Suckers that waste their money on non-gun stuff...

[Stevie-Ray]

Even though I have more invested in guns than my Suzuki, I've been known to think of things in terms of motorcycle tires. It's very similar to ammo for the guns.

I belong to the National Lightning Owner's Club. We speak in terms of performance modifications when it comes to this. Wow, I could buy a lot of mods with that kind of coin! (Usually when a person has bought an expensive truck from the competition)

With me, the same goes for guns, if the subject happens to be guns. Kinda like why I don't buy a Ruger Red Label, even though I really want one. I could buy a COUPLE of good handguns for that!

Probably most are guilty of this at times. I find it comical rather than serious even when I'm on the receiving end. Some people are just touchier than others, I guess.

 

[tuckerdog1]

Have a friend, also a gun guy, who always made his mortgage payment late. There was a late fee, about $35 as I recall. I'd lecture him about wasting that money ( as well as hurting his credit ). But he saw it as a small amount of money & could afford it. Then one day I pointed out that late fee month after month, would add up to a pretty nice gun at the end of the year. That's what it took to get him to make the payment on time.

Tuckerdog1

 

[tuckerdog1]

My wife & I like to garage sale on the weekends. I think I enjoy the negotiations as much as getting the "good deal".
Not unusual to find the $200+ handbag for $5-$20. But I have still not come across the $400+ firearm for $50-$100.
And I have come across quite a few firearms at garage sales..

If I ever do find that bargin, I'll be sure to let ya all know.

Tuckerdog1

 

[DRZinn]

When I go to the junkyard and see what gets tossed into the scrap pile it is amazing

The job that's getting me through college is picking up junk. Besides the fact that they pay us hundreds of dollars to take away what in many cases they could do themselves, they throw away some amazing stuff. I have a kayak, a 42" TV, great speakers for my wife's laptop, a four-gallon bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne, and too many small things to name. I've hooked up my friends with furniture (we're talking good stuff), home decor, golf travel cases for carrying rifles, etc etc etc. The list goes on. It's really sad.

Edit: Oh, and a shotgun reloader. There, the thread is gun-related again.

 

[Working Man]

Has it been so long that you've forgotten?

[Cough/] Sadly yes [/Cough.Cough]

That was a few years ago but at least she did like to shoot.
In one funny instance were talking about saving some money and how
we would not spend any money on things other than the "needed" items.
Well one day I go to the gun show and see a nice H&K just calling to me
(it really did know my name) so I buy it and that weekend I see her.

Back at her place she tells me she has a confession to make... ....
turns out that she bought some emerald thing-um-er-bob-er and ask if I
was mad. Of course I said no (being such a great and understanding guy)
and said I guess that makes us even. I pulled out the H&K, her
response... "Ooooo can I have it".

 

[50 Freak]

This is pretty sad but....My wife's purse cost more than my first car....I look at it and think about the M1A I could have bought instead of that stupid purse.

But really guys, when it comes down to it.....Spending $1,300 for a purse is cheaper than a divorce.

 

[progunner1957]

...and when the "S" hits the "F" you will only be able to carry so many guns.

So I'll stay home with them and use them to defend my home.

If I have to get out of Dodge, my Toyota 4Runner will easily haul everything that really matters - my wife, the dogs, my WWII veteran father's casket flag, the guns & ammo and me.

 

[leadcounsel]

Spending $1,300 for a purse is cheaper than a divorce.

Wow, that's a lot of money for a purse.


But it's not so much the money, it's the idea that a person can and will spend so much on what is really just frivolous junk.

The "junk" people buy DOES become my business when it eats away at resources that are scarce and precious....

Precious metal mining significantly destroys the environment with digging, strip mining, and cyanide. The plastics that make up most of the junk in our world are made heavily from oil, now at $70 per barrel. Chemicals, dyes and such are tested on animals, dumped in the groundwater and oceans/lakes, and destroy our world.

All for the frivolous-ness of "style" and "fashion" which is just plain stupid.

I recently moved and donated so much of the "junk" I was guilty of accumulating over the years and came to this realization to STOP buying and accumulating junk.

It is amazing what we thoughlessly buy and then throw out!

I've seen my neighbors throw out boxes of books, working appliances, steel bedframes, good tires, steel filing cabinets, furniture, etc. Whatever happened to donating stuff or at least recycling? Whenever I see this stuff getting tossed out, I generally take a few minutes and throw it in my truck and then drop it off at the Goodwill by my gym. I try to do my part.

