(Topic ID: 242640)

What do you guys do that you can afford pinball?

By Trooper11040

4 years ago


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  • 448 posts
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  • Latest reply 4 years ago by irobot
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    There are 448 posts in this topic. You are on page 7 of 9.
    #301 4 years ago

    I am a Scada Control System Analyst for a Gas Company. Scada uses highly specialized graphical software to view control flow and pressures in gas pipelines. I used my annual company bonuses to buy 1 pin a year. Thought to buy pins then could always sell them off in retirement instead of putting the bonus in savings and earning almost no interest. Still waiting for this years pin MBRLE.

    #302 4 years ago

    I inherited some property from my Aunt Belle and sold it off to a televangelist to use for his Bible Land amusement park.

    #303 4 years ago

    DINK. No debt. Just retired. No more room. No more pins.

    #304 4 years ago
    Quoted from soapblox:

    come on! are we really calling ourselves "software engineers".
    We write code. We are code monkeys. We are glorified plumbers.
    Nobody is engineering shit!

    Speak for yourself

    -3
    #305 4 years ago

    No girlfriend = No drama and No wallet drain. Amazingly I actually have money in the bank. When you think about it women are a lot like milk. The longer you keep them around the more they go sour!

    #306 4 years ago
    Quoted from PinJim:

    Define out of debt? Literally no mortgage, car payments or credit card debt? How old are you?

    I'm 57 now. Completely out of debt except we did move to a larger home a few years ago and have a smaller mortgage again but we had our previous home paid off. So no debt except the house upgrade which we could pay off with cash but the interest rate is lower than the 5% municipal bonds where that money is parked today. We pay off the credit cards each month and pay for cars with cash. Probably had everything paid off after doing the Dave Ramsey thing about 8 years ago.

    #307 4 years ago

    Working in the oil industry for the last 30 years, right out of high school. Same company. It all began with a Jurassic park pin now I’m up to Eleven in the collection. When does the madness stop lol.

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    #308 4 years ago
    Quoted from ThePinballCo-op:

    I'm not a millennial by any means, but these kids have it a lot tougher than you ever did. College loans can keep a kid in debt until they turn 60. Getting a job means they have to take a year or two in unpaid internships. A job without an education won't be able to support yourself, let alone a family, like they used to be able to do back in the 60s.

    Sorry, I gotta disagree with part of your post. Kids don't have it tougher. If you have college loans that take until you're 60 then you've made poor choices in attaining your education. I see that all around me. Parents that allow their kids to go to out-of-state schools and take degrees that are not in demand do their child no favor. Community colleges are extremely affordable and then transfer to a 4 year in-state college, or a private college that can provide a great financial package. Believe or not, there are kids that come out of college with no debt and no parental assistance.

    Swinging back to the topic, the biggest indicator of financial success is the ability to delay gratification. I worry about the people that make $40K and have a collection of NIB games. In this scenario, if you haven't been putting money back towards retirement you're being irresponsible. Start with a $500 pin and work your way up to a nice collection over time while saving and avoiding debt. Just one guy's opinion... but I'm right

    https://jamesclear.com/delayed-gratification

    #309 4 years ago

    Professional Modeling, but I'm also available for Weddings and Bar Mitzvah s

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    #310 4 years ago
    Quoted from tdunbar:

    I am a Scada Control System Analyst for a Gas Company. Scada uses highly specialized graphical software to view control flow and pressures in gas pipelines. I used my annual company bonuses to buy 1 pin a year. Thought to buy pins then could always sell them off in retirement instead of putting the bonus in savings and earning almost no interest. Still waiting for this years pin MBRLE.

    Do you use iFIX?

    https://www.ge.com/digital/applications/hmi-scada/ifix

    #311 4 years ago

    Get the out-of-state speeding tickets in cash $$$$

    Seriously though it just takes time...

    Once your house is paid off, and are an empty nester, you'll be able to pretty much do whatever you want to.

    Thank you for keeping us safe in these crazy times!

