TOPIC: Tips For Snagging Saber Money (Doing This Again..)

Yeah, so as many of the veterans on this site know, I've been here off and on for several years now, dropping away a lot since everything would come back to "I'm a young adult with very little money, why am I torturing myself like this?!" Well, I have news!

I'm still a young adult with very little money, and I am still torturing myself like this. :/

With post-secondary schooling fast approaching, I genuinely have no idea how I'm going to be able to afford any luxuries, like a new pair of shoes for breakdancing, or a spiffy new midseason jacket...or custom lightsabers that my family won't make fun of. That's the problem. I usually have no issues with stunt sabers that don't offer sound, but if I ever want to be carrying those suckers around in public, then they need sound. Unfortunately, even an Apprentice saber with sound puts me out about $250 (Not even considering more expensive sabers that I would love to have which would put me out $400-$600), which is money I haven't spent since I bought a Nintendo 3DS XL for myself back in middle school. And back then, I wasn't worried about buying gas money or my upcoming education.

So I'm curious, for younger and older saber nerds alike; how do y'all pay for this hobby? What did you guys do to afford to get your sabers? What are your secrets?



I need a teacher! Show me the ways of the Force!

I am 19 years old and doing an apprenticeship as a paramedic in Germany atm.
I still live with my parents, so I could easily afford a 400€ saber each month.
But, I prefer to safe up more than half of my monthly salary.

I decided to stash away some extra money monthley, though. The price of one ASP part (or two) per month. That way I should be able to afford some sabers soon. If I buy them.
I guess my parents won't be too fond of that though, so I'l probably keep that money safe at home till I moved out.

Ser Arcturis wrote:
You mentioned parental disapproval. While that kind of thing has kept me from going crazy with purchases during the summer, it has also kept me from doing much of anything with my money, save for socking it away for school.

I ought to mention scholarships, as well. The more of those I can get, the less money I'll have to put towards schooling, the more I'll have for myself.

My biggest problem is going to be getting a job during school. I won't be able to drive home and work the weekend, since I'll be living too far away from home. I'll need to get a job somewhere near school if I want to be getting money over the school year.

4 twelves, 5 eights, or the dreaded 7in a row any accumulation of+40:00=$. Find time to earn, if you desire it most you will have to hustle. Time put in, always pays.

=Ottomatix= wrote:
Well said, Otto. Problem is, as of now I can't put in 40 hour weeks, not until the summer. I need to find something I can do during school that can start pulling in funds.

Buy Initiate tier (empty hilts) and learn to solder if you don't know how to already so that you can do your own electronics installs. It's really not hard, there are online tutorials. Of course, then you have to find time to do that stuff, but that's another problem entirely. That may not necessarily cost any less than a Veteran tier, but then it might if you get the right electronics and find places to buy them with the best prices. Though, you will be hard pressed to find a board that's a better value than the Sabercore 2.5 boards, so you may at least want to buy those from SaberForge as well.

Also, you people who are worried about what your parents think about your purchases, you'll eventually reach a point where you don't care what anybody thinks about the stuff you buy. I'm 39, I started buying nice sabers a couple years ago, when I was 37. I could give a crap what anybody else thinks of my sabers.

This isn't a problem or a secret friend. You asked and this is how. I get that you're in school and time is limited but it was implied that anytime is still earning.

scifidude79 wrote:
Initiate-tier hilts have always been under consideration for me, but you're right, finding time to do so would be a huge challenge. The actual task of lightsaber construction doesn't seem too challenging, considering I've been watching videos about the subject for years now and the only real challenge there would be the technical stuff, like electronic wattage and voltage and such things. The mechanical aspect comes easily to me. But cost is the prime concern here, and again, I unfortunately don't have too much time to be scrounging the Internet looking for the best deals on parts.

