Lifestyles of the Flashaholics...

[Bloodnut]

SaVaGe's thread on "wealthy" CPF'ers got me wondering what sorts of lifestyles those here live. I'm curious. I'm betting we have everything from high school aged teens spending nearly every dime of income on lights and at the other end of the spectrum we have highly successful business owners for whom lights are a pleasent distraction.

I'm 40 years old, married with two great small kids. I have two vehicles ('89 K-5 Blazer with nearly 400k on it and a 99' vehicle with 177k). I am buying a modest house (half paid for) and earn a decent salary. The area that I live in is inexpensive, relatively speaking. My wife and I both have masters degrees (not that this means a lot). My wife homeschools the kids. That costs almost as much as private school (which we did, but it did not suit us).

We are comfortable, but we do not lead a lavish lifestyle. We don't have cable TV, but we do have high speed internet. I do not spend great sums on lights - or anything really. I buy lights that I perceive a need for. While I have a few cheapies that are rarely used, I have no safe queens. (Heck, I don't even have a safe.)

My other loves are firearms and knives. I try to limit myself to one of each yearly. And for the most part I stick to that. When I buy guns and knives now, I ask myself if they will be useful to my great-grandkids. I will only purchase those that will stand the test of time.

That's it. For those who are comfortable with this, please speak up and tell us about how you live.

 

[ACMarina]

I'm a 24-year-old College Graduate, working in Retail. I make between 7-8 bucks an hour based on how well the week goes. I don't like retail, but it's a temporary thing while I look for a better opportunity. I'm really where I am to support the wife, who has a great job that covers the house and everything.

I'm dwindling my collection down to users at this point, as far as flashlights are concerned - I've owned my collection of safe queens, don't get me wrong, but flashlights depreciate in a way that other collectables don't. I'm to the point where if it's not worth having to use, it's not worth having at all. I'm dedicating that kind of collecting to items that will hold their value, if not go up..

No kids at this point - I own my car, and we're paying on the wife's car. She's got college loans but no other debt to speak of, and neither do I. I'm pretty comfortable with where I am right now, and while there are things I'd like to have there aren't a bunch of essentials missing from my life.. everything is good!

 

[Chuck289]

Well ,Ill be 22 in about 3 weeks. I'm a machinist working full time at a hospital products company. I'm also going to school part time, trying to get an AS degree in "R&D Machinist", whatever that title means. Just bought my first brand new car about 6 months ago with the money from my job. '07 Ford Ranger, paid in cash. woohoo.

Been into flashlights for a little over a year. I also like playin guitar and airsoft. Airsoft, knives, and flashlights, thats pretty much where my disposable income goes. Thats pretty much it, Just trying to finish school and eventually get my own place.

 

[Oddjob]

I'm a 38 year old Operating Room Nurse. Married, with a cat and a dog, no kids yet but hopefully soon. My wife and I live in a modest little house and I would say we are middle class in terms of income.

My flashaholism stems from the outdoor enthusiast in me although I have aways loved lights since I was a kid. I used to do a fair amount of backpacking and I also used to play a lot of hockey and golf. Nowadays I enjoy spending time with my wife, camping, day trips, going out for dinner etc.

I enjoy coming here several times a day because I find it a nice environment to take my mind off things and just have fun. I tend to be pretty conservative with my light purchases and I sell lights I find I do not use. I have a modest collection of about 12 single cell lights ranging from a Jetbeams C-LE v1.2 to a McGizmo McLux III PD-S mizer. I also have a couple of headlamps as well as various other lights upgraded with LED's such as minimags and cheap plastic lights.

It's been a fun couple of years here and I look forward to what technology hold for the next generation of lights.

 

[jugg2]

I'm a 17 year old Senior in high school, and I am home schooled. My family is your average middle class family. My father works in the HVAC industry, and during the summer I work at the same company. I go to tech school part time at night taking HVAC courses. I only spend my own money on lights, or anything else for that matter. I definately use my lights, so I see them as a justified purchase. But a few are just for fun...

 

[gadget_lover]

I'm in my 50's. Married and empty nest. I work in the IT sector (I break computers for a living) and commute a long way every day. I enjoy various hobbies, including flashlights.

