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Originally Posted by Octoman  I only posted mine for my own benefit. It's kind of liberating to get it out there, makes it much less of a "skeleton in the closet". |
Hey buddy! That wasn't for you bro. I had someone send a PM saying they were ashamed of their finances and wanted to know if I could help them get started without them giving me a FULL financial statement. I just wanted anyone else reading to understand that I'm just trying to "Spread the Word" and point in the right direction. That's the ONLY reason I said that
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Originally Posted by Octoman Something else I'd like to mention. Reefkeeping and really any other hobby involve investing in some stuff. There's always new and cooler stuff out there. Sometimes, I even find myself thinking something like, if everyone else has a controller then I must need one too! But I want to make it clear that when I look at other people's tanks, what stands out to me is when people put love, time, and research into their reefs. That's what really makes the difference in an exceptional tank. All the cool stuff is nice, but its just stuff.
A hefty cc bill can really make the hobby unenjoyable and I would bet that is what turns a lot of people off. They've got a couple thousand to pay on their tank and it just turned green again, they get fed up and throw in the towel. I think proper planning and budgeting can make this a much more enjoyable hobby |
You're exactly right. There's nothing "cheap" about this hobby. It takes money to just MAINTAIN the tank. The initial investment is just the beginning. I found this out the HARD way... partly due to my ignorance and partly through some bad advice locally. The good news is that NONE of any of our tanks have been bought on credit. Everything was paid for with CASH. There was two items I borrowed from another "fund" because it was something "Urgent" but it was still in CASH. Now we just add money to the "Tank Fund" from each paycheck and when we need something it's there waiting.
Like right now.. I too want "another" controller. I have enough to get a Jr. but I want a much more robust controller. So I'll do it all by hand and keep saving until we have the CASH! It's so much better to pay CASH and the good news is.. unless you're buying something ONLINE you usually get a better deal with CASH! Can you say Win-Win? I can
Again thanks for the replies and the PM's! I'm trying to make sure I reply to each one!!
