Do your wives ever nag you about how much you spend on trains? No matter how hard I try to hide stuff I buy She still finds out.
TruckDo your wives ever nag you about how much you spend on trains? No matter how hard I try to hide stuff I buy She still finds out.
No. I would not have married a woman who didn't understand how important this hobby is to me.
My wife doesn't nag me per se, but she will needle me in front of friends how much this or that costs, especially a loco or a brass piece. However, in the end she is supportive from a distance, the only thing she likes about trains is riding them so that is a big plus on vacations!
Ricky
Mine is very supportive, I guess after 31 years she has given up. However, she also helps with the layout and is quite adept at making trees, certain scenery pieces, and such.
Bob
Not an issue, she has her trust account and I make no inquiries about her purchases. In return she makes no inquiries about my purchases.
My wife is very supportive of the hobby - especially now that I have started working on some scenery. As far as what I (we?) spend on it... her position, apparently is, "Don't ask! Don't tell!"
-Kosmo
"And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers ride their father's magic carpet made of steel..."
Just the other day my wife and I were talking the other day and she said " As long as the bills are paid I don't care how much money you spend on your trains or any other hobbies" Same goes for me when it comes to what she likes. She doesn't ask for much and the term high maintenance can never be applied to her. It's not that were financially independent but life is too short, you have to enjoy it while your here, it's too precious not to. So if spending a few bucks on trains makes you happy she has no right to deprive you of your happiness.
don7 Not an issue, she has her trust account and I make no inquiries about her purchases. In return she makes no inquiries about my purchases.
Same as the above.
I think that trying to 'hide' hobby expenditures is a big mistake, especially if the lady has no comparable money sinkhole costly pastime. If you're up front about what you want and why, she may not agree but at least she'll give you points for your honesty.
My wife breaks approximately even at the casinos and spends money on golf - her money from her personal account, fed by its own, "Strictly for her," income stream. I have always been supportive of that. On the other side of the coin, when she was my girlfriend she knew I was a model railroader, so she gave me a brass locomotive kit for my birthday. (Yes, it was possible to buy inexpensive brass locomotive kits in Japan at that time.) That Japanese-style tank loco (of no particular prototype) changed my modeling emphasis away from NYC, never to return to U.S. prototype modeling.
Something must be working. Our next anniversary will be our 49th.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
My wife goes through in three months what it takes me a year to spend on my hobby, except that her expenses are for medications and therapy of the physical kind to keep her healthy, pain-free and mobile. Her hair appointments average something like $60 every two months. I like the arrangement because she is important to me, and she understands that I have to spend a bit to keep myself healthy, too. It just happens to be in the odd locomotive or two per year. Thankfully, I can see the end coming because I have limited myself to four main roads, I have the rolling stock (mostly), and now just want a few select engines to fill out the stables for each of the four roads.
-Crandell
Its not that I try to hide it, I make good money, but she is the penny pincher type wants to buy the cheaper stuff, me I like the high perf stuff. and I have to hear HOW MUCH DID THAT COST? I guess opposites attract.
TruckIts not that I try to hide it,
But you actually said ," No matter how hard I try to hide stuff I buy She still finds out" in your first psot.
No wife but my mother sure can get on my nerves about it. She hasn't gone snooping in the mail for my bank statements but I'm sure that's only a matter of time.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
SHE has HER dolls and i have my trains. after we finished raising and educating the kids and helping out the grandkids, being of sound mind, we are spending it all.
for the poster who mentioned that his wife broke even at the casino, what does she play? the ATM? the only way we ever broke even was to stay home or try to eat $200.00 worth of shrimp on the comp buffet.
grizlump
I have a budget and pretty well stay in it, so its not a problem. After 25 years she knows I'm not going to go wild and buy $500 of engines every week.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
My wife thinks I don't spend enough on my hobbies. She cheers when I buy a locomotive. I've been given a few by her at birthdays or Christmas (of course I had to tell her which exact one to order). In general, she spends more than I, more easily, but she stays within the family budget.
Audrey and I have a good arrangement. Because she sells her own paintings and craft items her money is her money. Me? My work money pays the housebills and food etc and my side job then gives me my hobby money. There are no arguments therefore over who spends what and how much and etc------
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
When my wife mentions my trains, I ask her how much she's spent on "collectables". Ususlly shuts her up!!
Truck Do your wives ever nag you about how much you spend on trains? No matter how hard I try to hide stuff I buy She still finds out.
No.My late wife didn't complain..In fact once she became involved in the hobby she spent more in the hobby shop then I did. She was one of a kind.
I have also learn I have no time or need for a brawling *** woman...I been a bachelor way to long for that.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Since I'm the frugal one, she never says anything. She has her hobbies and I have mine, but discretionary spending for both of us is after the necessities. Also, I have reached the point where I have more than enough stuff for the current layout and won't really need more until retirement and the "big" one.
Enjoy
Paul
TruckIts not that I try to hide it, I make good money, but she is the penny pincher type wants to buy the cheaper stuff, me I like the high perf stuff. and I have to hear HOW MUCH DID THAT COST? I guess opposites attract.
