Is your obsession expensive?

Post Reply New Topic

I know I've spent thousands on my obsession/special interest with refurbishing/collecting Macs. I've never come into debt as I have no credit cards, but I do often blow my pay before I even get it. I like to save money, but sometimes I become restless after I've gone a long time without a new addition to my collection.

Is your obsession expensive? Has your obsession ever escalated to such heights that you've become financially burdened, or worse, bankrupt?

Yes. I've been a dedicated software developer all my life. Mostly, that was before the internet, and definitely before the app store, and of course I'm autistic (as well as hearing impaired, sight impaired and insulin dependent), so making money out of it hasn't often happened. I can make a living wage from niche jobs in large organisations, but apart from that... And even that gets harder as the years go by.

My obsession is music.
Instruments tend to be expensive, so that part of it is.
Sheet music can be found free if it's out of copyright.
My notation software was expensive, and I bought the computer to be compatible with the software, so that was expensive.
The actual composing as opposed to making it legible to other people is dirt cheap; a pad of 12 stave manuscript can be bought for under $5.
My orchestra fees work out to less than 21 cents per week.
Listening to music can be done free online, and I can pick up classical CDs pretty cheaply.
Overall it isn't too expensive.

I have a car that I race...

Its is expensive... and sometimes distracts me from my goal of needing to have a significant savings in case I loose my job since somewhat like peterd I really dont have good luck with jobs unless they are sort of niche jobs at big companies (essentially I need to be left alone to fix quality/process problems that I find with no expectations or short term goals)

however, I haven't gotten myself into financial trouble as a result of my obsession. luckily since my car is my obsession, if I cant do something to enhance it the alternative is to go for a drive up on a mountain road or to wash it or something else that lets me enjoy it without spending as much money.

Yes, it was and is.

By the time I was 20 I had a nice coin collection... Working on cars and other repairs, I have bought several tool boxes - only once as work. learning electronics. computer hacking (lucky I work in the tech industry). Bicycles, keep me broke. Ice skating. And other interests over the decades...

I have never been able to have a bank account for long.. I refuse to ever have credit as it is too dangerous for me.

Hobbies are important as my brain never rests. I have too keep feeding it with challenging learning.

Every few years I move to a different state and hardly every carry all my stuff.. So, I go through cycles of buying it all over again.

YES!
You'd be surprised how expensive RC cars can be. Especially if you race them. I have 3 main cars that i race and I've spent around $2500 on them. That doesn't include $25 for a gallon of fuel and $50-$65 per set of tires!

Books have been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember and they're usually pretty cheap. I end up with stacks of books about whatever I'm interested in at the moment and when the interest passes, I tend to keep the books. I mainly get them at rummage sales or Goodwill. When I was preoccupied with music in high school, I was able to get brass instruments cheap from a fellow who bought them used (and battered) and then refurbished them. Sheet music is available extremely cheaply.

Since most of my interests through the years have tended to be incorporated into my book interest, and I'm extremely good at finding amazing deals on books, none of them have ended up being too pricey.

I haven't spent much money on it, because I don't have a lot of money, but every time I have money I directly spend it on my interests, yes. It's pretty expensive to me.

I'm lucky that I get plenty of gadgets through work, but my bank statement is peppered with iTunes purchases..

I can make any interest expensive, books for example. £7.99 per new paperback in the uk.. I can go through 5-6 a week when I'm on a reading binge. That adds up quickly..

Jason

yes. but now that i've deleted my ebay account it is no longer a problem. i'll just use my dads to buy a andrew luck rookie card one time

YES. But I don't want to let myself pursue it to the point of being foolish, if buying an extra house in order to have more garage space isn't foolish . Is it bad that I can't remember how many Diesel-powered vehicles I have? I guess I'm afraid to count, or I'd think I need to sell some. And they all have full insurance, license, and are all kept in excellent highway-worthy condition. The Diesel car collection is the only really costly one, as the others are collecting and restoring vintage TV sets, and Cold War era air raid sirens. The cars and trucks have recurring costs, whereas the sirens and TVs are basically a one-time purchase plus whatever I spend to buy parts and restore. The vehicles are always needing something, and it drives me crazy if I know they need something and I don't do it right away. At least from a business standpoint, if I rent out any of the vehicles to be in a movie, or do something; anything, to earn even a tiny amount of money from owning them, I can write off all of the costs on our income tax on most years.

Charles

I used to be obsessed with always having the latest computer equipment, at least as much as possible.. i.e. I could spend $1000 more on a system that was 10% faster, but at some point it becomes an overly inefficient use of money

I've gotten bored of that though so I've been paying off debts (almost done) and now I'm mostly out of stuff to spend money on, although I will be moving to another state with a wad o' cash just to see what happens

My main obsession seems to be music and it can get to be expensive. I spend $200 in music once every 4 mths

( Game Programming & 3D modeling ) Not, expensive. But technically it could if I want ZBrush & I do need a good library of sounds. Since we don't have firearms in this country & I don't see myself walking up to a armed response police officer & asking if I can come along to the range & get the sounds. Its hard to get those sounds & other sounds.

But if my computer or storage array or need another HDD etc, it will just cost a bit. But then you can make money, in the end maybe. Would help if I made little apps instead of a ( FPS, RTS game )...

Mine is very expensive. I go through a minimum of 4 sets of shoes a month at $60 bucks each (those are just practise shoes). Plus strength / flexibility / balance / core training. Plus lessons. Plus entrance fees for socials. Plus traveling, accommodation and performing fees. Add training gear, social gear and performing gear to that. Plus loads of training (usually free but I'll add it for the mental expense).

$ 465 a week. minimum. (Usually it's markedly more than that)

This is why I always have a job

My main obsession as of late is designing homes, which I've been doing since I was 12 or so. It can be expensive or inexpensive, depending on how I do it. I can make sketches all day and not spend a dime, but I do also use home designing software, which can be expensive.

Also, I paint, which can be expensive, but still far cheaper than some people's hobbies.