What's your budget?

[Sam_Fear]

How much (as a percentage of your income) do you throw at your projects?

1. Tools and consumables don't count!
2. % of income would be preferable (I don't want to know your income bracket)



Another discussion got me to wondering. I figure % gives a better idea across all income levels.

I budget $1,500 or about 1.25%/yr of our income for all 3 of my vehicles (together).

My truck or my Olds will probably be around 5% (each) of our income by the time I'm done with either.

 

[Bonehead]

If I start figuring it out I will probably decide to sell everything. So I will just stick my head back in the sand.

 

[cornfield customs]

i dont buy, or build cars with my personal money, unless i want to keep it forever then i will buy it out. the shop does it all so i can use it as a tax write off. so if it this qualifies i would say 10-15% depending on the year. but usually i got thought about 3-4 shop builds per year just to show a few times and sell. or build as demo rollers and sell.

the last 6 months this has dropped way off to about 0% with the economy being low and in preparation for the drop in work due to the holidays

 

[EnglishBob]

I spend what I used to spend on cigarettes so about $100 a week,because the hobby keeps me busy so I don't think about smoking.

 

[nunattax]

way too much stickin my head back in the sand too,gotta hole in my shoe and the elbows torn in my jacket but i need those new gauges,gotta have em

 

[ratdog]

Dont really use a budget,if I see a part that looks like a good deal and I have some money in my bank account then I buy it.In general I am pretty cheap and low budget with my project,if stuff ends up costing a lot i wont do it or figure out a cheaper way to do it.

 

[brew]

this year and prob the next it will be right around 1 or 2 % due to just having to many bill im paying off but i would say it will get to about 10-15% i have budget for monthly payments im making to start paying for Betty lue items as i pay stuff off

 

[cantwell.colton]

its hard to tell for sure ... but if i had to nail it a percent -- id say right about 1.75
of MY income lol -- but i dont really spend any money -- what i spend i make back
for the most part when i sell it off -- but about 1.5% is what im down altogether ?
i guess -- so its really significantly less than that being that its what i spent over about
a 3 yr period

 

[the reverend muddy grimes]

Im horrible at math. so I take what i used to spend on alcohol, roughly $20 a week. that lets me keep working, but OH SO SLOWLY

 

[TiredIronGRB]

I make the hobby pay for it'self.

 

[hotrod preacher]

i do VERY little budgeting on anything...maybe that's why i'm always broke[S
honestly haven't done enough of my own stuff to figure out a budget really..


at one point i spent around 50/month on my 46--lasted a year or so but not counting at all anymore since it's on the road
(turns away from the crowd to place head back in sand .....)

 

[darkk]

Im horrible at math. so I take what i used to spend on alcohol, roughly $20 a week. that lets me keep working, but OH SO SLOWLY

$20 a week, must be a light weight. I quit drinking and smoking in 1986 before my 39th birthday. I saved my drinking and smoking money for a year. At the end of that time, I had saved just over $8000, which I spent building a street rod.[dr

 

[workin class]

I have been in the hobby to long and have had all kinds of cars and trucks a couple of show winners and some not so much. I grew up in a new world green peace family who never got my hobby. After school I worked in a custom body shop building Corvettes. Then got into the car club thing putting on summer car shows I think thats when I got jaded the real car guys were driving cool cars every day 30 fords 36 fords 37 chevs all that stuff on the street daily drivers my kind of guys. Most of them are no longer in the hobby but they were my heroes. Now a days replaced by the whinny and sniveling guys who bought there car to boost there egos and get the attention they cant get any other way. After selling my show winning RED 66 Chevy II years ago I stopped being a car guy for 10 years as I just could not deal with the regular people I was seeing at the shows. Then I bought a flat black 47 Ford 2 door sedan for $1500.00 no real beauty just a driver man it was fun to be back on the road pulling into a cruise night and having the investment jerks move there cars away from my flat black beater. Having morons tell me I cant park it at the cruise until I paint it. But the younger guys were loving it after selling it. I bought a 66 Cutlass for $500.00 shaved the door handles lowered it 4 inches painted it flat black with purple and green scallops it was as I was told by people it was sinister. Thats when I knew where I fit low budget under 3 grand different. Pushing the envelope of acceptance making people think in different ways have fun. ANYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD A COOL CAR WITH LOTS OF MONEY. MY CHALLENGE IS TO BUILD COOL CARS WITH NO MONEY. Sorry for being so long winded but I love low buck cars that are open for anyone who wants to join.

 

[PhilJohnson]

I am not really sure myself. I tend to flip cars alot so I don't spend much. Also a lot of my old cars tend to be daily drivers so I figure I'm not spending any more money than I normally would on a car

 

[Richard]

I don't want to think about it. I spend only what I earn or horse trade on the side.

 

[cantwell.colton]

i know ive posted already but reading this got me to thinking --
i quit drinking over 2 years ago and since then ive been able to
comfortably be able to provide for my family, start my hobby
of building rat rods , and im closing on buying a house on
december 9th -- thats how much i drank in $$ - this thanksgiving
im thankful for my sobriety and new life and family

 

[pistolpete]

Car wise can't really make a %age out being as I am just gathering small stuff right now waiting for the right body to show up. However with my Jeep I was always way over what I wanted to be spending, seemingly that goes with the territory of beating the crap outta your rig. Was probably about 5-10% in a year, or what I would refer to as my retirement contributions (however that didnt work out real well at all).

 

[King Herald]

Dont really use a budget,if I see a part that looks like a good deal and I have some money in my bank account then I buy it.In general I am pretty cheap and low budget with my project,if stuff ends up costing a lot i wont do it or figure out a cheaper way to do it.

This.

I buy stuff as and when I need it or can afford it. Building the hot rod is not a set agenda, it is a hobby, and it goes along day by day, month by month.

 

[Sam_Fear]

I really wasn't asking how much you 'set aside' for your project, I was more curious as to how much of someones income gets put towards a project in the end. Just couldn't come up wit ha better thread title.

I don't run on a strict budget, but keep a rough running total in my head so things don't get out of hand. Otherwise, one day I'd binge and have 3 grand worth of shiny stuff being delivered to my door.

And, I forgot to add that selling off parts, etc. would subtract from that total!

I was reading that a build cost near 6 figures. That seemed way crazy to me until I thought about how much the guy makes - probably 4 times my income. Then it stilled seemed crazy, just less so. Beautiful car though.

 

[HOT40ROD]

Don't really know. My money comes from car parts, bike parts, other project, bikes and cars I sell.