Well I'm gonna guess you haven't been married all that long or your just not paying attention. The line most women use is "It was on sale so I saved money dear"
I used to have a long time live in girlfriend years back who questioned my model railroad spending saying I was frivolous because much of it just sat there and did nothing. I got up from the table where I was assembling a kit, walked into the bedroom and opened up the BIG closet. I carried out several armful of shoes most of which had never been worn some even with the tags still on them. I kept dropping them into a pile on the floor, when I was done I said don't ever question what I spend on my hobby, there were still a lot more shoes in the closet and I never heard another peep on the subject.
Nope, no problems with the wife. She never has said a word about the cost. I have, but she hasn't. When we married she had no idea of my hidden hobby. ( I had a small layout in my early teens the cars, girls, jobs etc. came along). The only clue she had was when we put up walls in the basement about ten years ago, I made a comment about one smaller room that someday this is where I would want to put up a Model Railroad. That finally happened a little over a year and a half ago when I unearthed my old 4 X 8 layout as we were moving my mother from the family home. After a few months and mentioning once or twice about the space, she, not I , suggested removing a wall and expanding into the old office that isn't used now that the kids are up and gone. She has purchase RR items for Christmas, track, a couple DPM buildings and some cars with road names that I really shouldn't use but I am because she bought them and was happy to see me use them. Besides it's a made up world anyway and I can make up a reason. I think I'll keep her.
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
jeffrey-wimberly No wife but my mother sure can get on my nerves about it. She hasn't gone snooping in the mail for my bank statements but I'm sure that's only a matter of time.
Same here, except my mother works at my bank. She doesn't have to snoop my mail for bank statements, she just looks them up while at work.
I've had a few girls dump me over them too. So I learned, never bid on on ebay using HER computer while she is looking. One of my first ones got mad because a P2K GP30 cost more than I spent on her in 6 months....
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
Being in the Navy, we live on a very limited income. That being said my hobby budget is only $30 a month. That includes buying trains, magazines, ammo/tags for hunting season, etc. There's been times when I've been saving up for a nice new loco, that I had to divert the funds to something more important. It's just a fact of life we live with. I don't have to get her okay, every time I purchase something, and she doesn't need mine. We both budget our money, the bills get paid, and that's that. She will from time to time jokingly refer to the price of something to be the equivalent of our credit card bill.
Point is, if you budget for it, and are open about, she will probably be a bit more understanding.
Jason
Modeling the Fort Worth & Denver of the early 1970's in N scale
First wife once said "It's ether me or the trains!" Second wife knows not to ask that question.
My wife supports every aspect of my modeling hobby, in fact, she keeps wanting me to build a shelf layout in the living space too. Recently I've been progressing on some trackwork loops for the current layout that traverse over the stairway which leads up to the train room and recenly she commented on how she liked seeing them when she had to pass through there on her way to the attic.
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
We'll be married 25 years in November, so I'd say we've arrived at a truce. She knows the hobby is an important part of who I am, and I know that the current economic times are tight, so I know when to reign myself in.
I also do decoder installations, and occasionally sell off some surplus stuff to keep a bit of a hobby budget I can use.
I'm also a terrible liar, so hiding things just isn't an option. Although, being an N scaler has its advantages, in that most 4 axle diesels will fit in your pocket!
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
SilverSpikeMy wife supports every aspect of my modeling hobby,
Same as Ryan, my wife completely supports my hobby. In the 25 years of marriage, we have always lived inside of our means and my wife has no reason to ever "investigate" my purchases. As in many things in life, you get what you pay for, if you spend good money on train set quality locos that may last 10-20 hours, what money have you saved? Spending money on quality equipment that runs like a dream will give you many years of pleasure. Cheap stuff will give you frustration and anxiety, possibly to the point where you drop the hobby completely.
My feeling? I work my rear end off to have what I have, buying something nice for myself occasionally is a reward.
MHO
GS
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
PackerSame here, except my mother works at my bank. She doesn't have to snoop my mail for bank statements, she just looks them up while at work.
I think I would change banks.
[Edit] My wife has been pretty good about my hobby expenditures. She has even spent more that I would getting me items from a wish list for my birthday... The trick is don't go overboard (defined differently for everybody) and there should be no problems. If there are, then the trains are a symptom of a larger problem that needs fixing one way or the other...
grizlump9 SHE has HER dolls and i have my trains. after we finished raising and educating the kids and helping out the grandkids, being of sound mind, we are spending it all. for the poster who mentioned that his wife broke even at the casino, what does she play? the ATM? the only way we ever broke even was to stay home or try to eat $200.00 worth of shrimp on the comp buffet. grizlump
You are right. The odds are that over time she will lose most of what she "plays" with. The odd win is usually offset, and then some, by all the much tinier amounts played on either side of the win, and that goes for all but a lucky few. How else could the casino stay in business unless most people play to lose? Buddy at least has a toy train to show for his spending habits.
selectorgrizlump9 SHE has HER dolls and i have my trains. after we finished raising and educating the kids and helping out the grandkids, being of sound mind, we are spending it all. for the poster who mentioned that his wife broke even at the casino, what does she play? the ATM? the only way we ever broke even was to stay home or try to eat $200.00 worth of shrimp on the comp buffet. grizlump You are right. The odds are that over time she will lose most of what she "plays" with. The odd win is usually offset, and then some, by all the much tinier amounts played on either side of the win, and that goes for all but a lucky few. How else could the casino stay in business unless most people play to lose? Buddy at least has a toy train to show for his spending habits. -Crandell
As I tell my kids: The Casino is not gambling only you are.