When I was raising my kids, I had almost no discretionary income. I made do with toys gathered from garage sales or that I made myself. I developed the habit of collecting things. I still have a little hockey puck sized incandescent trouble light with a magnetic back and self winding cigarette lighter plug; it's 30 years old.

Other hobbies include metalworking, sci-fi, geocaching.......

Daniel

 

[Valpo Hawkeye]

I'm 29 years old, 6'3", 195 lbs, I work in retail, but not in the way you might think. I make pretty good money, as does my wife, so we have some money to throw around every now and again. We don't have any kids, just two cats and a greyhound. I attended several semesters of college, though I did not graduate (I held a good GPA of 3.5, but noticed those who finished the program I was in were struggling to find worthwhile employment). I'm a licensed plumber and I hold several other certifications relevant to HVACR.

I enjoy distance running and I try to run four or five organized races a year. I love gadgets, as does everyone here and I try to only buy things that I have a definite use for, but I do have some shelf queens. I also play semi-organized basketball once a week and I can probably beat 95% of the registered users here at Ping Pong!

 

[jch79]

Cool idea for a thread! :thumbsup:

I:
-ride my bike all year long - a fixed gear or single speed road bike.
-play the ukulele, mandolin, guitar, and sing and write songs, in a band.
-have a needy and sometimes sick cat.
-live in a small apartment in Chicago, with said cat.
-have an amazing girlfriend who, for some reason, likes me.
-am an architectural photographer and graphic designer.
-am a pack-rat.
-am going to bed.

john

 

[sed6]

I'm a 34 yo insurance agent. I have my own home and live alone. I am recently engaged and will soon have a wife and two teenage step-kids. I make a decent income and live further below my means than most I'd guess. After 10% to my 401K and 10% to my savings (automatically deposited BTW), I have enough discretionary income to suit my needs.

Between my R/C helis's and planes, my flashaholism, my gun collecting and shooting I spend quite a bit each month. Some months many hundreds, perhaps as much as $1K if I have some big purchases.

Only on occasion do I feel guilty about my spending. When I started shopping for engagement rings about 6 months ago, I realized I needed to start spending more on my woman and less on myself. I purchased her ring (cash, not credit), got her eyes lasered, plus replaced her garage door opener, water heater and disposal. I now try to spend about $.50 on her for every $1.00 I spend on myself.

I know that our wedding, honeymoon, new home, and the kids will cost a lot. My spending will have to decrease quite a bit, or my income will have to increase, or both. Gosh, I'm rambling...

 

[Monocrom]

I'll just reveal what I'm comfortable revealing....

I'll soon be 33 years old. Not married, never have been. No kids. I make an almost decent living as a Security Guard. Despite general assumptions, your average guard is not someone who wasn't good enough to become a police officer, so they went into private security instead. Most are immigrants trying to make an honest buck. The rest are either younger folks looking to make some money while earning a degree, or older folks who should have retired a few years ago but don't have enough savings. (Yeah, I'm an odd-ball in this industry).

I've also worked as a skip-tracer, on the financial side. (Getting harrassed by a collections agency? I might be able to help). Worked in retail as a high-end pen salesman. (Best job I ever had). Had a pen collection once. Not sure what happened to most of it. Can't afford to start collecting pens again, but I do have a couple of nice pieces.

I own my own home, but not a house. (Co-op apartment). While I still pay a monthly maintenance bill, it means I won't be hit with a huge expense if something major breaks down. I pay a flat fee every month for both A.C. and heat. Which works out great; especially in the Summer. No obnoxious landlord to worry about. (The ones in NYC tend to be the scum of the earth).

Own my own car, a 98' Ford Escort. Nothing fancy, but she's reliable. Owned it for a little over 7 years now. When it comes to cars, I come from a family that rarely gets rid of a good, working car.

Because of a medical condition I don't want to discuss, I'm slowly losing weight without putting in any effort. Good thing I'm a bit overwight, otherwise I'd be in trouble.

Became interested in lights less than 2 years ago, maybe a year and a half ago. It started when I attended a firearms training course in NYC for an upcoming job-assignment that never panned out. The instructor carried a Surefire G2 model. I didn't ask him about it, but I had seen Surefire Ads in various firearms magazines prior to attending classes at the only gun range left in Manhattan. I did my own research. Ironically, not on CPF. (Didn't know this place existed yet). Back then, if you wanted screaming bright output in a compact package; you got a Xenon-bulb inca light that was powered by 2xCR123 cells. If you wanted the best, you got a Surefire.

