Do you have a pen budget?

[oldstoat]

I ask this question because I don't.

I'm neither organised or disciplined enough and so I sometimes find myself looking at pens, salivating ( yes, it is both embarrassing and slightly distasteful) and saying "No, too expensive" and walking away. At other times the fever comes over me and I buy. With the London Pen Show coming up, and dealers preferring cash, I'm seriously considering nailing my wallet shut until October so that I can take a wodge of cash to the show. But then, of course I'll feel obliged to spend it, even if I don't find a pen that I really really love.

[mhosea]

I have no fixed budget, but I'm naturally reluctant to splurge too often, and I'm getting more and more focused in my acquisition. Fortunately, I'm mainly a black-pen-with-gold-trim kind of guy who's more interested in the nuances of nib and feed performance than anything else (including the filler type). This renders me immune to the more dangerous advances of Italian pen makers and to the expensive hand-made Asian pens also. Unfortunately, I like pens with Pelikan m800 and larger grip sections, which drives the price up.

[Kaputnik]

I have no fixed budget. What I have done is to keep track, meticulously, of all the money I have spent on fountain pens, inks, paper bought with fountain pens in mind, and accessories that I would not have bought for my other pens. Contemplating what I have now, I have a tentative pen budget for 2015.


Pens: $0.00
Inks: $0.00
Paper: $0.00
Accessories: $0.00

----------------------

Total: $0.00

Just to make it clear, I'm not planning on stealing anything, either.:angel:

Mind you, this budget may undergo some revision. :cool:

[Cob]

No budget, just a strong irresponsible instinct and a burning need to make pen purchases - and sadly of necessity, pen sales too!

Cob

[orfew]

I do not have a pen budget except in my head. I tend to think about money in terms of how many pens it will buy. I have this much...well that equals 3 pens etc.

[top pen]

Not really.

[Jeph]

I have a pen budget and I have yet to exceed it. Of course I never keep any record of what I spend so what I don't know can't hurt me.
And other than a few well considered purchases, I mostly confine myself to evilbay dregs that nobody else is willing to pay much more than shipping for.

I am also planning to attend the London pen show, which will be my first show, and the fact that my plastic will be useless and quid not immediately available more than offsets the exchange rate penalty. I am telling myself that it will keep me more or less safe but only time and experience will tell. I am more planning to look and see what I want to put on my list of things to be on the lookout for if they fall into my lap. I have much more patience and time than I do money. So I will look for things to put on my list and focus on what I can learn from people instead. However, if there are lots of parts and/or tools for offer that could all change. I have perfected the logic of spending 20 times the value of a pen on tools.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

One should always budget. Pens fit into a certain category of "wants" in my budget. The more I spend on pens, the less I have for other wants. The more I spend on other wants, the less I have to spend on pens.

This summer I set myself a goal. I found a gorgeous Nakaya pen. I decided to see how quickly I could save for it within my existing budget. I just got paid for two jobs that I did and never expected to be paid for, so it is painful to force myself to stay in my saving budget when I got such an unexpected windfall. I had to remind myself that the goal of this exercise is the savings and sacrifice on the way. I don't seriously think I'll purchase the pen: that kind of expense is a lot for a pen. But, if I do buy it, I don't need to feel guilty.

That is the joy of a budget: you know you can spend the money when you spend it.

[Llewellyn]

Not really. If I find a pen that I'm interested in, then I just assess whether I really want it enough to pay the asking price or not. But as I've mentioned in some other threads, I do have a self-imposed limit of 25 pens (based on how much room I have for storage) and once I've reached that I don't think I'll be adding to my collection.

I only buy Visconti's and these days any pen I buy has to offer something different to what I already have, so that tends to slow down my acquisition rate.

[stevekolt]

I have a "fun" budget that is mine to use for whatever. My much better half is wanting a spinning wheel, so I will be buying that for her. The rest of the budget is divided between pens etc., knives, guns, guitars, and whatever else might catch my eye. :)

[KBeezie]

My Pen Budget : however much I have in paypal and how reckless I'm feeling at that moment...

(usually doesn't happen unless I have a certain amount already set aside for the monthly bills.

[Newjelan]

I don't have a pen budget nor do I keep track of what I've spent. It's all too painful and I prefer to keep my head in the sand.

[oldstoat]

I don't have a pen budget nor do I keep track of what I've spent. It's all too painful and I prefer to keep my head in the sand.

That's the true voice of the pen geek!

[chojo]

My budget is simple, i have nothing so i spend nothing. When i have something it's bills food and other "have to pay" things whatever is left... Ebay here i come!

[Alex2014]

What is it good for? When I'm glued to a FP, I hardly resist. :help:

[TerraNoir]

My pen budget is sort of rough. I have an approximate idea on how much I can spend. I never spend the entire thing! Though I have found the whole pen budget to be stifling when it comes to pen shows. I have walked away a few times wishing I had gotten that "one pen" thinking that maybe I would find one that I liked more or it was just way over my budget.

[Tracy Lee]

I don't have a pen budget nor do I keep track of what I've spent. It's all too painful and I prefer to keep my head in the sand.

Amen, good to know I have some company in this.

[fpquest]

You mean "pen budget" isn't synonymous with "credit card limit"?

I haven't had a real budget until this year, except that the money had to come from someplace other than necessities of life. This year I started budgeting myself to just money I've gotten from selling off some pens. But that's more an attempt to reduce the number of pens I have, I would spend more if I came across a pen that could replace one of my favorites. Plus, I do go to pen shows with a fixed, budget otherwise I'd be in trouble.

