do you have to justify spending big bucks on your ride?

[CB]

I see lots of people taking their time (2-3-4 even +5 years) to complete a resto or building the car he/she wants.
Most likely it is normal you can't spend every penny on you project even though you want to have it on the road before next cruise season.

How do you budget your resto$ or do you have good tips to share?

Locking up the wife so she can't spend the money on cloths and manicure doesn't count 

[Shakey]

It is better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission!   

[venom94558]

I just try to schedule projects to be done... then allocate the money for that, and leave a little a side for unforseen problems... It will take longer, however, you will get what you want and each season you will get closer to having the car finished... or to where you would like it to be.

[4402tuff4u]

Prior to me purchasing my 68 R/T my wife said she did'nt have a problem with that but she was not going to allow me to use our daily/weekly/monthly household operating budget. She thought the subject was going to be dropped by me and skip the car, but she under estimated my desire to have a true Charger R/T. So, I told her that I really did not have a problem with that, so I got a second job. So far the second job has paid for the ongoing restoration job on the Charger - I actually had to save 6 months of salary on second job before dropping off the Charger. Any how, the other day (on a Saturday) it worked out perfect. I went to my body guy with the wife to look at the progress on the Charger. Kevin the body guy showed us the progress, his upcoming work on the car, told me I needed the lower hinge on the passenger side, etc.... He then finished by telling me that a car collector that drops his cars to the shop where my Charger is being done is interested in my Charger and left his phone number for me to call him. At that point, including the trip to Carlisle, I think my wife has realized that these cars are worth something and are downright desireable. It kind of made my day because I least she heard it from another source and No! I'm not calling Jeff   "the collector car guy" because it's not for sale.

[hemi68charger]

Never......  I have a VERY understanding wife and someone who supports my hobby. Of course, I don't complain when she wants something for the house either.....  But sometimes, a restoration bargain creates a situation out of your control.....   

Troy

[694spdRT]

A lot of this will depend on a person's income and other expenses of course. I don't have any kids yet and I have been saving and buying parts since 1991 to do my car like I wanted. The other thing is my wife was very understanding and knew that I really wanted to finally finish the '69 after all those years.

After my truck and my wife's car were paid off 2 1/2 years ago I took that money and set it aside or spent it on my Charger to finish it up. I figured it was a car payment that may actually make sense. You will need to budget out what items you will need and be able to afford in order to keep the project rolling or it will end up sitting. I also did most of the work myself so finding time to work on it was almost as big an issue as money for me.

[greenpigs]

  I never had to, as the car was "done" when I met the wife, after we were married I never really bought much. The most I spent at one time was about $700 for a new dash & rear light wire harness and some smaller stuff.
    Now I don't have the wife so a house is next...and the charger sits yet again.

[triple_green]

Wife and 4 kids. I have to be careful. Wife is very understanding. Restoration of the 68 happened over 5 years. My brother-in-law and I painted the car.

Initial money was from overtime worked supporting the Boeing/Rockwell/McDonnell Douglas mergers.

3X

[Pistolpete]

I guess I'm one of the lucky one's guys, my wife is behind this resto 100%, she loves the car (or at least the pics of what I tell her it will look like when its finished)
She's even put in a couple of attempts to have me finish it as a General Lee (veto'd that) anyway, as far as budgeting I've been pretty lucky as well, I have my own business and have been able to funnel some of the costs through there which helps. Otherwise as long as the bills are paid, the wife gets her toys, I pretty much have carte blanche......

[CB]

the wife gets her toys

what toys ,,,? 

[BigBlockSam]

my wife fuels my insanity. we've jugled bills, ran up credit cards. we've traveled all over the us picking up cars and parts but it's only me and her and BO (dog). no children to worry about. we try to finds parts over the winter months. so when the wether breaks, we can get to work on the cars. as long as the bills are paid ,i can spend what ever i need or we have for parts. Rene

[bull]

At the moment I don't have to justify the purchases to myself or anyone because I have a good-sized amount of money set aside for the Charger from working a 2nd job. Once the paint job is done and paid for and the Charger fund has been reduced to almost nothing it won't be as easy to spend big money on big parts. I just wrote one guy a check for more than $700 for a dash pad, an HP manifold and some other stuff and I didn't even notice it because it's only like 6% or 7% of what I have saved. The money's gone but so is the concern about where and when I'm going to get those particular parts and I won't be seeing a Visa bill. It will take me a month to have that cash repaid to my account and then I'll probably buy something else. I think the amount you have to "justify" spending totally depends on your financial situation and how much you can divert to your hobby without feeling it elsewhere.

