Hmm. Can you use flex dollars?

jeffk464

What I do is go out of my way to not keep track of how much I have spent on this hobby, it seems to work.

bigchap

i buy from united hobbies and re-sell it on ebay,i have been tripling my money which pays for all my rc stuff.if i didn't do this i don't think i could afford to carry on as i had to give up working to look after a family member.

summerwind

LMAO.......this logic may just get me the new Jet (and all the stuff that goes with it) a lot quicker than i planned........thx for the tip

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I got rid of the wife and kids

Actually, back in those days, I gave myself a weekly budget for lunch, gas, etc. Whatever was left over at the end of the week got hidden away from the wife's greedy eyes. You'd be surprized how much you can cut back on when you really want something.

Once I had a few bucks saved up, a package arrived!

BTW, now I make more money, the kids are gone, and the wife works. So I buy WAY too much airplane stuff, and eat WAY too many lunches! (Well, I had to make up for it, didn't I?)

summerwind

hmmm, i remember the ol Baloney and plain bread days oh so well..................
stealing gas was too risky though

SPLIT S

About a year ago I was on the fence about purchasing a YA F18 Hornet. Had been for a long, long time. I talked about it ( or around it ) for a little while with my wife who didn't seem to be too much either for or against it. About the same time my parents were having very serious medical problems ( my Dad has since passed ) and the stress of the situation was starting to affect me all the way around. Well one night I was on the Tamjets website and before I knew it I had the F18, retracts, semi scale landing gear and scale wheels and tires in my shopping cart. Then I pressed submit. It was done - $1,100.00 dollars gone. I wanted to do something for myself, something to take my mind away from the current situation, something to look forward to. I knew I had to come clean with my wife so I was going to take her out to a nice dinner that coming Friday night and let her in on it then. Every day after work my wife and me would pick up my Dad and go visit my Mom in the hospital. After the visit and dropping my Dad off at his place we went home to leave the dog out before our big night out. The answering machine was showing a message so I hit play while my wife was there. It was Tam from Tamjets confirming my jet had shipped. I looked at my wife and at that instant a time in my life I like to refer to as the mini ice age began. We went to dinner and I expained myself and to my surprise I didn't get the whipping I thought was coming. Even the fact that it was over a thousand dollars. But my mistake was not including her in it. After all it was a lot of money. It took a little while but we got past that but agreed that from now on we would discuss those kinds of purchases. Not to get " permission" but we are a team.

Now I would really like a P40....
Dan

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for the replies guys.

Well put SplitS - you guys are a team.

Told my wife last night about me posting and asking you guys about the way you figure your hobby into your budget since we're looking at our budget a little. She asked me if I was hinting at wanting to buy my plane setup and said go for it since our finances are in good order. Not that I needed her permission but her blessing is nice since this is a family budget we have now. She talks to me as well about any larger purchases.

Time to finalize some details with this Tower order.

somegeek

P.S. - There is a lesson to be learned here too if you guys haven't already... an unspoken agreement amongst spouses. Up to a certain amount(under $75-100-ish), I don't roll my eyes when she spends a $ on her foofy girlee stuff (split-end smoothing heat conditioning what treatment?) and she doesn't say anything when I spend a few $ on props/small parts and fuel. Neither of us spend frivolously either so this helps.

SPLIT S

I was finishing up my post when my wife walked into the room and started reading my post over my shoulder. She got to the end and said "What's a P40?" I'm supposed to finish my jet first

Dan

Insanemoondoggie

LOL ! Busted !

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

HAHA! Nice...

somegeek

NCIS

I have 13 flyable planes, one build on the table, a 1/4 scale F4U-1D Corsair ready to start which has already cost me $3,000.00, and no wife as of last week.[&o] I guess I got carried away. I suggest you do like the responsable Guy's have said and only buy it if you can afford it. I didn't and I'm broke. Plus my wife said bye-bye. Now I have to buy a house. This is a great hobby if you can leard self control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gibbs

jeffk464

Don't buy anything unless you have the cash in the bank to pay for it. For a lot of people the best thing they can do in life is chop up their credit cards and just use cash or debit.

madmoe

I'm just getting started in this hobby, but what we are doing is I have $40/mo budgeted as 'mad money' that I can spend on whatever I want. If I want something more expensive, I have to save it for as long as it takes to get to that amount. That way no credit card surprises .

Madmoe

Insanemoondoggie

I sold one hobby to finance another. Sold a motorcycle to pay for the planes I have now Still have 5 bikes left, so don`t really miss it that much.
Also bought the wife a new Enovy this week , so I`m in good shape for a while.