Frankly, I'm perfectly okay with 100% Saberforge-produced sabers as long as I have the money, which just brings me back to square one. And it's not so much a question of approval as it is one of permission. I cannot do much of anything unless I have worked to be on top of my game and proven to my folks (and myself) that I have the capability to engage in privileges like going out with friends or making a purchase without negative repercussions. In the realm of finance...I am unable to make an investment as huge as purchasing lightsaber replicas as of now. Which again, brings me to square one.

I put in $25 every week till I had money for mine.

I understand the time issue. I'm gone 55+ hours a week with work. I don't necessarily work that much, I can only do 40 hours at my job because they don't like paying overtime, but I have an hour commute and I get an hour for lunch. So, it's an 11 or more hour day, the more depending on a few different factors that determine when I get home. But, I've been known to wire up a saber or two when I have a day off. Though, I also buy some already built because I don't want to be wiring sabers all the time. I currently have two on order from SaberForge, a Warrior tier and a Veteran tier, and I have a couple hilts from other companies in my "build" pile, they're waiting on electronics and spare time.

Another option is to wait until SaberForge has a sale. They haven't had one so far this year, but there were a lot last year, so they might start them up again before too long. You can get some really good deals. For example, I snagged my Phoenix at 50% off, which made it the price of an Apprentice hilt. Even the more common 10% and 15% sales will save you quite a bit of money.

Snajeelay wrote:
Smart move.

Best advice I can give is this:

Set realistic goals (short, and long term), and plan for ways to make them happen. There are very few things that remain insurmountable if you break them down sufficiently into manageable pieces.

Three letters: J. O. B.

That's about it, really. Have work, get money. Pay bills & essentials. Put the rest into the "Fun Fund". Spend the Fun Fund on fun stuff!

I get that it's difficult as a college kid living on campus, but depending where that campus is... there's usually tons of available jobs in the area or even on campus. Bookstore, cafeteria, library, being a tutor, tour guide, etc are all jobs on campus for students. You school may even have a "work study" program that you can make use of. Usually there's restaurants, stores, etc in the area of a college that hire students.

I personally did not work during school, as I had a fairly high paying job in the summer (bus boy & barback in a busy vacation spot)... could have been even better were it not for the whole "you need to have experience to get experience" thing to start as a server or bartender, but my summer money during that time lasted me through the school year for the most part. Proportional to my income then, I spent probably more on video games and music/movies on iTunes during that time than I do on sabers now. That was back in the Dark Times... before Netflix and Spotify. *shudders*

so I am also 19 in college, and what I am doing is putting $5 a week ($10 each paycheck as I am paid bi-weekly). This equals out o be about $260/year, which can get you one lightsaber each year. $5 won't kill your pocket, but it does suck getting only one per year. So any extra jobs you can pick up (mowing laws in summer, shoveling driveways in winter, stuff like that) can help ya get more money that you can put specifically towards the lightsaber.

I’m 19, and work at subway. I don’t get more than 22 hrs a week. I don’t plan on going to college, mostly because I don’t have a way to pay for it. My parents would pay for about two thirds (my parents are divorced (yes, I get two christmas’s also)) so I’m left with that one third. However, a car was needed in my life, more so than going to college and majoring in god knows what. I didn’t even have a liscense until just the beginning of feb 2018. I got my permit two weeks before. I got a car in between those dates and used all of my saved college $$$. I am hoping to work in shipping & recieving (UPS, FedEx, Amazon, etc.), which brings in between $35 and $48~ish an hour. Obviously that’s not beginning pay, but it’s still not bad. Better than what I’m payed now.
I don’t have any advice for how to get/ make money if you can’t buy gas for your vehicle. I agree with Brax, set goals. If you put on a calendar, preferably somewhere you go everyday. Such as next to the sink in the bathroom, on your dresser, in your closet. One of those places to put it, and every week, at the beginning of every week, say, I don’t know, “put $8 into a jar.”. Now don’t be like, “ oh, it’s been a couple of weeks, and I have around $72 in it, I’ll buy a video game.” No, you have to have self control of when you open the jar to “deposit” you don’t make any “withdrawals”. I also wouldn’t recommend depositing it into your bank account. I say that for three reasons.
One, you make microtransactions like they’re nothing. You think, “oh $1.37 isn’t much...” and the next week you say “$2.46 for gum, yeah that’s ok.” And so on.
Two, you can’t keep track of all those bank receipts,
And three, it’s motivation to see that jar, every day, full of cash. Even after week one. One $5 and three $1’s doesn’t seem like a lot, but after week two, you already see $16 in there. It’s an awesome feeling. I started working at subway the 9th of January and I got <$1 in tips. Yes working at subway gets you tips you get to keep. After working there for one month, and only working under 22 hrs/ week, I had $49 in tips. We do have a guy come in everyday and order the same thing and usually leaves $10 and on rare occasion (but it’s happened twice so far), a $20, and if I’m working the shift that he comes in, I get to split that with the coworkers of that shift. Luckily it’s only split between people of your shift so if someone comes in half an hour later to work, that don’t get any.



