Who gives themselves an annual budget for blades?

D

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I have more knives than I need. So, this year, I think I may give myself a budget and stick to it. That way, I can buy some knives without feeling too guilty. Does anyone else operate this way?
 
I prefer to tackle the budget issue with each new purchase, as I don't buy very often. When something catches my eye I check my bank account, do some math, and then decide if I can buy.
 
This is such a personally painful question to answer...!

I have a budget in my head, but I always go over it.

I am going to try to stick to it this year, because last year I went 10 years worth of 'budgets' over it.

It's tough, this is a very addictive hobby, and there is always something new just around the corner....
 
Thats a good idea actually, then if there is something over budget you could sell one you have... Although i find it hard for me to do that...
 
I make a fairly decent living so I can pretty well spend what I want and not hurt my standard of living. That being said I have never spent more than 200 on a knife and I try to have no more than 2 in the mail at any time. In Canada it takes anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to get a shipment from the States so I am probably limited to 20 a year. I am breaking my 200 dollar limit after Christmas witha custom slip joint from Gene Wiseman.
 
I would try and limit the number of knives I would buy never the price, but I never bought expensive knives. Its a good thing tool trucks dont sell midtechs, I think I bought about 25 knives off the tool trucks in 2014
 
I tend to buy and sell a lot, just for the joy of having new higher-quality folders for a while before letting them go. I try to maintain a balance between in-coming and my sales in order to manage with a very small monthly "self-allowance." Occasionally, I would receive three knives in my mailbox in one day, which tended to complicate the c-c bill. My number of on-hand folders has been steadily shrinking over the past year, as my obsession seems to have run its manic course. That's a good thing, and much easier on my nerves.
My EDC has been generally one particular folder for one or more yrs before I might switch to another.
 
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Of course I have an annual budget for knives, I haven't kept it at all ever but I do still have a budget:D
 
My wife and I agreed to a budget for my knives, that way she's happy I'm not spending all our money and I don't have to discuss/ask permission for each purchase. If I sell a knife the money goes back into my budget. Works for us.
 
Thanks for your replies, everyone. I know it's hard to predict what you may want during the year for a budget to be realistic. Even tougher to borrow from next year's budget and work with limited funds the next year.

Those who buy and resell: do you use the knives you buy, or try to keep them "mint?"
 
I really dont have a budget, becuase im in to customs, almost exclusively. So its hard having a budget since you dont know what materials etc to go for, so the prices is always different from maker to maker.
Since the wait is pretty long for the customs,my collection is not that big yet. But next year many of them will start coming. :)
Im saving about 500$ every month for my knives though.

And, i dont resell knives, also i dont buy them secondhand, becuase of the prices lol..
I use all of my knives, i tend to keeps my knives forever, so no safe queens here. Im not a hard user though. :D
 
I think there are some of us that don't want to know what we spend on knives! If everyone on this board didn't buy a single knife in 2015 we could feed the poor in a third world country, of course more than a few knife makers might go out of business too :-)

Mike
 
Mike45ACP said:
I think there are some of us that don't want to know what we spend on knives! If everyone on this board didn't buy a single knife in 2015 we could feed the poor in a third world country, of course more than a few knife makers might go out of business too :-)

Mike
Click to expand...

LOL :D

TBH, i have a list, so i know when all my customs are coming, and approximatley what they will cost.
So i know pretty much what it will cost me.. And, it hurts lol.. But its probably worth it when i have it in my hand.
But i can never know for sure what they cost. I tend to count on it high, so i have more than i need..
 
I dont have a budget but I do have a system which is I set a limit of how many knives I will keep at any given time and if I go over that limit I need to sell one until I am back within that limit. It works for me because I tend to get bored with certain designs and eventually I lost interest. And this way it helps alleviate the cost of new purchases.
 
I do pretty good about budgeting, me and my wonderful wife usually allot about $100 a month each for a personal allowance. She likes eating out with friends at work, I like buying toys. This sometimes varies, if one of us wants/needs more, we each get more, and often less too. I'm not the knife buyer I used to be, I think I only got two all of last year, but love my new rifle. I have a couple I plan to get over the next several months, and that means I'll probably sell/gift several. I have tried to stop being a collector, and don't feel comfortable if I have over 10 or so at any time.

I found that when I was being a obsessive consumer I was trying to compensate for other problems in my life. Working on those problems has made a more positive difference than having a closet full of neat stuff and the short lived Dopamine hit every time the UPS man arrived.

Grizz
 
My wife and i do a monthly allowance as well. We call it our blow money. We let the total roll over into the following months, that way if we choose to purchase something nicer we simply have to wait and let the money build up. Almost all of my blow money goes toward knives. :D
 
Me and my wife each have a nominal monthly allowance with which to do with as we please – no questions asked. So this works very well for both of us, so if I win some money playing poker than I have a little extra for a knife purchase. We can also spend ahead a few months if we want or the whole year at once.
 
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