I think I need help.
I can't stop buying for my army :(
My credit card is sitting on maxed-out and today was payday. So I tell myself "I'm going to get that card paid off, I've got to"
I make a payment to my card then tell myself "ok, now don't buy anything and next pay make another payment on the card"

About an hour later...
purchased 1 more droppod and a stormwolf for my army...


I think it's time for intervention

Well, the first step to recovery is admitting there's a problem. So you're on the right track!

LOL Yeah, maybe I'll get this curbed by the time I have enough pieces to complete the entire chapter army...

Oh wait, then there's AoS

How much of your stuff is painted? If you have a lot of unpainted stuff you could try focussing on painting, tell yourself you can't buy any new stuff until everything is painted.

As a non-american, I would just get rid of the credit card, and go for a debit card. So at least you can't spend money you don't have (and end-up buying your stuff at a higher price because of interests).
I know credit cards are a big thing in the US, but I think they go hand in hand with impulse buying.

If you are spending money you don't have - you have a problem. Unless you need that thing to live ofc.

You need to talk to some people in real life. Friends and family. Admit to them the harsh reality that you've spent too much on that stuff. I need you to cancel those purchases (it is early enough that you can do this). You don't need them right now, and they'll be there 6 months from now.

Next, try this method to learn a great way to slow your purchases; paint before you buy. Make a rule to yourself - you won't buy a new unit until you're finished painting the last one you bought. Even if you're a speed painter, this will probably put a week's wait between purchases.

Take care. Shoot me a PM is you need any other help!

fresus wrote:
As a non-american, I would just get rid of the credit card, and go for a debit card. So at least you can't spend money you don't have (and end-up buying your stuff at a higher price because of interests).
I know credit cards are a big thing in the US, but I think they go hand in hand with impulse buying.

Yeah, credit cards are the devil, debit card all the way. All the comodities of a bank card without the problem of spending more money that you have.

Almost none of it is painted because I decided my skills have improved a little so it's time to repaint everything! LOL

The Credit card is helping to build my credit by making on-time payments (I actually make extra payments each month) and it's not like it's money I don't have since I basically make a payment to the card, then use the card to spend the payment I just made.

However, I do need to get it paid down so that a) my credit to debt ratio is better and b) in case of emergency funds.

I made a $200 payment this morning and spent $100 of it, so if I can just hold off till next pay then I'll be a little better off when I make the next payment. (which will be another $200) even though my monthly payment only needs to be $25

kaotkbliss wrote:
Almost none of it is painted because I decided my skills have improved a little so it's time to repaint everything! LOL

The Credit card is helping to build my credit by making on-time payments (I actually make extra payments each month) and it's not like it's money I don't have since I basically make a payment to the card, then use the card to spend the payment I just made.

However, I do need to get it paid down so that a) my credit to debt ratio is better and b) in case of emergency funds.

I made a $200 payment this morning and spent $100 of it, so if I can just hold off till next pay then I'll be a little better off when I make the next payment. (which will be another $200) even though my monthly payment only needs to be $25

If you're making impulse purchases you can't afford, then you're not going to significantly build your credit by using the credit card. You are literally doing the thing that causes people to have bad credit.

From your descriptions of your army, you do actually have a problem with impulse purchases. Take away your ability to do that. Establish a penalty for yourself for it by switching to a card that runs out of money when you hit zero. whether or not this was a jokey ha ha i'm so addicted thread, if this is a real problem, take the step to stop it.

Fortunately I'm not making purchases I can't afford, but it seems I really do have an impulse buying problem (when it comes to warhammer) And if I do let it continue, then I probably will end up making purchases I can't afford (ie spending bill money or missing card payments).
My credit card already doesn't let me spend more money than is on it and same with my bank and I prefer it that way.

simple fix, you said almost none of it is painted soo.... PAINT for both you and your opponents sake. Nobody likes setting up against a sea of grey.

instead of buying PAINT. much easier to buy, you have to have some dedication and initiative to paint.

the_scotsman wrote:
If you're making impulse purchases you can't afford, then you're not going to significantly build your credit by using the credit card. You are literally doing the thing that causes people to have bad credit.

From your descriptions of your army, you do actually have a problem with impulse purchases. Take away your ability to do that. Establish a penalty for yourself for it by switching to a card that runs out of money when you hit zero. whether or not this was a jokey ha ha i'm so addicted thread, if this is a real problem, take the step to stop it.

Using a card, but paying it off when or before it is due helps your credit rating, not hinders it...

BUT...

I don't think your credit rating is the issue here. The issue is spending money you don't have on things you don't need. Honestly, the first step was telling strangers online. The next step is telling a real-life person and agreeing a plan to not keep doing this.

I have the same problem on a smaller scale, so I know how hard it is to stop. (Rather, I probably spend a lot more than you, but have a lot more disposable income, I expect, but the problem is the same at its root.)

I doubt there is a "plastic crack" support group anywhere, but there are generic "addiction" support groups for anything from gambling to drugs to porn to shopping for shoes. That might seem OTT, but could help. It is possible the underlying problem is that the game is awesome, but more likely is the rush associated with the purchase, not the actual item being purchased itself, so a support group for dealing with that sort of rush is a legitimate choice.

http://www.shopaholicsanonymous.org/

I keep telling myself that.

"I need to get painting what I already have. So no more purchases until I get at least a good chunk done..."

And then I see a good deal on something that I either have been wanting to add to my army, or part of the army I've been wanting to expand on.

Such as I only had a single Rhino, then a deal popped up for 5 Rhinos for like $50 or that I've not had any TWC in my army at all, then I was able to pick up 6 of them for $40

You're not an addict yet. Wait till you start grinding resin models down into powder and snorting them.

kaotkbliss wrote:
I keep telling myself that.

"I need to get painting what I already have. So no more purchases until I get at least a good chunk done..."

And then I see a good deal on something that I either have been wanting to add to my army, or part of the army I've been wanting to expand on.

Such as I only had a single Rhino, then a deal popped up for 5 Rhinos for like $50 or that I've not had any TWC in my army at all, then I was able to pick up 6 of them for $40

Deal hunting is definitely the biggest pitfall to me (and many others) and to me, the core of the matter was just...thinking about why these deals exist in the first place, lol.

I put a ban on myself buying anything time-gated a year ago - instead, I created a list of "things I would purchase for my armies". When I complete a paint project, I go to the list, and look around for it. I do check ebay, barter sites etc first, but if they don't beat the discount I get from my local store (and they rarely do) I just buy it there.

It keeps me from spending more to get more models I don't necessarily need, and it keeps me from starting new projects impulsively because I don't even consider something if it hasn't been on the list of "things I would want/need" for less than a few months.

Of course, it does mean I end up with a lot more armies on the shelf or casual-only as I no longer buy models to correct problems with my lists. As soon as I finish these Kairic Acolytes on my table (I sorely underestimated how long it would take to do a good job on 20 very detailed models....curse you for being so swole, tzeentch cultists! would it kill you to wear nerd-robes?) I'm finally going to be able to get around to getting a couple transports for my Genestealer Cult, who are 0-5 in the new edition so far.

Well fortunately at this point, I now have a little bit of everything for my army so holding back from impulse purchases will I pray, be a lot easier.

And I really need to get these suckers painted!

kaotkbliss wrote:
Well fortunately at this point, I now have a little bit of everything for my army so holding back from impulse purchases will I pray, be a lot easier.

