It seems everyone has hit the nail on the head here. Set up a budget, buy what you can reasonably afford, don't go into debt for LEGO.

As for me, I have definitely curbed my spending over the last few years. It does add up quickly. You really need to evaluate how badly you want a certain set. With the recent Target clearance extravaganza I splurged way more than expected. I bought sets I didn't plan on buying originally, but bought them because they were on clearance (something I never find). But in the end, I'm left with multiple sets that I originally didn't care for, so I have stacks of pieces that I may or may not use. When in reality, I could have not spent a good chunk of that money and put it toward a set I actually did want (or pieces, or figures, etc). So keep that in mind too.

My spending isn't too much adding up the prices of everything I want to get, it's mostly figuring out what themes I want. A few years ago I used to collect anything and everything that intrigued me before realizing it was too much. These days, I collect all of the Superheroes sets along with a few Star Wars sets, the Modulars, and an occasional set from a theme like Ultra Agents or Ninjago if it looks good. The bad part is all of the occasional sets I want are all in the $70 USD+ range.

If you are a collector (who wants to have all/most sets/minifigs in a theme) then you ought to decide which themes you are going to stick to.

Star Wars is huge. If you are selective within that (maybe you only want original trilogy or clone wars or whatever), that helps, but otherwise you're in big trouble if you don't have a budget.

I personally collect all castle-related and space-related themes & minifigs. But SW I try to stick to certain things and stay away from others. This means that I spend a lot of money every year on Lego sets. For SW, I mostly want certain minifigs, so if it works out better to just get them from Bricklink than to buy the entire set I'll do that. If I was buying Superheroes I would do the same. I ruled the theme out though, because I could see how much money I would be throwing down the toilet just to get all of those characters, with so many new ones every year. I'd prefer to have food & clothes.

Im really curious has to how you control your spending as mine is out of control lately and my poor credit card is getting beaten up lol.. Do you collect different themes ? As I was trying to collect the avengers and Star Wars but one has got to give as it's getting to expensive

I have a single pre-paid credit card. I load an budgeted amount on it. Since it's not a real credit card, I can't spend more than what is on it. Like AOLguy1970, if I want something expensive I just save up on the card.

I just stopped doing cocaine, and used that money for Legos.

Nothing's really changed, 'cept the Legos last longer.

Prices are about the same.

It's hard. I don't buy a lot of sets anymore because building my own stuff is waaaay cooler, but the control is simple. I can't deny I've gone out of control once, and that scared me to the point of maintaining an annual lego budget as well as capping my spending. You just have to control yourself. Personally, I can't deny being seduced by a couple of the newer sets, but I just think to myself "Do I really need it? I mean, I build it once, and then what? It goes into my 'to be dismantled' box?" Then I list all the bad features and why it is useless in my head and finally give it up. Bricklink on the other hand.... ;)

When my wallet and bank account are empty and the credit card is maxed out, I stop spending.

I used to collect a little of everything, but recently I've been selling off a lot of my collection and focussing on just a few areas:

1. Classic Space. My goal is to have enough parts to be able to build any Classic Space and Futron set ever released. I'm getting close!

2. Creator. I mostly like the old Designer sets and the animal/dinosaur themed sets, but I'll buy just about any Creator set that strikes my fancy. My only rule is no minifig-scale stuff.

3. 2x4 bricks. My weakness. I like rare/unreleased colors, old slotted bricks from the 50s, and test bricks.

4. Animals. I mostly like the single-piece, solid color molded animals, but I do buy others.

5. Mixels. I love those things :)

As far as controlling my spending - it's hard. Especially with 2x4 bricks. When something rare comes up, I have to jump on it, because I might not ever get a chance to buy one again :)

Edited March 22, 20159 yr by mpfirnhaber

Try getting married, that certainly impacted my spending habits.

I put all my Lego purchases on the same card, my wife gets to see the bill and then she reminds me that she'd like to remodel the kitchen one of these days. It's not a perfect system, but it does make me think twice about buying too much at once.

