Why is it SOOOOO hard to save up for coins?!?!?

An embargo, which I happen to be on now after buying some coins I had my eye on for a long time, can be a good thing. I've been going through my collection, figuring out what my next set of goals is.

I stick to my goals for the most part when buying. Otherwise, I'd quickly find myself accumulating, rather than collecting.

 

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I also will go out to look for work to afford a coin, this Winter we had a ton of snow, so my "summer" clients needed someone to remove snow from roofs. Since I was off anyway, I volunteered to do some extra jobs. i shovelled snow from 10 clients roofs @$600, so made $6000 to afford a couple of high quality French AV coins.
So, 3 days work=2 coins
Funny thing, there were volunteeers from the 18-35 crowd.
So in the end it comes down to the old quote, "if you want to play hard, you have to work hard".

 

That's exactly what happened. I got sidetracked. No more straying (well... maybe an itsy tiny bit) until I graduate college.

 

Yes, flipping may be the way to go. Another way to approach it is the way our friend @lordmarcovan does it. It definitely requires more discipline than I've been known to exhibit. He never owns more coins than he can fit in his presentation case. My "Eclectic Box of 20" collection

 

Stevex6 always has great ideas, get credit.....probably the best purchase you should borrow money for are rare/high quality coins. If Steve went out to the Royal Bank and borrowed 60K for a FDC Commodus Aureus, he will number one, get pleasure from looking at that coin everyday, secondly in 5-7 years his coin will be worth 100K so there is no better way to invest your $. So that is a win/ win

 

About a year ago I started selling off my 40 year collection of US coins to finance ancients. It was hard at first but it got easier as my ancient collection grew. I had some nice US coins but they were no were near as interesting as my new collection . I still have a full set of WL half dollars, Buffalo Nickels, Franklin half dollars and some others still to go. The WL halves will be hard to let go of but they will go too.

 

It doesn't matter if I have saved for them or not , I always feel that there was probably something I should have spent it on for the house, car, or the yard. Just the life of a coin collector on a budget, but I believe that we are more appreciative of the coins we have worked so hard to obtain. Sorry if I have offended those of you that are able to buy without the worry of where the money may have come from.

 

You are in the same boat most of us are or have been. I stopped collecting while I was raising a family. I only started back up a few years back after a divorce and am now retired. So the guilt factor that I had for most of my life no longer exists (at least not as much).

 

Graduate college? You have a lifetime ahead. Don't be in a hurry!

 

I have a bit of disposable income, but find I am undisciplined when it comes to putting money aside for coins, but if I know I have an obligation it becomes easier for some reason.

If you are not familiar with PayPal Credit I might suggest looking into it:



I've used PP Credit to finance, interest free, many coins and books that otherwise I'd have a hard time saving up the wad for. You can use this during checkout when buying on eBay, and also at different vendors that accept PP as a payment method. So, if I pull the trigger on a 3-400 dollar coin I can finance it for six months and so long as I get it paid off before six months end no interest at all.

 

I have always found it makes it easier to save up for something if you have pictures of it around your house to remind you of what you are saving for.

This keeps you from going back to store to look at it and be tempted to buy something else.

 

I've collected both ways. It's enjoyable to receive packages regularly but perhaps the funds in the new "lesser" coin could have gone toward an additional bid or two on a "bigger" coin.

Personally, I prefer a smaller collection but others like diving into their coins like Scrooge McDuck. Neither is better and there's nothing wrong with a main collection and a side fun collection to keep interest between the larger purchases. Just watch out when the fun collection takes over the big collection (which is what happened with me and ancients vs US coins).

 

You and me both. I still, though, find myself trying to squeeze every nickel out of a purchase to my advantage.

 

It needs to feel right when you purchase a coin! If you feel guilty the next morning as though you have committed a crime (not that I know what that feels like )—if it feels that way, you probably shouldn't be doing it. If you have a bit of guilt mixed with a childlike feeling like it's Christmas morning. It's probably okay for you! If confessing your sin makes you feel better then you can confess to me—since I'm a man of the cloth—I'll be glad to listen.—Just kidding!!! Don't confess your sins to me!!! I don't discuss religion or politics on this forum. I have too much fun here and I don't want to get in trouble

 

Well, you can confess to me. It won't do you any good religiously, but, heck, if you feel better, I might listen.

 

What is this thing "discipline"?

 

I helped my friend purchase an Akragas Tetradrachm back in November. He asked why I didn't purchase one myself. I told him that I was saving up to finish my upstairs and landscape and probably wouldn't be purchasing anything until Summer 2017. Here we are, about half way there, and I've purchased 30 coins. haha. I'm not very good at this saving up or discipline thing.

 

I feel your pain. Theoretically, I shouldn't be buying coins at all, because I'm trying to be disciplined and save up a healthy rainy day fund. My collection is pretty eclectic and varied, so there's always something tempting me! One of the things I'm collecting is classic commemorative halves, and there are a handful that will take up multiple months of coin budget by themselves. And that is to say nothing of my Antonine denarii or the occasional Greek ancient.

For the most part, I buy coins when I hit personal finance milestones, or with my monthly budget. I have overspent a few times, but I don't regret it.

 

I spend half of my "gross" income on coins/ banknotes! The first half pays all the bills.

 

Are you gonna sell it all when you retire? There's no way I could spend half my net income (much less gross income) on coins!