And I really need to get these suckers painted!

Then just put a ban on buying anything for a while. No purchases besides the occasional paint. Don't even plan for purchases, or look at sites for buying stuff. The "paint time barrier" is one reason this hobby works so well for me when other collectible hobbies were so damaging for my wallet - it's not like a card game where I can open the pack, get that endorphin rush, and put them in a box and start to want to buy another card pack.

If I didnt have to devote a solid couple hours to each new mini...jeez, I'd be spending all my money.

I had my whole army painted back at gencon. Then I spent over $500 on more stuff, then I spent some more when I got home....and a little more after that....I eventually decided I had more than I needed and I needed to paint it. I have been drudging through painting everything I recently purchased. I've gotten quite a bit done already but still have lots to do. I've even told myself that I won't play any more games until I'm done painting most of it. That's given me quite a bit of motivation to get it done. Plus I love playing with a fully painted army.

First question why a drop pod?

Second WHY A DROP POD???

I personally have an addiction to sales

and miniature market is my drug dealer. :X

the_scotsman wrote:

kaotkbliss wrote:
Well fortunately at this point, I now have a little bit of everything for my army so holding back from impulse purchases will I pray, be a lot easier.

And I really need to get these suckers painted!

Then just put a ban on buying anything for a while. No purchases besides the occasional paint. Don't even plan for purchases, or look at sites for buying stuff. The "paint time barrier" is one reason this hobby works so well for me when other collectible hobbies were so damaging for my wallet - it's not like a card game where I can open the pack, get that endorphin rush, and put them in a box and start to want to buy another card pack.

If I didnt have to devote a solid couple hours to each new mini...jeez, I'd be spending all my money.

Yeah. That's the great saver in this hobby that keeps price relatively reasonable. Keep yourself PAINTING unpainted models and then buy more stuff. That way you avoid that impulse buy that lasts very short time. Painting unit takes quite a bit of time so if you keep painting you have less need to buy all the time.

Now albeit that can be problematic...Need to get better at it!

Moral issue comes with stuff you get alongside the stuff you really aimed for Like sisters of silence(10) I have from burning of prospero boxes. I got those for the space marines! What to do with sisters? Don't feel like selling them either...But they sure aren't top of priority...ARGH!

tneva82 wrote:

the_scotsman wrote:

kaotkbliss wrote:
Well fortunately at this point, I now have a little bit of everything for my army so holding back from impulse purchases will I pray, be a lot easier.

And I really need to get these suckers painted!

Then just put a ban on buying anything for a while. No purchases besides the occasional paint. Don't even plan for purchases, or look at sites for buying stuff. The "paint time barrier" is one reason this hobby works so well for me when other collectible hobbies were so damaging for my wallet - it's not like a card game where I can open the pack, get that endorphin rush, and put them in a box and start to want to buy another card pack.

If I didnt have to devote a solid couple hours to each new mini...jeez, I'd be spending all my money.

Yeah. That's the great saver in this hobby that keeps price relatively reasonable. Keep yourself PAINTING unpainted models and then buy more stuff. That way you avoid that impulse buy that lasts very short time. Painting unit takes quite a bit of time so if you keep painting you have less need to buy all the time.

Now albeit that can be problematic...Need to get better at it!

Moral issue comes with stuff you get alongside the stuff you really aimed for Like sisters of silence(10) I have from burning of prospero boxes. I got those for the space marines! What to do with sisters? Don't feel like selling them either...But they sure aren't top of priority...ARGH!

I don't buy box sets unless I want absolutely everything in the box. Otherwise, I just buy the parts I want aftermarket.

hobojebus wrote:
First question why a drop pod?

Second WHY A DROP POD???

Never had or used a drop pod before. And to be able to plonk a storm bolter or deathwind launcher just about anywhere at any time on the table with a fresh squad seems like it could be useful

kaotkbliss wrote:
I keep telling myself that.
"I need to get painting what I already have. So no more purchases until I get at least a good chunk done..."
And then I see a good deal on something that I either have been wanting to add to my army, or part of the army I've been wanting to expand on.
Such as I only had a single Rhino, then a deal popped up for 5 Rhinos for like $50 or that I've not had any TWC in my army at all, then I was able to pick up 6 of them for $40

There's always another good deal down the road... You aren't missing out on anything. I'm sitting on 2k of unpainted still on the sprue KDK. I want to start a GSC army, but I won't let myself until my Khorne is painted.

 Desubot wrote:
I personally have an addiction to sales

and miniature market is my drug dealer. :X

I live in STL and get to pick up everything from MM at the store.

I'm going to force myself, no more purchases! At least, not until my card is completely paid off.

I've got 3 bids going currently on ebay, but that's money I have set aside in my bank and I'm not going to use my credit on those. I also have my bid set at the most I'll pay (which is actually lower than what those units usually go for so I'm really expecting not to win any of those auctions) so if it goes over that, then I don't get the item and that money will go for an extra 3rd payment to my card this month.

40k. It costs your time, it costs your money, it costs your life (wife).
You can't get out of the spiral.

 wuestenfux wrote:
40k. It costs your time, it costs your money, it costs your life (wife).
You can't get out of the spiral.

I have a buddy who is currently being forced to sell 40k stuff to pay for his divorce... Irony in action.

Yeah, I definitely need to stop before that happens :O

the_scotsman wrote:
I don't buy box sets unless I want absolutely everything in the box. Otherwise, I just buy the parts I want aftermarket.

Pretty sure all the miniatures minun sisters of silence would add up to more than the box set fully costs. That's still 3 squads of marines, 2 HQ and custodians.

Plus not that they are COMPLETELY useless. Just not on priority. I would probably get them later anyway so...

kaotkbliss wrote:
Almost none of it is painted because I decided my skills have improved a little so it's time to repaint everything! LOL

The Credit card is helping to build my credit by making on-time payments (I actually make extra payments each month) and it's not like it's money I don't have since I basically make a payment to the card, then use the card to spend the payment I just made.

However, I do need to get it paid down so that a) my credit to debt ratio is better and b) in case of emergency funds.

I made a $200 payment this morning and spent $100 of it, so if I can just hold off till next pay then I'll be a little better off when I make the next payment. (which will be another $200) even though my monthly payment only needs to be $25

Unfortunately, unless your credit card has a $200 max (which I doubt) this is not what you can afford. If you're not are paying down the credit card in full you are going to get killed on the 15-20% interest rate. While it may not seem like a lot month to month it adds up very quickly if you look at your statements. That $100 flyer just turned into $120. That would be for every purchase you make

Not to be a downer but I really hope you find a helpful way to cut down on the purchases. Some people had some great advice in here (Yarium & Fifty). I have seen many of my friends not be able to do things they wanted, like moving out on their own, because of spending lots cash on things for pleasure. I hope you figure out something, and I like others are here if you would like to PM me.

kaotkbliss wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
First question why a drop pod?

Second WHY A DROP POD???

Never had or used a drop pod before. And to be able to plonk a storm bolter or deathwind launcher just about anywhere at any time on the table with a fresh squad seems like it could be useful

Problem being they got hit by nerfbat in 8th ed HARD. I might get few but that's for 30k that stays in 7th ed so they aren't useless there. But 8th ed...Seems of dubious use.

 Smushed wrote:


Unfortunately, unless your credit card has a $200 max (which I doubt) this is not what you can afford. Unless you are paying down the credit card in full you are going to get killed on the 15-20% interest rate. While it may not seem like a lot month to month it adds up very quickly if you look at your statements.

