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I think I'm addicted to buying carnivorous plants

  • #21
In the beginning I bought everything because...well, I had to see and feel them out (growth-wise) for myself and dive right in because that's just how I pick things up.

Now I'm slowly thinking about trading away the ones I don't absolutely love and that don't grow so well for me. I poured a bunch of money into buying my plants and spent money on little else, which didn't really hurt me at all (other than not building up a bigger savings...oh well) but did help the businesses I purchased from. And made me happy of course. I did keep in mind that I planned on paying off my credit card in full each month, and though sometimes hard, I am sticking to it. And most plants are between $5-$15 anyway, if you buy them small, which is what I usually do (is why my plants are all small). It'll help you appreciate them more if you work on growing them from baby-sized anyway :p
 
  • #22
Yep the back button on the shopping cart has saved me many a dollar on many things, CPs or otherwise online shopping. With Amazon especially since I have a completist compulsion. If there's an author or book series, genre of books I like there's no way in hell I can rest until I have read and collected everything that guy/series has put out. I've been working on breaking this habit partly by getting rid of my tons and tons of books and rarely going to booksellers anymore.

In some ways shopping (for plants books or other) is almost worse than my old smoking habit was cos there's not a lot to dissuade you from reading or buying stuff especially when CCards are involved and banks just raise your limit every time you reach it. Oh you maxed out 5K card? Here's one that goes up to 7!
 
  • #23
I suggest you initiate your Computer's parental controls, put all the cp stores you buy from of the restricted list, type something in the password box...and NEVER visit them again...at least on your own computer. LOL! Maybe next time you order (if ever) you should have a friend with you as a constraint. Try trading, but let your plants grow first.

Its almost better if you get rid of the credit card. Then it would be harder to run up debt...

We are in different worlds. I have only placed 2 cp orders for myself so I worry more about the cost of media, pots, and the supply of water (gotta keep cranking that distiller) than the cost of plants because nice people here at TF love to trade! And they are usually generous when they do. Propagate your plants. That's how I got more than half of my collection.

But who am I to talk...I'm not being hypocritical or anything, I just don't have much experience. Good luck mate!

Like a Nepenthes Hamata!!

I just can't help myself!!!
 
  • #24
I can relate. I'm sure many of us can. My little cp hobby has become quite the money sink over the years. At the start I had no intentions of getting so deeply into it. But, I haven't aqcuired any new plants for many months, and I'm finally quite satisfied with what I've got. But, I still spend a lot of time browsing cp stuff. I check certain vendors often, seeing what great new neps are available, which of course tempts me. Although I am happy with my collection, I've come very close to purchasing a TM many, many times...And I love the cpphoto finder site. I blow way to much time on their just browsing.

Mainly, it's space that limits me. I can see myself greatly expanding when we get into a bigger place.

Honestly, I do this with most hobbies I pick up. I can't have a small hobby; I jump in with both feet and run. I went through this with aquariums, mantids, backpacking, video games, and flying. Some I stuck with, some I gave up, but all I sunk a lot of time and/or money into. I'm still a video game junky. I still use my backpacking stuff a lot. But the flying was the worst. Started as a hobby that soon became a full blown obsession. I kept getting more and more hours, more and more certs, and spent more and more money and sunk many years into it. That hobby ran anywhere from $100-$250 per hour!. And I got a lot of hours. Wish I could take that all back. For years I've wanted to dive in head first into photography. That can add up real fast also.

Anyway, you are aware you may be going overboard. See if you can get someone to hold you accountable. I see nothing wrong with being very passionate about a hobby, but not to the point you putting yourself into a financial or time hole.

PS ~ Xantius did you quit completely? If you ever need a fix, lemme know and you can drop by.
 
  • #25
Grr... between the choppy loads with the iPhone browser and AT&Ts suck of a network this is. hassle. Gnight for now guys. ;D
--
I'm still guilty over putting emergency vet bills and an emergency car repair on my card... I hate the idea of carrying any debt at all. Ah, but I do remember the first year I had the forethought to search out my math textbooks online and saved about $450 on one quarter's texts, and decided I could drop a nice $100-$200 chunk on Sarracenia which I had just got the hang of. That was around christmastime so I got plants for some interested friends and relatives too... most of which are surprisingly alive and well. I really could've used that money later though when my financial aid continued to get bungled though.
My problem is gift spending, myself... Back in highschool I spent way, way too much money on buying birthday/holiday gifts for friends and family. It's a good thing but I would lose sight of how much of my paycheck was going there because it was always someone else's birthday or the only time I had ever come across some obscure thing a friend mentioned they wanted and couldn't find. It takes a long time to learn about long term planning. I know I've still got plenty to learn.
~Joe
 
  • #26
No offense, but you CAN help yourself. It's called discipline and self control. Credit cards are good and bad. They are fine if you can use them responsibly since they help build your credit. They are bad because they can turn you completely upside down when it comes to your finances. Americans are exceptional at buying cars they have no business owning, being house poor and running credit card debt up. Don't become just another statistic. Do what is right and as Joe suggested put money aside. Think about it. You are not saving money and you're not even breaking even. You are actually spending more money than you have. I was a consumer banker as my first job and couldn't believe how many people making 100,000+ a year had the worst credit scores I had ever seen.

Break the habit while you can... it is easy enough to fix right now, but much more difficult later in life once you have significant financial commitments such as a house. If you think about it, really the only debit that makes sense is a house... and MAYBE a college degree depending on how much you need to borrow.

Phil
 
  • #27
$800?! Wow I do this on a shoestring budget. $4 here... $5 there....
 
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