Guns as rewards?

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Sure...guns as rewards...guns as consolation :evil:

I have often thought this year "damn my football team is horrible, this is bumming me out, I know how I can cheer myself up, buy a new gun"
 
I don't have to make a deal with myself, It's enough of a challenge adding to the collection while shaving bits out of my Gun fund for various household expenses.

Dang "priorities" and my inability to ignore them.
 
My feelings are that it is not a realistic goal. If however you said you will loose the weight and keep it off for at least 6 to 12 months, then you have a true goal and deserve a gun. Keeping it off is the true goal.

Jim
 
Keeping it off is the true goal.

Jim

I hear ya Jim, but I think (hope) I'm safe. I'll tell you why (sorry in advance for the long explanation).

I went basically a year at the same weight (after losing like 45 lb. over the course of 1.5 years). I was doing OK at maintaining that weight, but I needed motivation to really start losing again (and stop this +/- 4 lb. oscillation). When I found myself again at the +4 lb., I decided that something needed to change. I needed motivation! After previously loosing a respectable amount, my efforts and tactics had gone stale.

This new "program" I have is working for now, and like I mentioned in a previous post, I have plans for continuing to "reward" myself for maintaining the weight loss. :)

What I should admit is this: in the past, while my wife has been OK with me using some of our surplus funds for guns (even after we've contributed to such savings accounts as an emergency fund and college funds), until I came up with this challenge, she wasn't on board with me spending this much on guns this quickly.

When I ran this idea by her, she readily agreed. She isn't a miser, but she does love to save lots of money (an attribute of hers for which I count myself very blessed). But she said that she easily agreed with the program (even to use future ammo/gun rewards for maintenance) because she wants me to be healthy and stay around longer. Of course, we've agreed on a less-aggressive reward system for maintenance.

The catch is (and this is why I think I'm safe), that less-aggressive system for rewarding me (based on maintaining the final goal weight) will sort of replace my previous "gun allowance." It won't replace it completely, but let's just say that we were able to agree on a system where I am still better off than I was with my regular allowance IF I am a good boy going forward. So right now the program is a "carrot" (which is producing great immediate results), and it will sort of transition into a hybrid "stick/carrot" in the future.

So some of you who say things like "well I just buy what I want when I want/can afford to," that might work well for you, but this has been a win-win for me! I have more motivation and I lose weight, and the "finance committee" is OK with accelerating the pace of my gun purchases. In the end, whatever works for you is great! So far this is working really well for me. :)

I honestly don't even get tempted to "cheat" on my diet these days. I hope this continues!
 
Not so much reward as an incentive. If I come in under budget on jobs, the 'extra' funds go into the gun fund. :D

Unfortunately, as my wife can attest, an Estimator I am not. :what:
 
Just rewarded myself today with a very nice Mauser 24/47.

Starting from September of last year I brought my weight down to 290 from 540 and my blood sugar is staying in a more normal range of 149 to 97 (down from 330). Every month that I continue my progress and maintain my goals, I award myself with $100.00 toward my next firearm purchase.

The Mauser, a $195.00 gun show purchase, is my reward for August and September.
 
BearGriz, that's a great accomplishment. As one who's fought my weight for years and years I can appreciate how difficult that is to do. Hang in there and congratulations.
 
BearGriz, that's a great accomplishment. As one who's fought my weight for years and years I can appreciate how difficult that is to do. Hang in there and congratulations.

Thanks for the encouragement! Status Update:

The gun show was yesterday, and I picked up my reward that I "earned" a month ago. I ended up getting a different gun than I had planned (I already ordered accessories for the Ruger I planned on getting, but I still plan on getting that gun). Instead of a Ruger 22/45 Lite, I got a Taurus 905 (fun gun!).

I had also just reached my goal weight for my next reward (lost an additional 5lb.), which was ammo. So I bought a bunch of 9mm this time, as well as some .22LR. Wow, the panic buying was in full force at the gun show!!! I was buying ammo that I had planned on getting (as my reward), so I didn't see myself as participating in the panic buying. I had to wait like 45 minutes to buy my ammo, and when I was leaving the show 2 hours later the ammo I had bought was all gone (this was early afternoon on the first day of the show).

My next goal/reward is in another 5lb. and it will be the Ruger (unless a gun I put a deposit on a couple months ago finally comes in). I might "cheat" a bit on Thanksgiving, but I think I'll do fine. When I lose an additional 5lb. after that (10lb. total loss from today's weight), I'll buy a few accessories (for the Taurus) as my reward and lump in the other accessories I bought for the Ruger (along with a panic buy of some 30-rd. mags last month) :) (Ok, so I did do some panic buying.) That should catch me up so my impulse/panic buys are rectified to my goals/rewards.

All in all, I've lost about 16-17lb. in a little more than 3 months.

It has been an expensive incentive plan (buying stuff I planned on getting anyway, but the buying pace has been accelerated), but then again many of the weight-loss programs that are out there are really expensive too. And in the end this is working like crazy, plus I'm spending money on stuff that will last (at least the guns should).
 
Another status update.

It has been three months since I reached my last goal, but I am pleased to report that I have at least maintained that weight (even through the holidays)!

One interesting aspect of this reward system is that I don't feel much like working on losing more weight when I'm broke (bought a new-to-me house, and that is taking all my money these days), and when there aren't many guns or ammo to buy out there anyway (at least at reasonable prices). But anyway, it has been nice to lose some weight, get some guns, ammo, and accessories (before the panic) and keep it off.

I think the reason I've done we'll at maintaining my last achievement is because I know if I want to make more purchases in the near future, I better not slip. In fact I keep thinking I should start losing again so when I have money and the panic subsides, I have rewards already earned.
 
Queen_of_Thunder said:
Been thinking about a motorcycle lately and suggestions as to what would go best with one would be greatly appreciated.

Depends on the bike.
BMW GS, KTM Adventure or other Dual sport (KLR, etc): Henry Survival Rifle
Sportbike or Sport Touring bike: Something lightweight, fast, and compact, like a semi auto pistol. Maybe a FN five-seven. Or stay true to the bikes manufacturer, for example I have a tendency towards BMW motorcycles, so an HK would be more appropriate.
Harley: A single stack 1911. Classic, loud, and outdated. If you modify/upgrade the harley, modify the 1911 to match the decrease in reliability you're likely to incur :evil:


Back on topic, I tend to get a gun, then have to earn it afterwards. Few more chores around the house, pamper the wife a little more, etc.
 
Keep it up! (down?) If the "carrot" keeps you moving in the right direction, so much the better.

Congrats on the house, it's a bit of shock the first time, but at least while you have to pay for repairs, you're still basically paying yourself back in the home's value.

First things I did... day one of the move in, a locking back door where no working door had been, and an ADA compliant toilet. (tall folks can appreciate that one with me)

Now you're in my boat, scrimp and save, then split the gun budget off for house expenses that can't be avoided.

Good luck!
 
Dad used to work in a coal mine. The company gave them out for safety prizes. I.e if the mine went a year without accident you could get a .22
 
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