Not to be a downer but I really hope you find a helpful way to cut down on the purchases. Some people had some great advice in here (Yarium & Fifty). I have seen many of my friends not be able to do things they wanted, like moving out on their own, because of spending lots cash on things for pleasure. I hope you figure out something, and I like others are here if you would like to PM me.

No it doesn't have a $200 max, but I can have it paid off fully if I can simply not buy anything on it for 2 months (a month and a half if I can keep myself from buying starting now)

*edit*
I think that's part of what's making this harder is that I know I can have it paid off so easy so it's like "Well if I only buy this 1 item, it won't make any difference in paying it off." Then next thing I know I've spent half my payment (Like today) so then it becomes "I'll start over next pay and not buy anything then"

Easy, get married....goodbye extra time/money!

I go by the general rule of thumb. Build, Paint, Play. Then buy. I try to avoid buying something new unless i've painted and played with what i have already.

The lone exception to this rule is a drop pod i purchased towards the end of 7th, and then suddenly they became total garbage. It's still NIB.

I am about to amp up my Orks collection though.

 SlaveToDorkness wrote:
Easy, get married....goodbye extra time/money!

LOL I pretty much am married now. Been living together for 11 1/2 years

GW accepts returns at an ytime for any reason with proof of purchase.

Consider how many more models you can get over time when you aren't making 80% of your payments to interest.

I strongly advise you make some wise returns and focus on painting for a while.

@OP - if you're going into credit card debt (at 20+%) to buy things that you don't need, you need to seriously re-examine your life.

Financially, you have fethed up. Big time. You need to unfeth yourself before something bad happens.

Return everything that you can, then sell everything that you don't need on eBay.

Get your credit card down to Zero before you buy anything else.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
@OP - if you're going into credit card debt (at 20+%) to buy things that you don't need, you need to seriously re-examine your life.

Financially, you have fethed up. Big time. You need to unfeth yourself before something bad happens.

Return everything that you can, then sell everything that you don't need on eBay.

Get your credit card down to Zero before you buy anything else.

I wouldn't say it's a huge feth-up. I know it's a problem and I need to stop buying but what I owe on my card is less than half of what I bring home in 1 paycheck so it's not huge. And there-in lies my weakness because it's so easily fixed by simply postponing any purchases for a couple pays that it's way to easy to procrastinate and tell myself "I'll get it next time". That's what I need to STOP doing, get it paid.

Then I can take that $200 that was going to my card, then to my collection and just simply put it straight to my collection LOL JK, maybe only half that or a quarter.

If you have $200 a month in your budget to spend on models then go for it, but as you just said it would be better spent directly on the product instead of by going to unnecessary credit card debt.

 Luciferian wrote:
If you have $200 a month in your budget to spend on models then go for it, but as you just said it would be better spent directly on the product instead of by going to unnecessary credit card debt.

Definitely. And I think to help keep me on track I'll keep this thread updated of my progress so if I slip-up I can get blasted with net-rage to get me back on track. I think I can keep from slipping though. Mind over minis...

Tell yourself not to buy anything until your codex comes out. That way you won't be stuck for years with weak units.

kaotkbliss wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
@OP - if you're going into credit card debt (at 20+%) to buy things that you don't need, you need to seriously re-examine your life.

Financially, you have fethed up. Big time. You need to unfeth yourself before something bad happens.

Return everything that you can, then sell everything that you don't need on eBay.

Get your credit card down to Zero before you buy anything else.

I wouldn't say it's a huge feth-up. I know it's a problem and I need to stop buying but what I owe on my card is less than half of what I bring home in 1 paycheck so it's not huge. And there-in lies my weakness because it's so easily fixed by simply postponing any purchases for a couple pays that it's way to easy to procrastinate and tell myself "I'll get it next time". That's what I need to STOP doing, get it paid.

Then I can take that $200 that was going to my card, then to my collection and just simply put it straight to my collection LOL JK, maybe only half that or a quarter.

If it's so easy for you to pay it off, then do so.

Be responsible and get your credit card down to a zero balance that you pay off IN FULL every month.

Once you get to a zero balance, you can be smart and use the credit card the way that rich people do - as a FREE short term loan. The people with the highest credit scores have the most credit because they don't actually keep a balance on any of it.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

If it's so easy for you to pay it off, then do so.

Be responsible and get your credit card down to a zero balance that you pay off IN FULL every month.

Once you get to a zero balance, you can be smart and use the credit card the way that rich people do - as a FREE short term loan. The people with the highest credit scores have the most credit because they don't actually keep a balance on any of it.

Yeah. I'm going to. Not all in 1 chunk so as not to put a possible strain anywhere else in the budget, but as of my last purchase earlier today, No more till it's paid, 2 maybe 3 paychecks.

Then even after that, I think I need to get cracking on painting before buying anymore.

And to think, when I first thought of putting up the first post it was more of a "Haha, OMG I can't believe I just did that" but as I was typing I realized there was a problem. and the more the thread grew the more I realized, I need to get this fixed.

OK.

Spending for spending sake is generally not a good idea.Especially on plastic Krak. But you already know that.

Can I suggest an alternative to the credit card? My buying is Pay Pal driven, in that if it is not in the Pay Pal account, it does not get spent.

Just my 2p.

I feel like you should take a break from this hobby.

I know exactly what you mean! I love to buy new stuff, even if I don't have it all built and painted. I have to keep a very tight rein on myself. I set myself an amount and stick rigidly to it. I earn a good wage and so does my missus but I carefully keep my spending under control. I'm of the opinion that as long as you can afford it without getting into debt, spending the rent money, etc, etc then it is no problem.

I go through what I call Impulse Bids on ebay pretty often. I've settled it down to just Chaos Marines at the moment, but I also collect Loyalist and orkz.

Seems like for every unit I get painted, I buy something new!

It doesent help that converting and building is my favorite aspect of the hobby. If I read or see a new unit I like, my first idea is to kit bash one up with my unused models. Oftentimes this requires hunting down a specific bit or bob from ebay. And the cycle continues....

I personally go through extended spending binges where I'll write up a list and then dutifully buy every single box and bit I need to complete it, whether I end up finishing it all or not. But I never spend money I don't have and I often finance my purchasing habits by selling off older stuff that I'm not using any more. Buying new stuff is certainly pretty addicting, especially right at release time. Converting and painting are my favorite parts of the hobby, too, and I don't even necessarily care if I ever play a game with an army I work on. But I have a couple of rules like only buying up to a certain amount of points and not trying to purchase whole chapters I will never paint, and selling something off to make a new purchase if it isn't within my means at the moment.

@OP - when you move to a zero balance, and stay there, it will be very freeing. "Zero debt" is a useful guiding concept, and having to think about how much and what kind of debt you want to carry will help you a lot down the road.

The PayPal account is not a bad idea for hobbies, if only because it puts you on a limited budget. Of course, just having a budget is good enough, if you can stick to it.

The answer to all your financial woes is...


... Dave Ramsey

I think I have a problem too...



Just a small problem though. That doesnt include the painted stuff, either...

I’m in a broadly similar situation.

My credit cards are maxed out, but thankfully I can still make my payments and cover my other bills without leaving myself broke.

But the credit card debt has to be dealt with. After all, the longer I take to pay them off, the more they’re costing me.

So this month I’ve been hitting the overtime, big style. By the time November comes around, I’ll be able to knock around 1/3rd off my highest balance.

