You quit to save your life and save your money.....

[Papillon61]

.... but do you really save money? I've spent the last five days reading and researching and what is out there is totally overwhelming. One model after another.... perhaps one better than the other. Questions, questions... should I stick with what I have that seems to be working? should I upgrade? if yes, to what? And then reading people's posts and how they moved from one model to the other, either because what they had malfunctioned or because they wanted a better experience. I'm starting to think this could turn out to be a pretty expensive hobby... perhaps even more than the smoking itself.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

I just quit to save money. Was undecided though since vaping will probably cause me to live longer.

 

[jseah]

I definitely haven't saved any money....with all the gear and juice I've purchased over the past two and a half months, I've spent about $1,200 (this includes all the money I spent on blu's for the first month). As long as I stop buying new tanks and new mods, the juice I have should last me until the end of this calendar year.

 

[Rsunderl]

Hi Papillon and welcome aboard!

Yes, it can become a hobby and an expensive one if that's what you want. And the start up costs are more than just buying cigarettes at first.

However, it doesn't have to be a hobby - that's up to the individual person. I suspect we don't hear too much from the people who have what suits them and don't go chasing after the latest and greatest simply because there's not too much to talk about. How many times can you say "I'm still enjoying the setup and juices that I settled on 3 years ago and all is well"?

If you are in it to get off of cigarettes an save money, that's great and that's what you should shoot for. If the idea of new toys, new experiences and the latest and greatest flavor entices you (and you can afford it), then you're in it for more than just quitting cigarettes, and that's OK, too.

It takes all kinds of people to make this world interesting

Happy Vaping!

 

[Bob Chill]

The first year is the worst money wise. You'll outgrow things faster than you think and there is trail and error so money gets wasted. Once you find your preferred delivery device and mod that works day in day out, you don't have to spend any more money unless you want to.

IMO- juice is the biggest money waster. My wife and I dumped a lot of juice we just couldn't vape over the last 18 months. Probably 1,000mls. Now I mix my own so it's super cheap but that's not for everyone. Funding 6 flavors you don't get tired of costs a lot of money unless you are really lucky.

I've probably spent less than $300 over the last 8 months total for gear and juice supplies and that's for 2 people. I don't chase the latest and greatest though.

 

[PennyLynn]

I started a bit over a year ago and I'm still using a very basic model, the one I started with. I replenish as things wear out, but I've definitely saved money and I feel so much healthier! It's great for my family, no more stinky Mom-smoke. My new car and my house smell fresh (not to mention my self).

 

[nyiddle]

I did the maths. I was a 2 pack a day smoker, spending about 4000$ -- actually thinking about it, it may have been closer to $6000 -- a year on cigarettes (6-9$ per pack, usually on the upper end in New Jersey) for a pathetically long time.

In the 1.5 years I've been vaping, I've spent about $800-$1000 on EVERYTHING. I own one unique "trophy" mod, my OKL-T20 box that I had commissioned (cost me about $200) and my other mods were no less than 60$ a piece (I have 3 mech mods) and my IPV3 was $150. I spend about 100$ on juice every 4-5 months (definitely depends on which companies I'm buying from, but I usually frequent MBV so that saves me a lot of money). My atomizers, all combined (Chimbus, IGO-L, Caterpillar, Doge, Doge 2, a couple ProTanks/AeroTanks, Subtank, Nautilus Mini), cost me no more than 220$. My building supplies/cotton/wire is basically a negligible cost, I bought 100 ft of 26 and 28 gauge Kanthal, and that spool has been going strong my entire vape career. In total I've spent about 50-60$ on batteries.

Re-doing the quick math, I find a number pretty close to 1k even. It might be slightly higher than 1k if you account random trips to B&M's and stuff, plus I went through a short-lived carto phase (before protanks were all the rage), and I probably spent about 60$ on junk gear back in the day.

So for me at least, I'm spending ~4x less than I did when I was smoking cigarettes per year. I assume that this year will be even less expensive because I am very satisfied with all my gear/atomizers, and if I was completely cut off of vaping supplies entirely I'd probably have enough juice/kit/stuff to last me a full year.

 

[rowsley]

If you're happy with what you got and it works for you then it definitely doesn't have to be an expensive hobby.

Just like phones, computers, video game consoles. There is always gonna be the next big thing. If I bought every new tank, mod or whatever I wouldn't have a roof over my head.
Its really just up to the individual. If someone wants something bad enough they are gonna get it. You just gotta limit yourself. If you're not happy with your set up. I'm sure you can find exactly what you want by asking for recommendations to achieve your goal, and just research.

 

[Completely Average]

It's only expensive if you turn it into a hobby.

I've been using the same $70 mod for the past year. I go through $2 in coils per month and about $30 worth of liquid every 3 months. Add in the $30 I spent on the tank plus $12 for the battery and you're looking at about $256 for a year of vaping.

I was smoking a pack a day. Even buying cartons that was $6 per day in smoking. That works out to $2,190 per year spent on smoking, not counting the cost of lighters vs $256 for a year of vaping.

