Time or Money

No, not the Pink Floyd songs; but rather, what keeps you from expanding your collection more rapidly? I am by no means rich (and I never will be unless I win the lotto) but I started a part time job for my Father in Law this past August that nets me an extra $100 bucks a week (for only 2 hours of work); so I can buy pretty much whatever I want. So, for me, it's time. I have the feeling this is the case for a lot of us here. Between a 40+ hour work week, the gym, my daughter, keeping a house and yard clean- I get about 5 hours a week to myself to listen to music in the man cave. Most listening is done in the car or while working out.
My wife and I take turns putting our 2 1/2 year old daughter to bed each night (but by the time pajamas, brushing teeth, books, and stories are done and she falls asleep, it's like 10 pm and I am drained) so on my off night I get to have the basement to myself. I get plenty of time for HoM reading ad posting while she is watching Paw Patrol or some movie, but I can't be cranking the latest Primal Fear or newest Deep Purple Live album while the flat screen is blaring Bubble Guppies! Lol.
I guess when I retire or drop down to part time employment in 15-20 years; instead of golfing and traveling, I think I will just si in a recliner and listen to music until I croak. Haha, What do my Metal buds have to say?

Neither. I have enough of both. And when I run out of one, I make more of the other. Just glad hockey games are only 3 hours long.

The almighty dollar.

Time would be abundant if there were no $$$ worries and the cash flow was steady and endless...

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Neither.  I have enough of both.  And when I run out of one, I make more of the other.  Just glad hockey games are only 3 hours long.

Same here, although my wife is changing jobs in Jan for her sanity and will result in half the pay she makes now but it's no big deal. At least she will be happier.

As for music, I pretty much have all I want. When something new comes out I buy it if I feel it is worth the price. I don't buy like I used to.

Option 3, WIFE! If not for her giving me those looks and saying stuff like, are we going to pay rent orare you going to buy that new box set by (insert band name here)? Plus every time I buy something for me, she expects something for her. As if food is more important than a new vinyl!!!

I feel I know you now, sentinel.
I usually buy 5 CDs a month - or around there.
I stopped buying 5 hour energy power nips / 15 bucks for a small box.
I buy a 7 buck CD - and have the CD to keep.

For me - it's finding the band - talk of the band.
This week, I have heard Marshall Law mentioned.
That - is on my radar now.
Someone has "metal is my life" for a slogan.
That sums up my deal.
It's a great and outrageous genre.

Time. Never been busier in my life. I only get 5 hours of sleep at night. I have 9 month old twins, so even those 5hrs are interrupted every 30mins.

It's a little bit of both for me. There are always new CDs out there that I want to own/hear, but if money's tight, then I can't buy'em. I've accepted that.

I realize that I will never have enough time to listen to all the music, watch all the movies, etc. that I want to before I die anyway.

I am grateful for the time I *do* get to do these things, and I am especially glad that my current vehicle (it's not "new" but it's fairly new to me) still has a CD player in it, so my morning & evening commutes are where I do the bulk of my listening.

It's neither for me.

I just really have had a difficult time finding anything new that interests me.  I have enough money to buy something I want and I work from home so I could always pop in any new acquisitions and listen to it while I'm working. But I just find fewer and fewer bands that I care enough about to buy their albums. 

There are a few exceptions (like the new Interrupters album I dl'd a few days ago) but I think the bottom line is that I'm just not as addicted to music as I used to be.

Money, definitely money.

Money money money

Money basically. But I still try to manage. I have probably purchased over 300 albums this year, which is a lot. So i will definitely reduce my spending next year.

Neither really. I just don't have the desire to collect like I use to. Don't get me wrong, I still love listening to music and checking out newer bands but I don't feel the need to buy every release anymore. I've become way more selective on what I do buy these days.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Option 3, WIFE! If not for her giving me those looks and saying stuff like, are we going to pay rent orare you going to buy that new box set by (insert band name here)? Plus every time I buy something for me, she expects something for her. As if food is more important than a new vinyl!!!

Hah. True.

On a serious note, the wife and I have only had one money related argument in the 4 years we have owned our home (and truth be told it wasn't a big one) regarding my music purchases. I usually stick to about a hundred bucks a month on my credit card (the one I had since 1992) and we just pay it off so we have no cc debt. I forget exactly how far over the normal budget I went, but it was enough to cause concern and I set her straight. Over the last 5 years I have been selling off a large sports card collection and have brought in an extra 3-4 thousand dollars that has gone into the music collection (and sometimes to household items) or just random things for the both of us. I have read horror stories of guys (on other music forums) having to go to extreme measures to hide purchases from their wives. I am glad I am not them.

Glower wrote:

I feel I know you now, sentinel.
I usually buy 5 CDs a month - or around there.
I stopped buying 5 hour energy power nips / 15 bucks for a small box.
I buy a 7 buck CD - and have the CD to keep.

For me - it's finding the band - talk of the band.
This week, I have heard Marshall Law mentioned.
That - is on my radar now.
Someone has "metal is my life" for a slogan.
That sums up my deal.
It's a great and outrageous genre.