Rinse and repeat a few months, and that one will be at zero.

When I get my wage bonus twice a year, I’m gonna suck it up and pay off those cards.

I reckon within six months it’ll be done. All about freeing up disposable income. After a year, I stand to be debt free - if I stick to my plan.

I will be keeping my highest balance card. Because that way I can still cover emergencies in the future. Because credit cards are useful, we just need to be disciplined.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I’d also like to offer some professional advice.

In the UK at least, banks and lenders have an obligation to help you if you’re struggling with debt.

Now what they should do isn’t defined, and never really can be. What works for Peter won’t necessarily work for Paul. But some steps I’ve seen have included suspending interest for a period (that can really help get the balance down), to ending the credit agreement. That stops you spending as you repay, though interest continues to accrue.

If you’re genuinely struggling, talk to your lender/bank. See what help they can offer.

As your flag suggests you’re in the USA, have a read of [url=https://www.usa.gov/debt]this web page[/i]

Don’t suffer in silence dude. Reach out for help that’s there

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I’m in a broadly similar situation.

My credit cards are maxed out, but thankfully I can still make my payments and cover my other bills without leaving myself broke.

But the credit card debt has to be dealt with. After all, the longer I take to pay them off, the more they’re costing me.

So this month I’ve been hitting the overtime, big style. By the time November comes around, I’ll be able to knock around 1/3rd off my highest balance.

Rinse and repeat a few months, and that one will be at zero.

When I get my wage bonus twice a year, I’m gonna suck it up and pay off those cards.

I reckon within six months it’ll be done. All about freeing up disposable income. After a year, I stand to be debt free - if I stick to my plan.

I will be keeping my highest balance card. Because that way I can still cover emergencies in the future. Because credit cards are useful, we just need to be disciplined.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I’d also like to offer some professional advice.

In the UK at least, banks and lenders have an obligation to help you if you’re struggling with debt.

Now what they should do isn’t defined, and never really can be. What works for Peter won’t necessarily work for Paul. But some steps I’ve seen have included suspending interest for a period (that can really help get the balance down), to ending the credit agreement. That stops you spending as you repay, though interest continues to accrue.

If you’re genuinely struggling, talk to your lender/bank. See what help they can offer.

As your flag suggests you’re in the USA, have a read of [url=https://www.usa.gov/debt]this web page[/i]

Don’t suffer in silence dude. Reach out for help that’s there

Ouch! You need to take care of that. And fast!


Just an update. The only thing purchased today was the auction I actually 1 (I was the 1 and only bid on the item I placed at the beginning of the week.) However, this purchase did not go on my card, but came out of my extra-fund money from my bank account. I have not been back to even look at any other deals out there at all.

On top of that, even after my card is paid off, I'm still not going to use any money I set aside for hobbies until I get what I have painted.

There is good advice here. But please take a little from me. I use a credit card for everything I pay for. I also have zero debt, a house, wife, two kids, and am living off of my own income in a standard city job. My secret is simply paying off the credit card every month to take advantage of the 1% back. If you are spending more on your credit card than you can afford each month, then you simply need to stop spending as much. Set up a separate account if you need that takes X% (whatever you are comfortable able to afford) from your paycheck. Don't spend anything outside this account for hobby stuff. The key is not giving yourself the opportunity to use up more of your income than you can reasonably support.

The issue with debt, and why I worked so hard to get out, is because you are throwing money away. Literally. The longer you stay in credit card debt especially, since it's generally something stupid like 20%+, the more money you are throwing away and not using for something useful and tangible. It's definitely doable. I'm only 33 and I had to really buckle down and save on everything. It's a different mindset but now I can freely go buy a box here or there and think nothing of it.

If you aren't willing to curb your purchase habits, you will remain in a hole.

They are tiny plastic soldiers.

You don't need them to survive.

They are just a hobby.

Accept this.

And if you do want to play with them competitively? Only buy stuff that have an actual place in a good list. You don't need all of the miniatures, just the right ones.

Do what a lot of guys on here do; do not buy something new until your old stuff is assembled and painted to completion.

Its actually a great rule as long as you have an army you can actually play with!

@MDG - that's not a bad plan, but rather than doing a reverse debt snowball, I'd suggest a modification:

1. Pay off anything you can quickly pay off in full, just to get it off the list of things you need to worry about. There is a significant mental benefit to removing and reducing the number of stressors out there, rather than having a lot of little things hanging out there with no progress.

2. After the quick hits, focus on the highest APR debt first. This will free up the most cash quicker.

3. If you have anything you can sell off and not miss it, sell it to create a cash "cushion" in case anything unexpected pops up. Keeping a few hundred available cash on hand, "just in case" is good discipline for building a nest egg / slush fund / "rainy day" fund.

Practice window shopping of optional stuff, and instead of buying, just take a picture and write it down. Then review a week later whether it's still something to get or not. A lot of this stuff can wait indefinitely, so there's no real hurry.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Hoodwink wrote:
I can freely go buy a box here or there and think nothing of it.

But do you? I generally don't. I could. But I don't.

And that's the fundamental difference between saving and spending. In nearly all cases, there's no pressing need to spend, so you can just save it.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Hoodwink wrote:
I can freely go buy a box here or there and think nothing of it.

But do you? I generally don't. I could. But I don't.

And that's the fundamental difference between saving and spending. In nearly all cases, there's no pressing need to spend, so you can just save it.

Yeah. The joy of it is that while I don't buy boxes often, I can whenever I want and I have the freedom. I learned how to manage armies and painting when I was getting back in 5th. I had bought a ton of Tyranid stuff. All included about 60 termagants, 30 Hormagaunts, some Zoanthropes, Lictors, Carnifexes, 16 Forgeworld rippers, a Trygon, and some other things. My problem is that even though most were assembled, I didn't paint more than a couple. It was such a daunting task I practically gave up. I ended up wasting all that money and ended up (stupidly and regretfully) selling it all off. Now I just buy a box. Nothing else gets bought until my last box is assembled and painted completely. No more wasted money.

Here's my small insight into this issue: Until you have an army that's on the way to being painted up and looking badass, and until you've played that army a fair bit on the table, you just don't *know* what you want next. So your purchases are random, unrelated to what would be your informed preferences.

So do yourself a favour and reign in the spending. If you must spend, buy an airbrush and use it to go to town on the miniatures you have. Until you have a decent amount painted, say to yourself you are simply NOT ALLOWED to buy any more. Watch lots of youtube videos, buys books, get tips, read write-up reports of particualrly cool paintjobs, become the painter you always wanted to be.

Trust us, it's the route to sanity, and it's also the route to a cool, unique, painted up table of Your Dudes. Don't cheat yourself of the best part of the Buy-Build-Paint-Play circle of life!

grouchoben wrote:
Here's my small insight into this issue: Until you have an army that's on the way to being painted up and looking badass, and until you've played that army a fair bit on the table, you just don't *know* what you want next. So your purchases are random, unrelated to what would be your informed preferences.

So do yourself a favour and reign in the spending. If you must spend, buy an airbrush and use it to go to town on the miniatures you have. Until you have a decent amount painted, say to yourself you are simply NOT ALLOWED to buy any more. Watch lots of youtube videos, buys books, get tips, read write-up reports of particualrly cool paintjobs, become the painter you always wanted to be.

