What's your budget for lego and how do you keep them?

[wgemini]

I just blew 3 year worth of budget ($1000/year) in the one month since I came out the dark age, yet I still have a long list of things I want. What's your budget and how do you keep them?

[MrBrickALot]

I know that feeling, just got back into LEGO and have spent way more than I wanted. The problem is I have build a new display area without having the sets to fill it. So then I had to go out and buy some sets :)

Going forward I hope to spend max 100euro/month

[naf]

Budget? lol, you're funny

[Andrzej777]

:)

When I started with lego I thought about spending as little as possible, but I found myself buying quite a lot.

For example, I made a pab order and in the meantime discovered that I needed other bricks, placed a new one, and guess what? In the meantime I discovered that I needed different bricks :) lol

I spend way too much.

The good thing is, I have lots of bricks right now that I can experiment with. Another good thing is that I am basically just interested in historic lego, pirates, castle, western, and there is nothing coming out this year (apparently) its actually a bad thing IMHO cause I would like to buy a couple of sets but its gonna be good for my wallet. And in regard to this I will try to keep a 500 EUR budget for this year - which I am going to spend on individual bricks (pab, bap) - spend already 125 EUR lol

Will see how that one turns out

maybe as an advise:

You should really think about what you are really interested in, I said I am only interested in historic lego, that is true, but still, I would like to build a lego city as well, and star wars could be fun as well :)

However, I dont think I have the resources, the space, and the time to invest in all kinds of themes, so I just picked what I am most interested in and go with it :)

Edited February 18, 2016 by Andrzej777

[samlr]

No budget, no problem ... well almost no problem :-D

[Sir Brickalot]

Budget? Don't be ridiculous.

[JopieK]

I'm moving all my LEGO right know, already four car loads, probably need a fifth. Hmmm... it's an addiction ;)

[dr_spock]

Budget control is spend until your spouse tells you that you have reached her limit.

I'm moving all my LEGO right know, already four car loads, probably need a fifth. Hmmm... it's an addiction ;)

Wouldn't it be easier to rent a truck? Is your new house ready?

[Japanbuilder]

I am in the exact same boat!

Just got out of a Dark Age (20 plus years) this past December....everything looks so much cooler and shinier than when I was kid! I have blown away so much money on Lego in the past 3 months alone and I just placed another order this very morning!

Tomorrow, I will also go out and buy non-LEGO stuff to support my growing but already modestly sized collection. (basically I want to ditch the boxes and get a few storage containers for the extra bits and pieces for the components I don't build and a place to store my instruction booklets)

Thankfully for me, I only really love City vehicle sets. I have earmarked some Star Wars stuff and maybe some LEGO Movie sets but since here in Japan the release tables are wonky and a lot of sets never even make it, it naturally limits my budget for me. Also because I am mostly into City I imagine by next month I will have gotten all the sets I want for now.

Still it is hard to keep my own promises of limiting my monthly expenses to about 10,000yen. Already this month alone I have blown past 14,000yen ><

[JopieK]

Budget control is spend until your spouse tells you that you have reached her limit.

Wouldn't it be easier to rent a truck? Is your new house ready?

We needed the bigger house indeed haha ;)

But the problem is my wife has a list:

- detective office

- bank

- simpsons

- ghostbusters

- then all the new Technic sets

So then my budget is probably LUGBulk haha ;)

[LEGO Guy Bri]

My first two years back in I spent waaaay too much. I wasn't putting any money into savings, which is not the best idea, but I also was not to a point where paying bills became an issue. But, that was me just getting the sets I wanted when I was younger and missed. All were purchased on the factor of "I may not be able to get these sets for this price again", meaning if I found it for a decent price, at or lower than it's original MSRP, I threw a bid in. Now I just buy current sets that appeal to me from the themes I like. I cut back by well over half to 2/3's of what I was spending. Thankfully I am only into City/ City-like sets

[Captain Britain]

Now that I'm pretty much caught up on Super Heroes I missed from previous sets (can finally count them on one hand!) my budget is only 2-3 sets a month so maybe about £60/70 depending on their size/cost? Once big things like the Civil War airport set, or the Spidey bridge set are out that'll be my only one for the month due to the cost. I think for March I'll pick up the last two BvS sets I need - Clash of Heroes and Kryptonite Interception. Leaves me with a little left to pick up the minifigs I missed!

Oh.. and sneak a bit away each month for that all important Batcave

[geezerman402]

I'm the same as many others, first year or two I bought a LOT of Lego, both new and old. But, depending on what themes you like, you eventually notice many similar sets come out over time, your tastes might narrow a bit, etc. Now I buy far less than I did then. But I have no set budget. I just use Brickset to make a list of what I want, and use that as a guide.

[MAB]

I just blew 3 year worth of budget ($1000/year) in the one month since I came out the dark age, yet I still have a long list of things I want. What's your budget and how do you keep them?

I think you've made the classic mistake that many people make. You'll probably find that in a year's time a lot of what you've bought you don't really want, but bought it in the excitement of rediscovering lego. Most sets don't disappear quickly. Make a list but buy items slowly. That way, if you build and don't like something, then don't go buying similar sets in the future.

