Spending money on hobbies - do you keep track?

Soldato
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Dont keep much of a track of things but Ive been collecting retro game and consoles for over 15 years.

Had to put a stop to it for now due to career plans but over time collecting is getting more expensive now. Spoilt by people who are in it for profit, who wasn't even born when I started collecting them.
 
Soldato
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How could you not know where it is going? Unless somebody else was spending it for you.

Spending a couple of quid here and there in a newsagent quickly adds up. How many coffees do you buy a week from Costa on your lunch break? The more you spend, the easier it is to lose track of what you have spent your money on. It is the small transactions (less than £5) that screw things up for you in the long run.
 
Soldato
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Warhammer 40k is my main hobby and when I got back into it 6ish years ago I went mad. I would spend what ever I wanted whenever I wanted and quickly built up a massive collection of stuff. I have enough models that at my current rate of building and painting, would easily take me a couple of years to get through. Since having my daughter (and growing up a bit) I've significantly reigned in what I spend. I track my outgoings each month for everything (not just hobbies) and am significantly more careful with my money.

Now I only buy if it's a new release that I really want or a limited release of a certain model, however I put careful consideration into the purchase. This isn't completely driven by what I have to spend each month, more the fact that I really don't need more stuff that sits collecting dust until I get round to it.

As for other hobbies (Mountain Biking, my PC and cooking) I have a list of things that I would like to buy for each and I save accordingly for those and buy as and when.
 
Soldato
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Spending a couple of quid here and there in a newsagent quickly adds up. How many coffees do you buy a week from Costa on your lunch break? The more you spend, the easier it is to lose track of what you have spent your money on. It is the small transactions (less than £5) that screw things up for you in the long run.

0 coffees are purchased from such places :) nor have I been to a newsagents recently. I guess everyone is different.

I do know people who are ‘skint’ all the time yet they have all the latest stuff and can’t work out why they’re skint.
 
Associate
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One of the annoying things - 2 of the places I buy stuff from the most for my hobbies send emails now and again showing how much you've spent over the last few months or year and pressuring to apply for a business account. Though my spending is well in control when you see just how much it is it makes you wonder if it was money well spent LOL.
We used to buy booze from a local wine merchant rather than the supermarket (better wine for cheaper prices). At the end of each year they send you a rebate (basically a voucher) based on how much you spent during the year. That was a sobering* moment.

*pun intended.
 
Associate
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You made £50k+ in matched betting?

Nope £23k , some years I didnt have to spend much as the capital outlay had already occured. Some years like the last 2 I havnt spent a penny due to ill health , others I would be away working. Some years it would be several thousand and others nothing , sorry for the ambiguity
 
Soldato
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No I don't track.

If I want to indulge, I usually do.

However although I am not aware of specific figures of spend etc, I do tend to be a lot more frugal if I am aware of a large expense coming up.

This situation has happened at the moment, we have just financially committed to a 7 week vacation in Orlando and a 1 week Caribbean cruise early next week, and as you can guess it ain't gonna be cheap!
 
Soldato
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I know roughly how much I spend on hobbies, and each hobby has a different cost applicable due to what it is.

I also see a lot of people spend a lot of money on hobbies prioritising them over things like owning a house for example.

I made sure all the key life steps were done before indulging to heavily in to any hobby, so house, married (not for everyone but it can be a big expense if you do it), car, house brought up to a liveable standard where only redecorating is required going forwards.

Then came the hobbies.

A lot of people seem blasè about lying to their mrs it seems :confused:

If your wife doesn't ask, and you don't hide what you are buying, is it lying?
 

SPG

SPG

Soldato
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As i get older the tighter i become, the majority of my spare cash if not all goes towards getting the house sorted. The joys of buying a property that requires modernization, hobbies are for losers anyway :(
 
Soldato
OP
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As i get older the tighter i become, the majority of my spare cash if not all goes towards getting the house sorted. The joys of buying a property that requires modernization, hobbies are for losers anyway :(
I sort of figured a house would be the big hobby of my 30s (I'm 31 and hoping to buy, though it's a year or two off). Putting all the work in to make it my own will be fun I hope, but then I'm into DIY.
 

SPG

SPG

Soldato
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Trust me you really really get sick of DIY :)

TBH i have one big job left and that is new boiler and replacing all the radiators, Normally this would be a 3-4k Job, but in my stupid wisdom I want the old conventional boiler moving from the kitchen to the loft and a system boiler installed, with the aim of solar panels in 4-5 years as they match nice with a system boiler.
 
Soldato
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It depends on your hobby too, for example i've spent quite a bit over the years on my music stuff but that doesn't really lose money, if anything it appreciates over time so i see my guitar collection as stored money rather than money spent.

Otherwise i kind of know in my head what i've going going spare each month so if i do fancy something i can buy it, i'd never use a credit card or debt to fund a hobby only ever surplus cash that isn't already earmarked for something actually useful!
 
Soldato
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Nope £23k , some years I didnt have to spend much as the capital outlay had already occured. Some years like the last 2 I havnt spent a penny due to ill health , others I would be away working. Some years it would be several thousand and others nothing , sorry for the ambiguity

Sorry to hear about the ill health.
 
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