Trust us, it's the route to sanity, and it's also the route to a cool, unique, painted up table of Your Dudes. Don't cheat yourself of the best part of the Buy-Build-Paint-Play circle of life!

My end-goal is to assemble the entire Space Wolves chapter (A huge task, I know) so it's not really random buying. But, before I buy anymore I need to get both my Card paid off and get painted what I already have.
Even after I am able to start buying again, I won't be using my card for it anymore. I'll be using money I set aside from my bank account.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
@MDG - that's not a bad plan, but rather than doing a reverse debt snowball, I'd suggest a modification:

1. Pay off anything you can quickly pay off in full, just to get it off the list of things you need to worry about. There is a significant mental benefit to removing and reducing the number of stressors out there, rather than having a lot of little things hanging out there with no progress.

2. After the quick hits, focus on the highest APR debt first. This will free up the most cash quicker.

3. If you have anything you can sell off and not miss it, sell it to create a cash "cushion" in case anything unexpected pops up. Keeping a few hundred available cash on hand, "just in case" is good discipline for building a nest egg / slush fund / "rainy day" fund.

Practice window shopping of optional stuff, and instead of buying, just take a picture and write it down. Then review a week later whether it's still something to get or not. A lot of this stuff can wait indefinitely, so there's no real hurry.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Hoodwink wrote:
I can freely go buy a box here or there and think nothing of it.

But do you? I generally don't. I could. But I don't.

And that's the fundamental difference between saving and spending. In nearly all cases, there's no pressing need to spend, so you can just save it.

For me it’s more about learning greater financial disicipline. Hence busting my hump and making hay whilst the sun shines!

The worst thing anyone can do when in debt is stick their head in the sand. For the most part, we get ourselves into it, so there’s no one else to blame (this is not universal. Some wind up with staggering debts due to defending court actions etc). Just got to suck it up and get yer nose on that grindstone!

If I had the option timewise, I’d look for a second part time job. All the time I’m earning, I’m not spending, and the more I earn, the faster I can pay things off. But, that’s not an option. Four hour a day commute thoroughly nixes that idea. So instead I focus on my career and getting up to the next level, and a roughly £3,000 pay rise. That’ll take more of the pressure off.

My top tips for reining in spending?

1. Create an income and expenditure list. Be brutally honest with yourself. Use your bank statements from the previous three months and see what you spent your money on. Include everything

2. That done? Deep breath and start sorting your luxury spending from your essentials. Now, that doesn’t mean going Puritan and living solely off amusingly shaped turnips. But get your rent/mortgage and other bills separated out. Look for some which could be reduced. Example? I finish paying off my iPad in December.

Straight off, that’s £70 back in my sky rocket. Every month. That makes a big difference (pretty much a month’s food for me). Next? Mobile Phone bill. Contract comes up for renewal in December as well (not related to iPad. That’s a work thing). Right now, it’s hitting me hard. Probably around £60 a month. So at that point, I break their balls. Don’t need a new handset, so that knocks it down. Don’t need free minutes, as I barely call anyone ever. Unlimited texts are good, but say 50 Free a month would do me. It’s the data bundle I need, as I’ve got a shared sim thing with the iPad for when I’m out and about.

Between those two, reckon I can save £100 a month easy peasy, possibly more. Suspect I can get a cheaper broadband package as well. I’ll shop around, and then my current supplier will cut me a deal to keep me. Money saved, disposable loosens up, I can pay off debts and that faster and faster.

3. Do budget for luxuries. You’ve got to have your luxuries, else you become a wage slave and ain’t nobody enjoys that (my current mantra is ‘I earn too much to be this broke’). Just, set a budget and damned well stick to it. If like me you enjoy a steak dinner (most Sundays), don’t go out to eat. Visit the meat counter or butcher and buy a steak. I can guarantee you it’ll be better quality than a cheaper restaurant at a fraction of the price. Like Pizza? I do. Find a Pizza dough recipe, and make your own. Rather than £12, you can make one for absolute pennies.

4. For essentials, shop around. We live in the digital age after all. Write down your shopping list, then price it up via online shopping. Buy from whomever offers the best price. That of course requires weekly menu planning. That in itself helps you budget effectively. Rather than simply buying food, you’re shopping by meals. In seriously lean times, I can make a single Roast Chicken last me (on my own) for around 5 days. Full Roast one day. Use the other breast, leg and wing meat in a curry for the next two days. From there, simply strip the carcass of all remaining meat, and add to couscous. £6 goes a long way then...

It can be a bit of a downer at first. But once you see your debts start to come down and stay down, I find myself staying motivated.

I give probably about 95% of my paycheck to my GF (I take it from my account and put it in hers right on payday)

I then make a payment to my credit card, pay the internet bill, car insurance, etc. That usually leaves me with a little left for hobbies or whatever. But having had a promotion at work, I've been buying more of the expensive units that I wasn't able to afford before.

Anyways, still no extra spending and my last auction on ebay has me almost outbid with 5 days left to go still (anyone want some TWC new on sprue? Just need to bid more than 11.47 gbp (aprox $15 usd)

kaotkbliss wrote:
I give probably about 95% of my paycheck to my GF

WTF? Dude, you shouldn't be doing that until *after* you're married.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

kaotkbliss wrote:
I give probably about 95% of my paycheck to my GF

WTF? Dude, you shouldn't be doing that until *after* you're married.

LOL
We've lived together for something like 11 years. We pretty much are.

Almost a week through and still no purchases Although it's down to 3 days left on the last ebay auction I started before coming to my realization and I haven't been outbid yet :(

Although with most auctions either going at or up to $35-$40 for both new and used units, I don't really think my measly $15 max bid will win in the end

I used to be pretty horrendous with spendng and really short sighted. Get paid, have a ton of money in the account.

Then splurge a whole ton of money of models ,only to be short at the end of the month. Funny how money goes go fast.

I'm pretty patient now, with a pretty big Horus Heresy world eater force I use for 40k as well and 4 fully painted teams for Guildball, I rarely spend. If I do it's just something to add to the legion - a Contemptor here, 2 javelins there etc.

I'd recommend waiting a week before you "think" you need / want to buy something. I found if I waited a week my hobby ADHD had stopped and I no longer wanted to order that new army, etc.

Luckily, I've not spent to the point of coming up short. I wrote myself a program where I enter how much money is currently in my account and when my next pay is. It will then go through my list of important expenses and tell me which ones will be due before my next pay, what the total of just those bills are and how much I will have left in my account after paying those bills.

Then, I subtract the amount I will move to my GF's account and whatever is left is my spending limit.

But, to curb my Warhammer buying so I can catch up on painting and get my card paid off like it should be, that extra left over will go on the card instead of buying more minis that will just increase the amount I need to paint.

 AaronWilson wrote:
I used to be pretty horrendous with spendng and really short sighted. Get paid, have a ton of money in the account.

Then splurge a whole ton of money of models ,only to be short at the end of the month. Funny how money goes go fast.

I'm pretty patient now, with a pretty big Horus Heresy world eater force I use for 40k as well and 4 fully painted teams for Guildball, I rarely spend. If I do it's just something to add to the legion - a Contemptor here, 2 javelins there etc.

I'd recommend waiting a week before you "think" you need / want to buy something. I found if I waited a week my hobby ADHD had stopped and I no longer wanted to order that new army, etc.

That's where I'm trying to get to, but more 'do my splurge at the end of the month'.

