I have not looked at a bank statement, bill or tax return in 20 years. I could honestly not tell you how much my pay cheque even is. I would rather masterbate with a cheese grater than deal with that mundane shit. Joint banking is awesome. Paying for this and that, kids activities, scheduling a house hold no fucking thanks. Never dealing with that shit is one of the best parts of being married.

Yes, watch what you buy and as I am into EM's they are cheaper by far.

I've been living in sin for 20yrs. We keep finances separate and it's awesome. She doesn't GAF what I buy.

Same here. Wife pays the household bills, all I care about is if the electricity is on when I get home. The money from her part time job we use as our "fun money" that pays for extras like going out and bar bills. She pays the bills and I take care of maintenance on the house, yard and cars, that's how we split those tasks.

That's highly relative to where you live. Where I am, the average teacher salary is more than $30k more than the average family income.

Happily married, but so much this! We keep a joint account for the kids tuitions and other expenses, everything else is separate. I've got the Corvette and the Porsche... and she has nothing to complain about. If she wants to upgrade, she's free to do so, provided she keeps up her end of the bills.

Yeah my baby isn't old enough to have activities yet so my opinion may change when she gets to that stuff.

i'm kind of in the same boat. I can do what I want and she doesn't say anything. it's a pretty stress free relationship. Keep our accounts separate as well. Tho, I do manage her's for her because she sucks at money management. But we split all our expenses down the middle. It's a great system and never causes any fights or drama.

I sleep with my bookkeeper.

Ditto.

She handles the day to day, month to month, and I handle all the long term planning...college funds, retirement funds...etc...

Works for us.

I don't understand separate accounts for a married couple with the same goals.

Lots of great deals on new pins and not selling. So I think the secondary market may be getting a little more affordable. EX. ST pro by me original owner is asking 4,100 and still has not sold. I sold a MMR with black LE trim for 7k original owner. Hopefully things are going to become more affordable for more people.

Yes we don't have the same goals.
My goal is to buy pinball machines, hers isn't.

Her goals are probably super boring anyways.

She actually does fun things instead of sitting at home and doing my book keeping all day

I sure you know it's only a joke. How could she not be fun and married to you. You got to have fun in life or why bother.

Go through a divorce sometime. Then you will have a better opportunity to understand the separate accounts.

Wait, but the $4k NIB games of yesteryear were designed for the "average guy"? The "average guy" wants one pinball machine, max, for his basement, and when he finds out what they cost, he either moves on to a foosball table, or picks up a cheap EM on Craigslist. And the "average guy's" SO wouldn't have thought $4k NIB was a "reasonable" expenditure back in 2005 any more than he/she thinks $8k is "reasonable" today. For your SO, the price hasn't changed at all, it was and remains simply "way too much for a toy."

I can't see how that could possibly make a difference in a divorce? Unless your wife's lawyer is an idiot (always wishful thinking in a divorce).

You would if you came home from a work event that took you out of your natural surroundings for 1-3 weeks/1-3 months, get home, and your account has been drained.

Ask some military members about it. You'd be amazed how heartless some people can be.

True love is hard to find. Sometimes you think you have true love and then you catch the early flight home from San Diego and a couple of nude people jump out of your bathroom blindfolded like a goddamn magic show ready to double team your girlfriend...

Lol that’s awesome!

Well that sucks but look at it this way, at least you found out before you married her.

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My friend had a different take on it.

Vince

Depends on what you define as “hobby”

When buying and trading is the hobby for you then it can become unaffordable rather quick.

When you are content with what you got and play the new things on expo’s and in the wild. And you call that the hobby, pretty affordable

Columbus finding America wasn't good for everyone.

Dude, you're killing Vince's metaphor.

I love old school!! Lol

I think what my friend is trying to say here is that love is blind.

I see that a wife/girlfriend/boyfriend and husband is missing from that list!

Not on the list due to the fact that none of them are affordable at any level.

