Fiscal Responsibility

[QiCultivator]

I spend as much as I can get away with!

But seriously, my wife and I spend way less than we earn every month, so even during my wildest cigar spending month (which would be like $200+) I only spend about 3-4% of our disposable income on cigars which is probably pretty reasonable.

There was a time in my life not too long ago that I took home $800-$1000 and spent about a quarter of that on cigars (thanks to cbid!!). But I never used credit. I was single and just lived very, very cheaply and wasn't able to save any money.

 

[Messiah]

The only way I use credit is if I get some sort of no payment no interest option. Needless to say, I am not getting that on smokes.

That being said, a friend who was always a saver said to me how high his credit card bills were the other day. He has been spending a lot since getting a serious girlfriend, and he blamed the balance on vacations w/ her, etc. I said, "you still have tons of savings, right?" Sure enough he did. He was paying a lot more interest on those cards than his bank is paying him on his money. Never carry a credit balance if you do not have to.

 

[TreeFrog Frank]

Hope no one minds this bump.

I know it's stickied, but I just felt led to bump this up, today. Thanks for understanding.

 

[ChazHollywood]

Good time to draw attention to it. With so many LEs on the market there's a huge pressure to "not miss out". Easy to lose your head in that climate.

-Charles

 

[b1gblue92]

it seems today i spend my weekly paychecks on cigars but now because of this post i just realized thats not a very good idea lol. so thanks for the advice.

 

[JLB]

Bump this thread. Read the whole thing if you haven't. A lot of great advice here. Especially with all the new LE stuff coming out. I know I have to take a step back here and realize that they're only cigars.

 

[Scroni]

This is a great read with a lot of VERY GOOD points, I have to keep a lot of them in mind. I make sure that I'm actually paying for my orders with cash and not credit which is so hard to do since there are so many LE's coming out all the time! Thanks! I will have to make sure to read this from time to time to remind myself

 

[ywendyh]

Wonderful message Mark I myself used to be an impulsive buyer. It never got too crazy but there were moments where I had to check myself to make sure it didn't get that way. As a cigar newbie I can't help but want to buy just about everything in site because its exciting but I get a whole lot more fulfilment out of working towards a goal. Even planning what I need to do to get there is something I look forward to. The sense of community here on BOTL is second to none as well and makes the whole experience that much more valuable. For me cigars has become like a sort of journey I hope never ever ends because its great in so many ways.

 

[Marcm15]

I was hospitalized then home bound for quite a while after a serious work related accident in 2009. Up to that point I had been an occasional cigar smoker, maybe 1 or 2 a year on special occasions. I was going out of my mind with boredom and couldn't do very much other than cruise the internet and found the cigar hobby. I was thrilled to have found something to occupy both my mind and my time and I began smoking a cigar or two per day as it truly relaxed me and to some degree offered some pain relief as a result.

I lurked on all the cigar sites and forums and quickly became consumed by the "hobby". I also began spending out of control. It took a few months to realize that depression, as a result of my injuries was driving most the purchases. I eventually regained control of my spending, paid down all the debt I incurred and now only spend responsibly.

I amassed a fairly large collection of sticks that I will likely never smoke because they were purchased out of impulse and not because I like them. As I gain more time and experience here I will likely share them via bombs, trades etc, but for now, I am just glad to be here and I'm looking forward to meeting other BOTL's.

I have gotten as serious about the cigar hobby as I am about my other true love, restoring classic cars. I had ALWAYS set a budget for each car build I did, and would rarely if ever go over. I now have the same philosophy when it comes to my cigars.

 

[jimmypa]

Marc, great insight and nicely put, thanks for sharing! Hope all is well! Would love to see some of those classic car restorations, maybe in an "other than cigars" thread. I know many of us can learn from something like this. I also have found myself quickly becoming consumed. You don't realize how much you are spending when buying a box or two here or there until you actually add it all up!! See you around the forum!

 

[drbell15]

Great advice, this is why I love all the cigar reviews out there so I can be better informed before making an online purchase.

 

[SilverStreak]

It's great to see this being discussed. As much as we love our hobby, we need to set realistic limits on what we spend on it. I've felt the sting of unemployment and it isn't pretty. Good to know that fellow BOTLs realize the need for responsibility.

 

[duke7999]

great post.

 

[GreekElite]

Will definitely be reading this in depth, I'm a flash sale sucker and need to do more research first. Thankfully never had a huge bad turnout, but some I regretted definitely.

 

[Alwayslit]

shop til you drop!!

 

[TonyRome]

This is a great post! I haven't used credit but I know personally I've spent more than I should have on a few occasions. I was good to see this post to keep me in check.

 

[OratorORourke]

This is a great post and one that I admittedly could have used at times. I have a budget and an Excel sheet to monitor my purchases, yet I have still gone well over it at times. When I did my Wineador build, a credit card was definitely in play (thank you credit gods for 0% into financing).

For me, it is very easy to get caught up in reviews, hype, etc. and end up on a spree. Additionally, there is always a psychological aspect to the purchases. Nothing is more exciting that tracking UPS and opening a box of a new stash/score. Having a bad day, do some online or B&M cigar shopping. Since getting separated, cigar shopping and smoking has been therapeutic. I just need to watch myself at times. It is a very slippery slope this hobby...

 

[K Williams]

Stay away from CigarBid if you want to save money. You save on the cigars, but end up buying so much that you're not really saving at all. LOL. I've run out of humidor space within three weeks... The overflow of cigars are inside a huge zip lock bag with a Boveda pack.

 

[bdc30]

^^ This is in no way exclusive to CigarBid or any other site lol. Peruse some old threads in the humidor forum. 95% of the guys who start a "What size humidor should I get" thread repost within the first 3-6 months looking for more storage....Guaranteed.

Welcome to the brotherhood. Do yourself a favor and just buy a cabinet or coolidor lol

 

[OratorORourke]

Stay away from CigarBid if you want to save money. You save on the cigars, but end up buying so much that you're not really saving at all. LOL. I've run out of humidor space within three weeks... The overflow of cigars are inside a huge zip lock bag with a Boveda pack.

Too late, Cigarbid has gotten a ton of my money...need to have someone set parental controls on my computer to keep me off of it. Before moving to the wineador, I filled 3 100+ desktop humi's and had about a 1/2 dozen snapware containers full with cigars and Bovedas LOL...it's amazing what we do to continue buying! I'm going to be really pissed if I die before I get to smoke all these!