How do you afford it all?

Comeuppance said:
Most of us here are just regular joes when it comes to income - even people deep into customs in the $3000+ range aren't generally parking BMWs outside their houses. I've pretty much worked retail this whole time and I squirrel away cash by living super cheap (who wants some eggs? I can make them fancy and add salt!)

I also am VERY patient when looking for a particular knife and will wait until the price is juuuuuust right so that I can buy it without worry of losing money if I end up selling it. That strategy has allowed me to carefully and slowly wiggle my way up the knife food chain - that is, until some huge expense comes up and the knives start looking like trapped money, I do a huge selldown, and then start slowly climbing my way back up again. Occasionally, I'll get some kind of huge windfall of a deal, but it all seems to average out in the end because of the ones I sell at a loss.

But, it works as a system! It keeps me from spending money on pointless things (alcohol, cigs, etc) and means I almost always have neat stuff in the mail. How do you afford it all?
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Firstly I'm like you. I do my homework and choose wisely. Some knives have taken me 30 years to acquire. Not really for financial reasons, but sometimes because what I wanted didn't exist, or didn't exist in the quality I wanted. The Fallkniven F2 is an example. In terms of finances I just bite the bullet, buy quality and cry once! The case of beer sometimes has to wait (I hate that part the most :dread:). But what I buy these days I commit too, no trying to sell off my knives on the exchange. Its not me. But sometimes I give one or two away to mates for birthdays and at Christmas time for example.

But every time I splurge I have to inevitably be prepared to cop one of these from the girlfriend... Its good to know I know where my priorities lie, right? :D
 
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marcus52AR said:
Haha! Imagine the mail box. If I came into a ton of money like that I could easily order 50-100 in one shot. Blade overdose
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But then you would eventually have to sharpen, store, use, or explain them all!
 
palonej said:
Thought I was the only one without a credit card! My grandfather told me a long time ago....you don't have the money don't buy it. I held on to that till I got married........divorced the pig with over $150,000 credit card debt. Never again. It's a life sentence.
Joe
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^ Definitely one of the most feel good confessionals that I've had the pleasure of reading, since joining the forum's, Joe! ;)

Without a doubt- being single, affords one the opportunity of enjoying certain hobbies, that they otherwise, might not be able to enjoy!
 
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Love this thread!
I'm barely into college so my knife fund is not very existent haha
In truth my collection is basically self sustained! I have owned everything from a beater grip to a CTS-204P Pm2 and all types of brands
I have only actually " bought"2 knives and now a days I flip pimped knives for the fund:)
But I will post again in this thread some time in the future...once I'm making bank:D
I take a shoot of a Sebbie while in my Ferrari ;)
 
Hi. Interesting topic. Never thought about it this way. Interesting (and sometimes touching) stories! I found that, for me, it’s not that difficult to save up a couple of hundreds EUR/month, besides the planned savings. I started working summer jobs when I was 14. Always worked part-time until graduation, to support my studies (Europe, in this respect - and also about health care - still is probably less harsh). Today, as a family of five, we continue living a simple, sometimes even frugal life :). For us happiness doesn’t come from possession of things. It’s what we are, not what we own which defines us. We have a simple, very healthy life-style; we like functional things, it’s the way we use them (possibly together) that bring us great joy. I carry my lunch-box to work, we cook a lot at home from scratches. We waste very little. We don’t see the need for luxury items. We are very much function/need oriented in buying stuff. We don’t make any debt to buy stuff (real estates excluded). We almost exclusively pay with debit cards rather than with credit cards (I personally tend to avoid usurers and loan sharks). We first collect the money we need and only then we buy. I take good care of my clothing and gear, e.g. I have a winter jacket dating back 8 years and still running. So what? I keep the amount of my belongings down to a number making it possible I can use all the things I own. We really give a damn of “keeping up with the Joneses". The car I drive doesn’t make me a better or more valuable person. I’d rather invest in personal health and fitness. I go to bed naked at the end of the day and. That’s what I see in the mirror and what my wife sleep together with :). My naked soul will meet the Lord eventually :D. Rather than displaying a (very) relative wealth with possession of goods, we’d rather help others less fortunate. I set a fixed amount of money for hobbies/gear, like a budget. It can vary from year to year, depending on other priorities and other’s priorities :D. I maybe buy three/four knives per year and all of them are production knives, so far never exceeding 200 EUR price/each. For me, the best of this hobby is being outdoor and play with my sharpies and my gear. Second thing I value is the research I do and the knowledge I get. I also don’t necessarily need to “own” every knife I’m interested in. Have a knife day, take care and good luck.
 
DrIndianaJones said:
Firstly I'm like you. I do my homework and choose wisely. Some knives have taken me 30 years to acquire. Not really for financial reasons, but sometimes because what I wanted didn't exist, or didn't exist in the quality I wanted. The Fallkniven F2 is an example. In terms of finances I just bite the bullet, buy quality and cry once! The case of beer sometimes has to wait (I hate that part the most :dread:). But what I buy these days I commit too, no trying to sell off my knives on the exchange. Its not me. But sometimes I give one or two away to mates for birthdays and at Christmas time for example.

But every time I splurge I have to inevitably be prepared to cop one of these from the girlfriend... Its good to know I know where my priorities lie, right? :D
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Yeah, I fall into this camp too. If I'm going to buy a knife, I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that it's for me!
 
