I try to keep my budget to $50-100 a pay period. My wife and I both agreed on that as "Play Money." If she wants something, we dip into that budget. Granted, sometimes this gets dipped into (such as this last pay when I bought a new electric sprayer....totally worth it!) It is for this reason I try to work on a copper set (my Lincolns), a silver set (my Walking Halves), and a modern set (I haven't bought a dime since 2014...I'll confess it here as my priest thought I was abusing his confessional services). In that manner I always have something I can work toward completing. Once a year I attend an Indianapolis coin show and save for it with a separate budget to ensure I can purchase a key date or two. As for adding the relationship into it, there is no adding. My wife is it and her happiness matters most. If that means years without a coin purchase, so be it so long as she is smiling at the end of the day. Thankfully, she is very understanding in letting me have some time to myself to relieve stress with a hobby. Not an investment of any sort...just a hobby.
I never touch my savings and I'm always adding to it. All my bills get paid first and I buy nothing on credit that can't be paid that month. The few coins I buy each year come from the money that is left after everything is paid. That's my budget. Don't let this hobby take control of you. You must control the hobby.
I’m retired. I have my savings. I have my investments. I have my cd’s. I have my 401k. I also have monthly income from my antique business. I eat well and live comfortably. I have 2 older model vehicles that run wonderfully. My bills are low and I pay my credit card off every month so no interest. As for my coins, I buy what I want, like or need. I’ve bought some coins for a dollar. Other coins, I paid over $5000.00 for a single coin. I save up until I have the money and buy it. Saving up for a coin is very different from saving money.
This sounds pretty much like my situation. I'm retired, house paid for, mostly just normal living expenses, but I still don't pull out of savings to pay for my hobby. And, for me, this is totally a hobby. I don't drink, smoke, play golf, etc., so this is my hobby. I don't "officially" have a budget, but work within limits that I've established that I am going to spend. I'll go for a while and not buy anything. Then I'll see something that "catches my eye", and I'll think about it for a while. If it's still available in a few days, and my interest is still there, I'll probably buy it. But, I make sure to spend more on my wife, then I do on my hobby. She's more important to me than my hobby. That's my disclaimer in case she's looking over my shoulder, lol!
I dont really have a budget i go on a buying spree every few months then earn back up and do it again.
Boy do you sound like me. I’ve never tasted beer, the smell alone is horrible. I don’t smoke, drink, play golf (except miniature golf), etc. My wife is more important than my hobby. No real bills to speak of. We do sound alike.
Yes, that's kind of scary, lol. We should have met for lunch when I was in Cumberland. But, don't know how I would have worked anything else into any of the days, either. But, maybe next time? Happy collecting!
This hobby can be addictive and I'm hooked. I try to budget but then a coin shows up on eBay that I gotta have and there goes my budget.
I keep to a strict budget every month, which includes savings... If I can't add to savings I don't get any coins. savings must be greater then money spent on coin/s. Fortunately for me I have a woman who makes me make exceptions to that 2nd half on occasion lol on the other hand.. when money was tight, coins were sold to meet the bills... Nice to have but life comes 1st
Blow all the savings, take a second mortgage out on the house, do whatever is necessary to get the coins you absolutely MUST have! That's how John J. Pittman approached the hobby, and the results are legendary, a collection that will likely never be duplicated. Unlike Eliasberg or the current top whale out of Utah, --both who pretty much had/have unlimited funds--, Pittman was a working stiff who managed his coin purchases such that when he was done, the net proceeds of his collection were probably the greatest % gain over initial investment ever achieved. Pittman was also a pretty good judge of character, calling out Walter Breen as a perv years before anyone else suspected. My own personal advice would be to use discretionary income, and if you exceed your limits and start dipping into what ought to be set aside for savings, then make sure the coins are gold. Your Sovereign purchase fits that method exactly. A common date MS63 from my collection purchased many years ago.
@princeofwaldo those "exceptions" i mentioned my women makes are usualy gold (or very fine silver in a few cases)
I get paid wkly. 20% goes in savings. I have a primary account that i have a minimum balance i like. I will not go below that balance. I pay my bills out of this account as well. After all my bills are paid that week I spend whatever I have left on coins. Sometimes i have 600 to play with...sometimes only 200 or less that week. I buy some cheap coins but try to avoid them. I always picture myself trying to sell that coin down the road. If you have a ton of worn dog crap coins you'll hear " i can only do x amount on this coin' or ' i just have so many of these right now'. If you have nice more wisely chosen examples (ya mote expensive) ... you are more likely eventually going to get the guy on the other side of the counter to say ' well then let me ask you what would you take for the coin'? I think nice examples give you leverage and you do better if you ever re-sell the coin. Thats been my experience anyhow. There have been a couple times that i got out of hand....had to have it now and over spent. Thats no fun. I am really hard on myself when i do that. Typically i make 1 or 2 big purchases every week. 100..200...depends on my bills that week. I like to keep a little money available so i can look at cheaper coins until next payday.....so like 40 50 dollar Kreuzers or whatever. This way I can still feed my fix for a few days looking at coins. Sometimes i have to put some money aside because i want a 600 example of something...so only spend x this week.....not always successful with that. I bulk on big purchases as well. But whatta you do? Thats a good problem to have dont worry much about that.... but if you spend to much ...not a problem you want.
I never had a specific budget for any hobby. My priorities about 50 years ago were my wife, my two kids, paying the mortgage, paying a car payment, paying for food and staple supplies, and there was usually something left for savings. In 1982 I was fortunate enough to be able to buy a business that I was good at, fire my former manager, and take over myself. I turned a losing business into a very profitable one in short order. I sold a bunch of my coin collection (and another collection of old Zippo lighters) to purchase a new Harley-Davidson after my wife, kids, etc. were taken care of. Riding was my new fun hobby. I am now retired, and my wife passed 7 years ago, my kids are grown, but sometimes need some financial assistance due to losing a job to downsizing, etc. Now my home is paid for, my car is paid for, I have some savings, investments, and SS. I try now to limit my coin collecting to fewer purchases but better quality stuff. I am also limiting my purchases to three sets of coins: US Type Set, British Victorian Type Set, and pre-decimal English shillings from 1970 backward to as early as I can get. I am going to sell the accumulation of all other coins and get back into photography, another of my hobbies that I took a long break from. That will at least get me out of the house. I will still attend as many Albuquerque Coin Club shows as possible. They always have 100 tables and some very good dealers/sellers there. So, my early days of coin collecting were a huge mistake. These days I collect in a much more manageable fashion. My simple advice? Try as hard as you can to make a rule to NOT impulse buy. It works to your financial advantage.
No budget to speak of so I go a little over my comfort level at times, but that’s okay. To me it’s a hobby which I enjoy and a fine distraction which is nice. Plus I could probably dump everything tomorrow for half of what I have into it so it’s not like everything was money down the drain. And to boot I plan on passing it along to a few kids that think it’s a cool hobby.
Take care of your cash / stock market savings first. Try put away at least 10 pct income. You never know when your career will end due to downsizing, systemic age bias, economic problems, unfav mgt change, or some other problem. Coins don’t pay dividends or interest. Then a coin budget based on a pct income which you can afford. One large company I worked for constantly lied to us “things will get worse before they get better,” well they didn’t get better. They just lead people down the garden path with their lies like pack animals. Sort of like how the Nazis slaughtered people during the Holocaust. Realistically you don’t owe those places a darn thing. Just lookout for no 1 and don’t trust propaganda being fed to you by paid liars or phony scum bozos wanting automate your job \ give it to somebody cheaper.
