How do you fund your Astro budget?

[Gargoyle_Steve (Steve)]

I've had a little bit of a spend up again in the last week or 2, adding some nice astro hardware to the collection (see the new red highlights in my signature). Trouble is that my car rego is due again, and it seems I keep skimping on this to spend the money on astro goodies instead.

I have to break this trend:
April 2006- purchase of my original 10" dob (paid 6 months rego instead of 12 months to leave sufficient funds allow me to purchase the 10" dob plus accessories instead of the 8" that I could (just) afford otherwise.
October 2006- purchased the 12" dob with Argo Navis - again paid only 6 months rego to assist with purchase. (Your Honour I did also sell the 10" to help offset this!)
April 2007 (this month) - I saw a pleasant little 114mm Meade reflector for sae on the forum here that I thouht was too cheap to let get past me, plus I've purchased 20x80 triplet bino's (actually 2 pairs now - one for me, one for my brother from Alice Springs as a pressie, he arrives later today after a week travel to get here for a holiday), plus I'm seriously trying to wedge funds into astro budget for Omega/DGM NPB (Narrow Pass Band) filter. Rego is due on the 27th of this month again, looks like I'll be paying just 6 months worth again!


So what do you do when there's something that you want to buy, and it means juggling other expenses just a little?

[huckabuck]

i juggle....usually dropping the ball.

[DaveO (David)]

Steve, you could try sending your wife back to work! It has been most beneficial to me recently!!!

Alternatively, could you try selling some of your binos? How many pairs does one man need?

[xelasnave]

How about .... putting aside cash for each..we know rego is coming and we know there are things we will get ..having cash means being able to take the benefit of being in the right place at the right time..look at some of the great buys that go thru Iceinspace... and the savings..a little fund takes care of all .

I like to put away for rego and the additional $500 that always seems to be required for some work on the car rounded off to $20 put away each week... at rego time if there is any change the change goes to the.......

astronomy fund at least $20 a week (usually more but minimum), as well as any spare cash (pocket change, proceeds for selling a scope or some junk laying around the house)...

The astronomy fund cant be dipped into to for anything and I will walk and eat only boiled rice before I use the astronomy funds other than what they are there for... otherwise there is always something or someone more deserving of funds.

Its tuff and selfish but I dont drink and smoke, dont buy clothes, so I figure many people could spend what I do on astronomy projects... in booze and smokes.. and take away food that must be a nasy drain of cash for some .. thinking about how much I once spent on booze and smokes...astronomy is probably cheaper...

I want to get a pretty decent scope one day if I learn how to really use one but I have enough to build the fund and not buy much for five years and by then I will know what is the best to buy with what I have to spend .

I reckon you have to fund your hobby above everything pay for it before you even eat it is the most important thing in your life, It builds personal self esteme and that can not be bought easier than with a hobby .
alex

[xelasnave]

AND most important dont tell anyone about the fund besides others in the sport
alex

[Gargoyle_Steve (Steve)]

Well I don't have a wife to send back to work unfortunately Dave but that's a good idea for those who have one!

I technically have 5 pairs of bino's now - 2 pairs of the Andrew's 10x32 compacts (got a pair free with my GSO dob) 1 pair lives in the car, the other in my astronomy accessories box - I love to keep a pair of these at hand always. Then there's my new 20x80's that are at the complete opposite end of the scale in terms of both image and compactness / portability. They're SO definitely a keeper!


In between these extremes I have a pair of cheapo Tasco 7x50's that came free back in '99 with a Tasco wobbletonic scope that I had bought for someone as a present. These are not worth selling, especially now that they are no longer collimated, ie one barrel is bent slightly out of line so you get double images when viewing through them. I'll probably pinch the lenses out of them and make something for my son instead.

That leaves only my old favourite 8-24 x 50 Tasco World Class bino's, which are not great for astronomy but they are my favourites for sightseeing, bushwalking, etc. If I remember right they cost me over $300 back around 1990, I saved or ages to buy them. These are probably the only pair that I'd get anything for, but even so they probably aren't worth much.
Not enough to fund much more astro gear anyway.

Alex normally I do budget really well, and there is usually money out aside for everything, and I do mean everything. Since late last year however (in fact about a fortnight after I bought the 12" dob in October) a sudden and severe bout of unemployment hit the person I share my house with - thus I received no board for well over 3 months, in addition to which I was paying all of the electricity, phone and pay TV bills on my own.

On top of this my housemate had some kind of momentous mix-up with Centrelink and they did not grant any payment whatsoever during this entire period so I was also spotting the individual in question $50 here and there to buy food for themselves, as well as literally feeding them every time I made up a batch of anything. As a result I am out of pocket something like $1500 through no fault of my own but rather due to someone else's unemployment, so my bank account was flattened and my credit card reached a whole new level of being beyond maxed out.