I make grips for pistols and knives from stabilized woods and some carbon fiber. Woodworking is in my blood and it makes a few bucks. I limit my knife budget to what I make from the sale of grips. One hobby funds the other, so no hit to the family budget.

Recently I bought a S!K GSO 5.1. I will start making handles for it, sell a few, and pick up another knife.

I used to be interested motorcycles because when I was riding I wasn't thinking about anything else. Life's worries didn't bother me for those few hours. Woodworking is the same way. Just simply working with my hands is a joy. And I love thinking about the next blade in terms of the time I will have making grips. It's my simple little way of affording it.
 
I'm sometimes proud to say and sometimes guilty to also say that I don't have any money issues. I drive a Toyota but my wife gets new audi a6 every few years. I work with and around the top 0.1% in finance. I sometimes still and for a long time felt like a fraud because I grew up in the ghetto.

That said working around the Uber wealthy it's helped me appreciate in 99 out of 100 cases that a knife is a cutting tool and that most knives will do the same thing.

So after a lot of random knife buying I've come to accept that I dont need a collection of every style of knife. I only focus on users and what I know I like. I only have two customs that I would like to own someday a dozier folding hunter in Ti and a Loveless. After that I could live with just one Spyderco or Kershaw or gec or rough rider if I had to. I'm glad that I do t have to but I'm also glad that I keep the number of knives outside of kitchen duty to under ten modest but good quality models. I'm happy to have what I have and not desire anything more for the most part.
 
I spent up to a comfortable balance point of roughly ten knives, constantly trying to have the ten best I can. Every time I have to buy a new one, I sell the one it "replaces". In that way my collection polices itself like the tides.

More importantly, I am overwhelmingly lucky to have people close to me who give over the top level gifts, and tend to support my hobbies. Sure, part of that is luck, but I also make personal sacrifices to treat them well when I can. That, in turn, has come back to me exponentially.
 
22-rimfire said:
JDX you are very fortunate to have friends who provide the necessities for you. Wait until you're out on your own. You'll understand that you are getting one hell of a deal. Make the best of it and make everyone proud that they helped you.

I finished 4 years of college with $500 total college debt. Pretty amazing in this day in age. It wouldn't happen today without huge scholarships to help. Parents didn't pay for anything. I worked part time during the school year and one or two full time jobs in the summer. Didn't do much other than work and sleep. There wasn't even time to eat really.
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I am completely grateful. During my breaks and summer vacation I stay at my sisters apartment and basically everything gets split into three in terms of rent and food and stuff. As for the family friends, we took them in and their daughter while the dad (at the time) was in rehab. So unfortunately they don't make me do more because they feel it's the least they can do, but given all the money I'm saving, I'd do what I can, chop firewood stack it, rake leaves in the fall, shovel the driveway in the winter, mow the lawn in the summer, if I'm the first one up, which I generally am, I put on a pot coffee, get the fire going, take care of the dogs, whatever I can to make their lives easier and to try and show them how thankful I am for the opportunity.
 
good read. good to know many folks on this forums are not Gates / Buffett yet they have a positive, appreciative, and hard working attitude toward life and people around, and equally importantly maintain and enjoy this knife hobby.
 
I mug little old ladies. Granted it is not as lucrative as before Social Security went paperless, but there is still Bingo night at the church.:)

Just discretionary money-out in good times, and recovered in bad
 
I sharpen knives to buy stones to sharpen knives, it's a vicious cycle :D
 
I'm married with 3 kids combined. I'm the only one that works and I don't make 6 figures thou it would be nice too lol.. but my income supports us and pays the bills..we own our home, and our vehicles free and clear and don't have any credit cards. So basically just have groceries, utilities, (which are ridiculously high) and the unexpected things that come along...we don't drink alcohol, but do have our vices...we smoke and drink the hell outta energy drinks lol....

Im honestly frugal and don't like wasting money and will typically be really excited about a certain knife but manage to talk myself out of it..... Especially when I don't need it.... When I do however decide I want something I'll save up for a lil while or if it's a now or never deal I'll borrow from savings and pay it back...or sell something to fund it....I average 3-4 knives in recent years.... However I typically only bought knives in the $100-150 range, but having now been introduced to S!K, I'm in trouble lol. ...
 
work hard and save. move up the chain by learning everything you can from your upper level co-workers. i made myself so valuable by doing more quality work and finishing projects fast and perfectly, doing the extra work no one else will do, volunteering to help in anyways shape or form......that i get paid a lot more than what the job is worth. i've always done that even when i was a kid. i always had 2 or 3 jobs until i made enough and moved up enough to have 1 job. sometimes on the weekends i wish i still had a second job. i'd rather earn money than sit and watch the dummy box.

was it worth spending my time working rather than sitting around...yes Sir. i can retire any time i want to and i'm not even halfway in life yet. i see no reason not to keep working though. i enjoy working while others enjoy their free time more. good time management skills allows for both. too each their own.
 
I don't focus on saving money as much as I focus on making more money. There's billions of dollars to be plucked in this world. An opportunity cost is the cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action. Put another way, the benefits you could have received by taking an alternative action. We all have the same amount of time in a day. What you do with your time will determine how much you accumulate in your lifetime.
 
AusLoX said:
I don't focus on saving money as much as I focus on making more money. There's billions of dollars to be plucked in this world.
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You should spend some of those billions buying multiple copies of my book. :)
They make great gifts for everyone, for every occasion. ;)

I'll use the money I get to buy more knives. :thumbup:
 
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