I categorize guns in the "necessities" category, which can easily become very scarce with the stroke of a pen. So, I'm gathering my collection now while they're easy and relatively inexpensive to get.

My after food, water, and shelter and medical attention, my guns are my most important possessions.

For the record, I could never find myself attracted to woman as a lifetime mate who felt it okay to spend more than $50 on a purse or who needed to own more than a handful of shoes and had more than a modest clothing collection.

I have dating alot in my life and have always weeded out women that didn't think the way I do about this very topic.... I've found that women who feel this way are rare gems indeed, more valuable than any ruby or diamond.

 

[Davo]

I can no longer buy anything retail, everything I get comes through froogle or ebay. If I dont get at least 30% cheaper than retail I dont buy-it will come up eventually. I cringe at having to go out to the gunstore or mall to buy stuff.
p.s.-I still GO to the gunstore...I just buy the small stuff or get special order's

 

[middy]

I'm just jealous of anyone that actually has discretionary income.

 

[mmike87]

This is pretty sad but....My wife's purse cost more than my first car....I look at it and think about the M1A I could have bought instead of that stupid purse.

Not really. Does it make her happy? Can you afford it? If the answer to either of those question is "no" then that's sad ... if not then spend money on things that make you happy.

My wife has two Louis Vuitton purses. They were expensive. But so were my high-end 1911's. These purses WILL last a long time, and the real ones hold value very well, actually. My wife is 34 years old and has been complaining that she feels like a "frumpy housewife and mother" - and has started, for the first time in our 15 year marriage, buying nice things for herself. Good makeup, nice cloths, nice jewlery, "Louies", etc. We couldn't afford it on a Navy salary 15 years ago, now we can.

Some people may think it's superfical or silly, but then again those people are perfect and only spend their money on "worthwhile" things. Who's to say what's worthwhile for another person? If dressing nice or looking nice makes someone feel good, then so be it.

To all those who are trying to pass off their arsenals of weapons somehow as "neccessities" gimme a break. At most you need two or three guns for defense after the asteroid hits. Once you get into the 5, 6, 10, or 20 gun range you're firmly in the luxery realm, and there is nothing wrong with that if you can afford it. Just admit it.

There is no shame in the enjoyment of life for folks who work hard for their money. Enjoyment comes in different forms for different people.

 

[50 Freak]

My wife has two Louis Vuitton purses. They were expensive. But so were my high-end 1911's. These purses WILL last a long time, and the real ones hold value very well, actually. My wife is 34 years old and has been complaining that she feels like a "frumpy housewife and mother" - and has started, for the first time in our 15 year marriage, buying nice things for herself. Good makeup, nice cloths, nice jewlery, "Louies", etc. We couldn't afford it on a Navy salary 15 years ago, now we can.

I hate LV's.....Gosh darn things aren't even all leather....It's "laminated fabric".....Laminated Fabric my eye.....It's freaking plastic.

But it keeps the wifey happy and so the way I see it...Wife gets a LV, I get another 50 Cal....

To all those who are trying to pass off their arsenals of weapons somehow as "neccessities" gimme a break. At most you need two or three guns for defense after the asteroid hits. Once you get into the 5, 6, 10, or 20 gun range you're firmly in the luxery realm, and there is nothing wrong with that if you can afford it. Just admit it.

More like when you have to buy multiple safes or when someone asks you "how many guns do you have" and you don't know without having to go home and open the safe....That's when you are in the "luxery realm"....

 

[cavman]

Guns and Ammo are expensive.

Stereotype warning here. But about a month and a half ago at the Club, there was this guy with his son ~14 and his daughter ~12, and they were there to sight in the new .458 Lott rifle. Meanwhile, his son and daughter were shooting the Uzi (can't remember for sure, but definately an auto, and also maybe pistol caliber). Anyways, the guy seemed to be a really great dad ( in terms of being a very loving and encouraging and reassuring man).

However, on the way out we happened to be leaving together, and I overheard him say to the owner that he just spent $160 ($4x40) on getting it right. (Never mind the magazine after magazine of auto ammo).

He didn't *seem* to have a lot of money, (probably made more than me, for all I know), but I had the thought that in that family the $$ might have been better spent elsewhere.

But, they were a happy family and obviously loved each other dearly. So, who am I....

But I still had that lingering thought...

have a great day,
cavman

 

[cracked butt]

The cost of ammo doesn't need to be part of the cost of owning a firearm. Simply keep buying guns until you have so many that you cant possibly have time to shoot most of them.


Yes I'm a gun hoard... err... I mean collector.

 

[cracked butt]

I bet even gunkid doesnt have that many of those.