    #312 4 years ago
    Quoted from konjurer:

    I'm 57 now. Completely out of debt except we did move to a larger home a few years ago and have a smaller mortgage again but we had our previous home paid off. So no debt except the house upgrade which we could pay off with cash but the interest rate is lower than the 5% municipal bonds where that money is parked today. We pay off the credit cards each month and pay for cars with cash. Probably had everything paid off after doing the Dave Ramsey thing about 8 years ago.

    I’m pretty much in the same boat. I took a job in KY and had to move. The real estate market here sucks so I took on a mortgage. We could pay it off but I’m taking my chances in the market. Fingers crossed for the long term. Otherwise we have zero debt, don’t carry credit card balances and pay cash for cars that are a few years old - and then run them until rust or wear takes the life out of them.

    I need to find a good financial / investing forum, as I’d say it’s equally as interesting as pinball. I’m a die hard S&P investor, as I’m notoriously bad at picking stocks...but it’s still fun to read about...

    #313 4 years ago
    Quoted from Oilrat:

    When does the madness stop

    When you put pins in the kitchen and bathroom.

    #314 4 years ago

    I did want to add to my original post that we only have a mortgage payment and car payment. We don’t carry any credit card debit as we pay them off each month. I would like to own at least 5 games in my collection and I’ll be content lol

    #315 4 years ago
    Quoted from Trooper11040:

    ... I would like to own at least 5 games in my collection and I’ll be content lol

    lol indeed

    #316 4 years ago

    I just switched to Geico...saved me thousands.

    #317 4 years ago

    I just switched to State Farm, and found a penny in their office, so I guess they gained me a penny?

    #318 4 years ago

    I'm surprised I haven't seen my line of work yet. I've been providing competitive website development and aggressive SEO solutions for over 20 years. I help people get noticed and grow business. I get to work with many different industries doing it, it's exciting seeing multi-million dollar leads come in for new businesses and it helps keep my job secure. The best part is I can work from home and make my own schedule, which helps because my wife and I have 3 dogs, 4 kids, and a 5th child on the way arriving within a few weeks.

    House is 2/3 paid off, no car payments, and we maintain very little debt that incurs any interest at all. My wife also works a decent job. Plus I try not to get pulled over for speeding anymore, especially on the PA Turnpike which I also avoid altogether now just to be cheap and not pay tolls.

    Through all of this I've had a good 15-20 pinball machines come, go, or stay and my current collection stands at 7, plus a puck bowler, megatouch and fooseball. I don't buy NIB pinballs, or haven't yet, which helps. I wait for decent deals or at least fair and reasonable pricing. Restored a few games over the years and did fair on them which helps the hobby support itself better. First game didn't arrive until about 5 years ago. They're getting harder to part with.

    #319 4 years ago

    Regarding tolls, there are EZ Pass transponders that are clones of authority vehicles available on the dark web for very reasonable prices if you use the toll roads often.

    #320 4 years ago
    Quoted from konjurer:

    I worry about the people that make $40K and have a collection of NIB games.

    Would your thinking "allow" one or two NIB pins to someone who makes $40K?

    What is the quantity level vs. income that you feel is ok/you wouldn't worry aboot someone anymore?

    At what income level would you "approve" of someone having a collection of NIB pins?

    Does this income level apply to anywhere in the USA or the Cedar Rapids area only?

    Do/did you work for Rockwell Collins by chance (Now known as United Technologies Collins Aerospace)?

    #321 4 years ago

    Not saying what I do but here’s a picture of my home office.

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    #322 4 years ago

    Got into the hobby as a full time musician. Private lessons, 4-5 gigs a week, guitar repairs plus any other scraps I could come up with. I managed to trade a palm pilot with a GPS and some cash for a Target Alpha for my first game. I was able to buy a lot of games, a decent car, and my first home on that income. Unfortunately, skyrocketing health care costs and a couple kids changed the scene. Like someone else said earlier, you find creative ways to get the things you want. I didn't have a spare $500, but I creatively traded toward it and sold it for more than I paid. Project games were readily available at this time. I bought many broken DMD games for under 1k and often times doubled my money after repairs. It was a gamble, and a hustle but I miss it. Now i have a more stable job, but much less time to enjoy them. I miss the hustle of fixing and trading up. I'm an electrical estimator for a union electrical contractor now, but I was able to maintain a fairly high end collection on around 50k a year. It all depends how much you want things and how much you are willing to give up. I've doubled that income, but the pinball collection hasn't changed much. I don't have the time or effort to put into repairing and flipping games so I'm paying more.

