Do you have a stamping/crafting "budget"?

[frankie]

No budget -- I definitely buy what I want. :twisted:
I'm stricly a hobby demo with SU so I always spend at least $300/quarter on stuff with SU. I've been strictly hobby for 2 years now and I still love buying SU stuff.

I attend a monthly crop with my girlfriends and always buy stuff at the LSS we crop at. I'll usually hit my 2 favorite LSS on Fridays just to see what's new and it's rare that I leave empty handed. Plus, I have Robert's, Michael's and Joanns nearby . . . that does some damage!

Besides papercrafting, I love to knit and quilt -- those 2 hobbies make papercrafting look cheap LOL!

I will say, I'm very fortunate to have a hubby who doesn't care about my spending -- he always jokes that it's his job to earn the money and my job to spend it. :mrgreen:

[lnl96]

Normally my budget is a lot smaller, but we're getting ready to move back overseas for work, so dh has given me the green light to do a little stocking up. My stamp spending will pretty much come to a screeching halt once we get back to China (no Michaels or HL there, lol), except for the occasional small internet order.

[jazzytobi]

i SHOULD, but i do not.. If i have extra $$$ and there's a sale (my LSS ALWAYS has sales) i will usually mosey on down to the store.. But honestly i'm getting to the point where 1) i am running out of storage solutions, and hence room to put new stuff, and 2) i am running out of things to buy!!!!!!!!!!! hehehe.. I could shop online all day, but the shipping to canada kills me, as well as the exchange rate, so i'm kinda stuck buying local stuff which actually helps my budget in the end!

[Mel H.]

My slush fund receives 100 bucks a month. I try to keep it under that. Notice I said "try". It doesn't always work that way though. I definitely don't spend more than we can afford!!

[flstamper2]

No budget here. I always use coupons, and try to keep spending to a minimum. I just don't buy stuff on a whim!!

[allensm]

Budget??? What's that. Have a sum I'd like to spend and usually blow that. However, a situation came up recently and I have had to put myself on one. I support 3 demonstrators and split coast, not to meant various websites and on line stores. So in one group I only spend $20. In another it is $25, and anohter is $30. Mind you that is not counting all the classes I take from all of them. So I'm trying to keep it under $150 a month. I spend until the money runs out which is about half way through the month and then I hit the forum to enterain myself. It is usually much cheaper. I also don't buy stamp sets over 30. and I'm cutting that back down to 25 since shipping went up. Oh well, it was good while it lasted, but it's time for a reality check. Since I buy for my classroom too I try to really look for bargains and justify what I buy.
sam

[thescrapmaster]

OK I "have" a budget, but I never seem to stick to it

[lucindabowker]

I don't really have a budget. I work at a print shop, so I have access to a lot of standard stocks. But each payday weekend, I take the coupon that Michael's e-mails me and I buy either a new stamp or patterned paper pad. I have a personal cutting system at home (I wish I bought a different brand, tho) So I don't really buy punches anymore.

[JulieHRR]

My husband and I both work very hard, and are conscientious about saving for emergencies, our kids' college educations, and our own retirement. We also have done without new cars, new furniture, trips abroad, expensive electronic items, etc., for most of our married life (25 years come August 09), to make sure that we have no debt other than the mortgage on our modest house.

Like others, I don't have a "set" budget; I do use common sense over whether or not I can afford what I want. If I can't pay for something outright in cash, I save for it until I can.

[Cook22]

Another one with no set budget. I just never spend what I can't afford, and tend to put stuff in a basket and wait a few days and then see if I still want it. When we had less disposable income, I might only have had €20 a month that I could afford to spend on crafting stuff. Things are better now, but I still have the habit of not buying on impulse.

[BA]

No budget; just purchase what I want. However I am the 'saver' in the family so I never spend more than I know I should. Like JulieHRR, we typically save every month for retirement, emergency fund, charitable giving, travel, etc. So I just use "common sense" (although I have found it is not so common anymore!) in my spending.