Funny how some things change, while others don't. My first Surefire was a C2 model I purchased at a B&M shop in Manhattan. Still have that light. Wore it to class, clipped to my pocket.

As noted above, I don't make too much money. But, other than buying new pieces for my knife and flashlight collections, I don't spend much money on myself either. I'm likely the last person you'll catch at a Rave.... high on E.... making out with someone I met just 20 minutes ago. I'm a bit boring, have a playful sense of humor, a bit of a temper, and cute things put a smile on my face.

I'm also an amateur Writer. Mostly fiction. Combination of Sci-fi, horror, bit of everything else. Not for kids! Sadly, my favorite site where I post my stories has banned story threads in general.

Oh yeah.... and my blatant honesty sometimes gets me into trouble. Still, I refuse to sugar-coat things or to "drink the Kool-Aid."

 

[Coop]

28 years old at the moment of typing this... Just got married last year, just got a new job, bought a house, working my *** off at irregular hours. Only have a small budget to spend on cool new toys like flashlights, but that kind of increases the kick when I can afford a nice high-end light (although it sucks when limited runs come up).
I own a small, no, tiny car (Daihatsu Cuore) I used to have a classic mini cooper too, but traded that in for a recumbent bike.
I've been diagnosed with ADD, but cope pretty well due to my meds (Ritalin FTW!!). I spend loads of time in #CPF on slashnet. I love music, I have a passion for the music of Jean Michel Jarre and melodic, dark, melancholic metal.

and my wife hates to go shopping with me for new shoes or pants cos I'm very picky and hate anything even remotely related to fashion. (you'll mostly see me in my 5.11 pants with Tadgear Scout hoodie...)

 

[Bloodnut]

Okay, here's a good litmus test for lifestyles. Do you do your own mechanic or carpenter work?

I still do my own oil changes even though it would probably be cheaper to go down to the Quickie Lube. But I don't trust those folks. This weekend I had to replace the water pump on the '89 Blazer. No big deal. Saved me the hassle of dropping the truck off at the mechanic - I do let them do the big stuff. He installed a fuel pump (located in the gas tank) last year. I also do my own house painting and cut my own grass - even though I could pay someone else to do this stuff. Hard-headed I guess.

Ya'll dont make me start another thread!

 

[Chuck289]

Okay, here's a good litmus test for lifestyles. Do you do your own mechanic or carpenter work?

Almost anything I'm able to do myself on my truck (or any of my past cars), I do myself. Im not a mechanic. I wanted to be one back in highschool, but later decided to become a machinist. Ive only taken a couple of automotive courses in highschool and college. A lot of stuff I just learn by trying it. I also learned a lot about cars from helping my dad on his '65 mustang.

 

[dieselducy]

28 years old at the moment of typing this... Just got married last year, just got a new job, bought a house, working my *** off at irregular hours. Only have a small budget to spend on cool new toys like flashlights, but that kind of increases the kick when I can afford a nice high-end light (although it sucks when limited runs come up).
I own a small, no, tiny car (Daihatsu Cuore) I used to have a classic mini cooper too, but traded that in for a recumbent bike.
I've been diagnosed with ADD, but cope pretty well due to my meds (Ritalin FTW!!). I spend loads of time in #CPF on slashnet. I love music, I have a passion for the music of Jean Michel Jarre and melodic, dark, melancholic metal.

and my wife hates to go shopping with me for new shoes or pants cos I'm very picky and hate anything even remotely related to fashion. (you'll mostly see me in my 5.11 pants with Tadgear Scout hoodie...)

Ritalin is very dangerous and ADHD is a made up disease for the benefit of BIG DRUG COMPANIES!! I'd be careful with Ritalin! My grades actually IMPROVED IN COLLEGE after coming off the drugs.