    #323 4 years ago

    I'm a bootlegga (Seinfeld reference)

    #324 4 years ago

    You win it, I'm so excited!!!!!! BKSOR LE.

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    #325 4 years ago

    I work in financial planning and my wife is a dentist and owns a practice.

    #326 4 years ago
    Quoted from MrBally:

    thinking "allow" one or two NIB pins to someone who makes $40K?
    What is the quantity level vs. income that you feel is ok/you wouldn't worry aboot someone anymore?
    At what income level would you "approve" of someone having a collection of NIB pins?

    Pretty snarky response... Did I cut to close to home? I worry because I know people that do this... Actually most of Americans haven't self funded their retirement and have no emergency fund. In my opinion, that's a problem if you're out buying pinball machines, expensive vacations or bass boats. It sucks to see friends having to work shitty jobs to make ends meet when they should be thinking about retirement. Additionally, it places an unfair financial burden on those who saved while others blow their through their income.

    #327 4 years ago

    No we use Iconics Genesis and Autosol as our polling communication manager

    #328 4 years ago
    Quoted from konjurer:

    Pretty snarky response... Did I cut to close to home? I worry because I know people that do this... Actually most of Americans haven't self funded their retirement and have no emergency fund. In my opinion, that's a problem if you're out buying pinball machines, expensive vacations or bass boats. It sucks to see friends having to work shitty jobs to make ends meet when they should be thinking about retirement. Additionally, it places an unfair financial burden on those who saved while others blow their through their income.

    Not snarky, just asked for additional data since you worry about others.

    How does this place an unfair burden on those who saved?

    Can you answer any of my previous questions?

    Your statements only hit close to home as they resembe the general mindset of several Rockwell Collins employees. I have experience there and enjoy a nice monthly pension check from the company. Now United Technologies.

    16
    #329 4 years ago

    Made a bunch of crappy films.
    Publish magazines and books.
    Put away a couple million.
    Married, no kids.
    Retired.
    Now I gotta sell off this damn collection!
    Cheers!

    ted van gogh U (resized).jpgted van gogh U (resized).jpg
    #330 4 years ago

    Is it terribly wrong for me to feel a bit of resentment towards those of you who can afford all the NIB games you want every year?

    My wife and I lived in the same apartment for ten years in order to save a decent down payment then purchased a new construction home on a 15 year mortgage that I paid off in 12-1/2 years. We have no credit card debt and own six cars all purchased new by saving for years in between purchases and then ordering a car and paying cash. I'm old enough to retire now but I'm still working because I'm afraid I will outlive my retirement savings or incur huge medical costs if something goes wrong (my wife has twice been treated for cancer already). I'd really like to buy another new pin because there are a lot of good games coming out these days and interest in a hobby can fade if nothing is added to renew one's interest (and I won't let go of any of my current pins). I've only purchased one pin in the last ten years, and that was done in 2014 by using a one-time-only one month's pay bonus received for working for twenty years at my current job. But my wife considers it totally selfish of me to want any more stuff than I already have.

    #331 4 years ago
    Quoted from littlecammi:

    Is it terribly wrong for me to feel a bit of resentment towards those of you who can afford all the NIB games you want every year?

    I feel, great for them. Nice things are rolling their way.

    LTG : )

    #332 4 years ago
    Quoted from Nickson:

    i live with my parents and got a part time job. spend it all on pins and i am only 15.

    This is one of the only times ever I’ve truly laughed out loud at a pinside post.

    #333 4 years ago
    Quoted from spfxted:

    Made a bunch of crappy films.
    Publish magazines and books.
    Put away a couple million.
    Married, no kids.
    Retired.
    Now I gotta sell off this damn collection!
    Cheers![quoted image]

    What films have you worked on?

