Collecting Budgets

[renegade3220]

Just thinking about my own budget and the coins I just posted, the "working man's collection" posted by SPQR coins, and then collections like Benito's I was wondering what type of ranges we have on here for collecting budgets.  If money is not spent one month, I am sure many people carry it over to the next to add to their fund.  This is a vote for your one month budget allotment not from carry-over etc.

Not sure if anyone will vote, but the polls are anonymous so nobody should be able to tell any persons particular budget range.

Just thought this may be fun to see what amounts of money people invest into their collections.

[Mat]

I usually do $100-$150. Gonna be doing my first carry over in awhile next month though.

[marcvs_traianvs]

Pretty much depends on what coin is out there....I'll go through periods of months without buying anything and all of a sudden outlay quite a bit so its hard to quantitatively analyze my spending patterns. 

[Steve E]

I usually over spend my budget I need to see about selling blood plasma

[Andrew McCabe]

I usually over spend my budget I need to see about selling blood plasma

I always do. The difficulty comes when something special comes up, just after I've blown the budget for the year.

I'm surprised the voting scale stops so short. After all, unless all those auctions are fictional, we know that on any one major auction at least 100 people spend $1000 plus and many spend $10000 plus. And there are perhaps 100 or 200 major auctions per year (mostly in Europe). Annual turnover on the major auctions alone is in the tens of millions, perhaps among maybe 1000 collectors. So, $1000/month could be low-end for collectors who buy at major auctions. Why would one think they are also not enjoying the chat here on Forum, and that maybe someone answering the poll routinely spends $250,000 and mistakenly puts his vote in the $200-$300 box, assuming there's an $000 at the end. $250,000 per coin I mean. They are real coins and real people buy them.

[casata137ec]

My theoretical budget is 0-50...and the closer to 0 the better as far as my wife is concerned. In actuallity it is closer to 50-100, but I do side work like a crazy man to justify this (speaking of working man's collection!). I try to do my damndest not to touch anything from our paychecks to pay for coinage (my wife's hours literally just got cut in half). Hmmm...maybe I need to pare back for a while...I am lucky though. My worn bronze collection, although usually having a higher starting price due to obscurity, usually does not have too much competition, so I usually am able to get what I want without too much trouble.

Chris

PS I have often thought about this (it would be awsome to be able to buy big pretty silver or a gold stater without worrying about a house payment...or food), but I am kinda happy I have to bust my backside for every coin I have. I appreciate them a heck of a lot more (at least that is what I tell myself!).
C.

[*Alex]

PS I have often thought about this (it would be awsome to be able to buy big pretty silver or a gold stater without worrying about a house payment...or food), but I am kinda happy I have to bust my backside for every coin I have. I appreciate them a heck of a lot more (at least that is what I tell myself!).
C.

Yes, I completely agree. Anyone, provided they have enough money, can buy superb coins. But if those coins are immediately locked away in some dark vault, never again to be handled, their history never personally researched or appreciated by the buyer then to my mind they are not in the hands of a true collector. They are in the hands of a philistine. 

Alex.

[renegade3220]

I usually over spend my budget I need to see about selling blood plasma

I always do. The difficulty comes when something special comes up, just after I've blown the budget for the year.

I'm surprised the voting scale stops so short. After all, unless all those auctions are fictional, we know that on any one major auction at least 100 people spend $1000 plus and many spend $10000 plus. And there are perhaps 100 or 200 major auctions per year (mostly in Europe). Annual turnover on the major auctions alone is in the tens of millions, perhaps among maybe 1000 collectors. So, $1000/month could be low-end for collectors who buy at major auctions. Why would one think they are also not enjoying the chat here on Forum, and that maybe someone answering the poll routinely spends $250,000 and mistakenly puts his vote in the $200-$300 box, assuming there's an $000 at the end. $250,000 per coin I mean. They are real coins and real people buy them.

Andrew, good point, but I didn't want a million options on the poll.  I figured the below 1000 range would be the majority of collectors when thinking of how much would be spent in a year.  I guess I should add some more options...  What would you add?

1k-2k
2k-3k
3k-4k
4k-5k
5k-10k
10k-50k
50k-100k
100k+

EDIT - I went ahead and added the options.  Yes, two people already voted $1,000+ but no biggy. We will see if anyone here picks above that range.

[Andrew McCabe]

Andrew, good point, but I didn't want a million options on the poll.  I figured the below 1000 range would be the majority of collectors when thinking of how much would be spent in a year.  I guess I should add some more options...  What would you add?

I was only really joking, but thanks! Somehow I'd imagine the big rollers are busy inventing facebook or stuff like that and likely beyond chatting on Forum. But let's see.

