How do you Manage Your LEGO Addiction?

[Vee]

I have found a solution to manage this very recent and dangerous Lego addiction of mine before it gets out of control.

Using my most beloved application ever, Excel, I cataloged all the sets we bought since we arrive here in the US (never bought any while living in Brazil) and I included my recent shopping spree with expensive sets (to raise the average to a reasonable value ), I summed up all the _real_ prices we paid for all of them, Bricklink purchases were included, and then I came up with a total: how much I have spent on Lego toys so far (taxes, S&H included!). I divided this total by the number of months we have lived here in the US and I got to a dollar/month average. I rounded down a bit this average and then I established that this value should be kept for the future! Still it was 50% higher than what my wife told me she thought would be an acceptable value .

The result is that - if I stick to my own rule - it will take almost two years for me to be able to buy the 3 remaining modular buildings that I want, considering that I do not buy anything else in between.

DANG!

[AFOLguy1970]

I promised my wife if we moved to Colorado, I would buy a lot less Lego because there are more outdoor activities there. I do have other hobbies and interests, but they are not as readily available as Lego. I basically just have to make a priority list and a budget. It can be difficult when you have a MOC project and like a lot of the sets that are coming out.

[SMC]

I wait for good sales to keep the cost down, I try and keep to a few themes although this can be hard. I don't buy more than one of a set (although I have for lotr). I dont buy figs from bricklink cos if I start I won't stop. I try and get sets as gifts. All this is to keep the cost down but now I am getting to the point where room will start to become a problem.

[Vee]

I am about to stop this recent addiction of mine. I have decided that I will finish my two current small projects, the Ole Kirk's House and the Haunted House MOD's, and then I will call it quits. Lego/BrickLink is a nice hobby but the cost/benefit of it has proven too high. I am just waiting for the last parts to arrive so I can finish those two MOD's and be done with it. I will then keep buying Lego sets as I have done before, just a few a year, mostly for my daughters, if and when they ask for them. And I still need to buy the last three modular buildings (TH, PC and PR) to complete a display area that I have designed for my office in the beginning of it all, but I am in no rush since I am using some of the houses I have for that and they fit rather nicely. I want to go back to my previous pastime, James Bond related, to finish something that I started some months ago but never finished since Lego stole all my attention. I am also an AFOJB, adult fan of James Bond...

[Wodanis]

I am about to stop this recent addiction of mine. I have decided that I will finish my two current small projects, the Ole Kirk's House and the Haunted House MOD's, and then I will call it quits. Lego/BrickLink is a nice hobby but the cost/benefit of it has proven too high. I am just waiting for the last parts to arrive so I can finish those two MOD's and be done with it. I will then keep buying Lego sets as I have done before, just a few a year, mostly for my daughters, if and when they ask for them. And I still need to buy the last three modular buildings (TH, PC and PR) to complete a display area that I have designed for my office in the beginning of it all, but I am in no rush since I am using some of the houses I have for that and they fit rather nicely. I want to go back to my previous pastime, James Bond related, to finish something that I started some months ago but never finished since Lego stole all my attention. I am also an AFOJB, adult fan of James Bond...

Say it isn't so Vee? It has been nice having you around on the forums reading your comments and threads.

As for me, everything in moderation so as not to burn yourself out. Right now, space for me is becoming an issue but I had to move back home. When I have my own place again things will improve. I usually buy the smaller sets at first, then when I've gotten all the ones I want I start to move onto the bigger sets. If I can find things on sale I will usually buy them. I've had to cut out Star Wars sets right now. It is unfortunate as I missed out on the rehashed sets the first time. I am mainly I am just sticking to City and some creator sets. I really don't pay attention to how much I spend as long as I enjoy on what I spend my money on. Personally I'd like to collect everything I want but without a job its difficult. I refuse however to go back into another dark age.

[Piratedave84]

2 words:

My wife!!

if it was up to me, I would go to the local TRU or drive to Toronto to the Lego store and throw fistfull of money at them whilst yelling "I WANT IT ALL"!!

I am very lucky that my wife really like Lego and is very fond of the modular series, this enabeld me to buy all of them (except CC) without any questioning on the price of said models. I usually watch for sales and wait a few months in between purchases, my wife usually 'allows' me 200$ every few monhts which is a very acceptable budget for me. Slowly but surely, the collection had grown to a very acceptable 150,000 pieces or so.

[TheLazyChicken]

Easy... I don't.

Only time that I try not to buy LEGO is when my wallet is crying for mercy.

Excactly, I don't either except when my wife tells me that we can't spend anymore because of the bills. But I hardly never stop though!

[Vee]

Exactly, I don't either ...