To quote the great Ian Gillan "it's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase"

When you find that elusive last disc to "blackout" a bands discography, or a hidden '80's Metal gem, it's just awesome! I always struggle with balancing between collecting everything of a fave band/ artist (Priest, Maiden, Dokken, Anthrax) or finding new music from other bands/ artists (Marshall Law, Angra, Exciter, Anvil) and buying and consuming their music. I always tell myself it's the music that is most important. I don't want it to be a collection that gathers dust on shelves.

Lari wrote:

Time. Never been busier in my life. I only get 5 hours of sleep at night. I have 9 month old twins, so even those 5hrs are interrupted every 30mins.

Twins! That's awesome. My younger sister has triplets (and an older son). The triplets are 10 and the older son (my Godson) is 13. I feel ya on the lack of sleep. My daughter is two and a half and sleeps through the night, but still gets up earlier than I would like on a day off (like today) haha.

Good luck, brother.

Fat Freddy wrote:

It's a little bit of both for me. There are always new CDs out there that I want to own/hear, but if money's tight, then I can't buy'em. I've accepted that.

I realize that I will never have enough time to listen to all the music, watch all the movies, etc. that I want to before I die anyway.

I am grateful for the time I *do* get to do these things, and I am especially glad that my current vehicle (it's not "new" but it's fairly new to me) still has a CD player in it, so my morning & evening commutes are where I do the bulk of my listening.

I lease my cars (and the wife's SUV) so I have a new vehicle every 2-3 years. I am living in fear that my next Nissan (probably a 2019-20) will not have a CD player. I had this discussion with the owner of my local Mom and Pop shop recently and I guess the way I would go is to load up my phone with music and play it in the car. I would not get satellite radio as I would be paying to hear songs and artists I already own. But, that's a whole different discussion.

tohostudios wrote:

It's neither for me.

I just really have had a difficult time finding anything new that interests me.  I have enough money to buy something I want and I work from home so I could always pop in any new acquisitions and listen to it while I'm working. But I just find fewer and fewer bands that I care enough about to buy their albums. 

There are a few exceptions (like the new Interrupters album I dl'd a few days ago) but I think the bottom line is that I'm just not as addicted to music as I used to be.

I hear ya, toho. I remember the wonder of it back when I was a young teen and first discovering Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. It seemed like it was all exploding and everything was new and fresh. It's obviously different these days, which is why I tend to seek out older bands rather than newer ones. I recall sitting with a buddy a decade ago out on the back deck of his house and we had some music going and drinking a few. We were talking Metal and we came to the realization that "there's so much music out there we haven't heard yet" Not all of it good, mind you; but still a shit ton of stuff to check out. I find that he and I have this realization every few years, even though we have purchased a few hundred discs each in the time in between discussions. Haha.

Thrasher73 wrote:

Neither really. I just don't have the desire to collect like I use to. Don't get me wrong, I still love listening to music and checking out newer bands but I don't feel the need to buy every release anymore. I've become way more selective on what I do buy these days.

Agreed. That's where the balancing of music listening and collecting comes into play for me. I spent two and a half decades collecting sports cards that sit in a box. I make sure my music collection isn't like that.

the sentinel wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

It's a little bit of both for me. There are always new CDs out there that I want to own/hear, but if money's tight, then I can't buy'em. I've accepted that.

I realize that I will never have enough time to listen to all the music, watch all the movies, etc. that I want to before I die anyway.

I am grateful for the time I *do* get to do these things, and I am especially glad that my current vehicle (it's not "new" but it's fairly new to me) still has a CD player in it, so my morning & evening commutes are where I do the bulk of my listening.

I lease my cars (and the wife's SUV) so I have a new vehicle every 2-3 years. I am living in fear that my next Nissan (probably a 2019-20) will not have a CD player. I had this discussion with the owner of my local Mom and Pop shop recently and I guess the way I would go is to load up my phone with music and play it in the car. I would not get satellite radio as I would be paying to hear songs and artists I already own. But, that's a whole different discussion.

Put your music on a flash drive.  My 2011 Murano has a USB port inside the storage compartment between the front seats.  That's almost all I use to listen to music in the car.  I'm sure the next model year of Nissans probably have multiple USB ports.

It's totally time. I just don't feel like I get enough time with each album as it is. I want to know each album, so the more I have the less each album gets attention. In that way, I've become way pickier over the years. I only buy albums that I know are incredible.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

It's totally time. I just don't feel like I get enough time with each album as it is. I want to know each album, so the more I have the less each album gets attention. In that way, I've become way pickier over the years. I only buy albums that I know are incredible.

I agree with this. What's the point of buying a CD (or even downloading an album for free), if you just don't have the time to sit down and properly listen to it?

I have accepted that I can never hear ALL the music I would like, but I will at least try and enjoy the ones I do. ie. I don't just play them once in the background or something.

Money, honestly.

My son is grown and on his own. It's just my wife and I at home. Were we not paying for college (son), planning to move soon, putting money into the current house to prepare, and have things like 401K, retirement, etc to consider, I'd be buying CDs and LPs left and right.

I have bought too much music over the past year simply because of how cheap I have been able to find CD's, but I think my priorities will be a little more focused this upcoming year. I buy a CD and maybe listen to it once or twice, just do not have time to devote to a new albums especially if I buy them in bulk. Its cool to find a huge CD find, but I do not want to own something just for the sake of owning it.

I often buy cds in bulks, which means that i barely have time to properly listen to each of them. I seriously plan on reducing my purchases next year and simply stick to the essential releases by the major bands that i like.