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Just curious on how most of us pay for our hobby...

Do you pay with only what cash you actually have on hand or in your bank account?

Or do you pay by credit card or something similar?

Or maybe both?

I only ask because I always pay for my hobbies with what I actually have. Although, I am interested in looking into getting a CC solely for those more expensive items that I sometimes must pass on or be painstakingly patient for. I am pretty responsible with my spending so I am not worried about it getting out of hand.

Eh, it's the kind of hobby you really should avoid paying with money you don't have for. At least that's the way I see it; it's too enjoyable obtaining new things for your collection, so it's easy to go overboard.

For me, I just use money that I have burning a hole in my pocked when I see something I really like. I'm pretty tight with my finances.

I do both, but thanks to a job that pays pretty well and the fact that my cost of living is very very low, even when I do use a credit card, I pay off the balance very quickly.

It's handy to use a CC when I don't have sufficient funds in the bank account at the time to cover a large purchase like a grail that almost never comes up on ebay showing up suddenly etc.

Aside from the usually older stuff I snag off of ebay, most of my purchases are from BBTS, and for that I use my normal bank account's debit card, so it comes straight out of the bank.

I pay with tiny fragments of my soul, laced with money.

But to be serious, if it's an in-person purchase, I always use cash. That way I can manage myself and not spend $400 on Transformers in one fell swoop. If I need to order something, such as an exclusive or an import, I use a credit card that is only for online purchases. Again, to me, the important thing is management.

RAcast wrote:Eh, it's the kind of hobby you really should avoid paying with money you don't have for. At least that's the way I see it; it's too enjoyable obtaining new things for your collection, so it's easy to go overboard.

For me, I just use money that I have burning a hole in my pocked when I see something I really like. I'm pretty tight with my finances.

The idea behind getting a CC pertains to the post following yours more or less...its just for those instances where a grail prevents itself and its comparatively a good deal. Although when it comes to G1 grails, even for a steal they can be pricey. I have a pretty decent job and my wife does too so generating the funds to pay off the occasional big ticket item isn't a problem.

Gearslide wrote:I pay with tiny fragments of my soul, laced with money.

I liked this, it sincerely made me chuckle. And in a way, its a little true

I fell into the trap years ago of accumulating TF's without really having the money. One paid off credit card debt later, I learnt my lesson.

Which is good, considering I now have a mortgage. So paying for TF's is a low priority. I wait for sales (HA! That's a joke) or just budget. There's normally one week a month where I may be able to burn $50 or so, that gets spent on myself be it TF's, hookers, or something else.

Unless it's a harder to get must have figure, then I'll pay for it and suffer the consequences later.

Since the TFCC credit card issue, I've split my TF purchases primarily onto one seperate credit card and use my other CC for general purchases so I can get a sense of how much I'm putting into my collection.

Some months it's not a pretty ratio

Cash, prepaid debit, store credit, trade or coinstar voucher. (No fee for the last item.)
I don't have credit, never did except at Fingerhut (don't go down that road...) and I won't use my actual debit card for purchases. Especially with PayPal. One forgotten charge and your account's overdrawn. Yeah, no thanks.

I know this is primarily aimed at US collectors, but I only use three real means of paying: PayPal for member transactions, bank transfer via a third party service for online stores (I *rarely* go there) and regular debit in stores.
For me it's impossible to get a credit card since I have no real steady income (I'm on disability if you must know) and given that European prices are ridiculous as hell, I'm extremely money conscious. Plus, here credit cards are only used by tourists, not by your regular Joe.

Again, extremely money conscious here, but given the opportunity I do splurge, big time.