Anyway. I am 30 yrs old. married and I am in between the Railroad and Truck driving right now. stuck on an UNPAID reserve board on the RR so I have to do something else to make money (truckdriving) anyway My main hobby is photography, (you can see at my website) I collect antique padlocks as well as flashlites. I am partial to the Mag product line, especially limited colours and old school mini mags. I make a middle class salary but we struggle sometimes cause I spend too much $$ on padlocks and maglites I have had a fairly good life, my mom died when i was 19 and in college which I graduated in 2001 from Murray State University with a BS degree in Organizational Communication. After college, I worked as an assistant manager at Wal-Mart and they are a HORRIBLE company to work for. I left wally in 2002 which is when I met my wife and took up OTR truck driving. I drove truck from Jan 2003-Feb 2007 which is when I joined another s#!tty company Norfolk Southern which is where I am now as a RR conductor (cut back presently) I love my wife very much and we have a stepson who is 12. oh yeah, I have a REAL LIVE train engine named dieselducy!!!!:laughing::laughing::candle:

 

[junkfms]

I am 31 yrs old flight dispatcher. Now living in Thailand. I have spent most of my younger years in many places, Thailand, New Zealand, and in the US. I am married, with one year old boy. My wife and I own a town home. I commute huge miles from home to the airport(where I work) vice versa. My salary considering not good but still better than other office jobs and could contribute to 70% of the mortgage while my wife takes 30% plus miscellenous in house.

We own one 2004 Toyota "Wish". More or less like a MPV or minivan if you might put it that way. To me I put it as an "extended trunk sedan". She gets to use it. My self, I use public transport to work as it is economically fit into my budget while the oil price and express way fee are shooting up like rockets. That way at the end of the month I will have extra money to spend on taking my family to restaurants, go out, or even spend on extra whatever my wife or I want(and that would be lights). I don't do my own mechanic work because of labor and spareparts are cheap here. When I used to live in the US, I used to do my own mechanics ie. oil change, brake installing, this and that. However, here in Thailand, labor is cheap that you can just pull into any garage around the corner and have your oil change labor paid for just a few bucks in no time.

 

[DieselTech]

My wife and I live in a log home on 48 acres in north middle Tennessee. No kids, but we have three dogs.

I'm a mechanic, and have worked on everything from lawnmowers to semi trucks to electric forklifts. My current job isn't perfect, but I can honestly say I like what I do, the people I work with, and the people I work for, and it would take a lot to get me to leave.

My other hobbies are...well, almost everything. I love diesel trucks, either pickups or semi trucks. I also like old farm equipment (and new, for that matter), chainsaws, guns, metal fabricating, and I just discovered ink- pen making. Unfortunately, I don't have as much discretionary income to indulge in such hobbies as I would like. In 2007, I think I only bought one new flashlight. I tend to spend my nights and weekends out working around the property, be it felling trees and skidding them with the tractor for firewood or working on one of the vehicles.

Part of me would love to have more play money...but if you eat enough lobster, eventually it all tastes like styrofoam. I think part of the enjoyment of finally getting that one light, or that 'new' truck, is the amount of time I spent working and longing for it. If I bought a new Surefire every week, I worry I might eventually get bored of them. I have as much fun listening to bluegrass, swinging a splitting maul, and thinking about that new light, or accessory for my truck as I do once I eventually get whatever it was I wanted.

And I'm terribly afraid that the above post just descended into mindless rambling somewhere along the way. Oh well.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I'm 43, and collect SSA for MS...so I don't have a lot of $$$ to go around.
As for the expen$ive lights & lasers I've purchased, they were paid for with money made from advertising banners on my website - typically, I make these types of purchases in May and July only. The rest of the time there isn't a whole lot to go around.

Much of my time is spent administering to my websites - mostly The LED Museum.
Figure I've devoted no less than 36,950 hours of my own time into maintaining & updating this website since mid-October 1999.

Currently, I live with my sister in an apt. in Sacramento CA. USA; I've lived here since 05-27-06.
Previous to this, I lived with my best friend in Seattle WA. USA from 10-11-04 to 05-26-06.
And before that, I lived alone in a downtown Seattle apt. from 09-26-96 to 10-10-04.
And yet before that, (well before I started any of my websites), I lived in a studio apt. in downtown Seattle (~10 blocks south) from summer 1989 through 09-25-96.
And yet even before *THAT* I lived with my parents just north of downtown Seattle from March 1984 to mid-1987.
And yet even prior to that, I lived in a small cabin in Juneau AK, USA with a person named Casey - I can no longer remember his last name.
And yet, yet even before *THAT*, I lived in the Juneau Receiving Home, from early-1977 through mid-1982.
From 1975 to 1977, I lived at 3160 Nowell Ave. in Juneau, and prior to 1975, I lived at 3311 Nowell Ave.