Sorry for the TL;DR, but this is the best way to say what I wanted to say. Good luck with your saber purchasing!

One way I save money is no car. I’m on a city bus on my way to work right now.

Also, I’m lucky because I graduated last June. Got some good earned cash, some of which I bought a new phone outright, so no monthly payments. The only exception is I can’t use cell service. Just internet. Got the phone in August and have had no issues yet. Birthday and holiday monies help too, so just save those up for a saber.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

@scifidude79 , the biggest issue I think I would have with doing my own construction, besides the construction itself, would be getting the base materials to start actually doing wiring and electronic construction. I haven't looked into it too much, but I know that I would need to get myself an actual desk devoted to custom work and design of the like (which is on my to-do list anyways, but that's besides the point) as well as a soldering kit and some surplus electronic gizmos for the actual processes. That doesn't even count specialized parts like LEDs and speakers. However, I do remember all the sales that Saberforge had last year, and frankly I wouldn't have been able to make use of them. I definitely intend to start actively looking out for them in the future, now that the company appears to be both more stable than it was back when I first joined the Forums and constantly churning out new merchandise.

@Brax , of course your're right. Setting bite size goals is the only way I've managed to get anything done in the past year. I guess that up until this point I've just seen this hobby as insurmountable. I need to learn to be more flexible.

@KelbornX , you're absolutely right. A campus job is going to be a high priority as soon as I get settled into my first semester. Honestly, I need to find something I'm good enough at teaching and formulate it into a job. Otherwise, I've worked as a part time janitor for the past four years along with other jobs, I would have no qualms being a custodian somewhere. My current goal is to find another local job before I go AWOL.

@Shai Keh , good idea. Socking away just a handful of cash can go a long way. Maybe like $15 for me, though, since I want to buy a saber before the end of this year.

@Lord Metallica , my vehicle is my biggest enemy. My old car used to be getting something like 30 miles to the gallon before it broke down. Now I'm driving a truck with about 15 mpg, which isn't awful...but isn't particularly great, either. I usually sock twenty bucks into the truck every week to fill half the tank. I will definitely agree on the money jar thing. I have a coin jar full of spare change that I pull out whenever I get home every day, because I hate carrying change in my pockets. It's mine, and it's the easiest way for me to keep from spending it since I hate spending coin.

Now, a phone with 4G and unlimited data is a necessity for me, but that goes with the whole bus thing. I’d go crazy during that hour if I didn’t have the Internet, particularly YouTube. I also have music (to drown out other passengers when I’m not watching a video) and novels on my phone. It’s my portable entertainment device. But, I bought my phone outright and have reasonable no contract service that I get a discount on through work.

scifidude79 wrote:
My phone is paid for through, nothing to worry about there.

Unfortunately, I currently cannot take a bus around since I don't live in the city yet.