[BigBlockSam]

you know what else, try to stick to one car at a time. thats hard enough but I'm doing 2 cars. the money seems to just disappear sometimes. Rene

[RTPTRON]

My wife and I made a deal way back.  I get a small percentage of my income to deposit in a Hobby Account.  The rule is if the money is in the account I can use it anyway I want for Hobbies without having to to ask for permission or begging forgiveness.  The problem is that the account goes dry from time to time.  Especially this year with the paint job.

[Lowprofile]

I've owned my Charger for over 12 years now, and I've only just started buying parts for it. Hopefully, the resto will start this Spring.

[TruckDriver]

I don't have to. Women tend to stay clear of us fat guys which makes me still single

[greenpigs]

I don't have to. Women tend to stay clear of us fat guys which makes me still single

She is out there, consider yourself lucky you haven't found her yet.

[TruckDriver]

I don't have to. Women tend to stay clear of us fat guys which makes me still single

She is out there, consider yourself lucky you haven't found her yet.

Good one! 

[Spartan]

wife thinks everything costs too much.  It is a constant battle.  Basically I take my expense checks from work to finance the small stuff.  She lets me do a big project a year.  I am sort of doing the resto backwards because I want to drive it while some stuff gets done.  I have learned to do a lot more myself to save $$ too.  I have 2 girls too so I am in an estregen rich environement.....The car is the only man project in the house, lol.

[GTX]

I have too many hobbies. I have a full arcade in the garage, a drive in - well sit in - in the back yard, I play with home automation and have two Mopars and we are considering another.  My problem is budgeting for everything in stages and being careful not to hit her with too many sudden expenses.
I'm always either buying 35mm films or car parts and she is usually pretty much behind me on all of them. Usually I buy films in the cold months for the following season and in the warm months I buy most of my car parts. I then use the films in the warm months and tend to do the most work on the cars in the cold months. (Gee, that's stupid!!)
The Charger is actually for her to drive so except 99% of my expenditures are fine with her.


She did get a little irritated when she realized that I had nearly 100 arcade games!
She made me sell off many.

[41husk]

My wife and I made a deal way back.   I get a small percentage of my income to deposit in a Hobby Account.   The rule is if the money is in the account I can use it anyway I want for Hobbies without having to to ask for permission or begging forgiveness.   The problem is that the account goes dry from time to time.   Especially this year with the paint job.

My wife and I also made a deal, I do what ever the hell I want, and she will not like it regaurdless of what it is.  Oh wait, she wasn't let in on that deal.

[andy74]

my wife gets a little upset on occasion,but she doesnt have any money management skills what so ever,which she finally realizes,so i keep tabs on our cash  flow.i set 25 bucks a week into a seperate account,sometimes more if I have it,that goes for charger stuff.the money for paint and body work i had saved before we met,so that was never much of an issue.the only big expense i should have left is interior,which she agrees i can spend out of our tax return.

or she can  take her shit and leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RD]

It is better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission!     

AMEN!@!!!!@@!#!@#!#@#


I love that phrase

[Old Moparz]

I don't really justify it because it's something I've always done whether it's a hobby car or daily driver. Fortunately I'm in a postion financially where I can get things I need without going into serious debt. That didn't happen overnight though, & my wife isn't a control freak who embezzles my paycheck. The only thing I can't justify is the prices of certain things. I'd never spend sick money, like $3500 for a Cuda grille, when I only spent $500 more than that for the actual car. The repro grille that was $599 will be good enough, & still not 35 year old, dried up plastic that will crack if you stare at it too long. I'm still part of the era from when you can buy a running & driving car for a $150, use it for a few months, strip the stuff you need, sell the stuff you don't, & scrap the rest.

Any justification on spending for a high dollar item is thought through before I buy. I do consider the investment part of it, even though I'm not in the hobby as an investor. You'd have to be an idiot not to consider it, in case you ever found yourself in a position where you had to sell the car to buy food, pay rent or medical bills. About 12 years ago when my Scamp needed body & paint work, it was very minor compared to a lot of other cars. I found a shop that did beautiful work, but wanted $5000 to do the car. I couldn't justify that because a Scamp in mint condition back then, would never get more than $4000 if it was sold. I actually considered selling it or just driving it to it's grave.

One thing I've learned recently, like in the last 2 or 3 years, is that I have to justify a purchase based on the space I have for it. Or better yet, the lack of space.

