Be careful of your spending (on hobbies)

I was checking my PP account and totalling up everything. Got the shock of my life, just a short 9 months and i got a huge figure. Huge enough to be able to buy a good but value for money 127mm APO referactor telescope, good mount, some excellent eyepieces and various filters, big dry box including shipping to here.

And no such things like what Haiku/Customs/Surefire.

Very sad now, and i have been postponing that hobby coz i though it was expensive. How could i have done such a thing, esp when i am aiming to semi-retire by age 45. Frown I'll probably get over the shocker in a few weeks, but right now i don't think i even wanna spend on fireworks during Chinese New Year next month.

Think i will stay off flashlights for a few months. The few lasers 365nm UV LED light which is like useless.... didn't help as well.

Didn't you think about selling some of your collection ?

That's what I do. From time to time, I'm reviewing my stuff and the least used goes to someone else. This way, I can maintain the total number of flashlights on a quite constant level.

I know the feeling, but Ive found a great solution. :) Dont look at your paypal statement and just pay your credit card when its due. Problem solved! :)

Buying a large telescope would probably be a waste of your money - given the substantial amount of ambient light in your area. My friend has some very large Celestron and Astro Matrix telescopes (+$175k stuffed into his van) and they arent worth a darn till they are placed in a location with zero ambient light.

Be glad that you dont have other hobbies... at least that Im aware of. ;) My budget is blown from all the lanterns that Ive been collecting and my SCUBA vacation.

Buy a few sparklers and a nice bottle of wine for the Chinese New Years. Hopefully its been a good year for you.

Ha Ha! Good luck to ya'. I can't remember how many times I've told myself that . Don't be too ambitious. Go easy on yourself and try it for just ONE month first

[quote=coolperl]

Didn't you think about selling some of your collection ?

That's what I do. From time to time, I'm reviewing my stuff and the least used goes to someone else. This way, I can maintain the total number of flashlights on a quite constant level.

[/quote

hey 2100 if your going down this path im first in line if ever you sell your

13" CS-2206CX HID.:)

Many have done exactly the same. Welcome to the boat. Sell the excess you don't use!

Join the club, bud. I've watched your spending the last few months in amazement! LOL! If you really couldn't afford it you wouldn't have done it. Sell just a few and cut down on new purchases for a while. Like anything in life, moderation is the key. ;)

This is what I do, although I have only a miserable amount of money in flashlights.

Most of my purchases go directly to my friends, I just test them and occasionally review and post something...

There is only 1 person i blame for my problem, his name rhymes witn "oaz". ever since i bought a light from this person ive been looking for lights comparable to it. ive sold off a bunch of my lights to get others ones so the funds just circulate. if i get a $tip$ from work it goes to the flashlight fund this way no traces of it in the bank account. I dont really collect flashlights and dont own shelf queens.

I don't like this thread

I just dropped a small fortune at DD (damn those coupons) last week. I spent more than I have in probably the past 1 -2 years. Yikes!!

"Hi, my name is Hill and I'm a Flashaholic..."

I think i spent less than last year. If I think it, it must be true, right? :)

I am certain that I got more for my money though. Thank you BLF.

+1

Thanks for the responses. Feel slightly better now. I just came back from a wedding banquet shoot and saw all those ladies with branded bags, yeah i definitely saw a Hermes Burkin, if i am not wrong it's about S$13k locally. So yeah..... heh. :) Chanel would be ~ 5k at least.....

Flashpilot, i spent more in Hifi and DIY audio but that's the problem, it's a "higher-end" hobby and you can see the stuff. When people see a flashlight collection, it's not as substantial. I think I have blown 5k on photography before started to earn money from it. Seems like more "worth it".