So yeah, I'm saving money. Tons of it. Add in similar savings for my wife and together we're saving enough money to take a week long vacation out of state every year.

 

[djsvapour]

.... but do you really save money? I've spent the last five days reading and researching and what is out there is totally overwhelming. One model after another.... perhaps one better than the other. Questions, questions... should I stick with what I have that seems to be working? should I upgrade? if yes, to what? And then reading people's posts and how they moved from one model to the other, either because what they had malfunctioned or because they wanted a better experience. I'm starting to think this could turn out to be a pretty expensive hobby... perhaps even more than the smoking itself.

LOL

That depends.

My hardware collection consists of £1,000 of equipment, some of which I didn't need to buy.

I spend never more than £1 a day on liquid and under £1 on replacement atomizer items. £2 a day.

£2 a day over 2.5 years + £1,000 on mods and batteries and atomizers. Total £2800+ over 2.5 years.

Less than 1 year smoking a pack a day in the UK.

Back when I started, there were lots of bad products always being replaced by the "next and best" thing. Starting today, you can get it right almost immediately with a set-up for under $100.

 

[cinetrope]

For some people, researching, shopping, and buying devices is a hobby that fulfills the psychological support component of a successful cessation program. I try to keep my purchasing in check and limit gear and ejuice expenditures to approximately 50% worth of what I spent on smoking. I also wait to see how new devices perform in real world applications for two or three months before I pull the buy trigger no matter how attractive the item may seem at first blush. I have a one year old Provari that cost me as much as 30 packs of cigarettes and I still use it every day. It took me a year to hit the break even point when I switched from smoking to vaping but since then I'm ahead of the game financially. When I factor in the quality of life improvements, sense of community membership, and knowledge increases I feel that my vaping dollars have been well spent. It is easy to fall into the "next best thing" acquisition cycle but if you have a combination of products that work to keep you from smoking, and exercise a reasonable amount of restraint, you can keep your costs at a justifiable level.

 

[philoshop]

It's no different than anything else in life. I f you constantly feel that you're missing out by not having what you don't already have, you're not likely to ever be very happy.
Find what actually works for you, perfect it, and revel in the knowledge that you don't 'need' to keep looking for it.

 

[Papillon61]

I'm not usually the sort of person who goes for things simply because they are trendy and I can generally control any urges of that kind. Still, finding the right gear does involve a bit of trial and error I suppose. Add to that all the shipping costs which for me, living in Malta, could be quite hefty. I really have to tread carefully. It's not a question of not being able to afford stuff - it's more a question of making an informed decision that works and avoiding waste.

 

[ElevenEleven]

Think of it more as an investment. I have enough equipment to last me into the foreseeable future. I pay $20-$40 a month for eliquid and if I want to save even more I can take the DIY route.

Once you have the gear you need its easier to say no to other shiny things. I'm speaking only for myself, of course.

 

[matt9285]

To the OP, I asked myself the same question. I have managed to drop $675 in 2 months

 

[r77r7r]

Oh yeah, it can go expensive quickly. Some nice people I liked here had to Ban themselves because they went out of control. Some spent $10,000 or more. I'm @$600 for over 4yrs, but catching up quick

 

[djsvapour]

I'm not usually the sort of person who goes for things simply because they are trendy and I can generally control any urges of that kind. Still, finding the right gear does involve a bit of trial and error I suppose. Add to that all the shipping costs which for me, living in Malta, could be quite hefty. I really have to tread carefully. It's not a question of not being able to afford stuff - it's more a question of making an informed decision that works and avoiding waste.

How much is postage?

Toots on AAEC-UK is in the Canary Islands and she buys from all over the place.

(Toots is a member on the AAEC forum)

 

[djsvapour]

I guess it's like many things. Invest either as a hobby or to have enough equipment to match a basic 'need'.

or, in the case of the EU, buy enough to survive the Zombie Apocalypse... as Europe are already starting to ban many items.

I never wanted to buy 5 rebuild-able (RBA/RTA) atomizers, but have collected them as tanks over 2ml will be illegal in 2016. Normally, I would sell them on or just give things away. Vapers often give stuff away, but less so the long-term purchases like Mechanical Mods and rebuild-able atomizers.

5 might be enough to last a long time, and some of my more basic stuff can be rebuilt if necessary.

I gave away 37 bottles of liquid at Vapefest last year for people to have. You could say that was a lot of money, but if we all become self-sufficient in the future, I'd prefer to vape DIY liquid that tastes nice rather than shop bought stuff that's not to my liking.

 

[ElevenEleven]

You know what the most expensive part is?
Backups.

 

[djsvapour]

You know what the most expensive part is?
Backups.

Yep...



These are back-ups. You can buy this for the price of 15 pack of cigarettes, which might last 15 days.

That collection lasted me over 1 year and is all in safe keeping, apart from one mod (MVP), sent to a vaper in need.