How do you save up for gear purchases?

Jeremy Bender

Platinum Member
My method is to stash $50.00 a paycheck to the side until I have enough for that drum, cymbal or whatever it is I want/need.
Without prying into personal finances here, I was wondering how other guy's save for new gear purchases.
 
My method is to stash $50.00 a paycheck to the side until I have enough for that drum, cymbal or whatever it is I want/need.
Without prying into personal finances here, I was wondering how other guy's save for new gear purchases.

I'm the same way. I put aside money each month until I have enough to buy what I want. Sometimes I save more or less depending on the month.
 
I try to put 5 or 10 dollars aside each week. I try to buy cheap kits to fix up and sell sometimes too.
 
I primarily use gig money. When I have enough saved, I go buy the cymbal, snare, etc.

This doesn't always apply to consumables such as sticks and heads.
 
I make enough money at my job, own my own home with a low mortgage and have flipped a ton of gear in my day to amass a pretty nicely-sized gear budget... Unfortunately, I now have too much gear to actually fit in my house... so some of it needs to go :D
 
I usually eat at home. For dinner I might have a can of vegetables, a microwave potato and a piece of chicken cooked on the grill. Total cost maybe $ 4. So maybe I save $ 5 / day just from that one meal alone. At the end of the week I saved $ 35. Make your own lunch and you save more money. I don't smoke either and don't drink much. Saves more money. Works for me.
 
Same here - need, want, stumble on a good deal... whichever. :)
Bermuda

Hey wait a minute !
I thought this question was for us poor guys.
I don't think Bermuda should be allowed to post in this thread. He has too much gear already and he has a good income from playing drums. LOL

.
 
For a while, I had a slush fund cash envelope for buying/selling gear that would replenish itself when I sold gear. When I had more than $1500 in there, I would skim some off the top. When I bought gear, it was either a crazy deal or something that I personally wanted, but I never bought anything for more than I thought I could get for it if I were to turn around and sell it. It worked for me, paid for all the gear I have, and I made quite a bit of money on top of that. The Craigslist market has shifted in the past couple years, making this type of wheeling and dealing virtually impossible anymore, so I quit doing it. Plus, I have all the gear I think I'll ever need. Much more, in fact. :)
 
I would just work and save up what ever I could, living with parents helped! Now I actually sell some of my gear to fund new purchases. That way I'm only paying $5-$25 out of pocket. Ebay is my best friend.
 
I probably spend USD3k on gear per month. Never sell anything.
Not only on drums, but also on studio and PA equipment as well as keys and guitars.
I sort of have what I need now and hope to scale down. But there is always the interesting cymbal, guitar pedal, etc -)
 
When I was a kid I used to save up for each thing I wanted, just stashing away cash as I could.

After getting a decent job I went a different route. Instead of saving what's left over, I save all my money and withdraw what I need when I need it. My check goes immediately into a bank account. I don't touch it. Once each month I write myself a check for day-to-day expenses. It doesn't sound like much of a change but the mindset is different. In this system saving is the default. You have to expend effort to get money to spend, not the other way around.

The other big idea is to never go into debt for things you want (versus things you need), otherwise you wind up paying for them twice.


I probably spend USD3k on gear per month. Never sell anything.

You spend $36,000 per year on gear?
 
I get my son to hack Bo's bank account for me, so it's a painless way to get gear. I highly recommend it.
 
I probably spend USD3k on gear per month. Never sell anything.

WOW! I hope you realize that's a LOT!!!

There was one period of 2 months where I spent about $12,000 on gear (wiped out my "rainy day" account...), but I ended up selling most of it off for $20,000, making over $8,000 in profit over the next 3 months, and keeping some gems for myself. That was the high point of my buying/selling career. I can't imagine consistently buying $3,000 worth of gear every month--that's, like, over half my annual income, and I have a house/wife/kids to take care of. I'm into guitar/bass and studio/PA gear, myself, but I can't imagine what I'd spend THAT much dough on, unless I were starting from scratch in one department.
 
WOW! I hope you realize that's a LOT!!!

There was one period of 2 months where I spent about $12,000 on gear (wiped out my "rainy day" account...), but I ended up selling most of it off for $20,000, making over $8,000 in profit over the next 3 months, and keeping some gems for myself. That was the high point of my buying/selling career. I can't imagine consistently buying $3,000 worth of gear every month--that's, like, over half my annual income, and I have a house/wife/kids to take care of. I'm into guitar/bass and studio/PA gear, myself, but I can't imagine what I'd spend THAT much dough on, unless I were starting from scratch in one department.

Yeah its a lot. I have a nice job, so does the wife and no kids. Company pays most of my expenses as I am expatriated.
Anyway I have sort of gotten what I need, so I should be scaling down.
 
I get my son to hack Bo's bank account for me, so it's a painless way to get gear. I highly recommend it.

My money automatically switches numbered bank accounts around the world about three times a day. I am notified by proxy where it is and at all times throughout the day should I need access. 512-bit encryption, you know.
 
Back
Top