Had I started that way, who knows where I'd be financially. But I didn't. And it's a damned difficult mindset to change just from the sheer practicality of it requiring a seven or eight week stretch of strict financial discipline.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

 AaronWilson wrote:
I used to be pretty horrendous with spendng and really short sighted. Get paid, have a ton of money in the account.

Then splurge a whole ton of money of models ,only to be short at the end of the month. Funny how money goes go fast.

I'm pretty patient now, with a pretty big Horus Heresy world eater force I use for 40k as well and 4 fully painted teams for Guildball, I rarely spend. If I do it's just something to add to the legion - a Contemptor here, 2 javelins there etc.

I'd recommend waiting a week before you "think" you need / want to buy something. I found if I waited a week my hobby ADHD had stopped and I no longer wanted to order that new army, etc.

That's where I'm trying to get to, but more 'do my splurge at the end of the month'.

Had I started that way, who knows where I'd be financially. But I didn't. And it's a damned difficult mindset to change just from the sheer practicality of it requiring a seven or eight week stretch of strict financial discipline.

Yeah I get you. 7-8 Months I moved into my own house with my partner, so that has caused me to a bit more realsitc with money and much I can / cannot spend on models as If I do fall short it's not just me I leave short it leaves her to pay for everything which is in no way fair.

I'm not sure how serious this thread is, but I have known some actual gaming addicts over the years. Let their personal lives and finances go all to hell in pursuit of a hobby.

The impulses are hard to break, especially when gaming is where you go to escape when things get rough.

A friend of mine, his wife left him, he could not keep up the mortgage payments with the way his life was going. Lost his job as a claims adjustor, she took their kid, he was in default on student loans, he was a couple years behind in taxes - you name it.

He moved in with his brother in another state. When he was driving away, the car was filled to the roof with miniatures, comics, figurines, DVDs, rule books, you name it - but no clothes. I had to FedEx his clothes up to him because he did not have room for them next to his cherished possessions. I had to deal with his real estate agent trying to sell the house because he could not get back to make the place presentable. All the stuff in his house - furniture, electronics, kitchen utensils, books, photos, etc - all had to go to the dump, even though some of it could have been sold.

But he was still buying miniatures - the hobbies never suffered because of this life's change. He lives in a basement near his brother now, works occasionally as a handyman, and basically lives off food stamps. He was seeing a therapist for a while, who diagnosed him with an addictive personality disorder. Hasn't done anything about it, hard to get him to talk about anything but games when we do speak.

This was almost 7 years ago when things came apart. While I've always suspected there are other issues, the gaming addiction is at the front.

 techsoldaten wrote:
I'm not sure how serious this thread is, but I have known some actual gaming addicts over the years. Let their personal lives and finances go all to hell in pursuit of a hobby.

The impulses are hard to break, especially when gaming is where you go to escape when things get rough.

A friend of mine, his wife left him, he could not keep up the mortgage payments with the way his life was going. Lost his job as a claims adjustor, she took their kid, he was in default on student loans, he was a couple years behind in taxes - you name it.

He moved in with his brother in another state. When he was driving away, the car was filled to the roof with miniatures, comics, figurines, DVDs, rule books, you name it - but no clothes. I had to FedEx his clothes up to him because he did not have room for them next to his cherished possessions. I had to deal with his real estate agent trying to sell the house because he could not get back to make the place presentable. All the stuff in his house - furniture, electronics, kitchen utensils, books, photos, etc - all had to go to the dump, even though some of it could have been sold.

But he was still buying miniatures - the hobbies never suffered because of this life's change. He lives in a basement near his brother now, works occasionally as a handyman, and basically lives off food stamps. He was seeing a therapist for a while, who diagnosed him with an addictive personality disorder. Hasn't done anything about it, hard to get him to talk about anything but games when we do speak.

This was almost 7 years ago when things came apart. While I've always suspected there are other issues, the gaming addiction is at the front.

And this is exactly where I don't want to end up. When I made my last purchase, my intention was to come on here and share my excitement that I was finally able to get a flier for my army. That's when I realized that maybe I do have an issue and that I better fix it while it's still in it's infancy stages. This thread has helped me keep that in perspective, to not forget, and to keep from falling back into that habit. It also seems to maybe be helping others see they might have a problem also. So hopefully something good is coming of this and not just for me

kaotkbliss wrote:
When I made my last purchase, my intention was to come on here and share my excitement that I was finally able to get a flier for my army. That's when I realized that maybe I do have an issue and that I better fix it while it's still in it's infancy stages. This thread has helped me keep that in perspective, to not forget, and to keep from falling back into that habit. It also seems to maybe be helping others see they might have a problem also. So hopefully something good is coming of this and not just for me

For me, the red flag was going into debt to finance hobby, and that's just not a good use of money. Hobbies are a luxury, so you need to have "extra" money on hand to spend it. If you don't have the money on hand, then you need to dial back or stop. Having slightly less stuff, and buying somewhat slower / later is totally OK. At some point, you may find that you don't need to buy anything at all to enjoy the actual playing of the game.

In my case it was 'I'm buying furniture just to house boxes of stuff I haven't even opened yet". If that hadn't occurred around the time I lost a job I'd probably still be going.

It was also helpful to identify *what* part of the hobby I enjoy best so as to focus on it; retail therapy is all very well but it runs the risk of drowning out the specific part of the hobby that makes it fun for you, and conflating the two.

kaotkbliss wrote:
And this is exactly where I don't want to end up. When I made my last purchase, my intention was to come on here and share my excitement that I was finally able to get a flier for my army. That's when I realized that maybe I do have an issue and that I better fix it while it's still in it's infancy stages. This thread has helped me keep that in perspective, to not forget, and to keep from falling back into that habit. It also seems to maybe be helping others see they might have a problem also. So hopefully something good is coming of this and not just for me

Well, understand there's a difference between making some poor decisions with money and having a compulsive buying habit. Wanting to nip it in the bud is important, in either case.

The person I wrote about is one of several people I knew with this problem. The outcome, for him, was the most extreme. He has a degree in Economics and an MBA, he's not the person one would see ending up in these circumstances.

A few things I noticed in the run-up, which may be red-flags for anyone wondering if they have a problem:

1) He got a lot of negative feedback from his family. His wife used to talk about how he was like this character from the movie Old School. She compared gaming with being a frat boy. I can't remember a time I saw her when she didn't ask him - in front of other people - when he was going to get serious about his life. There was some toxicity there, I think he made bad choices about who to be around and it fueled his habit.

2) He had a lot of disposable income, to start. His parents give him a pretty large sum of money after completing grad school, most of which was spent on his house. When he talked about money, it didn't seem like he treated it like it was real. He would talk about supporting independent retailers and creative people, like it was some sort of mission and he was doing good in the world. There was a disconnect there, he was justifying the spend with elaborate stories.

3) With models, he didn't spend much time painting them. He had closets full of of half-painted projects, there was always something new he was working on. The need to acquire was greater than the need to make use of what he already had, and it was conspicuous. We used to joke about it, looking back it's not that funny.

4) He was into everything - comics, miniatures, collectible statues / figurines, manga, card games, records, boxed games, etc. Any one of these pursuits would have been expensive and time consuming, for him it required constant attention. He lost his job because he got caught claiming shopping trips as business travel. He let his hobby interfere with his work and lied about it, which I am certain was part of the game to him.

5) He got a big thrill out of getting new stuff. Everyone gets excited, but it would be the first thing he wanted to talk about whenever he got new stuff. There were a few times I was asking him about his family where I got the sense he was just waiting for me to finish speaking so he could tell me about what he had in his bag.

