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Fiscal Responsibility - Part II (Buying Plan)

N2Advnture

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Again, I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do with their money. We're all grown ups here and you know what's best for you. This is merely a suggestion for successful planning / buying as it relates to cigars.

Buying plan (for maintaining current smoking habit):

Set a “Cigar budget”. Before embarking on building a cigar collection you will help determine how much of you disposable income you have to allow for cigar purchases.

Determine how many cigars you smoke.

Example: If you smoke 1 per day
365 cigars per year (average)
15 boxes per year (average)
1.25 boxes per month (average)

The above example is just based on your yearly smoking habit and will determine how many boxes a year to purchase and help set your “cigar budget”.


If you are looking to continue to smoke as you do now AND expand your collection for aging, here is “part 2” of the buying plan.


Buying plan (for building/aging):

*** This is the key part ***

Example (based on smoking 1 cigar a day):

Every time you open 1 box, immediately purchase another to replace the box you just opened (box #2). By the time you smoke through box #1 & box #2 - box #3 should be at least 3 years old (assuming you purchased the previous year’s box code).

In 12 months you will have 30 boxes that have a minimum of 1-2 years and some up to 3/4 years of age. If you open 1 of each, you should have purchased 45 boxes in 12 months – smoking through 15 of them leaving you with 30 at the end of 1 year.

In 24 months, you will be smoking boxes with a minimum of 2-3 years of age and some up to 4/5 years of age.

In 36 moths, you will be smoking boxes with a minimum of 3-4 years of age and some up to 5/6 years of age….you get the idea.

Make any sense?


Tips for reducing cost and increasing aged stock:
* Make a list of vitolas that are your “go to” smokes. Cigars you already know you like and smoke frequently. Then, stick to the list. (Just like grocery shopping, you tend to spend more without a list).

* If you want to try a different vitola, pick up a 5 er before rushing out and
buying boxes. This will help you avoid flavor profiles that you don't like and thus, help prevent unneeded spending on stuff you won't smoke.

* Forget about special editions, regionals, limited editions. These should not be included in your buying plan but should be included in your cigar budget!

* Wait for sales (especially year end sales, multibox sales, etc…)

* Don't buy different vitolas just because they are on sale. With some of the crazy sales, it's REALLY easy to keep adding various boxes to your shopping cart just because they are a "good deal". This will kill you buying/aging plan & your cigar budget. Stick to what you want to know you like and what you want to age.

* Buy “semi” aged stock (3 years old) or earlier and try to pick them up on sale for an added benefit.

I hope this helps and happy smoking!

~Mark

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themoneycollector

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I like that part about buying a box as soon as I open one. Simple advice, but not something I tend to follow. Rather than smoking through a box of fresh smokes throughout the year, you can smoke through one that has been aged. If you buy a second as soon as you open the first, by the time you're done, the next one will be ready with the proper amount of age.
 

cvm4

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Either you or Hawkan, I forgot, talked about this a lot 3+ years ago. It's still a great plan :thumbsup:
 
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im going to have to study this post a little more.. especially the part about buying a box and replacing it right after.. that part confuses me a little bit but ill get it eventually
 
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Simple really. It's just stating if you know you like those smokes, and you will smoke that entire box in a years time, when you open it order another one. So when you are done with the first box, that second one is the same purchase date, but has been sitting longer without being opened.
 
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The part that doesn't make sense to me is how your stock keeps aging, when you are buying new boxes. If I smoke through a box of sticks in 1 year, and I bought box #2 when I open box #1, then box #2 will be 1 year old when I open it. Then I will buy box #3. 1 Year later box #2 will be gone and box #3 will be one year old. So I'm only smoking sticks 1-2 years old. So how do the boxes get older, unless I stop smoking them?
 
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The part that doesn't make sense to me is how your stock keeps aging, when you are buying new boxes. If I smoke through a box of sticks in 1 year, and I bought box #2 when I open box #1, then box #2 will be 1 year old when I open it. Then I will buy box #3. 1 Year later box #2 will be gone and box #3 will be one year old. So I'm only smoking sticks 1-2 years old. So how do the boxes get older, unless I stop smoking them?
This part is definitely flawed. There is no way to have cigars that are 3/4 years old at the end of one year by purchasing the previous year's box code. You could have at most cigars that are 24 months old. And if you only buy a box when you open a box, you will never have more than one extra box, so you have to buy more than that. It doesn't make sense. In his example if you buy 15 boxes of cigars immediately, open them all immediately, and buy 15 more boxes (based on the rule) at the end of the year you've only smoked your original 15 boxes, leaving you with 15. And if you start the next year opening all of those other boxes, you will only purchase 15 that whole year, and every consecutive year, and you will not be doing any "aging" more than 1 year from the date of purchase + the box code.

The cigar budget part is good, and if you want to age cigars you have to buy more than you smoke. For his plan to work, you'd have to do something like buy two[/i] boxes for every box you open.
 

Soundwave13

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If you double-buy the first year - you end up with (15) boxes at the end of the year. If you continue to double-buy for the next year (and are not smoking more), you will have (30) boxes at the end of the year, then (45, 60, 75, etc.)...

This assumes that you will smoke the same amount and be able to afford it.

I smoke double more than I did last year & can't afford to double-buy everything... But still I end up needing more & more storage...

All I do is: anytime I get a box, I try to stash away half of it to see what time does to it. Over time, I end up with more & more sticks that just keep getting better...
 
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If you double-buy the first year - you end up with (15) boxes at the end of the year. If you continue to double-buy for the next year (and are not smoking more), you will have (30) boxes at the end of the year, then (45, 60, 75, etc.)...

This assumes that you will smoke the same amount and be able to afford it.

I smoke double more than I did last year & can't afford to double-buy everything... But still I end up needing more & more storage...

All I do is: anytime I get a box, I try to stash away half of it to see what time does to it. Over time, I end up with more & more sticks that just keep getting better...
Right - but buying a box when you open a box isn't double-buying except for the first time you do it. After that it's only keeping supply at parity with consumption.
 

xddco

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Great plan.... and as my tastes have changed, forums like these have allowed me to pass on my aged stock to appreciative BOTL who are searching for same.
 

Wigwam_Motel

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I know a few folks that are going broke because they spend some what way too much on smokes.

Then again, you can rat them on botl "i've never tried those etc"

But it is what it is.

Cigars have always been part of a luxury lifestyle. Well, the image.

But if you think a $20.00 cigar is worth it, ha.

$20.00 can put food in your home.
 

Danilo

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well, necessities first... luxuries second...
so cigars second. I love cigars, but second.
 

Moro

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...But if you think a $20.00 cigar is worth it, ha.

$20.00 can put food in your home.
With all due respect; how much is a BBMF Maduro? Not trying to come as an asshole, but mostof us here have gotten expensieve cigars because we wanted to and could.
 

THEMISCHMAN

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Bump for the new guys.

Sound advice. Don't get caught up in the buying boxes for aging part and the comments that follow. Read it for what it is.
 
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