Card Budget

[Westside]

Do you have a set card budget every month? How do you determine how much it is? Do you exhaust your budget every month? If not, does the excess money roll over to the next month? I need idea. Thanks!

[Bocabirdman]

My monthly card budget is directly related to the intensity of the wife's scowl. I just keep spending until I see the vein on the side of her forehead pulsate sending angry spittle from the corner of her sneer.....

[iwantitiwinit]

Card budget = (all other fixed and variable monthly costs) x 2

[irv]

No real budget, but I should have one!

I'm streaky, I suppose? When I see cards that I don't own and if they are reasonable, as well as shipping, then I'll bid. Sometimes not much is available so that is obviously my down/slow time.

Guess it all balances out over a period of time.

[nat]

A budget is necessary if you have cash-flow problems or poor self control. And, if the former, you probably shouldn't be spending money on baseball cards.

If neither of those is true, the way to keep spending down is to assign a very low number to each card that you want, and simply refuse to pay more than that number. The number has got to be low enough that it's hard to find the card at that price. It's what I do, and it means passing on lots of things that I could "afford". I like this strategy better than an actual budget because it means that if several things can be found at my very low number, I can get all of them. On the other hand, it also means that there will sometimes be a month in which I don't buy anything.

Caveat: due to being married, some elements of a budget are necessary. If I spend a lot of money, or if lots of packages show up in the mail all at once (regardless of what they cost), it might be necessary to lie low for a while. But that's a "staying married" strategy, not a "buying cards" strategy, and applies as much to anything else as it does to baseball cards.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by nat

A budget is necessary if you have cash-flow problems or poor self control. And, if the former, you probably shouldn't be spending money on baseball cards.

If neither of those is true, the way to keep spending down is to assign a very low number to each card that you want, and simply refuse to pay more than that number. The number has got to be low enough that it's hard to find the card at that price. It's what I do, and it means passing on lots of things that I could "afford". I like this strategy better than an actual budget because it means that if several things can be found at my very low number, I can get all of them. On the other hand, it also means that there will sometimes be a month in which I don't buy anything.

Caveat: due to being married, some elements of a budget are necessary. If I spend a lot of money, or if lots of packages show up in the mail all at once (regardless of what they cost), it might be necessary to lie low for a while. But that's a "staying married" strategy, not a "buying cards" strategy, and applies as much to anything else as it does to baseball cards.

+1 on buying cards and staying married. I do almost exactly the same thing.

[Rich Falvo]

Originally Posted by irv

No real budget, but I should have one!

I'm streaky, I suppose? When I see cards that I don't own and if they are reasonable, as well as shipping, then I'll bid. Sometimes not much is available so that is obviously my down/slow time.

Guess it all balances out over a period of time.

That's my approach, too. I think of it as more of a per-card budget. Some months there are 10 cards that I need that come up at my desired prices, some months I don't buy anything. I've got a pretty narrow focus of what I'm looking for, so I have to try to grab what I can when it's available.

[Westside]

I've been think about make myself a budget for every month and sticking to it. I dont make purchases with a credit card or anything, but Id feel better if I had a set budget.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by Bocabirdman

My monthly card budget is directly related to the intensity of the wife's scowl. I just keep spending until I see the vein on the side of her forehead pulsate sending angry spittle from the corner of her sneer.....

But of course, Mike. How could you be so crass as to actually spend money on baseball cards when surely the house needs some form of improvement?

Happy collecting,

Larry

[z28jd]

I ate one of those big $1.19 soft pretzels from Wawa for dinner last night due to going well over my budget last month, so I might be wrong person to give advice...

[pokerplyr80]

No budget for me. Some months I may pick up a few cards. I may go a few months between pick ups. If I've been spending too much, or want to go after a big purchase I sell a few cards. It's worked out so far, and I always make sure to leave a comfortable reserve in the bank in case other things come up.

I did sell a few cards I would have rather held on to when I was about to purchase a house. But I felt it necessary at the time due to the money we were putting down. I sure wish I had the green Cobb back with the recent run up.

[Section103]

My collecting activities actually shaped my budget.

Years ago, I set off to complete a defined collection. Early on in the search, there were literally hundreds of options and a wide range of $ values. I had a set monthly budget that I was comfortable with. I spent nearly that amount most every month. At times, a good deal on a pricey card would come up and I would usually dial back my spending in the later months to make up for it. Nowadays, my remaining list is small and purchases are infrequent at all. Many are rare and higher dollar though some are just hard to find but affordable. Scarcity is my budget control. When they come up though....its a matter of whether I can afford it or not.

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by Section103

My collecting activities actually shaped my budget.

Years ago, I set off to complete a defined collection. Early on in the search, there were literally hundreds of options and a wide range of $ values. I had a set monthly budget that I was comfortable with. I spent nearly that amount most every month. At times, a good deal on a pricey card would come up and I would usually dial back my spending in the later months to make up for it. Nowadays, my remaining list is small and purchases are infrequent at all. Many are rare and higher dollar though some are just hard to find but affordable. Scarcity is my budget control. When they come up though....its a matter of whether I can afford it or not.

Pretty much describes me along with is what a seller is asking for a card. If they are way out of the price range, then it's a no go.

[robw1959]

There has never been much room in my budget for pricey vintage baseball cards. So therefore I have never had a budget. But I've always had a goal: to eventually take in more money than I have paid out. So while I do look for bargains on cards that I will keep, I also look for deals on cards I intend to flip for a decent profit. I started from scratch, and my collection has been growing for 12 years now. It seems to be working because right now, overall, I'm about $2500 in the hole on a collection that is worth well over $30,000 in strictly vintage cards (1887-1974).

[Leon]

That is sweet and sort of the way I think too.
My card budget is whatever I see I like and can afford. (which isn't a ton nowadays).... But I also KNOW if done correctly it's not spending it's investing . I can rarely spend but I can invest (it seems almost daily nowadays).

Originally Posted by robw1959

There has never been much room in my budget for pricey vintage baseball cards. So therefore I have never had a budget. But I've always had a goal: to eventually take in more money than I have paid out. So while I do look for bargains on cards that I will keep, I also look for deals on cards I intend to flip for a decent profit. I started from scratch, and my collection has been growing for 12 years now. It seems to be working because right now, overall, I'm about $2500 in the hole on a collection that is worth well over $30,000 in strictly vintage cards (1887-1974).

[Exhibitman]

My budget is simple:

Kill = Eat

Whatever I make selling I can spend buying. Above that, I am SOL.

[Johnny630]

SOL hahah love it :-)