6) He told me a few times that he didn't have Internet at home. This wasn't correct, he had a Playstation and an XBox and would play games online. It didn't occur to me at the time, but he was using the Internet to isolate himself. Instead of connecting with people in his life, he was looking for other people as obsessed with games as himself. This was the hardest part to understand, he still doesn't have an email address or look at websites.

To follow up to what Hoodwink said, I too use a credit card for literally everything I can to take advantage of the cash back, rewards, and securitized purchases, but I never carry a balance from month to month. In my youth, I managed to screw myself up pretty good with about $9,500 in credit card debt, which in the grand scheme of things isn't a tremendous amount of money but it's definitely a lot to handle for a young person. The tragedy is that about half of that total was just accruing interest over a few years, not actual purchases, so it was just wasted money. To finally defeat it, I had to swallow my pride, move in with my sister for a few years, and suffer through until it was paid and I could move forward with life. It's all good now (great credit score, house and car I can afford, cool toys) but it took several years of boredom, discipline, and sacrifice to get here. My advice, do whatever it takes to live as debt free as possible. You'll be a lot happier in the long run at the expense of short term misery. It's worth it.

I guess TECHNICALLY I'm now like $150,000 in debt but that's a mortgage and a car loan so it really isn't bad debt.

Set yourself up for success dude, it's a lot easier to fix your financial health when you're young.

Unfortunately, I'm not young anymore (just turned 40 this year) Fortunately I do have the money to pay well above the minimum on my card and have not slacked on payments at all.
My problem was spending as soon as I was paying so I really wasn't getting anywhere and I needed to break that cycle. Not to mention I also need to catch up on my painting as well.

IandI wrote:
My advice, do whatever it takes to live as debt free as possible. You'll be a lot happier in the long run at the expense of short term misery. It's worth it.

I guess TECHNICALLY I'm now like $150,000 in debt but that's a mortgage and a car loan so it really isn't bad debt.

Set yourself up for success dude, it's a lot easier to fix your financial health when you're young.

Yup, "debt free" should be a guiding concept - life is a *LOT* easier when you live within your means.

BTW, no appreciation on the house to offset the mortgage? Low % on the car, so it's basically installment payments using other people's money?

Yeah, reining in spending when you're young has big benefits down the line. Imagine carrying 5 figures CC and other debt for 30 years, and see what that's like. It's a lot harder to build a positive net worth if you're just flushing $2-3k of take-home pay down the toilet every year.

Ha I don't look at appreciation of the home value as really offsetting the mortgage because inevitably I'll need to spend money on repairs, upgrades, etc. I look at it more as a long term forced savings account that may someday provide a respectable return on investment, and more importantly as a way to lock in a fixed housing expense. I've watched the same apartment I rented 10 years ago for $700 a month go up and up each year until it's now hovering around $1100 a month. Meanwhile my mortgage will remain exactly where it is, regardless of inflation, for the next 29 years. Renting costs will fluctuate wildly over time, but my mortgage will always be what it is. Assuming my salary increases and the cost of living rises for renters, my housing expense will ever so slowly become a smaller percentage of my take home income each year, effectively becoming less of a big deal as time goes by. And when it's all said and done I can sell it for a small profit, get my equity back, and probably pretty much break even, meaning I lived here for the price of interest, taxes, maintenance, and HOA fees. Also my county offers a stupidly great deal for first time home buyers. I got $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance, and if I keep it as my primary residence for 6 years I DON'T HAVE TO PAY IT BACK! I walked in, day one, with 7.5% equity for less than $2,000. I'm a die hard conservative but I really have to give a huge shout out to the Democrats on that deal.

For the car, I bought a used 2015 car with 5,700 miles on it in 99.9% perfect condition that cost $50,000 new 2 years ago for $26,000 at 2.0%. I got a practically brand new car without taking a bath on depreciation, but it did take me about 6 months of searching to find one with such low mileage. The interest rates are better for new cars, but $26k doesn't buy something new with 330 horsepower, navigation, leather, and premium sound...

Man, it's funny the conversations that can start on a forum dedicated to plastic army men. Long live the Imperium!

Finally, someone outbid me on my last ebay auction
1 week down, 7 days to go till next pay

All good points, but I was just curious whether your paper value would have you net positive on the home, or still in debt.

I can't quite remember all the exact numbers on our home but I'll try...

I think we put about $2k down on it and paid $69k

We've been there 6 years and now owe like $54k or some such
So I believe we are at about $14-15k in equity. As soon as I get my credit score up about 50 points (it's at about 650 now) and we can sell the house for at least what we paid for it, then we'll have a sizable chunk for a down payment on a slightly better house in a better area and still pay about the same as we are paying now.

So, 5 more days until payday and have not even thought about buying anything new

If I were you, I'd hold on the housing until you get your credit score to something more like 750. There's no need to burn your current equity down in conversion to a slightly better place when you don't need to.

Well, there's a couple reasons. First, the house is really too small for us and badly laid out (while it was empty when we first looked at it, it looked like it would be perfect). As time went on we've just kept trying to re-arrange and find a way to get things to "fit", but it's never worked.
The 2nd reason is We're not sure how long our current area is going to hold up before the neighborhood starts losing value. Some houses are already selling for less than we paid for ours A few have sold for more, but the mall a few minutes away is really starting to die out (They've lost their anchor stores)

So, we need to get to a better area before that equity we have won't be there due to losing money on selling the house.

Oh, OK, that's different. If you can get out without losing money, go for it!

It's amazing how big a house looks while it's empty. Then as soon as you start putting furniture in, all that space disappears LOL

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

For me it’s more about learning greater financial disicipline. Hence busting my hump and making hay whilst the sun shines!

The worst thing anyone can do when in debt is stick their head in the sand. For the most part, we get ourselves into it, so there’s no one else to blame (this is not universal. Some wind up with staggering debts due to defending court actions etc). Just got to suck it up and get yer nose on that grindstone!

If I had the option timewise, I’d look for a second part time job. All the time I’m earning, I’m not spending, and the more I earn, the faster I can pay things off. But, that’s not an option. Four hour a day commute thoroughly nixes that idea. So instead I focus on my career and getting up to the next level, and a roughly £3,000 pay rise. That’ll take more of the pressure off.

My top tips for reining in spending?

1. Create an income and expenditure list. Be brutally honest with yourself. Use your bank statements from the previous three months and see what you spent your money on. Include everything

2. That done? Deep breath and start sorting your luxury spending from your essentials. Now, that doesn’t mean going Puritan and living solely off amusingly shaped turnips. But get your rent/mortgage and other bills separated out. Look for some which could be reduced. Example? I finish paying off my iPad in December.

Straight off, that’s £70 back in my sky rocket. Every month. That makes a big difference (pretty much a month’s food for me). Next? Mobile Phone bill. Contract comes up for renewal in December as well (not related to iPad. That’s a work thing). Right now, it’s hitting me hard. Probably around £60 a month. So at that point, I break their balls. Don’t need a new handset, so that knocks it down. Don’t need free minutes, as I barely call anyone ever. Unlimited texts are good, but say 50 Free a month would do me. It’s the data bundle I need, as I’ve got a shared sim thing with the iPad for when I’m out and about.

Between those two, reckon I can save £100 a month easy peasy, possibly more. Suspect I can get a cheaper broadband package as well. I’ll shop around, and then my current supplier will cut me a deal to keep me. Money saved, disposable loosens up, I can pay off debts and that faster and faster.

