How I Collect Hobbies Without Going Broke (One Rule vs ADHD)
May 4, 2026 · 11 min · 3k views
"Buy once, cry once." I've heard this for years, and I think it's terrible advice, most of the time. If I'd followed it blindly I'd either be broke or still researching what to buy instead of building anything.
So I built my own rule for buying gear. It's saved me thousands of dollars over the past decade, and it's the reason I just spent $3,000 on a Bambu Lab H2C. This video is the rule, how it applied to every hobby I've picked up, and how it ended with my wife's art studio becoming a mini 3D printing farm to finish my Iron Man suit.
Collecting hobbies
My hobby at this point is basically collecting hobbies, and I've made peace with that. Woodworking, LEGO, Gunpla, 3D printing: every time, the same pattern. I discover something, fall into a rabbit hole, buy the cheap version, make one small thing, and then my brain jumps to something much bigger. Days filling an online cart. Then I snap into "screw it" mode and order everything at once. Then the obsession fades, and all the stuff I absolutely needed just sits there.
The rule
Buy the cheapest version first, use it for a few weeks or months, and if it sticks, you've earned the upgrade. It doesn't stop the obsession. It just makes the obsession survive contact with reality before I spend real money. This is for things you're not sure you'll stick with, not a cheap mattress or a cheap fridge.
The cheap printer
I bought an Elegoo Neptune 3 to print an Iron Man helmet, then a Neptune 4 Plus for the bigger build volume, around $300 total. Then we moved house and I barely touched it for months. That's the rule doing its job: if I'd dropped the hobby there, I'd only have lost $300.
Fast forward, and that same cheap printer became the backbone of the whole suit challenge, living in the bathroom of my workshop. Even at its best, it wasn't enough. Clogs, failed prints, random issues, and a deadline getting closer every day.
The upgrade
I'd stuck with 3D printing, so I went all in on the H2C: speed, reliability, and multi-color for printing toys for my kids. Every YouTuber on earth seems to be sponsored by Bambu Lab, which had zero influence on me. None. Ahem. This video isn't sponsored. The first print came out perfect.
Three printers, one art studio
Then a friend lent me a Snapmaker Artisan, so I went from one printer to three without space for any of them. Hence the art studio: tables from workbench leftovers, wheels first (bad idea), rubber feet after, pegboard, a dehumidifier. My wife was totally okay with it. For real. I think.
What it all cost
- $300: the Elegoo setup that proved I was serious
- $3,000: the Bambu Lab H2C it earned
- 3 printers in a room about 2 by 2 meters, with AC
- 35 to 40% humidity, thanks to the dehumidifier
- 38 days left on the clock