Embarrassed? No. Does she know how much I spend? Not necessarily.
However the first words out of her mouth every time she see’s the UPS truck on our road are “what did you buy now?”. She doesn’t care though.
When the UPS driver made deliveries 3 days in a row to my front porch, my wife’s comment: “It is nice of you to make sure the driver doesn’t get laid off from lack of business”. As long as the bills are paid, and she has her needs met, and I don’t balk at her wants, “honey, I think we need a spa to help our aches and pains”, then all is well. I don’t try to hide what I buy, she often comes down to see what is new, she has helped with scenery, wiring, even some carpentry. I keep data bases on my desktop and laptop that show the individual cars, diesels, their purchase price, est. value which are for insurance purposes. She knows who to call if I die and she needs to sell it off. So I would say I am not embarassed, just blessed.
Bob
How timely. Actaully my wife and I were having a discussion on how much I spend on trains just acouple days ago. The conclusion: I don’t spend enough!
This needs some clarification I’m sure.
As a generality I’m rather frugal (that’s the politically correct phrase anyways) and keeping my eye on things that may need future investment. So for the last couple years my hobby spending has been to the tune of $300 a year or so. Been saving up for new windows for the house, new bed and mattress, drywall work and gutters for the shop, etc. Shop still needs gutters and the house will be due for a roof and furnace in a couple years.
Guess I finally got jealous of the kid who seems to get whatever toy’s (computer, video games) he wants. Yep Momma spoils him. I vented.
So Momma looks at me and says “Why don’t you get what you want? We can afford it.” then points out that business has been good so far this year, we have paid for all the big expenses this year, icreased our savings balance and even managed to pay off some large credit card balances (run up when starting a business and building a shop) “What do you have to feel bad about? You’ve worked hard, go splurge!”
So I’m going to order up 4 Huellets and maybe a Blast furnace…[:-^]
I have nothing about which to be embarrassed. My wife & I don’t have competing interests where we justify our own spending sprees by toting out the other’s latest purchase. We have a single bank account from which we finance all purchases so it’s hard to hide. I’ve always been cheap when it comes to buying things for myself anyway, and just making ends meet with our sizeable family on my lone modest salary means I am of necessity very judicious in hobby expenditures. (Case in point: I stopped by the LHS yesterday to pick up a couple of packages of #22 Kadee couplers and almost didn’t because it would cost almost $9 with taxes).
So we don’t make secret purchases that would need to be explained if discovered. I don’t run out and accumulate the latest must-haves. I already have more train stuff than I really need anyway. Truth be told, I find it saddening to read “She buys that so I can buy this” and “She’d explode if she knew what I spend” type of posts. That’s doing things the wrong way.
Just my [2c]. I will now dismount from my [soapbox].
Hi again!
I have to add (to my first post)…
As someone wrote, “embarrassed” has no place in our hobby. Regarding spending, as long as the essentials are taken care of first, what is spent on trains (or any hobby for that matter) is OK.
In my 60 some odd years of being a train nut, I have probably spent a good $25k on model trains (including a Lionel postwar collection), with most of the big dollars were spent in the last ten years.
During that time, my neighbors have bought Cadillacs, Lexus, and Vettes - while I am strictly a “Ford Guy”. Several also have boats, jet skis, Honda Gold Wings, and the like. Frankly, just a few years depreciation on their “toys” is easily more than I spend on trains.
My point is, we all have our liesure priorities to spend bucks on. And while our hobby is certainly not inexpensive, it pales when compared to many other “more acceptable” pasttimes.
Regarding our spouses, I suggest that they fully realize that model railroading is going to keep their significant others at home, or with other like minded friends, and safe from harm (or straying).
Just my observation…
Mobilman44
I haven’t gone completely crazy with spending on this hobby. I am, however, happy that nobody has been doing a running tally![:-^] She may not approve if it was all added up. I try to remind her what I could spend golfing.
I’m glad I spent what I did in the past two years. I’m in ‘save as much as you can’ mode right now so there’s little money for trains. I did splurge on one more box of super trees before the funding is cut off. I just couldn’t leave my hillside bare. I have more than enough other projects to keep me busy for quite some time though after that.