My biggest mistake, or smart thing, that I have done is/was to keep track of all my expenses in Lego, when I realized that I was "maybe" spending more than what was reasonable in this new addiction. So I started recording all my purchases and now when I look at them, I cannot help but think that what I am doing is crazy, has no sense, no matter how satisfying it may be, because it is just too much for what I get in return, a beautiful thing made of plastic. I tried to explain to myself that these toys one day would be useful for my grand kids but considering my daughters are too young yet, I can't see any grand kid in the near or not so near future, hopefully!

So, I look at my Excel sheet, I see that I have spent US$1,200 in Lego toys for my daughters in 10 years (since we arrived here in the US) and then, in the last 2 months and a half, I spend $2,300 alone, buying Lego stuff for me, and I still "have to" spend $520, totaling almost 3k dollars!

It was nice, I've had my fun, now it is time to stop. I've had enough.

My Ole Kirk's house, for instance, started as a $120 BL project. Then I decide to change the colors I started with, buy more stuff. Then I decide to add landscape around, front yard, backyard, lots of more parts to buy. Then I decide to add light bricks, buy more stuff. Then I decided to add some interior (yes, I did), more parts. What about a Danish flag, that would be cool?! More parts! Then I change this or that here and there, make mistakes and have to correct them, I want the RED apples, not the green apples, I like expensive parts, more parts then to buy. In the end, I have not calculated how much I spent exactly in it, I don't even want to, because some purchases also had parts for the Haunted house or other minor things that I was doing, but my estimates put it at around $450, much more expensive than the original house (although also much better than the original house in my humble view). And then you have to deal with some BL sellers that are a PITA, they take weeks to send your stuff. As I said, enough!

I _am_ happy with my Ole Kirk's House MOD, I _am_ happy with my Haunted House MOD, I am happy with a Gift Box Set that I created and cost me $100 (totally based on a video from Lego) and I used it to give the Christmas gift for my wife and again, today, a Valentine's day (call it recycling...), I am happy with, let's say, 90% of what I spent my money on, but I cannot justify to continue in this same path anymore.

[parksroad]

I don't keep all of my sets built, so if I feel like putting something together there are tons of disassembled sets in my toolbox I can choose from. I also take something else apart at the same time, so I don't need to buy a new set to have a nice build to appreciate. Since most of my sets are disassembled most of the time, I tend to forget the little details and enjoy re-discovering them. Of course there's nothing like opening a new box for the first time, but I think carefully about what any new set will add to my collection: is this car really different from the ones I have? Is this building nicer than the one I have? Can I just mod something I already have to get some detail I admire in a new set? This keeps me pretty happy, and keeps LEGO from taking over my life and my living space, which honestly wouldn't make me very content in the end...

[TheLegoDr]

I also feel overwhelmed about spending at times. I have cut back a lot since the Dark Ages, but still there are those times you want to buy something.

I think the key is spreading it out over time...even though it feels great to get that brick fix!

I've been slowly bricklinking CC and GG, but within the last few months I've been more interested in it, so buying more pieces. That is tough to let go of the money when all you receive are these little plastic bricks. But it can also be quite satisfying to build something fun/creative... The downside is trying to find money to enjoy building. I have very little.

I guess the good thing is, I haven't bought a ton of LEGO for a while, just a few small purchases here and there (which was paid for from LEGO I've sold on Amazon), so it worked out quite well.

But to Vee, I don't think I've spent that much on LEGO in the last 3 years! Kudos to you to be able to swing that expenditure.

[AmperZand]

LEGO addiction can be a matter of lack of money and/or lack of space. I set myself limits on both fronts so things don't get out of hand.

On the financial side, I'm fairly strict about limiting myself to core interests, specifically, fantasy/historical and super hero minifigs. I'll sometimes go crazy and get a large set for its minifigs, but only once or twice a year. Occasionally, I'll MOC a building or vehicle but as I don't deconstruct what I make, I'm very careful not to build anything I don't intend to keep.

As for space, my fiancée has ruled that my display collection be limited to a specific location away from public view. That suits me as it means that my minifigs and other MOCs only get touched by me.

[Vee]

LEGO addiction can be a matter of lack of money and/or lack of space...

Not that the financial side does not matter but for me Lego addiction is more a matter of self discipline than anything else. The money I have spent and may still spend with Lego will not hurt us financially, but the fact that I have spent such an amount of money in such a thing (ultimately plastic toys) is what bothers me, a lot, and it is this feeling of "something wrong with this" that makes me control the addiction.

[kermit]

I usually set myself a budget, for example, I divide the money I earn into savings and lego funds. I then set a goal lets say for instance, I must save $1000 first which goes into the savings then whatever cash is earned after is used to purchase whatever sets I want then start back saving again to that specific savings goal followed by the funds for spending and so on and so on in a cycle. As for lego spending funds i usually limit myself to $300 each time and will be willing to go to $400 for the max especially if a set is very expensive but never above the $400.

