How much grief does your wife give you about your trains.

[TurboOne]

Good question and great answer so far.

Let me add a few.

I bought a new power supply that was on sale so inexpensive, that too not buy and learn from it would be silly. So I show how originally it was priced with a locomotive. Then the sale price. Then what it would have cost without a locomotive. I am down to $43 dollars with that logic, and for that price I had to buy it. That worked well by the way.

Better that I am home, and learning how to fix things. Now I have done many honey do's thanks to what I learned from the hobby. This makes her smile, not happy with train purchases, but she smiles. [:)]

Lastly, I spend a dollar, she spends a dollar. No more complaining, she asks when are we buying more. [:D]

Tim

[Dave Farquhar]

I may very well have spent $500-$600 on trains last year. My fiancee doesn't give me much grief about it though. Usually she's fairly quick to defend it: She says men without hobbies drive their wives nuts, and she's glad I'm not spending it on alcohol. And, like Kent says, it's a hobby that keeps you at home. My fiancee always says she knows exactly where I am. If I'm not at home or at work, I'm at Marty's Model Railroads or the grocery store. Long shots are the hardware store, or one of three other hobby shops in the area.

A lot of women don't like trains because they're loud, and they take up a lot of space. We look at the space differently. I have two 4x8s. I know what you're thinking: Not even enough space to go O54 if you do an L-shaped layout. My fiancee thinks my layout is huge. And women like the brightly colored tinplate and unrealistic fanciful designs, and consider the realistic stuff most men prefer eyesores. I happen to prefer old tinplate, which probably helps my case.

Since I have a plan to have my car and her car, the house, and her student loans all paid off within five years (and may make it sooner), she doesn't complain about the amount of money I spend. I suspect if I were spending very much more, or if I added more than another 4x8, I might be pushing my luck. And if I weren't paying off my car and house at a breakneck pace, I definitely would be, because she'd see the money I'm spending on trains as money that I'm *not* spending on important things (to her) like new living room furniture. Since I tell her she can have new furniture and a nice china cabinet when all the debt's done, she lets me have my trains.

I can see her point of view, and maybe it wouldn't hurt if you spent a little less per year, but she's not seeing the benefit. Also, it's fairly easy to spend $1,000 a year on recreational activities and have absolutely nothing but memories to show for it. You've got something to show for what you've spent. Maybe you couldn't get all of your money back out of it if you wanted, but you could get some.

[flyingyankee616]

[:D] I have a few engines,a few rolling stock, and my kids have a full stomach, and my wife loves me for that.

[Big_Boy_4005]

$1000 per year? That's nothing, that's less than $100 per month. Most of the large steam engines cost more than that (which does not reflect well on today's manufacturers).

Beyond that I'm not sure what to say, because I have never had that problem. Of course, I'm no longer married, but that didn't have anything to do with the trains. My ex knew about my train habit up front. She was the one that came and went from my life, not the trains.

[Anonymous]

Dude, you are going about this all wrong! It's not about the money....

What is it worth to her for you to have a hobby that keeps you at home?

What is it worth to have a hobby that everyone can participate in, and be both a joy and an investment for your children and your grandchildren?

C'mon guys.... help this poor man to talk to his wife right!

[Anonymous]

I buy about $1000.00 a year on average. My wife gives me hell all the time about this. Does anyone else have this problem?