How Do You Finance Your Train Purchases?

I keep a running train budget that I put a little in each month. If I see something I might want I wait until a little time goes by to make sure I really want it rather than another item. If the item cost more than the train kittle has in it I also wait. DON'T EXCEED THE BUDGET or you might pay a bigger price with you REAL BOSS .

I find that when I wait I often see something else I like better and quite often for less.

I know some of the guys buy and sell trains to support theit HOBBY(ADICTION_

Have to ALWAYS keep in mind its ONLY A HOBBY and iwe do the hobby to enjoy it and when it gets to the point of taking funds from keeping the household bills paid... maybe it HAS BECOME MORE THAn a hobby and WE NEED TO TAKE STOCK IN WHAT WE ARE DOING.

Have fun and enjoy the hobby but krrp it in its rightful place... A HOBBY

For a while I was considering armed robbery, but then I realized I'm too old and too pretty to go to jail (it's true).  So now I just buy inexpensive trains that I can afford.

Pete

I find a guy to rob named Peter, then search for someone named Paul that sells trains.

Stealth and deception!

In truth, we've stopped acquiring and are reducing our collection due to space constraints...

Dividends and selling off unused/unwanted train items.

Gilly

Several off shore accounts and a money laundering operation.

Jerry

It's a secret. SHHHHH!!!!

I use my kids inherence and they don't know that but they might have to dispose of my empire someday !!!!! 

Beings my retirement income is very limited, I just upgrade now. If I buy something then something must go to pay for the item I just bought. It works for me. 

My military retirement pension covers it, and everything else.  Also I service/repair for two train shops..........

Like Popsrr I keep a running train budget. Every month I have a set amt to add to the budget so if I buy nothing in a particular month it grows.  If there's something I want that's over what's in the tin cup I'll sell something or wait until the tin cup gets full enough for what I want.  Never and I repeat never do I buy something w/o having saved train money in my hands.  Also I never use a credit card for train purchases.

i bought Google at $250.

wild mary:

That's good advice. Being originally from the collector ranks, I borrow, put off payments in a calculated way and do whatever to get the item in hand. Then I worry about the details. When you are collecting some rare stuff you cannot wait to act. I even had a "loan Bob money" plan at work and since I paid good interest I always had takers.

Bob C.

when you have to finance train purchase maybe it is time to ..................................you can fill in the blank..

I coach 2 sports and

fix and repair toy trains.

When you collect, financing buys is normal.Sometimes when I had a good deal cornered I took a bank loan and the bank was very happy to loan  for toy train collector items. I never got into money trouble because I stayed within the limits of my general net worth.

Financing was difficult but fun and a part of the collecting process. You will find a different mentality in a collector than in an operator, and the money issues are different as well.

Of course things can get right out of hand in collecting. I knew of a collector who was given an ultimatum by his wife. He divorced her and went with his trains..

Bob C.

I buy quite a bit from time to time but manage to pay for it all as I go.  One thing I do that helps is that I set aside the money now whenever I pre-order something, so if and when it arrives by surprise there is no problem.   I would not buy if it meant I had to put a loco, no matter how collectible or desired on a card or borrow from anybody, but then that's a general rule at our household not just specific to trains. 

Cutting grass, Odd jobs for neighbors, Recycling metal and selling others trash on Craigslist and ebay.

I also don't eat out.

A $50.00 meal out only lasts for a couple hours " if my IBS does not kick in"

a $50.00 train purchase lasts forever!

I invested in a print press, some various shades of green ink, high quality paper, and bought a cave outside of town....so far so good!!

Alan

I set aside a conservative amount every month and some months there is nothing I need to buy. I don't spend money I don't have on hand and I don't put them on credit cards. Sometimes it takes some months to get what I want and that's fine. If I have some stuff thats lost its luster, I will sell it. I enjoy the hobby but not obsessed to enough to go nuts these days. Knee jerk purchases are in my past. It helps to be more focused as well. Takes the stress out of the household budget or unanticipated cash outlays. 

Some good ones here.

I try to stash a bit away every chance I get, Which is not often enough.

I Buy what I want but I never use credit.

I have been known to skip lunches to do that but A particular Engine or car doesn't come along that often.

And that reminds me, I have Cars at the LHS to pick up.  

If I can't afford to pay cash (or personal check,) I don't buy it.

Rusty

My Train Fund is an old tin can that gets my pocket change.

Eventually enough gets put into the fund to finance a purchase.