    #334 4 years ago

    I got a lot of degrees, then used them to make people that dress better than me feel smart about numbers & data for the same company for 15 years and counting. Then for more, I started operating as an experiment a year and a half ago. I have time because I’m divorced with no kids.

    #335 4 years ago
    Quoted from LTG:

    I feel, great for them. Nice things are rolling their way.
    LTG : )

    I think for most people, everything comes at a price. I’ve known my share of very wealthy people. Most of them work their butts off and have very little time - but lots of money. My favorite story is about the dad of my friend who worked 80+ hours a week at a GM plant. When my friend was a toddler, he cried at Xmas when his dad tried to hold him. They always said he didn’t know who his dad was. And I believe it. The man worked his ass off and fell over dead in his 60s. Sad but true story. But he had a lot of money. Hmmm...

    I resent not saving more when I was younger. But then again, I had some awesome times living a crazy life in my 20s, burning through every cent I made. I averaged 60 hours a week back then as a controls engineer and killed it in overtime, often breaking 80 hours a week. I don’t have much to show for it other than some great memories. Had I saved all of that money, I’d probably be retiring in my 50s. How many 20 something people think that far out....not many.

    #336 4 years ago
    Quoted from PinJim:

    . How many 20 something people think that far out....not many.

    Well, we did. And yes, we are retiring in our early 50s. No, we didn't miss out on anything.

    I remember a number of people laughed at me when I talked about investing for retirement when I was 25, they ain't laughing now.

    #337 4 years ago
    Quoted from investingdad:

    Well, we did. And yes, we are retiring in our early 50s. No, we didn't miss out on anything.
    I remember a number of people laughed at me when I talked about investing for retirement when I was 25, they ain't laughing now.

    I'll retire after 20 years in law enforcement at 49 years old. I'll get my pension which should clear me $5k a month. We get 70% of our best three years. With that being said I know almost all the guys I work with that have retired with close to 100k pensions and still can't stop working. My pension is one part but the reason I'll not have to work is ill have no debt by design. Cars paid, no mortgage and one kid that will be 24 when I retire and I'm not paying for her college she can pay her own way. Point being its about planning not earning. I make 100k with overtime I'll retire at 49. My gf is a nurse practitioner and makes well over 200k and will still be working. Lives in a 600k house has a new car every three years has two kids that she spoils the hell out of. With her income she should already be retired but when you have everyone and everything taking a bite out of your pie there isn't much left. My advice, nothing will break you overnight quicker then divorce and kids. Chose wisely. I got a vasectomy at 36 I'm 42 now. I couldn't possibly have the things and live the life I do with more kids or a wife that didn't work. No thanks

    #338 4 years ago

    I'll never regret that day at 23 when I created an Excel spreadsheet and figured out what the compounding would look like if I started investing 15% of my 33k salary starting that week and sticking with it.

    So I did.

    It was slow going for awhile, but numbers don't lie and time was in my side. My future wife was on board, too.

    Compounding. Steady investing regardless of what the market did. Let the years roll by. Don't waver and live below your means.

    At 45... afford whatever pinball I want, but stop after one.

    #339 4 years ago
    Quoted from spfxted:

    Made a bunch of crappy films.
    Publish magazines and books.
    Put away a couple million.
    Married, no kids.
    Retired.
    Now I gotta sell off this damn collection!
    Cheers![quoted image]

    Smile man!

    #340 4 years ago

    In 1986 I was at work and reading a magazine during lunch (I believe it was "U.S. News & World Report" or maybe "Time") and I came across this little article talking about this new company that was making an initial public offering. I had never heard of the company and had no idea what they made but just had a "gut" feeling. I called the wife and asked her if we had enough money to buy a couple of hundred shares of this new company. The name of the company was "Microsoft" and 33 years later (and several splits) the quarterly dividends we receive allows us to travel to Europe once a year and buy what ever pinball we might want (the latest is "The Beatles" Gold).

    #341 4 years ago

    I've been collecting pins for over 30 years now and have always bought non-working
    project machines to fix up. Those my wife or I don't like get sold or traded. This has
    worked very well.