3. Do budget for luxuries. You’ve got to have your luxuries, else you become a wage slave and ain’t nobody enjoys that (my current mantra is ‘I earn too much to be this broke’). Just, set a budget and damned well stick to it. If like me you enjoy a steak dinner (most Sundays), don’t go out to eat. Visit the meat counter or butcher and buy a steak. I can guarantee you it’ll be better quality than a cheaper restaurant at a fraction of the price. Like Pizza? I do. Find a Pizza dough recipe, and make your own. Rather than £12, you can make one for absolute pennies.

4. For essentials, shop around. We live in the digital age after all. Write down your shopping list, then price it up via online shopping. Buy from whomever offers the best price. That of course requires weekly menu planning. That in itself helps you budget effectively. Rather than simply buying food, you’re shopping by meals. In seriously lean times, I can make a single Roast Chicken last me (on my own) for around 5 days. Full Roast one day. Use the other breast, leg and wing meat in a curry for the next two days. From there, simply strip the carcass of all remaining meat, and add to couscous. £6 goes a long way then...

It can be a bit of a downer at first. But once you see your debts start to come down and stay down, I find myself staying motivated.

There's some really good advice here, not least number 3. However if I could add one more thing. From the sounds of it, you have never defaulted on payments to the credit card, simply paid a contribution to offset some of the balance. So the implication there is that your credit rating isn't that bad. Several companies are offering 0% balance transfers on exisiting credit card balances. That's 0% interest on that balance for a set period of time. One I saw was for Sainsburys at 39 months interest free.

Is it a possibility to roll up all the debt into the one card and save yourself the interest, most cards are 34%apr. That's a chunk of money that can be saved. Do not use that card to spend though. Obtain a second card with a very limited max and use that and pay off in its entirety each month, and contribute a set amount to the 0% to reduce the balance there.

Cheers

Andrew

So I made it to payday without any purchases on the card Actually payday seems to have come a day early this time for some reason. However, like I promised, no purchases until it's paid off. Even after then I'll use my bank account so I only spend money I currently have. And still, even after that I'm not spending until I get what I have painted (except for things like transfer sheets to finish the details)

So now I need to load up my little app and figure out what bills are due before next pay and get them taken care of, figure out how much I'm putting in my GF's account and how much I'm putting on the card

I found that displaying my collection where I could see it all at once has helped with a couple of things.

1. I look at it and go, "okay that was probably a little over the top". But seriously seeing what you have already out in the open, instead of packed away in a carrying case or in boxes, gives you a good idea of how much space and money you have dedicated to your purchases.

2. Having it out in the open allowed me to go back and say "hey I think I could go back and highlight these guys to make them look better". Gives you the opportunity to find a new task with something you already have, and at the same time improve your skills and quality of the models. No money spent and new found hobby queue.

The rules of no playing until it's painted and no buying until it's painted has been helping me stay in check. The only time I splurge now is when I get a yearly bonus. Usually this once a year splurge is enough to get me through to the next year's bonus.

Having my army out in the open would probably have the opposite effect on me :(

I'd look at it every day and see how much further I needed to go until the chapter was completed.

When I first began Warhammer back in the early 90's, my goal was just to have some troops and play fun games. Now after losing all my armies, books and scenery and having to not only start over but also not having a group to play with a new goal crept in.

While I do still just want to have fun games (not overly competitive) I also want to see my collection reach it's end, which is to build and have painted all 12 (maybe the 13th as well. Haven't decided on that yet) Companies of the Great Wolf.

kaotkbliss wrote:
So I made it to payday without any purchases on the card Actually payday seems to have come a day early this time for some reason. However, like I promised, no purchases until it's paid off. Even after then I'll use my bank account so I only spend money I currently have. And still, even after that I'm not spending until I get what I have painted (except for things like transfer sheets to finish the details)

So now I need to load up my little app and figure out what bills are due before next pay and get them taken care of, figure out how much I'm putting in my GF's account and how much I'm putting on the card

Boom, smashed it dude. Awesome work!

Thanks
While it's not paid off yet, Sticking to 2 weeks of no purchases was not an easy task. I did find myself browsing some ebay deals yesterday but I closed it all out then proceeded to forget what I had looked at.
I spent the majority of the dat assembling my Stormfang/Stormwolf, then trying to figure out how to get everything to fit in my 2 boxes.

I have 1 large 3 drawer tackle box that has my dreads, speeders and pods in the top, all my units in 2 drawers (a little tighter than I'd like) The 3rd drawer is missing so in that space I placed my rhinos. Then in my SW battle force box I have my Stormfang/wolf, thunderwolf cavalry and all my rhino add-ons (razorback turrets, vindicator cannons, etc).

After laying it all out to snap a couple quick pics from my phone's crappy camera I realized...

Getting a bunch of units to make sure you have a variety for different situations does not help in getting things painted. Now when I look at them, all I can think is "Oh crap, there's a ton there to paint."

I should not have stripped what I did have painted to start over...

kaotkbliss wrote:
I should not have stripped what I did have painted to start over...

Ooh... rookie mistake there.

At least spraybomb them ALL with color primer, and you'll feel better.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

kaotkbliss wrote:
I should not have stripped what I did have painted to start over...

Ooh... rookie mistake there.

At least spraybomb them ALL with color primer, and you'll feel better.

Yeah, I found a nice shade of grey primer that I like and bought 2 cans. Got all my troops, dreads and speeders primered and ready to go, but I ran out before I could completely finish my rhinos. And go figure, the company that made the primer I used is no longer doing spray paints...

So I still have to primer my flyer, thunderwolves, fenrisian wolves, finish the rhinos and get all the bits primered.

Figured the troops would be easy, primer them in the color I want, then I just need to go through and paint out the colored details and throw a black wash over them for shading and done. But every time I look at how many I need to do... LOL

Halfway through the first week of the new pay period and still no purchases YAY! Although I am finding it increasingly difficult to resist deals found on ebay (Such as the start collecting SW box set for half what GW is selling it for. Fortunately it was pretty easy to decide I really don't need any more Grey hunters at this time)

On a plus note (and I hope it quells the above desires) I am getting that painting itch. My GF started a new job and so hasn't been home when I get off work sometimes. Tonight is one of those nights so I just might break out a unit or 2 and get some done

kaotkbliss wrote:
Halfway through the first week of the new pay period and still no purchases YAY! Although I am finding it increasingly difficult to resist deals found on ebay (Such as the start collecting SW box set for half what GW is selling it for. Fortunately it was pretty easy to decide I really don't need any more Grey hunters at this time)

On a plus note (and I hope it quells the above desires) I am getting that painting itch. My GF started a new job and so hasn't been home when I get off work sometimes. Tonight is one of those nights so I just might break out a unit or 2 and get some done

Glad to hear you doing so well man. Grab that painting mojo and run with it!

Thank you

I was looking over the new pics I took to see how well they turned out and seeing all that grey with only a tiny splash of color in there from the couple things that are painted, that itch just started nipping at the back of my brain

kaotkbliss wrote:
Thank you

I was looking over the new pics I took to see how well they turned out and seeing all that grey with only a tiny splash of color in there from the couple things that are painted, that itch just started nipping at the back of my brain

I've found I get my best work done when the painting I'm doing isn't forced and it's something you WANT to do. Totally use that motivation my friend.