[twilt]

My wife and i made a deal a couple years ago. She gets my paycheck, i get to keep any $$ from side jobs and selling parts. Despite this agreement, she still attempts to exert control and judgement over what i buy. She got real pissed when i spent $900 on an extra set of 72 Rallye doors that i didn`t really NEED.  i hadn`t said a word about it to her and had already gotten them picked up and stowed them away at home, but she happened to listen to my cell phone messages (doesnt normally do that) and heard the week old  one from greyhound stating that i had two packages that needed to be picked up in Atlanta.  To get her to shut up, i paid her brother $300 to put new tile down in our kitchen and laundry room. (she paid for the tile out of the household money) Our worst arguements result when she tries to act like she has a clue as to a used parts current market value. When i snag a great deal on something and tell her about it, she automatically ASSumes that i should re-sell the part for profit. example.... picked up (5) 15 inch Rallye wheels at a local junkyard for $55. Being estatic about the deal, i told her about it and told her that they would have set me back at least $300 plus shipping otherwise. 1 week later she asks why i haven`t put them on ebay yet?
bottom line, yes i do have to justify to some extent, usually in bribes.     i do try to hide most of my larger $$  purchases from her these days. next step..... have been thinking of having items that i get off of ebay sent to my job instead of my house. she gripes when i hide purchases
from her (trust issue), she gripes when i dont (foolish spending on things i dont really need) 
On the positive side, she has been fairly supportive when i get the urge to pick up a parts car to dismantle.

[69ChargersRule]

I got lucky with my Charger.I have always wanted a GENERAL LEE.My wife has always known this.Im 34 just turned,and have wanted a GENERAL since i was 13.In Nov of this year i got one and she bought it as a gift to me for our Anniversary.She has helped and even worked on my car with me.She did the fuel work as far as the pump and all the line work.We are on a budget but the car is running and we have enjoyed building this car so far....

[41husk]

That is nice, My wife has surprised me on occassion, once she went with me to a car show and jumped in and started detailing, I was very pleased and surprised but that is the exception not the rule.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

I have 95% of the time "traded up" on parts for my car........always give the wife the  "see it will only cost me $XXX after I sell the old stuff for $XXX"

Works every time!

[41husk]

Cudaken has mopar money that means to get the actual price he spent on parts, you need to multiply the price he told his wife by 3.

[Blown70]

Cudaken has mopar money that means to get the actual price he spent on parts, you need to multiply the price he told his wife by 3.

[hotrod98]

Our kids are grown, everything's paid for and we make a good living. The key though is the fact that my wife is as car crazy as I am. Her first car was a 66 vette 4-speed that she drove to college. She currently drives a 2000 transam that has been a little modified. Her mopars are the 73 cuda that I built for her, the 70 hemi chal convert clone, her 2005 daytona ram and the 70 superbird clone that we're building now. She lets me claim the other eight mopars. We usually focus on one car at a time, but we're constantly collecting parts for the future restos. If we find a part that's better than a part that we already have, we usually buy it. We also collect extra grilles in case we ever have a little front end accident. I try to keep an extra grille and set of taillights for each of the cars.

[70charginglizard]

"do you have to justify spending big bucks on your ride?"

Nope....no married....LOL

[my73charger]

I work two jobs.

The first one is my full time job...this one pays the bills and keeps my wife happy...

The second job pays for my car parts....she don't mind...especially when I throw her a little extra now and then...

[Daytona R/T SE]

From day one I've insisted on keeping our money separate, she has her money, I have mine. When she moved into my house 18+ Years ago, I figured out which of the monthly bills I was willing to pay, the rest are her responsibility. I buy whatever the hell I want, and she does the same. No arguments, no permission, no forgiveness.

[Charger_Croatia]

I have small business going fine so it makes me little bit easier with money. And my wife don't ask too much since our home budget is untouched. She took only one look at my "roted can" as she stated and said that the next time she will look at Charger after finished completely.
But still I'm not saying everything to her, you never know....

[Pistolpete]

Quote
the wife gets her toys
what toys ,,,? 

the kinda toys that make her happy enough not to ask quesions,,,,,,,,,,,

[PocketThunder]

my wife gets a little upset on occasion,but she doesnt have any money management skills what so ever,which she finally realizes,so i keep tabs on our cash   flow.i set 25 bucks a week into a seperate account,sometimes more if I have it,that goes for charger stuff.the money for paint and body work i had saved before we met,so that was never much of an issue.the only big expense i should have left is interior,which she agrees i can spend out of our tax return.

or she can   take her shit and leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you're wife has as much shit as mine does then you might be the one whose better off moving out.....  i built a couple rows of shelves in the basement running the full length of one wall (32'), and she filled it up in 1 hour.....   i still cant walk in the basement because of all the crap.....

[Bob]

$1 at a time. And that is constantly.

[six-tee-nine]

Well,

I thought about it for a long time.... so i came home one day and told my girlfriend : "honey I Want A Charger".

What does something cost was the first question......."well something like $ 10.000"............oh yeah, it needs to be restored to"


I guess it will take me something like 5 years or so s resore a car like that because i don't have $ 1000 to spare every month
But, i don't mind not driving for the next years, i like to keep building all the way till it's done

But trust me,more guys (me included) ask themselve that question i think, but i also think when a lot of rich guys come by, showing off with their old timers wich they had restored by someone else, they can't say they did it all by themselves

anyway,

hang in there and your ride will be great