    I do not buy NIB pins. I'm patient enough to wait till they break and
    people that own them get tired of paying others to fix them then
    scoop them up.
    Steve

    #342 4 years ago
    Quoted from investingdad:

    I'll never regret that day at 23 when I created an Excel spreadsheet and figured out what the compounding would look like if I started investing 15% of my 33k salary starting that week and sticking with it. So I did. It was slow going for awhile, but numbers don't lie and time was in my side. My future wife was on board, too. Compounding. Steady investing regardless of what the market did. Let the years roll by. Don't waver and live below your means. At 45... afford whatever pinball I want, but stop after one.

    Amen investingdad! There is no reason why everyone in this country doesn't retire a millionaire and be able to buy any machine they want. You can have a starter pinball machine at any age and income and build your way up. However you are not doing yourself any favors by blowing all of your income on NIB pins early in life.

    #343 4 years ago

    I'm 28 and work in fundraising at the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

    I don't make gobs of money, but I learned the work and flipped pins for 3 years making small profits to buy the games I really wanted and supplementing a little from my income. My wife and I don't have any debt other than our mortgage on a $140,000 house and my truck, which is well within our means. We qualified for some astronomical amount but were smart when purchasing. 4br/3br house 10 minutes from work in a quickly growing neighborhood.

    How do I afford pinball? I save for the games I want. Any money I make from tournaments goes into the 'next game' fund. If I find a local deal on a beat up game. I'll buy it even if I don't want it, fix it up, and send it on its way while making a couple hundred bucks and passing on the love of pinball.

    Pinball is not an unreasonable expense if you plan ahead and budget.

    #344 4 years ago

    Wife and I are both teachers. We have one kid and a dog. We used to own a photography business. My car is 12 years old beaten with hail but it's paid off. We don't have cable and live within our means. No student loans, etc. Just don't buy extra stuff we don't and are patent and wait for good deals that for what we need/want. We also don't buy cheap stuff that breaks we invest in things that will last. I also use wise investments and reverse credit cards to save up for machaine. A reverse credit card gains you interest while you build funds to by your pin.

    Added over 5 years ago:

    Sorry for typos. When I type with my thumbs spelling is least of my concern

    #345 4 years ago

    Three words...."power of compounding". Young guys and for that matter everybody should learn what it means.

    #346 4 years ago

    Went from CPA to NBA asst coach to Estate planning lawyer to financial planning and now integrate em all! Life is good, family, friends and charity.

    #347 4 years ago

    Software Engineer...I mean Software Architect....I mean...uh... programmer?

    #348 4 years ago
    Quoted from Trooper11040:

    So I currently own only 2 pins...A TWD Prem and a NGG, 2 slot machines and a super chexx pro...I’m a state trooper in PA, and the sole provider in my household. My wife is a stay at home mom with 2 young boys. What do you guys do to make the money to buy these expensive toys we love? My wife is always ready to shoot me when I bring home any new toys lol

    Single, retired, house is payed for, eat in almost all the time but I have a bottomless pit 1970 Mustang.

    #349 4 years ago

    Back in 81 I think it was. I was going to buy a 50 inch front projector big screen tv but my friend said don't buy it cuz Sound of Music was closing and starting up as a new company with enitial stock offerings of $1 per share, I bought the tv. I could have had 2000 shares of original Best Buy. THE BIGGEST regret of my life. At one point those 2000 shares were worth 56 MILLION dollars.

    #350 4 years ago

    I'm an electrician. Got tired of getting screwed around so I joined the union. Best move I ever made. Now I make decent money and have a pension. I'm Canadian so I don't worry too much about health insurance or unemployment. I'm not rich by any means, but I take home enough to pay the mortgage on an average house in an average suburb. I drive an average truck. The lights stay on, I never worry about my next meal, and the luxuries I allow myself are an international vacation every couple of years, a basement with four pins in it, a professional snow shovelling service, and a nuclear-powered hot tub.

    One day the good times might slow down, but until they do I'll keep on flipping.

    There are 448 posts in this topic. You are on page 7 of 9.

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