Now since im making my own modular buildings my lego spending budget had to be divided in half with one half for lego sets and the other for bricks for my mocs.

To me this way helps to prevent my spending on lego form getting out of control and landing myself in a situation where im spending more money on lego than savings.

As always space is also a factor as well. But I found the soultion to it. I packed up the sets that I am no longer interested in displaying in boxes to make room for the new ones until i can get a really big house with one huge room for my lego sets.

Funny you should say that, that's exactly what I did yesterday with my niece (I needed a dark bley horse hitching), and I felt really bad about it. Oh well, guess it might be time to buy her another brick bucket.

I tend to do the same thing as Peppermint_M, that is try to limit myself to smaller sets that aren't as big a hit on my wallet (pretty much all mind games though because they add up quickly). I also have a problem of getting "caught up in the moment" and start buying lots of sets on ebay even if I don't really need them, so I tend to steer clear of places like that now. As for Bricklink, I only go there when I'm missing some parts for a MOC or something, and I try to limit orders there to under $10.

I also do the same. For christmas i will buy my niece and nephew lego sets when I know they are not really into it and then after a few days they will tell me to keep the sets for them and eventually they would say i could keep it .

Edited February 26, 2014 by kermit

[Deathleech]

I basically just stick to one theme and buy the crap out of it, lol. Right now it's LotR and the Hobbit (ok, I guess that's technically two themes?). I buy at least two of every set and then multiples of ones I really like or that have a lot of minifigures for army building. I also have BrickLinked quite a few figs. I try to set a limit for myself but I seem to end up wanting more and more! First it was 50 Uruk-hai, then 100, then 150...

While I don't do so sticking to my limit, I have managed to stick with just one (or two) themes. I have been tempted to get into some others but I will probably wait until the LotR and Hobbit lines end. I might jump into the Super Heroes themes then, and maybe something else since those don't have a lot of multi purchase appeal.

[TheBrickPal]

I do manage my addiction, in a way. I do it by buying or asking for only the sets I find interesting enough, and only a few from each theme that I am a fan of. Buying is not the problem, however. What the problem is, is me building and thinking about LEGO all day long! So, I guess you could say that I manage my addiction poorly.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Puffle Pal26

[Andy D]

Addiction to me implies a problem. I have a hobby, my hobby harms no one, I do not overspend (no matter how much I spend) and I contain my LEGO to my studio.

No addiction, just a pasionate hobby!

Andy D

[webcrawler2050]

I limit my self - I have OCD too, so its become a real addiction & I could happily spend £1000's and with Bipolar aswell I have to be so careful. On serious note, I have manic episodes and most of the week i'm given "pocket money" if you likeim generally "allowed" to get 5 sets max a week.

[Vee]

... im generally "allowed" to get 5 sets max a week.

That is like 5 * 52 = 260 sets a year... At a $50 average per set (my current average), that would mean 13k a year. This much money is more than you need to pay for the Maryland University tuition.

[Im a brickmaster.]

With willpower.

[agentsmith]

i limit lego budget to ~ 30 $ per month , i don't play with them , only keep them on display ( even made shelves to put them on my walls ) , generally u don't need to buy that much lego if u are a moc'er since u can combine them in alot of ways and make alot of small things , BUT if u start buying 100 minifigs or lego takes over u're living space then maybe u should see a psychiatrist.

[Lord Rahl of Clannad]

Well, as I still live on pocket money from my parents (though I do get £30 a month), my budget for everything is limited. Most of the time, I end up prioritising other things I want (mainly DVDs, books and cinema tickets) over buying LEGO, so I don't actually buy LEGO that often. Most of the time I wait until my birthday and spend my birthday money to get some sets. I also get one or two for Christmas, though people are more reluctant to buy me LEGO sets for Christmas than they used to be. I feel that my addiction (if it can even be called that) is well managed, though I do miss out on the vast majority of sets I want as a result. Although, seeing as LEGO has taken up a lot of shelf space in my room (I don't have any extra space to store LEGO sets currently), maybe not being able to buy many more sets at the moment is a blessing in disguise.

[Vee]

A suggestion to the admins: you should allow ONE post a day for new forum users, until they have like 10, then they would be free to post any a day. by doing this, you probably can avoid these buggers, like the one above, to post multiple spammer's posts in the forum. They would post just one, then you would ban the retarded before s/he has the time to post another.

[trippybrowneyes]

I try to stick to certain themes, avoid buying the sets that are replicated every few years, and don't buy duplicates. If I want to buy large set, I need to find a place for it first.

Of course, my husband has no such restraints when buying Lego. Our Lego room is already full, and while putting up lots of shelving will help tremendously, I fear it won't be long before we run out of room! :(

[Vindicare]

My money does it for me. Also, comics have been leading me astray.

[viracocha]

It looks that I have found this forum thread too early.

Ok, will come back later. In a year or two...

Don't close.