The Budget

Hail, Metal Brothers! Just wondering how much you guys spend each week or month (or if you make a couple times a year hike to a fave place ) on music? Since the Wife and I closed on our house last Oct. 1st my weekly budget is now about 1/3 what I once spent on tunes. It used to be that I grabbed whatever came out new while buying other, older releases. I am a little bit more picky than I once was and am more willing to wait for a deal than just snap up a new release. I also don't "double up" anymore just to get an unreleased song or one live bonus track. I also don't really buy any memorabilia like pins or patches ( I only have about a half dozen shirts) and I am not a vinyl collector at all as that would cut into the budget and take away from completing the want list.

I am trying to complete a 250+ CD want list on approximately $25- $30 a week budget. Yes, Sentinel needs his weekly fix The list was first created in 2008 and was once 600 titles strong. It's a delicate balance between new releases and fleshing out bands back catalogs; but I make it work as best I can. So what do you guys do?

My music budget is basically nonexistent. Maybe 1 album per month, so I'm incredibly picky about what I actually purchase. Many albums fall under the "Spotify is good enough for this title".

I usually buy about 250 albums per year.  Some are very cheap vinyl and some are very expensive imports.  I would guess I spend about $100 a month on music.

I just added it up and I have spent $507.31 this year on CDs and vinyl. I counted 24 weeks so far in the year and that means I have spent $21.14 per week on music. So far this year I have purchased 62 albums.

I am usually averaging 1-3 albums per week depending on price. Sometimes it's a back catalog album brand new for $5 or $6 bucks or a new release deluxe edition for $15 - $20. This week I purchased: Quiet Riot's Down To The Bone for $15 shipped. This completes the QR collection as I am not buying that turd they recently put out. And I scored a copy of the new Raven from Hastings for $14 shipped. So, I am done for this week. New week starts on Sunday.

I don't have a budget ... when I have money to buy CDs. I buy them. When I don't, I don't.

I've had a better than usual CD buying run thus far in 2015, tho, mainly due to some dumb luck at thrift stores. I was also able to go on a bit of a binge over the past month cuz I got several gift cards for my birthday at the end of May, and then got some surprise bonus cash from my blogging site for hitting a certain amount of page views... so I've bought more CDs in the first half of 2015 than I did in all of 2014 (please don't tell my wife!).

I blew thru the last of that birthday/bonus $$ about a week ago though, so I'm back to CD-buying drought conditions for the foreseeable future. (sigh) Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Depends. ... haven't bought as much lately, sometime I buy more.... depends on the month and what's going on.... if it's a heavy concert month I buy less music.

It just depends on what I have going on. There are times where I pick up a lot and times when I rarely buy anything.

If I got the extra cash, I get something. If not, I do without. Sadly I don't seem to have the extra cash that much anymore.

I use to spend about 200+ a month on CDs, but I have run into some financial trouble and now only spend about 60+ a month, sometimes less.
I buy some vinyl here and there - mostly Sabbath and Iron Maiden.

I know the feeling of having less disposable income now so it's making me appreciate what I have much more and be more scrupulous about each purchase.

i range from $50 to $100 per month, depending on what is out.

My music spending is WAY, WAY down from what it was a few years ago. Not really by design either; there just isn't much new stuff that interests me anymore. At one point I was spending $300-$400 per month on CDs. Now I don't think I spend more than $100 per year.

I probably spend like 40 to 60 dollars a month. Not extravagant, but it meets my needs.

It depends, I earn a lot more in the second half of the year than I do in the first and money has been especially tight this year. At the moment it's about £100 a month.

I don't really budget my music spending. If I have it to spend, I do. When I sell stuff on ebay, I tend to turn that money back around and buy more music. I rarely "cash-out". Since it's all out there in cyberspace and not tangible, I don't feel bad about the buying I do.

Otherwise, I try not to think too much about it. I'm also a bargain shopper, so that helps keep the costs down.

I generally buy reissues of stuff that's hard to find these days like Powerlord and Razor. Divebomb records kicks ass!

Divebomb is awesome, John. If it weren't for them I wouldn't have the first 3 Scanner discs.

Divebomb is great!

It seems that recently, most of my purchases are online (Ebay or Amazon) due to prices but also the better availability of eighties Metal. Let's face it, the local chain or Mom and Pop store (if you have one in your are) isn't going to have the cool gems you are looking for on a regular basis. The thing I struggle with is whether or not to include shipping when I buy something online. I don't think about the gas money it costs or the tax at the store, so I don't know whether or not to include the shipping when I purchase online. Any thoughts?

I always factor in shipping charges. Usually, but not always, ebay is more reasonable with their shipping charges for cds. Anywhere from free to $3. Amazon is $3.99 regardless. I'm talking buying used, so don't give me that Amazon Prime b.s.

Ebay was restricting shipping charges to $3 max for awhile because folks were getting out of hand, but I think they lifted that. I've seen shipping charges for $4 or more lately. The only time the Amazon $3.99 flat rate is advantageous is if you're buying a box set or import.

I purchase a lot of discs from Zoverstocks which ship from Great Britain. They have rock bottom prices on stuff. The only down side is waiting. I've gotten stuff in a week or as long as a month, depending on how long it sits in customs.

My budget probably has no business being mentioned in these hallowed halls...

I will say that I ALWAYS consider shipping when it comes to buying online. My favorite seller, hands down, is ImportCDs. They almost always have the best prices and if you compare between their website and their seller account on Amazon, you can find some amazing deals. I scored the Frank Black box set that dropped recently for $45 shipped via their website while they were selling it for $60 directly on Amazon.

It's all about comparison shopping, really. That said, i do try to throw money towards a handful of brick and mortar stores because I don't want to see those going away anytime soon. I have an unreasoning love for used racks.

Thanks for the input, MG and Rumicen. I really want to support the brick and mortar stores too as the once a week trip to the "record" store on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon connects me to my past. The unexpected thrill/ rush from finding a top ten want list item in the bins is not the same as finding it online.

I find that I usually do include the shipping when I total my purchase(s) for the week; but it is no longer a determining factor in whether or not I purchase from a particular seller ( unless, obviously, it's an exorbitant rate); because I figure that it would cost me $3 -$5 in gas to get to the nearest store anyway. It makes sense in my head. Honestly.

My first child was born in October of 2013. Our second this past February. Obviously I've cut back. I actually work off a $50-a-week budget. Sometimes I go over it, but typically I just do serious bargain shopping.

Thus far this year I've added 203 things—albums, EPs, singles, etc.—to my collection. Some were cheap or free digital-only copies, and some I've gotten free elsewhere, from friends or whatever. So my number of purchases is way down, even more than last year since we have two kids now.

I doubt I'll break 500 this year.

Eyesore wrote:

I doubt I'll break 500 this year.

and music executives everywhere are jumping out of windows!!!

exact33 wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

I doubt I'll break 500 this year.

and music executives everywhere are jumping out of windows!!!

No kidding. I thought I heard a thud outside. Now I know what it was.