Luckily the individual in question managed to find a new job last month so money is starting to dribble back into my coffers again, piece by piece. I've caught up (just this week) on bills and have a (small) surplus of cash in the bank again - just in time to buy new astro gear!!!

Maybe I'm better off just getting a second car - I can save twice as much money not paying my rego that way!

[DaveO (David)]

Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve

Well I don't have a wife to send back to work unfortunately Dave but that's a good idea for those who have one!

Steve, in the words of another friend, at least your situation "provides a certain level of financial freedom"! Joint bank accounts make astro expenditures quite obvious!

I must admit to now owning an old glasses case into which spare cash is hiding!

[xelasnave]

But Steve you are over the worst part you have some excellent gear to enjoy and tweek ...its now that the little fund can run away cause you got most of what you need .
Mate if I lived in Sydney it would be an electric bike and the train ...my car cleaned me out this week in repairs ...mmmm need another fund
alex

[iceman (Mike)]

How do you fund your Astro budget?

With great difficulty!

Lots I want to spend money on, very little I can actually afford

Too many hobbies, too little time and money!

[jase (Jason)]

It can be difficult. My only advice is to downsize. I usually only have one scope at a time with a hand full of accessories. Amateur astronomy is not about how much equipment you have, its how you use it.

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Originally Posted by jase

. Amateur astronomy is not about how much equipment you have, its how you use it.

Sound advice!

I don't have any other hobbies really and don't regularly go to the pub, don't own a boat or similar diversion and my kids enjoy it too...therefore my wife is pretty forgiving when it comes to gear...

However, when I feel the need coming upon me to buy something astro related, I start putting money aside for it...I give up that "fancy coffee" and muffin and take my lunch to the office...

Cheers!

[astro_nutt]

I do some maintainence work down at the local Primary School which I use to fund my equipment and trips away..but with the purchase of my 10 inch dob..that was maily due to the wild hailstorm we had in Melbourne a few years ago which ripped and swiss-cheesed the plastic carport roofing at my Mum's place..(all 60 square metres of it!)..so the insurers came over for an inspection and said it'll take a few months for the team to fix or get someone to do it and they'll cover the costs..Mum offered me the job and promised to buy me the 10 inch dob..deal!..the insurers handed over the cheque which covered the cost of materials to replace the roofing..(fibreglass this time!)...new guttering...the scope plus a new lounge suite and she still had change for a good day out at Bingo!!
Cheers!

[duncan]

I haven't started yet cause the music gear is still here. However i'm going to re-advertise it at about 1/3rd.it's cost. That should still give me enough for the 12"Dob but without a lot for acessories. Still at least i'll have a scope then. It's really giving me the proverbial S---s.
Cheers,
Duncan

[avandonk]

When I finally retired bought too much, have finally given away the excess. Now I have just the right amount till next time!

Bert

[davidpretorius]

crime!

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

My stash of AstroCash is topped up by-
1. Any money that I find in the washing machine. I found $50 once woo hoo!
2. Sales from my craftwork.
3. Money earnt from giving craft lessons.
4. Money from selling anything of value that I don't need anymore.
I recently exchanged a camera bracket and $20 for a near new OIII filter.

[ving (David)]

bills first... cheryl wouldnt have it any other way

[Moonman (Michael)]

Everytime S&S and S&T land in the mail box I just want to go to town(that is Sydney or Melbourne). However we have this diabolical budgeting system through our banking whereby our annual expenditure is set out in advance. If we over spend the repayment time on the mortgage shoots up so we have a pretty big incentive to stay on track.

Having said that I can go cap in hand to SWMBO(she who must be obeyed) which I did this evening to ask if I could purchase a bino viewer and Yippe she said yes. So if crime,stealth and blowing the budget doesn't work you can always just ask and see. Mind you I still have to squeeze the money out of the existing budget.

So to cut a long story short BEG!!!

Mike

[snowyskiesau]

I've always been under the impression that forum members fund their telescope purchases by selling astronomy items to other members.
Not quite sure how that works...

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Budget....what's that? I thought it was a case of just keep buying until the clouds clear.


Actually I gave up drinking and smoking 16 months ago, and I haven't saved a cent yet That's about three and a half grand a year


Hang on that doesn't work out. ATiK, DMK, filter wheel, half a dozen pcmcia cards, new laptop hdd, Double stack PST, Thousand Oaks solar filter, rgb filters...I think I missed somthing...oh year the books.....they don't count.....Hmmm seems to be more than a few ciggies and a drink or two there.