To be fair, however, my wife is a very understanding spouse of an adult fan of Lego (VUSAFOL) and usually objects more to the space my collection occupies rather than the money (usually…)

I'm sorry, I passed out and hit my head when I tried to put "control spending" and "Lego" in the same sentence, what were we talking about?

I already posted, but I'll add some to it. I would agree that my wife is very understanding. She spent a ton on clearance LEGO recently at the Target Spring markdown...I ended up taking some of it back, because I felt bad. My wife didn't, I did! How crazy is that...anyway, You really need to think about what you WANT for your collection purposes. You may think you NEED certain pieces (and maybe you do), but is this the most feasible option? That is why I tend to buy things on clearance, hold onto it, and then return it (unopened of course) a few weeks later if I felt that I didn't truly need it. Some people open things right away and regret it, I don't. I haven't had too many regrets on purchases for that reason alone. That way, you get the sale price at the time so you don't miss out, but if you have to take it back because you don't like it, then someone else might be able to enjoy the sale price.

I already posted, but I'll add some to it. I would agree that my wife is very understanding. She spent a ton on clearance LEGO recently at the Target Spring markdown...I ended up taking some of it back, because I felt bad. My wife didn't, I did! How crazy is that...anyway, You really need to think about what you WANT for your collection purposes. You may think you NEED certain pieces (and maybe you do), but is this the most feasible option? That is why I tend to buy things on clearance, hold onto it, and then return it (unopened of course) a few weeks later if I felt that I didn't truly need it. Some people open things right away and regret it, I don't. I haven't had too many regrets on purchases for that reason alone. That way, you get the sale price at the time so you don't miss out, but if you have to take it back because you don't like it, then someone else might be able to enjoy the sale price.

You have a good point about specifically managing your collection, what good is a brick if you can't or don't use it right? Knowing what you want is definitely half the battle.

At first, I bought too much but now I have narrowed my interests to just the Friends line, and I don't buy the super-big ones. He has narrowed his interests to just the architecture ones, Minifigs and the occasional set for a kid (although for his kid, we are passing along many of our early-days stuff, we just put it in a nice box and he doesn't know it is gently used) :-)

I must admit, I find these 'understanding wife' sorts of conversations very strange. Why would I not understand and support his interests, and he mine? The only comment I had on the Star Wars stuff was that he should reduce it so that he has space to actually display it somehow (many crates stacked in the closet does nobody any good) and that we are not frat boys duct-taping stuff to the wall, so any posters he had just be suitably framed (which they were already). But why would I object to him enjoying stuff?

As for money, we each have fun money every month. He can spend his in whatever he wants to, why would I care or object? He spends most of his on baseball cards and I spend mine in art stuff and LEGO Freinds.

Not having money to spend helps control my spending. I limit my collecting to sets I really want versus being complete in a theme's particular offering.

The problem is that if you are interested in a theme, it's hard to give up on a set that you might very well regret missing out on later on. There's a lot of examples, here, especially licensed sets... when they discontinued Harry Potter, for example, people were very upset about it - they perhaps weren't into LEGO early on in the HP series, or didn't really get interested in HP until later on (that's my experience - I didn't start liking HP until Goblet of Fire). So I missed out on a lot... and when they started releasing a few new HP sets for the last movies, I 'had to" get them all.

For a theme like Star Wars I think it's very different - I was ten years old when the first Star Wars film came out; that put me at the PRIME age for being a Star Wars nerd. But I didn't like the later movies (there were things about them I liked, but on the whole not so much); I also decided that, for the most part, I was happy with just ships - since Star Wars seems to be evergreen at the moment, I don't need every version of every ship - I don't need another Millennium Falcon, I don't need another TIE Fighter or X-Wing or Land Speeder - I have an older version of all of those, so I can pass on the newer versions.

