UGHHHHHH.. Stop the insanity!!! can't help buying more pens

[GING GING]

When you start buying dollar pens just because you don't have enough collective funds to buy a nicer one, just so you can have a new pen, you have a problem.

Though I been in the habit of looking at non-working pens just because I'm able to fix a few of the lever fillers myself, including polishing them up.

I don't need more pens... but I look... and look...

Could not have said it better.

[serpent]

I have a nice comfortable couch. and for anyones affliction be it fountain pen or ink, my rates are $100 an hour or a donation of pen or ink. I'm an accredited Dr. of fountain pen addiction and ink addiction syndrome.

[TMH478]

I just bought three pens in as many days. I didn't even want the first two. (Well, okay, maybe only the second one I didn't want). But still!!!!

I even sold a high end watch to fund one of these pen purchases.

Oh, I forgot. I got my latest bottle of ink today too. Rohrer & Klingner Alt Goldgrun. Bought it based on an ink review by SBRE Brown.

When does it stop???????

Second pen might end up being a PIF pen.

I feel your pain! I have also sold some higher end watches to get pens. However, I look at it this way... Both will last a lifetime and can be passed on through the family. So, there you have my justification!

[top pen]

When you start buying dollar pens just because you don't have enough collective funds to buy a nicer one, just so you can have a new pen, you have a problem.


I don't need more pens... but I look... and look...

I agree I have in the past got into to the habit of buying a new pen every week the fact is if I had planned things out and had worked out a budget I would have instead of buying 5 OK pens I could have bought the one pen I actually really wanted.

I'm not planning on buying another pen this year as I have spent all my pen funds. However this is in someways is useful as I've got the next 3-4 months to work out what I want in that next pen hopefully therefore it will be a worthwhile purchase.

[Algester]

I would just say look at your collection... look at your self... now back to your collection, sadly your collection is slowly growing, but if you start using your pens daily on every cycle, then you can stop buying more pens, look at your wallet, now look again you don't the money.... BAH... I SUCK AT THIS..
TLDR START SAVING! AND LOOK AT YOUR COLLECTION AND THINK I only have 10 pens and I think I'm happy with them PS no MBs and never will if I did I'll give it away but give me a GvFC pen of the year 2004 or 2007 I'LL KEEP IT not that I could afford them anyway :3

[tinysnail]

I'm still new enough to pens that I have a hard time not buying more, since I just love trying new nibs and weights and materials and manufacturers, etc. etc. to get a good feel of what I actually like. I have about 15 pens, now, after giving 10-15 away to friends and family. Most of those were Heros and Metropolitans. Giving pens away has been win-win: I prune my collection of anything I was just curious about, and I help other people ease into the hobby! They usually get a few ink samples from me, too.

Because of weird pay period stuff going on right now, I won't get paid at all between August 25 and September 25, so I've taken that opportunity to stop buying pens and ink for awhile and focus on knowing and loving what I have. Spending more time and energy on school is probably a good thing, too.

[VertOlive]

I had a little "Pen Crisis" [ some sort of panic attack about owning too many pens I didn't really care about] in July and have sold or given away 16 of my 39 pens in the past month or so.

That leaves me with pens that have made the cut both on the strength of their looks and their "writeworthiness". The "Purge" was a real relief after going through pens like snack crackers for the past year!

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

Because of weird pay period stuff going on right now, I won't get paid at all between August 25 and September 25, so I've taken that opportunity to stop buying pens and ink for awhile and focus on knowing and loving what I have. Spending more time and energy on school is probably a good thing, too.

I understand this. I don't get paid between June and September. I budget reasonably well, so this hasn't been a painful period in years, but it is educational.

One of the things I've realized is that, even though I downsized my collection, I still have too many pens. I don't find a use for them. I am down to the pens that I like and love, but I have too many that don't see enough use. More and more, I find myself thinking that I didn't downsize enough.

The same thing is going on with my inks. I like them, but I'm realizing that they are not getting a turn (except for the Noodler's Black). As much as I enjoy having a selection available, I'm realizing that I don't need all these inks, and have too many to enjoy.

[tinysnail]

I understand this. I don't get paid between June and September. I budget reasonably well, so this hasn't been a painful period in years, but it is educational.

One of the things I've realized is that, even though I downsized my collection, I still have too many pens. I don't find a use for them. I am down to the pens that I like and love, but I have too many that don't see enough use. More and more, I find myself thinking that I didn't downsize enough.

The same thing is going on with my inks. I like them, but I'm realizing that they are not getting a turn (except for the Noodler's Black). As much as I enjoy having a selection available, I'm realizing that I don't need all these inks, and have too many to enjoy.

That's a long time! Well done on your smart budgeting, then. I'm just annoyed that my summer research grant was only for 16 weeks, not 4 months, and that the TA pay processing takes as long as it does! It's nothing I can't budget for, though.

I guess it's hard to know how much downsizing is enough. The best is to be careful about purchasing in the first place! I'm trying to be nearly hyper-aware of what pens I reach for and why. I've realized that I really like pens that allow me to interchange nibs. I might end up getting rid of my three Metropolitans for that reason, especially since I don't have much use for the medium nib on two of them. If I stick with a Safari-M205-Noodler's triple whammy, as I've found myself naturally doing, I'll be happy and get to switch out nibs if I want a change of pace.

Inks are tough. Samples are cheap and bottles are cheap, so it seems like purchasing them is hardly a financial decision. It's just a matter of not being an accumulator.