Embarrassed isn’t the right word. My father raised me to believe that you should never do anything you wouldn’t want published on the front page of the New York Times, and then you don’t have to worry when something you do does end up there (not that I would ever be so famous).
$50 of each paycheck (or about $100 a month) goes into my hobby account. My wife knows that when I’m spending money on trains, I’m paying out of that account. All square.
My wife supports my train hobby. I have a self imposed budget. She does not understand much about trains, so she keeps a list of my train wants, at her request, and uses it to purchase gifts for me. My first sound locomotive (Atlas MP15) was a gift from my wife.
My wife likes and collects American Girl Dolls. I keep a list of what she likes, in fact most of the dolls and furniture have been purchased by me as gifts.
I don’t have a finance manager, if you know what I mean. I have plenty of extra cash to spend on trains. I started with completely nothing only 8 months ago. So I have been spending more than the average modeler. But I need stuff, lots of stuff.
Am I embarrassed, no I think my LHS loves me. I’m there at least 1-2 times a week.
Am I having fun…you bet.
The Constitution of the United States begins as follows:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility…
So, in keeping with the “domestic tranquility” part, I don’t tell my wife what I spend on trains.
I have been selling more than buying so the net income has been larger than the net output, so no I am not embarrassed, it was never much to start off with.
My everlovin’ and I have no issue on this subject: she agrees that I don’t spend as much as I would like to; I agree that she thinks I spend more than I should.
Actually there is no problem: I have an allowance and I (pretty much) stick to it . . . . . . . . . she has an allowance and I don’t think she sticks to it but I don’t really care!
Is that selling at a profit above what you paid? Or selling off unwanted items at a loss and simply not spending all of the recovered funds?
Sure, I have bought a few things in 40 years that I ended up not wanting or needing, but I suspect I could count them on my fingers and toes.
I will never understand those who buy stuff they don’t really want, trains or otherwise.
As for my spending and my wife, we have no secrets and are both conservative spenders in relation to our resources, so we get along just fine. She seldon if ever asks or notices just like I don’t comment on what she spends. Again, our conservative natures keep us in check without much attention from each other.
She has been known to spend a great deal on trains for me as gifts. And likewise me on her for jewelry, cars, big Victorian house, etc - trains, even a lot of them are cheap in comparison.
Sheldon
I always like the stuff at the time I buy it, but I may change my mind later, or get “buyer’s remorse” and then sell it.
As my disposable income is now less than it was, I had to make some changes: the expensive steam power is all gone, replaced with Atlas diesels, including mostly ones that were available at bargain prices. I scoured Ebay and online dealers to find engines I wanted (that my son liked, too) at bargain prices. Some of my Ebay sales proceeds went toward a brief vacation we are taking shortly, some into car repairs, and some into medical bills for a minor surgery.
My total investment in trains is maybe about $2000 at any given time.
John
That one works for me every time except when it comes to working on her Shelby
No, but you get free vegetables and occasionalyl free shoes if you can “catch” a deal…
How much? I’ve still got my Gibson and my Fender Jaguar from that era. I was really happy when my daughter decided that the guitar was her instrument, after trying piano and trombone.
This forum is a little disturbing, it seems to be a discussion on who spends the most money on a (hobby) some comments are a bit embarrassing like hiding expenses from your wife. It seems in some cases replies are from people with a little too much money, if they are to be believed at all.
People with “too much money”? There is no such thing as too much money if you earned it.
Maybe they can be believed, maybe not - no different than any other conversation on here.
I don’t know what thread you have been reading, but I read a lot of comments of all types and views.
And by the very nature of the thread, I did not take any of it too seriously, even if I chose to comment somewhat seriously.
Believing or not believing what people say is a matter of trust, I am reluctant to trust anyone who’s world view could suggest I, or anyone, have too much money.
And there are many on here by virtue of their posts who have made it very clear they have way more money than me. Good for them.
Sheldon