When LOTR came out, I figured I'd be in it for good... I would need every set released. But I think I started to get jaded about LEGO around that time. I was not happy with the sets that came out, and I was able to start picking and choosing particular sets... in fact, I eschewed most of the sets and bricklinked the remaining party from the Hobbit that I didn't have, and then that was it.

I'm glad I was able to break out of the collector 'got to get them all' mentality, but it's easy to understand that a fan of both LEGO and a particular theme will go deep into debt trying to get them all before missing out. They shouldn't, but they do.

If you are a collector (who wants to have all/most sets/minifigs in a theme) then you ought to decide which themes you are going to stick to.

Star Wars is huge. If you are selective within that (maybe you only want original trilogy or clone wars or whatever), that helps, but otherwise you're in big trouble if you don't have a budget.

Exactly (as I said above). I got into LEGO because of trains. The hobby started out small for me, but then it grew to include Star Wars, Harry Potter, Castle, Architecture... it was costing me an arm and a leg, and while I make decent money, I also have a family to support, so it was not good. If I were only interested in one theme, it wouldn't be an issue...

I'd say I've spent from 1/5th to 1/6th in the past couple of years what I'd been spending before. I even stopped getting invited to the local store's pre-Black Friday event.... I was invited to the first two, and when I realized why I was invited, I knew it was time to cut back.

TLG itself hasn't helped, either. I don't buy train stuff from them anymore because there's so little to buy (I don't like the big sets, and the "creator" engines - Emerald Night, Horizon Express, and Maersk) are so few and far between that it's not even consequential to the budget. The architecture sets have gotten so huge and expensive that I just stopped... In recent years, I've only gotten an Eiffel Tower for my daughter. I have all the Star Wars ships I'm going to want... they only things they still have me hooked on are Modular Buildings and collectible minifigures - both things I can use to bulk up my some-day LEGO train layout.

Modular buildings are only once a year anymore, so they're no big deal, and I'm really starting to lose any excitement I had towards CMFs.

I just focus on one theme. Albeit I army builder, and am a completionist with said theme, and buy two of every set so that doesn't make matters much easier. When Lego only releases a few waves per theme a year though, it's not too bad.

Edited April 22, 20159 yr by Deathleech

Currently sticking with the Star Wars theme but I am also thinking of getting some Speed Champions sets. I only get the sets I like and it's even better when I see one that can save me $10-$15 at TRU, Target, or Walmart with price matching. It's so much better than trying to get 100 VIP points just to get $5 back. Also try not buying on impulse. Usually newer sets last longer so after a couple of months you'll see them at regular retail stores at a cheaper price.

since I am 18 years old, and still live with my parents, My parents make the final decision on what Lego sets that i get. I have been mostly collecting Star Wars and Marvel sets lately. I usually get the small and medium sets(100-400 bricks), and sometimes my parents let me get the big sets, (400-800 bricks)

Even though I just started I already bought a couple of sets and ordered some pick-a-bricks. I told myself that buying a little bit more stuff in the beginning is quite ok and should cease with time, well, I gotta be careful though, cause there are always new ideas coming up of what I might collect or add to my collection.

In the beginning I was into trains - wanted to build a city and stuff - but then I turned to the medieval context and bought a couple of castle sets - unfortunately I had to realize that the best castle sets were released in the past and are REALLY expensive to get nowadays - I wanted to buy the medieval market, struggled a couple of days, and finally let go - I guess you cant have them all - so I decided to stick with the castle stuff that I already got and patiently wait until some new sets are released.

After I made that decision my eyes turned towards pirates, as this is another theme that would be of interest to me - to be honest I dont quite like the sets that are around and I havent made a decision yet if I should get into it but its definitely on my radar.

Today I have seen a sales regarding those smaller sets of star wars - and I thought about buying them, even though I already made a decision not to get into the star wars theme as it would somehow contradict my plan for the long run - creating a nice landscape (pirates and knights are more or less compatible IMHO even though you might need a little bit more water for pirates).

