How much have you spent over the years? - Astronomy might be cheaper than you think.

[A40farinagolf]

Don't know why but I calculated the following:

Approximately how much I'd spent on equipment over the years.

I then minused the cost of the bits I've resold and then I subtracted the second hand value of the bits I currently have.

The summation of this is the amount that I've spent (lost) over the years and it's considerably less than I expected at only £1200 which makes it a much cheaper past time than my golf habit.

I think the secret is to buy good quality 2nd hand equipment at the right price, look after it very well whilst using it and then sell at the right price - sounds easy.

I'd be interested to know how others see it.

[Moonshane]

I see my gear pretty much as money in the bank but with more fun attached. I could sell it all pretty much for the money I paid for the same reasons you state - buying used good quality gear is what I do also.

All you need to do to raise funds quicker than normal is sell for a price very slightly below normal (sometimes even a fiver seems to have the desired effect bizarrely) and you can raise funds very quickly.

[ScottS]

I've calculated that I've spent exactly 37% more than the wife thinks I have

[Davey-T]

I've calculated that I've spent exactly 37% more than the wife thinks I have

Blimey is that all ? I always knock a nought off the end if she asks, luckily she knows nothing about astro 

Dave

[estwing]

I've spent as much as I could afford... I advise others to do the same!

[A40farinagolf]

If I don't spend it the kids and my nursing home will do - sod that!

[nightfisher]

Some years back i used to binge drink on a friday night............but i stopped this and after a few months i found i had money building up in account, i would say all my astro gear is paid for due to stopping friday night drinking, now i rarely have a drink.

Dont have a clue how much i have spent over the years, but its money well spent

[Peter Drew]

Enough to buy a new Ferrari. The choice was there, no brainer. 

[Davey-T]

Snap, still driving round in my X reg Renault, can't be wasting money on cars 

Dave

[russ.will]

If you can remember the all of the prices (bought & sold) of everything you have owned, then you're clearly not taking this seriously.

FWIW, I did write a list the other day, but I seriously can't remember what half of that cost/made. of course, I could just be in denial.

Russell

[ronin]

I estimate £4000 to £5000, settle for the mid point of £4500, and I would say £1500 of that is on eyepieces. :rolleyes:

Could be worse I could have aspirations in the astrophotography line. :grin:

[DaveS]

Probably somewhere over £5k I should think. A little over £1500 of that is Astrodon 3nm filters 

[pete_l]

How much have I spent?

Well, since I still need want more stuff, clearly not enough!

[A40farinagolf]

Russell at thread #10 - that is a list and a half for only 4+ years - I've got a long way to go to achieve that rate of acquisition.

I need to watch my wife when she's in handbag or shoe shopping mode, If I apply her logic I will being saving a fortune and closing the gap on you in no time.

"Look how much I've saved by buying these Delos eyepieces and this CPC925, they were in the sales"

[Baffa]

Cost per hour used this is one expensive hobby, for me at least. Weather!!1!!  

But to be fair, my other hobbies is quite expensive aswell, especially model railroads...

[Baffa]

Hehe, I always want more more stuff. But enough is enough, this is the second year with bad weather, no more spending. I'm gonna stick with what I got and try to squeeze every last pixel out of it before I go out any buy anything else, haha.

[PhotoGav]

A small fortune, but apparently still not enough... Every time I buy something I seem to end up adding at least two more things to my wish list.

I like your approach though - if I sold all the bits that I have acquired I would get quite a bit back, so Astronomy costs very little really. Right, FLO, where's that BUY button?!!?!

Add to this the hours spent on SGL and I'm not sure what that makes, but surely something!

[niallk]

Can't post an answer on this ... In case wife picks up my phone...

Only kiddin - she roughly knows.

Roughly.

[Earl]

I dont want to know how much I have spent !!!

Regardless im hapy with the results im getting, I need to work on my processing skills to make the most of the data im getting.

[webboid]

I have bought mostly second hand  so hope that should I sell up I would get most of my investment back. However I like the idea of  thinking of cost per session. So adding all my equipment up roughly & dividing by no of observing sessions since I started 3 years ago it costs about £25 per session. I don't think I will be buying too much more stuff so each year the cost per use will go down. So not so expensive if you look at it like that.

[sharkmelley]

Maybe I would have been better off spending the money to buy time on robotic scopes?

Mark

[russ.will]

Russell at thread #10 - that is a list and a half for only 4+ years - I've got a long way to go to achieve that rate of acquisition.

I need to watch my wife when she's in handbag or shoe shopping mode, If I apply her logic I will being saving a fortune and closing the gap on you in no time.

"Look how much I've saved by buying these Delos eyepieces and this CPC925, they were in the sales"

I suffer from being at once impulsive - Ooh! Shiny! Me want - and decisive - Doesn't work for me; replace it. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the passing of items, that I have latterly realized that I really liked. Still, that then becomes experience and I KNOW I'm not the only person on here who has considered buying the same item twice. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

I have been lucky in that my written musings as a journo in another sphere, have created a supplementary income to my day job. This has formed the basis of my toy fund, which has allowed me a certain amount of liquidity in astro products. I do feel that I'm getting to the point where some items will hang around longer though.

For instance, the WO Zenithstar proved I wanted an 80mm Apo for visual purposes in the stable long term, which I now have. It did however prove to me that I didn't want a WO Apo in the stable long term, if I also wanted EPs that weighed over about 10 grammes! 

Russell

[A40farinagolf]

Thoughts for the weekend if you're considering another purchase:

"Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time".

"Money will buy a bed but not sleep; books but not brains; food but not appetite; finery but not beauty; a house but not a home; medicine but not health; luxuries but not culture; amusements but not happiness; religion but not salvation; a passport to everywhere but heaven; a 130mm APO but not clear skies"

[pete_l]

"Money will buy ... a 130mm APO but not clear skies"

Ahhh, but money (less than £30k at current prices &  exchange rates) will buy you clear skies. Roughly 260 last year if you had bought around here.

[A40farinagolf]

What's the £30k for - a caravan? Only jealous and I quite like clouds.