How Do You Save Up For Your Pens?

[Ambrose Bierce]

I some of those out there are blessed with not having to save up for their next little luxury, but sadly I am not that guy and I know I am not in the boat alone. Anyone out there have clever ways of saving up some cash to get a pen for? Personally I have a coin jar that when full holds ~140 bucks, but it would take about a year to fill it all the way up, so I typically get antsy around 30-40 bucks and turn them in, and while it isn't the full price of a new pen, it does help.

[JimCouch]

Side jobs essentially. I work retail but do some legal work as an expert witness. Most of my nicer pens were/are purchased with a portion of the proceeds when I receive payment for a case.

[LionRoar]

Most of the people on this forum have good jobs.

[jar]

I used the Spock method.

[WirsPlm]

I can count the number of pens that cost more than $20 on one hand, I focused on good quality cheap pens and learning to repair or restore them myself instead of paying somone else a premium to do so. I've learned a lot and now I have cheap pens that I feel fine experimenting with ink in and carrying around every day instead of worrying about protecting them.

[SujiCorp12345]

Back when I had a job in the summer (I'm a student now), I just put about 25% of it away in a savings account and the rest of the paycheque went to pay off tuition. After a few months, it builds up. Or instead of buying something small you have everyday like a tea or a coffee in the morning, if you can not buy those for a while, you can save a bit here and there.

[JotterAddict62]

Working 60 hrs a week now.

[Algester]

one looks deep into his financial future... thats how I save up including emergency and contingency spending and seriously its harder than it sounds

Edited December 20, 2014 by Algester

[sirgilbert357]

If you have a budget at all, then its not really that hard. You just put it into the budget. Unless there is no surplus each month...and if that is the case, you probably shouldn't spend any money on non-essentials like pens...ask me how I know, I've been there!

 

I give myself 50 bucks a month of blow money. Its in the budget and I can spend it on anything I want. I usually try to avoid using it for eating out, coffee, etc. Lately, this 50 bucks a month has been funding pen related items. I also look for things to sell. You'd be surprised how much junk you have laying around that you could sell for a few bucks here and there, and it adds up pretty quickly. Right now, I'm thinking I want to save up a few month's worth and get either an Edison Beaumont Sapphire Flake or finally take the plunge and order a Sailor Sapporo/Pro Gear Slim, which I've been interested in for quite awhile now. So, for me, its just a matter of being disciplined for 3 months or so...yeah...impossible.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I have an entertainment/fun part in my budget. Pens come out of that. Eating out less, not having cable or TV, not driving to work, and my various other bits of frugality mean I can save money. Pens are never the priority in my budget. I'm a teacher in North Dakota, so my salary is not one of the high ones on this board. I also live in the oil patch, so my expenses are higher than normal.

 

I was surprised how much I can save when I put my mind to it. Last summer I got it into my head to buy a Nakaya. Clearly a pen that would require serious budgeting! I set a goal of my December 20 paycheck (today, actually), but surprised myself by getting there by my November 20 paycheck. It was nice to know I could save like that if I wanted to, though by then reality had set in and I decided I wouldn't enjoy a pen that was so expensive. (I did buy two less expensive pens and will soon purchase another based on a recommendation here).

 

Another source of pen money is surprise income.

[B_Type13X2]

I am a professional bank robber or atleast was until a professional witness got me pinched. Now I fund my pen habit off of selling pruno from my cell.

 

This is to be read as: I fund my pen habit by picking up extra side jobs and overtime. I absolutely do not under any circumstances step outside my comfort zone when it comes to savings. Which means I don't really save up for a pen, I have a really good paying job and 2 days of overtime will pretty much buy me anything I want penwise.

[Parker51]

I am cheap. I do not spend more than $3 for lunch while my coworkers think nothing of spending twice that. I do not smoke anything while people I know spend $5 to $10 a day on what they smoke. I do not drink alcohol while is see others spending $20 to $30 on Friday for such in the grocery store checkout line ahead of me. I rarely let any food go to waste by never stocking up and by modifying meal plans to reflect foods on hand, and I purchase groceries based upon an idea of what I want rather than a set grocery list so that I can make alternative purchases based on quality and price and thus take advantage of seasonality, overstocked items at reduced prices, and discontinued items for clearence. Also I am perfectly willing to shop for groceries and personal products at heavy discounters rather than Superstores which really are not super in price discounts, convenience, or service. And finally, I purchase no new clothing. Where I live is rather affluent, and thus the clothing resale charity stores have rather good selections at great prices. I figure, if I don't have a problem using a pen which is 60, 70, 80, or more years old that was owned by someone before me and gently used by them, then I shouldn't have a problem with relatively new clothing that someone else used, and I will let you know that the depreciation on clothing is much higher than on pens, or most anything else. I routinely pay 1/10 the price of a new clothing for A gently used, and sometimes new, but pre consumer owned item, and I am male. It is even better for females. And I am not the only one who can afford new, but buys used. Earlier this month my wife and I saw a couple struggling to fit a peice of used furniture in their Mercedes Coupe because their Hummer was in for repairs at a resale store we frequent. In fact at that resale store one is much more likely to find well healed customers than any wallyworld, which I do avoid due mostly to there often high prices.

[Chi Town]

I'm lucky in that I am able to repair pens and use that money for buying pens....that is one method that I use, a second method is that the wifey lets me have 200 a month to pay down my PayPal account and lastly, when I go to the grocery store and pay, I typicaly take out an extra 20 and put that in my kitty for pens.......I have about 500 pens and accessories in my collection.......

[NinthSphere]

I'm a sometime guinea pig for medical & cosmetic research. Also, cutting back on spending on other things (ie. watches, cards, overpriced food or drink ala Starbucks).

[xwingrox]

I take a $20 bill every month and put it an envelope labeled "FOUNTAIN PEN FUND"

That and I try to sell off the pens I don't use much -- this gets turned into cash bills and added to said envelope

[Riayain]

Uni student with no part-time job here. I offer myself up as a guinea pig for psychology, marketing, and other business research experiments from time to time. Last semester, I tutored a friend in two subjects in exchange for cash and the occasional free meal. I don't drink any alcohol and I do my best to avoid buying any drinks from shops or restaurants. When I buy clothes or shoes or other items, I always try to buy them on sale or secondhand. I try to borrow used textbooks from friends, because that's always free, but when I do buy textbooks, I try to buy them secondhand and sell them when I'm done with them. I often turn down outings with friends when they require me to spend a lot, but luckily, that doesn't seem to happen too often. I also go through all my stuff twice a year and sell anything that I don't actually need or use anymore.

 

I can go on and on about the little ways that I try to save a buck. It all adds up eventually.

 

But perhaps the biggest way I "save" is by trying to buy all of my pens secondhand and springing for ink and paper when there are significant sales or free shipping offers.

[Icywolfe]

Eating ramen at 6 cents per meal is one way how. So it's 18 cents per day on food.

 

Side jobs and odd jobs. I do simple computer repair. I can charge money for teaching a person a sport and make like 30 USD per hour but I don't to and I hate children.

 

Make your hobby as a job.

[NinthSphere]

 

I hate children.

 

That's a huge money saver right there.

[Icywolfe]

 

That's a huge money saver right there.

But you can charge more for children.

 

And I took extra schooling and a full background check just to get a card that said: I'm safe to be near your child. The background check was out of my own wallet. =/

[hessi]

YNAB. And in spring of 2014 I admitted to myself that I am an addict and created a Pen category.

 

Didn't help with cutting back on buying pens, but I can more easily afford them now.

Edited December 20, 2014 by hessi