How much do you think you have spent.....

[leemanley]

A bit of a frightener here, I've just been totting up what I've spent since Christmas on astro gear.

I've done just over a grand since christmas, how the hell !!!!!

It's not as if I've got a huge disposable income or anything or a lottery win !

This hobby sure is a wallet swallower without even realising it, I don't know about you but I would'nt think twice about buying a nice new shiny bit of kit, however, if it were a new pair of shoes it might be a different matter.....

Anyone else here realise how much this hobby costs ?

[John]

I think many of us tot things up now and then and give ourselves a shock

I don't think it's a particularly expensive hobby compared to some though and good quality equipment should provide years of satisfaction.

Whatever figure you come up with there will always be someone who has invested much more. Good luck to them I say - you only get one go at this life

[RikM]

If you really want a shock, work out how much you've spent per hour of observing time

I've been good this year and have only bought one eyepiece. (well I did buy another cheap one for use at public meets and I have been given another one but only bought one real eyepiece)

[David Smith]

Think I've only bought a couple of ep's since Christmas, ~ £200 although I may have something in the pipeline at the moment

I did the same last year, added up what I had spent around this time of year and came up with quite a surprising figure. As said above though, you only get one shot at this life.

[kirkster501]

Too much. The start up costs of Amateur Astronomy are very high - for imaging crazily so. For me about £5000 since mid 2011. An I am about to shell out £2500 on a CCD... Then I'll want a Tak FSQ-85. Then I'll want a planetary scope - with Flea camera of course. And then a Mesu mount for it all. Lol, nearing the end of my acquisitions - famous last words...

[wxsatuser]

Getting back into astronomy I'm starting from scratch plus I want to do imaging, build an obsy etc.

Think I have blown best part of two and half grand so far and I have'nt bought a CCD or filters yet.

Lucky I got a nice ppi payment this month.......what to buy now

[DirkSteele]

I paid the 80% final payment (deposit last year) for my APM 7" triplet Apo refractor this year so I am well aware of how much you can spend in this hobby. Probably best I do not add up what I have spent over the last 20 years since I started (paper round money to buy a 4.5" reflector was the first thing). Heaven knows what happens if I fall to the dark side and start imaging!

[ronin]

I manged to get the scopes I wanted, couple of small refractors (maybe one more but again a small one WO 71 perhaps), I have a couple of sets of reasonable eyepieces - the BST Explorers and TV Plossls, and really that is going to be it. Have an EQ5 and HEQ5 so the mounts are covered.

If someone wanted to give me a set of ES 82's or TV Delos then fine, but otherwise I can and will be happy with the eyepieces and scopes I have. Aperture fever isn't something I have, and someone owing better eyepieces is of no concern.

In future years I may build a long refractor - have 4" and 5" f/10 lens I can use, more as something to make use of the lens. One day I might build a portable reflector in the style of the Sumarian scopes (or I may not).

[SteveNickolls]

Yes, there was a similar post a while ago on this very subject. I think we compensate for the poor British weather (especially last year) with purchases, you know the 'feel good factor'-good for the retailers too. Over 7 years I have spent around £5,800 and I am consciously cutting back on spending. This year I have bought a replacement pair of 10x50 binoculars (£179) which will be my main observing instrument (last year I used my binoculars on 27 of the 44 observing sessions in the period and my 9.25" SCT only 4 times) and have no intention of spending anymore soon. Luckily I was on holiday at the time of the Warwick Astro show so was saved from temptation's door. Amen.

Cheers,

Steve

[Ouroboros]

It's only money!

[estwing]

this year I've spent half as much as I wanted and twice as much as what I can afford!

[Daddystu]

If the wife asks then its all paid for through wheeling and dealing with bikes etc but im probably edging toward 1500 this year. I'm currently building a pier on a budget. Hopefully sub 120 total.

[stevepeverall]

It's scary but whenever I consider how much I've spent I always say to myself "lots of people lose thousands instantaneously by driving a new car off a dealership forecourt." Also, that the purchses I've made will last a lifetime and I'm enjoying a hobby that most people throughout history could only dream of. That always makes me feel better and should make you feel better too.

Unless you've just driven a new car off a forecourt of course.

[L8-Nite]

I've spent more on Astronomy than I initially intended since I retired, but its ok, my Wife encouraged me.

[scarp15]

In some ways I feel quite fortunate, as my interest is exclusively focused only on visual astronomy with quite basic set ups, free of any electronics. So at least there is no doing a bit of this and a bit of that. The money spent on the hobby, has therefore been channelled largely into a set of premium eyepieces, which has taken approximately five years to build up.

I would like to remain stubbornly in denile though and would not like to tot up what in retrospect I have spent, even though some of my gear has been purchased second hand, ignorance is so they say bliss.

The main consideration though, is that at those times when it gets put to use, it all feels completely worth it!

[RikM]

The main consideration though, is that at those times when it gets put to use, it all feels completely worth it!

Absolutely agree. I don't regret a single penny I've spent on this wonderful hobby

[Moonshane]

I don't regret any purchases either. although I have a mental tendency to only remember the last piece I bought so it seems somehow cheaper.

[nightfisher]

I would prefer not to tot it up

[Pig]

About 3k here but at least its on me and not on bills

[Phil Fargaze]

I`ve often wondered how much I have spent over the years ( about £4000) but also how much would it cost to actually replace it all after an unforeseen event.

Hopefully the insurance would cover it.

[Tim]

I really don't want to add it up, but I know for a fact that this year alone I have invested (yes, that's the word) more in astronomy than in all previous years added together.........

[Naemeth]

I don't regret any purchases either. although I have a mental tendency to only remember the last piece I bought so it seems somehow cheaper.

I do the same thing .

Adding it up, it will probably be about £1000 by now. More later this year too as I'm planning on adding an ED80 with either an AZ4 or Skytee II.

[Ptarmigan]

How much do you think you have spent,,,

£65 in 196?

on a David Hind 6" mirror and flat + 2 eyepieces

from Broadhurst Clarkson (before Dudly Fuller got his hands on it)

and I built the telescope round them.

It has kept me well entertained in the available nights since !

Mind you, seems there were a lot more available nights back then compared to the last two winters

Recently a very good 10x50 bino from Lidl for something trivial.

[majapala]

I work hard, and I always have done. I don't get anything for nothing, and I'm, erm, a grown up!

[JamesF]

I've no intention of adding it up. And it's not just astronomy. As a hobby it's nothing unusual, really. I've probably spent far more on motorbikes, leathers and helmets. Actually, I've probably spent more on books than on astro gear. If you're into photography you could easily drop £5k on a full-frame Canon and a couple of L lenses. Scuba diving is hideously expensive. Skiing too, if you want to buy your own kit (and plenty of people do that and then only use it two weeks a year at the most). I'm sure many other hobbies are just the same.

James