Guess this just about covers things here. :thumbsup:

 

[-walle-]

I'm 19, live in Denmark. My parents were recently divorced, i just live where ever. My mom is a nurse so she doesn't have that much disposable income, where as my dad is fairly wealthy. We live in a fairly expensive part of denmark, but then again everywhere is expensive in denmark.
I like travelling, lived in denmark, new zealand and the US, my dad also lived in china for a while, that was kind of a special situation.

I do not have a job atm, mostly because i don't need one, denmark is a very socialist oriented country, so i get paid an amount of money each month while i study, i geuss it's so that i don't have to spend all my time working and can do homework instead. The amount depends on how old you are, and your parents income. Since my parents are divorced and i officially live with my mom i get about 500usd a month, where as some of my freinds only get 200.

The danish school system is different from the american one, but where i am at is kinda in between high school and college, it is very different from american high school, much fewer rules :twothumbs.

Owning a car in denmark is expensive beyond belief. an average smallish saloon car is around 60-80.000. I do own one though, it is an electric car, and more of an ongoing project than a reliable means of transportation.

Someone asked if you do carpentry and mechanics and stuff yourself, i do all the work on my car by myself, and i do help out with a lot of carpentry in my moms new house.

Besides from the EV most of my money goes into airsoft and survival/trekking gear. I don't spend much on lights, they are more of a tool than anything else.
I am a scout leader for kids aged 7-10. I spend a lot of time on that. Again something that is very different from the way it is in america, the leaders are very young, and i think it is a little more action packed then scouting in america. Also, we are not religously affiliated.

I geuss that's pretty much my life...

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

My wife and I are both 27. No kids of our own and won't be having any, but we have two cats and several LP daughters that we spoil shamelessly. I'm not much of a flashaholic and don't post much in the flashlight sections. I came to CPF researching work lights and got caught up with the fantastic community here. I'm not big on electronics or computers but I love working with just about anything that's mechanical; this passion, and an equivalent aptitude, has served me well. My wife and I go shooting at least twice a month and spend as much time as we can at our house near the beach. I do the vast majority of my own mechanical and home-related work, even though I'd be $$$$ ahead if I paid someone else to handle it and put my time to more profitable use.

I absolutely adore my wife. Without her I wouldn't be alive right now; without her I'd have very little reason to be.

:buddies:

 

[PhantomPhoton]

Well let's see, where to start...
I'm 27 years old. Born in southern Oregon moved to Tacoma Washington area at around 13. Oldest of 3 boys, mom and dad divorced when I was 7; dad wanted nothing to do with the family so I grew up most of my life with a single mom. Been "poor" ever since.
When I was 16 mom was severely injured at work and she's now disabled and on a fixed income. (by the way WA state L&I laws blow, don't ever get injured working in this state, you'll be screwed) So I've been working since I was 16 helping support the younger brothers; one is in college now, luckily on a decent scholarship.
Flashaholic since around 9 years old. Born into backpacking. I'd been to the bottom of the grand canyon before I was 1 year old. Needless to say the preparedness thing was what I grew up with. I collect a few knives, swords and other martial arts weapons.
At the age of 4 I started martial arts. I'm now a black belt in Chun Kuk Do. For me martial arts isn't my passion or my hobby, it is something that I am. I don't teach teach for money; passing on what you've been given is what martial arts is about.
At age 6 I started gymnastics. I'm 5'9" and ~150 pounds, so gymnastics fits me pretty well; plus that gymnastics training helped enhance my martial arts.
When I was 17 I started teaching gymnastics at a YMCA, and a couple years later began a men's competitive gymnastics team. I still coach the team. It is a wonderful job, but a terrible career. Working with kids is usually great, especially in what is essentially a humongous indoor playground. Working with teenagers is hilarious and at the same time a headache. Working with the parents can be a nightmare at times.
I also busy myself with technology and a bit of politics/ philosophy on the side.

To sum it all up: science, nature, martial arts, gymnastics, technology.