New goodies...

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heypete

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I swear, I need to lock the credit cards up in the gun safe (wait, no, I open the safe way too much...maybe some place less accessible? :evil: ).

On Saturday, I mailed off the paperwork for a CMP Springfield Armory Greek Service Grade M1 Garand. That's $525 out of my pocket. Another $400 for some optics for my Kel-Tec SU-16B, $120 for Wolf .223, and about $100 for some accessories (a killflash for the optic, a dust cover, and some stuff for a friend who wanted to get in on the cheap shipping), and I'm tapped out.

Of course, this also coincides with me losing my job. :cuss: Fortunately, I have moderate savings and alternate sources of income (a small business I run). Also, one of the advantages of being young (22), recently out of the military (as of August of last year...seems a lot more "recent" than it is), and going to school is that I get free room and board, courtesy of the folks. Thus, very few bills need to be paid (though I did cut my cellphone service down to the bare minimum, as I rarely use it and don't want to pay too much). The American Express card is interest-free for another year, so I won't be paying fees up the wazoo.

Is it a bad thing that I'm cutting back on other expenses (luxuries, really) just to buy a new rifle and some goodies? :D

Once everything arrives, I'll get pictures.
 
Yes, and No. I depends, are you living like a poverty striken individual? Probably not. So I say so what you lost your job, it happens. Does this mean you shouldn't get a new firearm? No, in fact you did exactly what I would've done. Maybe not as expensive, but you do what you like. And I assume at 22 you don't have kids or a wife? If not then your ok. I am also 22, but I have kids and a wife. I probably would've still done what you did. And certainly if it's a Credit Card. Heck, I do that now! :what:

I say don't worry about it, find another job. I would recommend if your ex-military, go apply with a city or county (depending on where you live) as a police officer. Your a shoe-in for that.
 
Poverty-stricken? Nope. Parents were smart with money, saved, lived the American Dream, and live comfortably in their mid-50s.

Married with or without kids? Nope. Not for a while. My folks married late (~30), and I'll probably end up doing the same thing.

Unfortunately, I would be unsuitable for police work. I'm recovering from foot surgery to correct an army-aggravated injury, and can only hobble around. Also, with the training, academy, etc. it would be many, many months before I could get a job here. In about a year, I'll be moving to New York for school, so getting a police job here would not be a smart thing. I'm also looking at becoming a scientist, a physicist to be precise; maybe being a member of the volunteer fire department or small-town police department (I hope to live in a small-to-medium sized town in Montana, Arizona, or some other wide-open, free state) would be all right.

Ah, the joys of buying fine military firearms that use the same caliber ammunition as I handload and have sizeable amounts of around the house. I've always wanted a Garand, and now I shall have one. Buying some new plastic-and-metal gun is always good, but getting a rifle with tradition, history, and dignity is a unique experience...even if I'll need to pay it back, with interest, to the credit card company. :scrutiny:
 
HeyPete: Have I got the place for you: Idaho National Laboratory

Everything you could want in the way of a gun-friendly state and great technical challenges and resources. Check it out.

Rick - another physicist/nuclear engineering guy
 
Hey, I just mailed off an order for a Greek H&R service grade M1 on Saturday also. :) Friday, I ordered a few spare mags and such. Never seems to be a bad time to order another gun.
 
at least you're buying these expensive goodies now when your expenses are low and you can (sorta) afford them. I just picked up my first 1911 and I had to pull the money for that out of a magic hat... oh, and my mortgage payment comes out today as well. I'd say there is nothing wrong with what you did, but only because of your low expenses. Just don't get caught in the credit card trap!!
 
Ralphie: Oh, I had been caught in the credit card trap several months ago. Fortunately, I managed to scrimp and scrounge, and made it out with no harm done. (I owed precisely 3¢ in interest by the time I was done, thank $DEITY.)

I'm a firm believer in not spending beyond my means, but in this case, the declining availability of of M1s from the CMP and their ever-increasing price lead me to make the purchase now while my expenses were low, interest rates were low (and I'll be transferring the balance from the Visa, which I used to buy the M1, to the AmEx, which is around 5% rather than 20% APR -- all purchases on the AmEx, like the optics I bought, are interest-free for a year, giving me plenty of time to pay it off), and so forth.

While technically I'm in debt now, that will soon change...hopefully permanently, though I'll probably end up with a loan when I buy a house. :banghead:
 
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