GK probably has a Hello Kitty wheelbarrow though and I bet that you don't

 

[gezzer]

So I am to believe that no one in this thread except me has spent $200+ on a nice comfortable pair of boots?

I do because they fell great on my arthritic feet and let me move around like I don't have arthritis.

 

[2TransAms]

But really guys, when it comes down to it.....Spending $1,300 for a purse is cheaper than a divorce.

If my wife spent $1300 on a purse I believe that may be grounds for divorce.

Oh,the wife's Hello Kittys (what I showed you isn't half,actually!) are tactical decoys.If a burglar/JBT/werewolf-vampire-hybrid comes in the door and sees that,they will seriously underestimate the amount of firepower waiting for them when they turn down the hall.

 

[Davo]

I guess thats a good reason to tie the knot...tactical decoys.

 

[JesseJames]

To each their own I guess.
When I go out to the mall - which I don't care for all that much - I am still in amazement that a pair of jeans can run like $90.00.
That just doesn't compute in my mind. I'm thinking, does it have a radio or built-in MP3 player in it or something?

 

[bogie]

$160 for a day at the range? Tuning a .458? No biggie.

You can spend that much easy at a theme park. Fellow needs to handload tho...

Let's see... Day at the lake... Boat cost/monthly payment/rental, gasoline, driving there, etc., etc... Guys, the cost of recreation also goes up with inflation...

(sitting here listening to Pet Sounds on thousand dollar speakers...)

 

[Harold Mayo]

What people spend their money on is THEIR business.

 

[lionking]

yeah,like I said its none of my business what someone spends their money on,though I dont understand why some people gamble the way they do.
I have a friend,she has a problem gambling,she had herself barred from the indian property at one point.
She took me one day to the indian gambling place,one woman next to us said she had been there 6 hours,had won about $4000 dollars on the machine,but in the end lost it all and kept going back to the atm for more money.Just because these people want to hit that big jackpot..suckers!
Looking at some of those people in there you could see in their eyes the "rush" they had,the addiction.
Well again,if thats what they want to do with their cash,what ever but what a waste of time in my opinion.
Now I can understand friends getting together at a house for a game of poker and a few beers,but to deplete your bank account on a slot machine is just crazy.

 

[slzy]

the country took a turn for the foolish with beanie babys. grown folks handing over currency for rag dolls.

 

[OldSchooler]

Of course I equate the price of things to guns. And like you, I would rahter wear ratty clothes and drive a POS vehicle, as long as I have a closet full of guns. To me they are a storehouse of value far in excess of others, even gold.

But, not everyone sees things as I do. While I agree that consumerism is rampant and should be checked, It's not for me to judge others. Discern yes, Judge, no.

"Seat ye not at the head of the table, lest ye be cast down."
- Jesus, Hebrew prophet and Son of God.

 

[UnintendedConsequences]

I invest in firearms related items as a hedge against the future

I view firearms and their related items to make them go boom, carry easier or function more effectively as being on the same level as food, water, shelter, clothing and a comfortable environment (heating in winter, cooling in summer) because they provide a means of self-defense and can obtain food. While I don't think someone should buy firearms in exclusion to all other things, they are a necessity.

I have become jaded about the things I buy now as even when I seek out quality I have found little difference in so many products that many times I buy the cheapest version because I know that I will waste less money that way. When I can, I buy from garage/rummage/yard sales for things that are older and better made for a price comparable to the brand new throwaway version.

I have made a concious effort to reduce my "waste" as best I can, though having a few small luxuries makes life more bearable and gives me an escape when I am stressed. For me that is specialty teas, dark chocolate, jerky and other little things. With firearms I look at the practical value versus price. I love old military surplus guns for the utilitarian features and durability. But I also like precision rifles and handguns for when accuracy matters. I am working on a mix of the two because I see two different missions for them.

It is when I see people "bling dat thing" with cars, phones, stereos, video game systems and entertainment centers, along with a flashy high cost residence (home, apartment or condo) that I remember scraping by and how easy it is to be so tight with a budget your shorts are making you squeak. I think the shallow people are idiots, but that is their choice. I stand my mine and continue on with my life.

With many things that I bought, once they wear out I won't replace them, like a TV and TV antenna because I have another one that I thought I needed at the time, so I will just connect that one up to the DVD player or VCR and watch prerecorded programs and movies.

With firearms I acquire ones that meet a need even if it is just a hunting only situation. If I have multiples of a certain design, it is to have a spare or parts donor for the future. I see more value in firearms than anything else as they are practical as well as an investment.