LiveLife
Member
I've been reorganizing the supplies I have collected and have come to a realization. I won't have to buy components again for more than a decade. perhaps longer in certain calibers.
And very good advise indeed.I have seen people buy things in unprecedented volume. I understand stocking up and buying in quantity to save money, and have done so for decades.
Pay your bills first, pay your self second (Savings/retirement(Two separate things)), then see if anything is left for fun stuff you don't absolutely need.
My free money advise for the day.
I turned 51 this year and for almost 30 years, I have prepared for retirement WHILE enjoying my hobbies. I always paid my bills. I have contributed to 401K and now Roth IRA. To my surprise and due to 401K/Roth IRA growth over the decades, 401K/Roth IRA draw will way exceed my retirement pension from the government. Anyone who works at the minimum should contribute $5,000 yearly limit ($416 a month) into their Roth IRA for retirement and money left over each month into 401K - Believe me, you'll thank me when you turn 60 - My free money advise for life.
One of my many hobbies is buying foreclosures/distressed properties and doing slow rehabilitation while I lived in them as primary residents and additional houses as rentals. During the past 30 years, I have bought/sold several with the 7-9 year real estate cycles and at least doubled the price I paid on each and will continue to do so into retirement. Working on houses is a good way to keep your children busy/out of trouble and quality family time (at least for me ). To reward the "quality family time" they spent with me working on houses, I already bought our son (26) and daughter (18) their houses, both foreclosures paid off in need of work, and they will put to practice of rehabilitating their own houses and remodeling to their tastes.
Of course, during the past 30 years, money LEFT after retirement contributions and real estate investments went to fund my hobbies of USPSA match shooting, reloading, fishing, camping, BBQ, dirt bike/quad riding and 4 wheeling. With almost 500,000 rounds reloaded just for pistol calibers, I spent close to $100,000 in shooting/reloading cost over the decades with close to $10,000 spent just this year on stocking up on various reloading components, 22LR ammo and AR kits/parts/accessories at lowest prices I have seen in recent years.
Believe me, my wife and I gasped when we previously tallied our shooting/reloading expenses to almost $60,000 but I "reassured" her that I probably saved us over $100,000 by not buying factory ammo. After tallying expenses for our other hobbies of 4x4s, toy haulers, quads, etc. that far exceeded shooting/reloading expenses, we both deemed family fun experienced from our costly hobbies was PRICELESS as they created lasting fond family memories.
For me, lessons learned from almost 30 years of shooting and reloading are these:
- Cost of everything goes up over time and reloading components have very long shelf life
- I want to reload/shoot without having to hunt down particular components and buying when components are plentiful/cheaper is better
- I wish I bought double and triple what I stocked up during early decades because I could still be shooting $14/1000 primers and $40/1000 bullets - So now I buy double/triple whenever I can
- Consider using tax refund for "reloading fund" to buy components on sales
- Set aside money each month into "reloading fund" so you can stock up on components when really good deals are offered
- If you shoot a lot, cost of guns and reloading equipment is small compared to cost of components and real savings are obtained from buying bulk, especially bulk bullets in very large quantities of 10,000+
- Focus more on enjoyment of our hobby/passion instead of money which we cannot take with us. Precious time spent shooting with family/friends/neighbors/coworkers and curious/scared Democrats/liberals create lasting memories (many of my Democrat coworkers are now 2A supporters and CCW permit holders). Teaching liberals how to point shoot and realize shooting is fun and essential for self defense when 911 is not available to the point of supporting gun rights is priceless.
- Be friendly and generous with teaching the next generation of shooters and reloaders. I always cover the cost of ammo/components initially shot/reloaded by those new to shooting/reloading and "Pay It Forward" whenever opportunity arises. It creates great first impression by shooting and reloading accurate "match grade" ammunition over factory and fosters good will. And yes, PIF works and I have been rewarded many times over.
20 years from now, I am sure we'll be saying, "Remember when primers were $20/1000 and bullets were $70/1000? I wish I had bought more."
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