How do y'all afford the hobby?

[anthonymckay]

For my recent new build, I made a list of all the equipment I wanted to use. Then I spent the better part of the past year just patiently waiting for various equipment on my list to popup used for sale in my local reefer group on Facebook. I was in no hurry to get everything, so I saved quite a lot of money doing that. I bought my Reefer 300XL for ~50% of what I'd have paid new. Great deals on some kessil A360x's. An RSK300 skimmer. Wife bought me a couple Nero 5's for Christmas last year. I think the only thing I really went out and bought new was the return pump, the roller filter, and recently I purchased a Mastertronic, an Alkatronic, and a 4 head doser. It's still quiet an expensive hobby but I was able to save a decent amount that way. Luckily my wife doesn't really care about me spending money on hobbies. And compared to my other hobby... driving race cars this isn't too bad, haha.