[commodus]

I really try to stick more to an annual budget than a monthly one. I voted based on average of last year's purchases divided by twelve and came out slightly over the budget I'd set for the year. This year I set the budget a bit higher. My spending varies pretty widely from month to month. There hasn't been a month in years when I bought nothing, but there are many occasions when I spend only, say, $50 or $100 a month for a couple of months running, only to spend several grand the next.

[Minos]

More than I can spend unfortunately

[renegade3220]

Andrew, good point, but I didn't want a million options on the poll.  I figured the below 1000 range would be the majority of collectors when thinking of how much would be spent in a year.  I guess I should add some more options...  What would you add?

I was only really joking, but thanks! Somehow I'd imagine the big rollers are busy inventing facebook or stuff like that and likely beyond chatting on Forum. But let's see.

It may have been a joke (and I kind of took it that way), but it really did have a good point. Some people here have extensive collections and who knows how much they really spend. That, and your comment made me wonder.

It will be interesting to see, but I think my original options were suffiecient. Who knows though, some people here may spend 10k or so in a year on coins.

Like comodus said, he had to break his down from yearly to monthly but it can still add up when you drop a couple thousand here and there throughout the year.

[Andrew McCabe]

It may have been a joke (and I kimd of took it that way), but it really did have a good point. Some people here have extensive collections and who knows how much they really spend. That, and your comment made me wonder.

It will be interesting to see, but I think my origj al options were suffiecient. Who knows though, some people here may spend 10k or so in a year on coins.

Like comodus said, he had to break his down from yearly to monthly but it can still add up when you drop a couple thousand here and there throughout the year.

My five most budget-smashing coins are shown below. All are nice, and all very rare too. Not one of them is the sort of high-end coin that my prior post was referring to.

Only one of them came from eBay.

[commodus]

If I could, I'd spend more, but all these darned less important things like food, electricity, insurance, and traveling to see the in-laws at Christmas interfere!

[Mat]

If I could, I'd spend more, but all these darned less important things like food, electricity, insurance, and traveling to see the in-laws at Christmas interfere!

Cant forget the amazing gas prices we have now too

[Lloyd Taylor]

Budget is one thing, reality of spend is altogether different.

I budget for about a third of what I seem to end up spending, when annualized.

My wardrobe, etc., suffers as a result, but I console myself that in these times of QE2, money printing by central banks and emerging price inflation that what I have will at least hold some value, while my wardrobe and other consumption items will be worth zip in a few years or less..... at least that is my rationalization of my behavior. 

Needless to say, I am hardly a picture of sartorial elegance, but I think my coin collection is pretty good. Its all a matter of priorities and I am beyond the age of pulling chicks etc., when wardrobe counts for something.  My wife on the other hand...

[Andrew McCabe]

If I could, I'd spend more, but all these darned less important things like food, electricity, insurance, and traveling to see the in-laws at Christmas interfere!

Cant forget the amazing gas prices we have now too

"Important things like travelling to see the in-laws at Christmas".

Hmph.

"amazing gas prices".

A factor I don't really understand as I'm a European living in a proto-ancient-design city. I'd say that I usually take buses, trains, metros, trams and bicycles except even that would be to assert an over-reliance on mechanical transport. Just like the Romans, I walk most places I need to go. When places are beyond walking distance, I reassess whether there's a need to go. I get larger stuff delivered and drink tap water to avoid carrying kilos of liquid all the time (for wine, I make an exception). Butchers, bakers, bookshops, bars and beauticians are all accessible on foot, as are archaeological museums and such necessaries of life. I do need to travel, although not far, to reach a world class numismatic library, but luckily I've a fine selection at home. Unfortunately for my work, I burn tons of kerosene each few weeks, jetting to unnecessary places. However it's not some misguided sense of conservation that keeps me in walkable cities most of my life. It's because life as the Roman's would have enjoyed it, on foot, can be pleasant and full of luxuries at the same time.

[renegade3220]

If I could, I'd spend more, but all these darned less important things like food, electricity, insurance, and traveling to see the in-laws at Christmas interfere!

Cant forget the amazing gas prices we have now too

"Important things like travelling to see the in-laws at Christmas".

Hmph.

"amazing gas prices".

A factor I don't really understand as I'm a European living in a proto-ancient-design city. I'd say that I usually take buses, trains, metros, trams and bicycles except even that would be to assert an over-reliance on mechanical transport. Just like the Romans, I walk most places I need to go. When places are beyond walking distance, I reassess whether there's a need to go. I get larger stuff delivered and drink tap water to avoid carrying kilos of liquid all the time (for wine, I make an exception). Butchers, bakers, bookshops, bars and beauticians are all accessible on foot, as are archaeological museums and such necessaries of life. I do need to travel, although not far, to reach a world class numismatic library, but luckily I've a fine selection at home. Unfortunately for my work, I burn tons of kerosene each few weeks, jetting to unnecessary places. However it's not some misguided sense of conservation that keeps me in walkable cities most of my life. It's because life as the Roman's would have enjoyed it, on foot, can be pleasant and full of luxuries at the same time.