So yes, you really gotta be careful and make priorities for yourself what you really WANT to buy and what you NEED to buy otherwise you might get into some financial trouble or end up with a lot of stuff that might either be incompatible with each other or might just overwhelm you.

I have a max budget of 1000 Swedish krona per month, about 120 €. But depending on how much money I have on my bank account at the end of the month I buy a bit more ... But all this will soon change because I've bought most of the sets I want for this year. I've gotten to a point that I have a large basic collection that for the moment doesn't have to grow to sustain my building needs. I've even stopped taking new sets apart for parts.

I mostly buy Town/City and Friends.

I don't worry too much about my spending, I resell (some or all of sets) to subsidize my habit. Plus I sell other stuff online for nice profits, like books, and when I sell one I bought for a dollar for 50 bucks, I don't mind shelling out for a set with that money. It's like I paid a dollar for it!

Also, I work for a company that sells LEGO, and I get 20% off and can usually pick it up at the end of my shift.

You lucky b...!

Anyway. I am into older Lego, I want to start collecting the first Harry Potter sets, so I made a rule that I would BL one per month. I have a job, but it's only part-time and I don't earn that much. However, then the Elves came out, and I thought - this would be cool - to get the whole range! So I have been buying them as well, one per month (or thereabouts!) And I have still bought small sets, like the new Lego Juniors ones (pirate! and a shark! and a skeleton!!!), so I am a bit out of control... If only I didn't have to eat...

tuskel,

sincerely

Edited April 22, 20159 yr by tuskel

I wish I had some wise words of wisdom for you. I don't. For me, I find that once I get my fill of something, my desire for said something dies down. I am a HARD CORE Transformers collector. I mean in the thousands of dollars a year. I feel like my collection is now completed and I am satisfied.

With my son building Lego, I found myself getting interested in Lego. At this point I am getting things for him, and enjoying it with him. So while it is affecting my spending again, I think it's worth it. Father son time building Lego is an investment rather a waste of money.

Or at least that is how I justify the spending and the spreadsheet I have to make my version of a perfect lego city,

I wish I had some wise words of wisdom for you. I don't. For me, I find that once I get my fill of something, my desire for said something dies down. I am a HARD CORE Transformers collector. I mean in the thousands of dollars a year. I feel like my collection is now completed and I am satisfied.

With my son building Lego, I found myself getting interested in Lego. At this point I am getting things for him, and enjoying it with him. So while it is affecting my spending again, I think it's worth it. Father son time building Lego is an investment rather a waste of money.

Or at least that is how I justify the spending and the spreadsheet I have to make my version of a perfect lego city,

Thats how I put it to myself as well! As of now I dont have any children but maybe someday I will and they might start playing with the stuff that I have bought - and if I wont have any children? - well, then I can invest all the more money into myself :) - so in the end nothing is wasted

right now I am struggling with idea to buy the current pirates sets (save for the pirate ship) - as they are new I still have about a whole year to decide and who knows maybe there is gonna be a sale -

I haven't purchased anything last month (March). Spent a little more I was aiming for in April on Bricks & Pieces and a bricklink order and next month (May) I will purchase nothing. Unless TLG decides to pull off the whole Pirates theme from the shelves. :P Because I want to buy the whole theme except for the ship, later on this year.

Edited April 23, 20159 yr by Orange Leader

I haven't purchased anything last month (March). Spent a little more I was aiming for in April on Bricks & Pieces and a bricklink order and next month (May) I will purchase nothing. Unless TLG decides to pull off the whole Pirates theme from the shelves. :P Because I want to buy the whole theme except for the ship, later on this year.

Thats exactly my idea, too!!! lol - I dont want the ship either :)

I must admit, though, that I am planning on buying it just for the minifigs basically, and maybe the octopus and the croc, the sets arent actually anything to write home about IMHO

I must admit, though, that I am planning on buying it just for the minifigs basically, and maybe the octopus and the croc, the sets arent actually anything to write home about IMHO

I don't think they're that bad. Their designs are fun and they come with usable parts.