I guess the issue is "budget lights", they just seem so affordable and low in cost, so you just buy and buy. I have the Ultrafire C3, iTP A1, Tank 737, Romisen as the cheapest stuff, Solarforces + $9-15 drop-ins, Yezls and yes they are quite low in cost and affordable. But when you add them all up, it becomes WOAH. Don't believe me? Just add up all your cheapest lights, best case scenario is that you only spent $150 if you have a small collection, worst case is at least $800.

I have sold 2 lights, but it's not easy because the local flashaholic fraternity is very small. As you'd know, budget lights don't fetch a good resale price as well. If i sell internationally, the local postage price is not very high but it's not low as well. I believe below 800g it starts from usd15 or so.

Johnnymac, yeah i purchased a lot. But i guess for the majority of us here we can "afford it" as we spend within our means. Just that, even as a flashaholic it's still somewhat "absurd". That XM-L and XP-G can still be used in 2-3 year's time but it will be somewhat old-tech already. It is like photography, or computers. They will be shelf queens then, because you will need to buy new. HiFi and Astronomy is very resilient in this sense.

Flashpilot, well the good thing about astronomy in my case is that i have 2 sky gardens, one at the roof and the other in the middle, the top one is very dark now (they cut most of the decorative lights due to high maintainence costs) and it's not so bad for the zenith plus with O-III and UHC narrowband filters, they do make nebulaes pretty visible by cutting the HPS and mecury vapor lights. So it's not too bad. I think key is to having as much a chance to observe as possible, so for my site it's pretty good. When i am up there at the roof garden 50th storey, most of the lights are below me, it's not perfect but it's already better than nothing.

Well i am feeling a bit better now, I guess it's sticker shock at first..... i just tell myself "LIFE IS SHORT, just enjoy it". Don't forget to give to charity this Xmas season and do more good for the new 2012! Happy New Year!

1. sticker shock 4941 up, 1179 down
May 21, 2010 Urban Word of the Day
A condition resulting from seeing the total price of a bunch of items and realizing the damage is much greater than you originally expected. May cause a person to have second thoughts about the purchase.

Those totals are scary, especially when you are first getting started and buying batteries, chargers, soldering irons, etc. Then you can kind of take it easy. I've spent a lot less this year than last year. "Budget lights" is a misnomer because you still end up spending a lot, just not as much as it could be.

Yeah man, imagine if we keep buying all the various versions of 4 Sevens, SWM, Jetbeam, Olight, Fenix, Nitecore, Spark, Zebralight, Lumintop, Thrunite, Xeno, Armytek, Eagletac, and to top if off some HDS, Malkoff, Elzetta.

Guess the cost of all the lights here at HKJ's? (sorry bro, don't mean to dig it out! LOL!)

http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Reviews%20UK.html

Well, buying "within our means", even though we can technically afford it at the time, doesn't always mean we are still "within our means". LOL! Just we can somehow make it happen doesn't mean we should.

I recall when I first started putting all my purchases in a spreadsheet to track what I had and when to expect it. I was mortified at how much money I had spent in a matter of a few months and actually ashamed of myself. I think I lasted 2 months of not buying anything after that. Since then I try to limit what I get but I also don't keep track of it like I did because I really don't want to know. :)

2100 - You're gonna burn out in a blaze of glory. Why not!

I still think every light I mod will be a budget light, but they never are! Sure the light itself might be $15., but the components end up being $15 here, $25 there and on and on. When it's all said and done a budget light ends up being a $100 mod. Never fails...Frown

Even the Copper one is going to end up being over $65 just for the components. That doesn't touch all the extras like batteries and chargers. It's a no win situation. Hobbies are all expensive, some more than others and the resale values are usually poor, so just have fun and lay low for a while, or smile while going to the poor house. Tongue Out There's plenty of company around here.Wink

I, for one, appreciate your spending. It has directed me toward some lights and away from others.

I am not going to estimate that cost, I stopped keeping track long ago, it was to depressing.

And I do not buy all lights, not even from Fenix, but I do have a nice collection from Fenix (The picture is a bit old):

And I do like smaller lights: