mlehman There's good reasons to have a budget and bad ones. Then there's those of us who just don't want to worry about budgets, which I think was my only real point.
There's good reasons to have a budget and bad ones. Then there's those of us who just don't want to worry about budgets, which I think was my only real point.
I think that is a good comment from a philosophical angle. People often need budgets because they may not be good at managing cash flow off the cuff as some are? If you have pretty good natural money management skills then IMO, you don't really need a budget. I do know from talking to enough people, including people who help others manage money, that one of the biggest problems Americans have is spending more than they make - very often the result is a bunch of credit cards all maxed out. IMO, this is the main reason people would need a model RR budget, to prevent you from over spending and keeping yourself from going into debt or not having enough for necessary things.
When I was married to my first wife, she put me on a budget of $20 month back in the late 1980's. Never mind she was independantly wealthy and could afford to take trips to Europe etc. when she felt like it. Well, even back in 1989/90 etc $20/month wasn't much for building a roster and building a layout. Needless to say, this was not a reasonable arrangment and only a symptom of what eventually let to a parting of ways.
I haven't been on a budget since I parted ways with wife #1 and generally spend within the income and expenses which I have - which has risen and fallen with job layoffs, and better days of income. What affects my hobby more right now is cost of living / housing in the Washington DC area vs my income and expenses, No space to build a layout right now although I do continue collect toward the day I can.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Gidday Kyle, no I don't have a budget as such. I was bought up that the only time you borrowed money was for a mortgage for a house and / or starting a business.
Wife ,kids, mortgage have always come first for me, I was an "armchair modeller" for many years, and try to spend my hobby funds wisely, though you'd have to question that, I mean whoever heard of an SP cab forward on even a fictional North Eastern Road ??
Discipline is the key for me, however I don't stress if I can't afford an item at a particular time nor feel guilty if I perhaps overspend.
As an aside when I stopped smoking, as a Athearn BB or Roundhouse kit was less than a packet of my tobacco, purchasing a kit was my reward at that time, and now that the economy has slowed and the kids education has changed ( one at university, the other about to start next year) my priorities have again changed, and am now assembling those kits and some more craftsman kits that I had already purchased. Still having Fun.
riogrande5761, ...." that one of the biggest problems Americans have is spending more than they make - very often the result is a bunch of credit cards all maxed out."
Without commenting on my observations on what I regularly see on the TV news regarding the rest of the world and looking just at my own country , Americans do not have a monopoly on overspending.
Cheers,the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I don't have a specific budget for model railroading. What I DO have is a bank account which receives a deposit monthly from my well-to-do Uncle, Sam. Whatever is left in that account after paying for household utilities and vehicle expenses is available TO ME for hobby spending - which isn't limited to model railroading.
My wife has a similar account. Since her income stream is smaller, she only pays the one phone bill that includes overseas call charges. The rest goes to golf (and the owners of several local casinos.)
There is a main household account, which gets a deposit bigger than the other two combined and pays the mortgage and other routine expenses (like grocery bills.)
Most months all three accounts show a comfortable surplus. `MY' account ALWAYS shows a surplus - but that's because I never buy anything I don't need. I've long since acquired all of the locomotives and rolling stock I have any possible use for. Construction materials and flex track aren't very expensive, especially when bought on an `immediate need' basis.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
i have one....but run in the RED every month hahahaha
I really don't budget, I am very frugal about what I buy and when I buy it. If I see something I want I buy it, if it's going to take a $100.00 or so, I start saving for it by putting money away, until I have enough. But, as far as socking away X amount of dollars every pay check, I don't do that and really don't want to.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
No budget, I can buy what and when I like too. That doesn't mean I buy items I don't need, every purchase has a purpose.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
"JaBear"riogrande5761, ...." that one of the biggest problems Americans have is spending more than they make - very often the result is a bunch of credit cards all maxed out." Without commenting on my observations on what I regularly see on the TV news regarding the rest of the world and looking just at my own country , Americans do not have a monopoly on overspending. Cheers,the Bear.
You may be right, but I didn't want to throw folks from other countries under the bus without first hand knowledge - so I tried to limit my comments to what I have observed during the most recent 20 or so years of my adult life. I have talked to some professional financial advisors and that has been their feedback. Anyway, I return you to your topic! =P
I really do not budget. I do find a lot of little things to do when I want to save up the money to buy something big. I have a Santa Fe GP40 that I am changing the road number on for example. A few decals and some paint are cheap. I want to expand the lower deck on my layout by a foot. $10 worth of lumber gets me started. I want a new compressor for for my airbrush. Now that takes a little saving and planning.
RMax
Almost exactly 6 years to the day ago, I started back up with MRRing and joined here!
I also had old teenage N scale stuff I was goinna start with, but quickly learned I wanted HO as I had wanted HO all my life.
I had about a $75.00 budget per month, not much, but like all good things..I think my money went further then.
I bought 2 DC locos before I caught on to the meaning of this new {to me} fangled thing called DCC. I decided for sheer less wiring work, I'd like this DCC thing. They were CHEAP{the DC locos}. I then bought the Bachmann EZCommand DCC kit with a 0-6-0 Steamer included for aobut $60 I think.
I pushed for a layout space inthe spare room that was all I could afford..was a 3.5 x5.1 foot layout. I was reading aobut he new rigid foam over openig grid so for about $75 I think it was {maybe even far less] I bought the supplies and built the mini-layout table for my DCC "empire", Then I rebuilt it when I found out curves/elevation was an issue with the WS ramps and risers. SO I tore down two layouts before I settled to a 2% grade jsut to vary terrain on my pike so I have the flat flat falt prairie look.
Once the track was bought and laid down, some wire aquired and It was off and runnging. I went for COde 100 and think when I expand and rebuild it, I will go with code 83.
From there it was jsut a matter of picking up what i could with the $75, whihc became aobut $50 soon after, adn I bought the remaining tools I needed..
Year before last I wanted to expand it but my budget was about $10-$20 and I was not really in need of many things .
This past year I have Had a ZERO budget as we repalce the furnace, redid the roof and other major repairs on the vehicles.
SInce I stripped the layout down to track only, to expand it, I don't mind..I have no need of anything till I build the platform bigger and get code 83 track. That will require a budget again. and the space is not getting any bigger.
I DID buy a new 3/4 board to make a under-the-tree layout for Xmas. But that and some track for it is all. WE run a loop of HO and two for N scale on that layout, which is FAR form being finished, adn serves as a catch-all for everythign we don;t know what to do wiht more htan it runs trains.
I have 13 locos adn mroe cars than I can count so I am happy with what I got now, though there are always a loco I want {a good decent priced DCC oNBoard MIKE, for example!}
That sums it up.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
My budget is what ever extra cash I have. Having recently added up what I currently have in loco's & rolling stock, if my wife was to find out, she'd be plenty upset. Mind you this is over a period of 12 years & most of the stuff I have bought is used.
Gord
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....
I suppose everyone is on some kind of a budget for their hobby, well, MOST everyone I should say. For me, I never buy anything before I check around for the best possible price for any particular item I may need. There are so many things I would love to have for my layout but, don't buy, because I really don't need them. The other thing that I promised myself, is to never use my credit card on my hobby, and I been in this wonderful hobby for over 20 years and so far I have been keeping that promise. This is getting much harder to do because most LHS are folding, but still I will not buy on line. For the most part I will depend on train shows, or travel anywhere from a half hour to maybe an hour & a half to a LHS for any needed item. I will always make a phone call to the LHS to make sure they have just what I need, and at the right price before I take the trip.
Sam
My budget is whatever is in my PayPal account! I sell clocks (Railroad clocks of course!) and some mrr stuff to support my hobby, so if I don't sell anything I can't buy anything. So far it has worked out OK. Being retired I don't have a lot of spare $$$ to use on toys.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
My budget is quite simple..
Mortgage + Food + Services + Transport costs + Insurances + etc... = E
Income = I
Savings = S
I - E = S
Now when the "Savings" become surplus I develop a proposal and forward it to the boss (wife). Some times I can sneak some hidden costs into the mix and accumulate MRR funding.
Note: Savings must be in Surplus before any attempt at MRR spending can take place.
That is the secret in my home.
Cheers...
Chris from down under...
We're all here because we're not all there...
Never really understood budjets, they always tend to underestamate the cost. Me, I always find it better to make more money or spend less on something else to pay for any wants. If I need something for the house, I learn to do it myself if I don't want to pay for others, saved more over the years doing this than most seem to have in their retimement plans, not joking!
The Route of the BroadwayLION is a SUBWAY LAYOUT. Subways get their funding from the government. UNLIMITED TAXING AUTHORITY. That is what I have.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Yes, it varies depending on how good of mood my wife is in.
Bob
rrebell Never really understood budjets, they always tend to underestamate the cost. Me, I always find it better to make more money
Never really understood budjets, they always tend to underestamate the cost. Me, I always find it better to make more money
Agreed!
Barring poor health or family concerns there are jobs in the resource industry all over the planet that pay obscene amounts of money for unskilled labour. I have several friends and now their kids that took five years out of their lives and now have very nice "paid for" houses and cars by the time they are twenty five.
I have a high school education and retired as a blue collar government employee. I did however get the house and car issues taken care of very early in life by committing to a position where the $$ return was exceptional. I don't have to budget for anything because when I was healthy I went where the money was. I am now fifty five and full of arthritis so work is now behind me. However I would be on a plane to South America or northern Canada or Russia in a heartbeat if I needed the money. Six months later I would come home with $100,000.00 in my jeans living well instead of whining about how much everything cost.
Get a passport, work visa and go.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I don't see how budgets understimate the cost. Could you expound on that? It seems as if some look down on budgets. If your situation doesn't require them, that's great. I think plenty of folks budget out of necessity AND/OR preference. I'm happy to have money FOR the hobby and it is a nice challenge to come up with new funding sources. Helps one to be resourceful.
Based on the responses, it seems most posters got the idea/nature of the topic. It's not so much budgeting out of necessity due to financial trouble as it is out of a matter of preference or just a way to keep track of spending. The truly rich are pretty good at that. How else do you think they got there? :)
I know when I set up a budget (mostly for future purchases), I tend to overestimate by rounding up the MSRP to the nearest dollar. I then shop around for the best discount. Whatever's left over rolls over into next year's budget.
Even if I had all the money in the world, I personally would still budget, I'd just have a bigger one to work with and a dedicated source at that :).
~Kyle
The Mary Lindsay Railroad - Featuring Amtrak Model Trains Your HO Rail Journey Starts Here.........
www.marylindsayrr.vze.com (Last Update: 5/31/12)
ksax73 I don't see how budgets understimate the cost. Could you expound on that?
I don't see how budgets understimate the cost. Could you expound on that?
I am not sure, but I think what RREBELL was saying is people don't budget properly and end up with expenses that were not anticipated. So budgets for poor planers get blown up on a regular basis. As example if you own a house are you budgeting for that new $25000.00 roof you will need in ten years by putting so much away each month in anticipation of that day? Are you putting money away for your new furnace or new hot water tank. These are not unexpected expenses yet few people budget for them in advance and thus their budgets get blown up when a loan is required.
Why can people make $500.00 a month car loan payments but not save $500.00 a month towards a new car and have the cash ready. Because they do not budget properly.
It is human nature in this day and age for people to live above their means. If you live in a $3.00 house and do so by pinching every penny and have sleepless nights if an unexpected expense comes along, move to a $2.00 house and don't let the extra cash you have burn a hole in your pocket. Save it so you can actually pay for that car or roof and if you feel like buying that new Loco, you can do it without even asking the question of if you can afford it.
On another note, this being a forum with an international audience. A $300.00 loco is a days pay for one person, a weeks pay for another, or a months pay for yet another person. Wages and cost of living are vastly different all over the world. A teacher, plumber, mailman or surgeons standard of living is quite different depending on where they live on the planet. We need to be sensitive to this in our conversations.
Out of interest Google the average wage of your occupation in other countries around the world. you may pack up and move there or go WOW, I am sure lucky I live here. The same goes for the cost of the average house. It can be a real eye opener.
When I run out of money - the train buying stops! ;-)
BOB H - Clarion, PA