[ModernStationer]

At every paycheck, I automatically put aside an equal amount onto separate prepaid AmEx cards that my wife and I each have. These are essentially "spent it on whatever your want" funds. Mine is effectively a pen/ink/paper budget, though I occasionally use it for other things. (That said, it's surprising how many purchases are avoided by viewing through the "do I want this enough to have less to spend on pens?" lens.)

While there are undoubtedly better places to park your money than a prepaid AmEx, it works pretty well. You can use it as a debit card or also withdraw cash at ATMs for things like pen shows. Plus, accumulating a large enough balance to where things like interest would matter surprisingly hasn't been an issue. ;)

[david i]

I ask this question because I don't.

I'm neither organised or disciplined enough and so I sometimes find myself looking at pens, salivating ( yes, it is both embarrassing and slightly distasteful) and saying "No, too expensive" and walking away. At other times the fever comes over me and I buy. With the London Pen Show coming up, and dealers preferring cash, I'm seriously considering nailing my wallet shut until October so that I can take a wodge of cash to the show. But then, of course I'll feel obliged to spend it, even if I don't find a pen that I really really love.


Well... yeah... sort of ;)

-d

[Fawkes]

I would love to say I have a pen budget, but I seem to buy whenever I see something if I know I can afford it. But, I am trying to save some money for the Commonwealth Pen Show.

[Tracy Lee]

Yes and it is always blown no matter where I set it. Does that count? [emoji12]

[scrivelry]

Not exactly. Well, not at all. This is entirely consistent with the rest of my messy, disorganized life. Empire Builders, I warn you, this is not the way to go!

That said, I have a few pens that were not horrifically cheap to begin with - all three were gifts this past twelve months. (Well, one I am waiting for them to wrap and give me - the occasion it's for was only two and a half months ago...) I am something of a bottom feeder. Lately I have purchased some pens that were over ten dollars each - oh my!

What I really need to budget is repair supplies. I have more than one pen that cost less than the new sac I put in it, and a few waiting for J-bars that certainly cost less than that part... (I have re-sacced over 30 pens since March. I know this because I have a vague recollection of how many sacs I bought, and I am effectively out... At my level of buying, almost all the pens need resaccing...

[Baric]

I have no official budget but I have a level that I will not let my checking account go below except for emergencies (and new pens do NOT constitute an emergency!). I also have a toy fund that I feed a little from my paycheck and that's where I fund new pens, watches, books, computer equipment, etc from. My real savings accounts are elsewhere so I'm not tempted to buy too much.

[Jon Szanto]

I used to think so, but apparently not.

[Cob]

[...](and new pens do NOT constitute an emergency)[...].

Ah! so that's where I went wrong!

Cob

[rgperedo]

I put money away for random things I buy (this is where pen money comes from) and the less money I use from it the more I have. So I save up for more expensive pens. Right now I'm trying my hardest not spend pen money because I want to get some serious stuff at the Boston pen show at the end of the month. I'm trying to just get quality over quantity now.

[RuiFromUK]

My wife and I believe I do have a fp budget but I am so irresponsible...

[View from the Loft]

This year, no - because other expenditure this year takes priority. However, I was unexpectedly paid some overtime in the summer, which has enabled me to acquire one pen (and I am having to keep a close eye on that one, with more than one person offering it a home on Saturday - but it's mine I tell you, mine!).

In most years I can budget for one nice pen, with any others funded by moving on pens hat I don't use on a regular basis.

[RuiFromUK]

This year, no - because other expenditure this year takes priority. However, I was unexpectedly paid some overtime in the summer, which has enabled me to acquire one pen (and I am having to keep a close eye on that one, with more than one person offering it a home on Saturday - but it's mine I tell you, mine!).

In most years I can budget for one nice pen, with any others funded by moving on pens hat I don't use on a regular basis.

Looking forward to see that pen at the next meeting!

[Mags]

Recently my pen budget is a mere notional suggestion.

[Bogon07]

:pound:

[alc3261]

My Salary........

[bluefeathers]

Yes and no. Yes, I have a budget, no pen budget in practice. So I think that's a 'no'...I keep telling myself that when I have all the pens I REALLY must have, want and need (want and need being interchangeable here) I won't keep going over pen budget, but...there are so many pens I want!

[Cob]

This year, no - because other expenditure this year takes priority. However, I was unexpectedly paid some overtime in the summer, which has enabled me to acquire one pen (and I am having to keep a close eye on that one, with more than one person offering it a home on Saturday - but it's mine I tell you, mine!).

In most years I can budget for one nice pen, with any others funded by moving on pens hat I don't use on a regular basis.

Looking forward to see that pen at the next meeting!

You'll like it Rui!

Cob

[gbryal]

So far I have a limit on what I'll spend on 1 pen, but have failed to set a limit on how much I will spend on all pens. This of course makes no sense.

"Whiskey's no sin, and drinkin's no crime, if you have one drink only, just one at a time."

[erpe]

I have a bit of a monthly hobby allowance that includes pens, inks, papers, books, cd/dvd, bottles and everything else that I need not to explain. If it is not spent all in one month, it is saved for the next. But then, if I find a pen more urgent than new shoes, which is usually the case, I can move some budget around to a certain extent ;-)

[GING GING]

This likely won't win me any prizes but some of you need therapy. It is a hobby. Look at it as one.

[Laura N]

This likely won't win me any prizes but some of you need therapy. It is a hobby. Look at it as one.

Therapy? Will that cut into the pen budget?

[Austin_Malone]

I just have a list set up of what I want and whatever I can afford, I get.