My wife is just about as into pinball as I am and she keeps telling people that we will move more things out of the way WHEN we get more pins to make room for them. So she "kind of" enables me and just says "As long as we can afford it". That's cool in one way, but I'm going to have to throttle back on NIBs though. Maybe start to sell/swap out when I buy more, now that a reasonable collection (count wise) is established.

If you're not into boats, ATVs, snowmobiles, big extravagant vacations, or non-entertaining collectibles, I think this is a good hobby to have as a trade off. Expensive for the more modern pins - yes! But I would rather have a NIB pro pin than go to Hawaii for week for both of us. The pin entertainment time volume is decent for my wife & I at this stage in our lives.

It is kind of funny though. I weigh some expenses based on a average NIB pin price. Put a patio on the house that would hardly get used, or buy a pin? Pin won for the last 2 years. May not win next year though ... we still need to progress with home renovations ... eventually. And pin prices keep going up.

In about 24 hours, I will be wrapping up a 5-hour session with a solid selection of PS top 100 pins on free play. Cost: $15.

My beer drinking hobby is more expensive than that.

answer to OP question...
1. if stupid
2. if impatient
3. if not creative
4. if desperate
5. if now, repeat ad nausea #1...

That’s awesome! The wife and I went to Florida a few months ago to visit her family and replay museum was 3 miles from our condo. I snuck out for 3 hours to play all of their great games for the cost of $13. Wish my hometown had a similar setup

More crowded and loud than any arcade I've ever been in, because it's only open to the public twice a month, and it's NYE weekend. I just mainly used it as an exercise in getting back into playing real pinball. Nudging, Live catching, bounce passing, if I drained, big whoop, start another game. Got no sort of score worth crowing about, and felt no worse for it. Tried a bunch of new pins without really knowing rules. Walked up to random ones with ball in shooter lane people walked away from and would play a ball of this or that while staking out another table I had eyes on. I was a 36-year-old kid in the candy store.

Not anymore, my requirements for a machine have become specific. This usually means its unavailable or over priced.
Or too far away.

I think it is. I mean rotating games these days is pretty easy. Say you bought a NIB pin chances are you will lose a little on a resale. Some have even jumped in price.

However, I do stratch my head at the jump. I havent been here in a while and some of these prices on do shock me.

I go through phases throughout the year. Winter is pinball. Summer is auto. Just got done supercharging my 2017 MX5.

Back in the late 90s when people were picking up pins for under $2k, that was a fortune to me, simply couldn't afford it so it was never even an option. Today though I can afford them so I guess I'm the inverse of everyone else where I couldn't afford them back in the day but can finally afford them today.

I got started in pinball in 1973 with the purchase of a well-routed EM for $500. In today's money that is $2400. I still have that game and if I sold it today, I might get $800 for it. Clearly I have lost money on that purchase. I guess pinball was too expensive even 50+ years ago. That did not deter me as I have few more games today.

40+ years of fun is worth $1600 right.

Lol, but my math is telling me great investment and that’s a lot of years to have fun... a few more games ....now that’s funny I looked over at your profile thinking you might have 7-10 pins...I had to do a double take 59 pins holy shit that’s a lot.....I’ve only ever seen that many at th museum in the US...if ever you do an open house let me know what I need to do to get invited ...I’d be the guy walking around looking at them all. I can only imagine! Very cool!

I don't feel people are being priced "out of the hobby". They will still buy and sell pins, and if they can't afford one, they will eventually find a way to. That said, that doesn't mean they will enjoy paying what they pay. I've only been buying/selling for five years now, and it's sad to me personally that in just that span of time, a lot of older DMD games have jumped up a grand or two in price. Newer Sterns on the used market are also holding their value. Good for sellers, unfortunate for buyers.

So is this thread like the Floyd Mayweather/#meetoo interview? "#MeToo movement? Whats that like when someone says to you "hey I got Rolls Royce and your like "yeah, #me too". Or is it like when someone says "I just got a billion dollars." And your like "yea, #metoo."

Did Illinois just legalize weed too?

yes but patience and the ability and willingness to work on them is essential from my experience.
thanks
blake