A little trading/bartering  for trains also.

dave

When I got back into trains, the prices were relatively low, and I accumulated what

I wanted as a kid, but then as I decided to go high rail, and away from tinplate,

the manufacturers started making more and more of less and less that I was interested in.  So I am actually spending less because it is not available.  What they

want to sell is not what I want to buy  (I have that problem a lot with other consumer

products, too...picky, picky, picky).

I'm divorced and nobody of the female persuasion currently loves me.  Leaves ample train money available!  

Also, I do not watch much TV, so do not have cable TV service (I get about 12 channels over the air).  I figure that alone saves me some $80+ per month. 

I applied for and was granted a modest Federal subsidy under the last round of stimulating stimuli.  Easy.  Plead the need, reap the heap, spend to the end.  Like so many of my fellow applicants, however, it's not all spent, lots left over for future investments purchases at the 'York Barrel', and....  Oh, heck, who am I kidding?  A Congressional candidate will do ANYTHING for a vote.

On the reality side, my wife is the exchequer of the domain.  But, since she's as much (if not more) into this hobby as I, no problem, Joe.  She'll often out-buy me at York, et al.   

Cash.  Worthless cash.

With the changes I've indicated above, Wild Mary has said it all for me.

Worked my butt off for 43 years - that's how.

I'm very fortunate that because of a good pension from UPS & some wise & lucky investments I am able to buy what I want when I want,

Living a lifestyle that ensures a positive cash flow, that goes all the way back to when I first started earning money (at the ripe age of  ... 14 yrs old). Only loan (debt) across my entire lifetime was a mortgage on our 1st home purchased in 1982.  And even that was well within our means, paid off 9 yrs ahead of time.

My personal philosophy: freedom is about being able to do what you want, whenever it becomes appropriate. Freedom seen that way sharpens one's sense of value & priorities!  ...

MasterCard, paid off each month from income. 

Cash on the barrelhead. I use a credit card for convenience, and because I get a rebate, but I pay it off every month. What I can't afford, I don't buy.

Change in the couch cushions. We have plenty of party's and a very comfortable couch! 

There's third type of train guy, and I'm one of them, whom I would describe as

an "Acquirer". We are not Collectors in the Buy It - Sell It sense (and where I live,

like most of the country, has a paucity of train shows), but neither do we always buy things with just Operation in mind, though we tend to operate and not leave things

in boxes, except incidentally. (Things do often go back in the box, never to be seen again,

however.) The type of Acquirer that I am is not an impulse buyer, so things that once

had a "luster" tend to retain it, making parting with it harder. Also, the Operator/Builder

in me will look at some items, particularly RK, Traditional and K-line sub-scale, which

are heading toward the sale table as suddenly a collection of good-quality, useable

project parts. So they stay, too.

True Collectors can sell their stuff to Collect more, and Operators tend to have smaller

inventories, as they don't like to let things sit. But we Acquirers do some of both,

but not enough of either.

With us - and I know one or two like me - it's like a roach motel: they check in, but they never check out.

To make it worse, I'm no longer married (for a long time; you know the saying:

"no wife, happy life"), and, while I'm not rich, I am also not extravagant, so there is

money for any train stuff pretty much when I want it. So now there's too much stuff.

To be honest, my wife and I were supportive of each other's interests, anyway, and

didn't try to boss each other around. So, another early obstacle removed!

Same method, but with Visa.

the rent money

I set aside the cash, when I have enough then I go buy what I'm looking for.  I don't even think about credit.

90% of what I buy is off ebay.  I pay with Paypal & Bill Me Later.  That service usually offers 6 months same as cash on purchases over $100.   I pay off the balances before interest is charged with a class I teach 3 times a year at the university.  I occasionally sell a Railking item and replace it with its Premier counterpart.

I know this is not the best but its how I keep my addiction separate from family finances.  First there is the euphoria of winning the auction, then days later when the train arrives and I unbox and run on my layout.  Eventually the novelty of my latest acquisition subsides and I start shopping ebay for my next win.

I buy whatever I want whenever I want and always pay with a credit card unless there is a discount not to. I use MC, Visa, or AE depending on which offers the most cash back at any given time. Balance is always paid on due date. I should note that the things I want tend to be simple, so what I buy is meager by most standards, though I may opt for the more expensive Atlas or ScaleTrax track when it comes time to build next year. While I'd love a Big Boy, I just can't justify one to myself, especially since I'd have to run it on a club layout that is 45 minutes away.