Ahh, such a different way of life from th US. Heck we can't even walk on moving walkways in airports! Something that really ticks me off. We are so lazy we ge on the walkway and block the way. The stinking things are there so you can get to your plane faster. Grrr, those people make me made because it is slower than just not using the thing and walking beside it! pet peeve!!

Heck we can't even walk up escalators. Another annoying thing...

On a side note, look at the polls so far! Looks like I am not the only one with a small budget!

At Lloyd- I wish I could spend two thirds over my budget! But, if I did I would actually have to get a job and make my wife get a fourth And that is a joke for all those who are unsure!

[Enodia]

i can't see any sense of conservation being misguided in these days of conspicuous waste, and i am very conscious of packaging material, reusability, recyclability etc. in fact i'm sitting here right now screaming at all the useless crap that came with the new TV i just had to run out and buy (farewell reliable old JVC      ). i figure this new TV cost me a didrachm!
but someone once told me there are two ways to have enough... one is to aquire more, the other is to desire less. i am trying to retrain myself to the latter, coins notwithstanding. 

my budget is extremely limited. i chose the $0-50 option, but in reality even that is a bit ambitious.
about 18 months ago my wife was forced to leave her job due to health reasons, and she is now locked in a battle with the disability people which will probably take another 18 months or more to resolve. until then we have but the one income, so i give myself an allowance of $10/week for everyday expenses. if there is anything left at the end of the week it goes into a jar, and when that jar has enough for a coin then i can buy one, but as you can imagine it takes quite some time. i figure i can buy one nice coin a year and perhaps 2 or 3 'budget' coins in that same span. as a result i am very picky about what i buy.

~ Peter

[Lloyd Taylor]

.... as I'm a European living in a proto-ancient-design city. I'd say that I usually take buses, trains, metros, trams and bicycles except even that would be to assert an over-reliance on mechanical transport. Just like the Romans, I walk most places I need to go. ......Unfortunately for my work, I burn tons of kerosene each few weeks, jetting to unnecessary places.

Reads like you might work for a certain 'big oil' in London, rather than the Hague?

[cliff_marsland]

I do ok, because I'm Jack Benny level cheap in everyday expenses, but I'm certainly not posh. One certainly has to be stingy to have the heat set at 61 in the winter. I could turn it up, but I don't choose to.  It's all about opportunity costs.

Insofar as coins,  I go for rarities if possible, but they're often middle to lower grade. I usually go for the rare one in moderate to worn condition than the nice, common one.  I only buy coins of a few hundred dollars or higher when I'm comfortable that I can spare the money, or it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing.  I guess the moderately expensive coins would bump me up higher than 100 a month on average, but it's about 100 a month without the outliers.  If I cut out restaurants and newspapers (I subscribe to 3) I could buy more coins, but I don't choose to.   Cable TV, which fluctuates by the season due to the baseball package,  comes out to about twice my normal numismatic expenditures, but I enjoy watching baseball and Top Gear, so that's not going either.

Having a house means that money often goes to less sexy things, such as sump pumps, a new lawn mower, etc.  I was also hoping to treat myself to a Cadillac Fleetwood as a toy of sorts, the last decent Cadillac made, before they became too ancient, assuming I come across a nice deal.  I drive used cars, but they're fully paid for, so I'm living the Dave Ramsey dream for the most part.  Good thing I only drive land yachts! I wouldn't have fit said lawn mower into a Smart Car.

The fluctuations in gas prices don't really bother me (and I only drive gas guzzlers and have a fairly hefty commute), but don't get me wrong.  I'd rather it be 0.83 a gallon again. 

Anyway, coins are a hobby and one should only spend what one can afford without going into debt.  One can still get interesting coins on a budget, and if it makes one happy, that's all that counts.

[commodus]

If I could, I'd spend more, but all these darned less important things like food, electricity, insurance, and traveling to see the in-laws at Christmas interfere!

Cant forget the amazing gas prices we have now too

I was joking around, of course.

The gas prices aren't too much of a problem -- yet. We're spoiled in the US. Compared to European gas prices, gas is still pretty cheap here.

[benito]

I have often read in this and other  FORA about coin collecting as the HOBBY OF KINGS. It seems,after reading the results of the POLL, that Royals no longer collect
coins or that they are not members of Forumancientcoins. 

[rover1.3]

I have often read in this and other  FORA about coin collecting as the HOBBY OF KINGS.

On the other hand, i have never heard of coin collecting as the HOBBY OF THE TROLLS...  

Best regards

rover

[renegade3220]

Just so it is easier to see so far for those that are like me and enjoy big colorful pictures. 

This is at 42 votes