My budget now is just about zero. Not because I cannot afford it, but because I have too much. It's good to reassess what you have and clear out what you no longer want, and use that to fund new purchases. You might be in that position in a year or two.

Also plan purchases around promotions, especially for exclusives from S@H / Lego store.

[Stash2Sixx]

Pay the bills, plan for the week, put a little away, the rest is budget...

Some weeks I spend a ton, some weeks I spend nothing. As for a budget though, you'll go nuts trying to rationalize this purchase and that purchase. Just keep your unbuilt stuff somewhere you can see it constantly. It's a good reminder to think about when you want to go buy something. Works for me anyway.

[Cobb]

I'm a sucker for Batman so.....I spend way too much on lego.

On average maybe 50 euro per month, not counting the Lego my two sons get on their birthdays etc.

[Geology Joe]

I'm a teacher, so as you can guess, my budget is pretty small! I usually spend about 40 bucks a month on average, mostly on used legos. I go to a local "toy store" where the seller keeps huge unsorted boxes of Legos and sells them for $7 a pound. It's quite a job sorting through them for the pieces I want, but it keeps me within my budget. I buy new sets several times a year too, whenever I have extra spending cash.

[L E G O]

I don't really budget for Lego. If, after all the bills are paid and there's a set I particularly like then I might buy it. Or I might spend on one of my other hobbies - I just call it as I see it at the time. The Wife complains just as much regardless :)

[KringlesBricks]

My advice would be pick a theme and go from there. I set limits for certain things. I am currently building up a Lego City layout (in a 12ft x 10ft room) and a majority of my bricks are coming from Bricklink lately. I only stick with the City Theme. If I don't stick to that one theme, then I'll blow my budget and have "useless" sets that sit and collect dust I cannot incorporate into my city.

2 Types of Budgets

1. Bricklink and PaB Wall: I try to keep it at $100 per month on average combined. If I go over that month, then I'll cut it short the following month (and vise versa)

2. I only collect the Creator/Expert Sets that fit into a city layout.

So, on average with 1 new modular city building and one Expert Set per year my budget is $500. For Bricklink and PaB Wall pieces it's about $1200 per year. I've been doing more Modding then set building lately.

Edited February 19, 2016 by KringlesBricks

[62Bricks]

About two years ago I spent $60 on a used lot, sorted it, and used it to stock a Bricklink shop. That is the last time I spent any money out of my own pocket for Lego, and in that time I've grown my personal collection from around 20,000 pieces to over 100,000. I keep all my Lego buying and selling funds in one Paypal account, so that's how I keep from dipping into my "own" money for more. I have a debit card for the account that I keep next to my VIP card in my wallet so I can treat myself to the occasional new set or some new bricks from the PAB wall if they have anything I need for my building.

I don't if it would work if I was a set collector. I just like parts. I have no problem getting rid of minifigs or rare old pieces because I don't use those kinds of things in my own building.

It is work to run a good Bricklink shop. It takes time hunting down inventory, sorting, listing, filling orders. But I enjoy making great finds and learning about parts, so it doesn't feel like work. Might not work for everyone, but I may never have to pay for Lego again...

[Bricktabs]

Low space for stocking all the sets I need, I buy on impulse so no precise budget (mainly Lego Star Wars).

[Bricky Dee Williams]

Budget....lets see, add the three, factor the one out, and......yeah, I just buy the Marvel Super Heroes sets and then whatever I really like that I can still afford. But in reality, I plan to spend at most $500 a year, unless a really nice D2C comes along.

[Captain Pirate Man]

Christmas 2014 was when I officially got out of my dark ages. 2015 I did my best, but honestly my reasources were quite limited. But I still managed to get The Lonely mountain, an unexpected journey, goblin king set, the entire 2013 castle line (including 4 gatehouse raids), all of the 2015 pirates line (except for the ship), 2 POTC sets (London escape and the mill) half of the midevil market village (1 of the buildings), black monarchs castle, and Forestmen hideout. Again, I got all of these since Christmas 2014, and in limited means (of sorts). I just used every free dollar (that my wife would allow

Edited February 20, 2016 by Captain Pirate Man

[curiusgeorge]

I've only been collecting for a few months, so I'm not really setting any budget limits, but I am pretty frugal when it comes to buying sets. The bigger modular sets, ghostbusters HQ, technic etc, I wait until a double points event. The smaller city sets like vehicles, city sets I wait until they are on sale. My biggest issue is trying to get the older retired modular sets. $300 for a retired set like the GE is about my upper limit. I can afford more, but that's pretty much where I draw the line considering I could be spending that money on multiple current sets.

[dr_spock]

So then my budget is probably LUGBulk haha ;)

I am not looking forward to seeing the LUGBULK invoice come in.

I just blew 3 year worth of budget ($1000/year) in the one month since I came out the dark age, yet I still have a long list of things I want.

Here is a crazy idea. If you set your budget in US Dollars, you will have more Canadian dollars to spend before you blow it.