I really don't see why those hunting rifles are anything special. I would rather have a barrett 50 cal. If only for the experience of owning one of the most destructive sniper rifles on the planet.
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I am w/o question a budget smoker - we have a 2 yr old and 3 month old, and just bought a house, and my wife is a stay at home mom. Most of my regular smokes are fairly inexpensive. I have a close friend in town, and we regularly split bundle and box purchases to lighten the load.

And I get great prices here - just got a box of favorite cigar yesterday on CA, and paid a great deal less than the cheapest place online.

I have no idea what I've spent over the last 4 years, since I've gotten very serious, but I'd guess around $500-700 a year, definitely less than $1000. But I'm not gonna do the math, a little scared to...
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More than I spent on cigars for Kat. but not enough to get in Trouble:-)
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I was just perusing some sites considering a purchase and thought, "I don't know if I can afford the room in my humidor." Made me chuckle as I thought of my post in this thread as it wasn't what I originally meant. :-)
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BAM!!!!
There you go. That's exactly why I have the cigars I do today. It all started with Enron's collapse.
Something smelled fishy in Denmark after that day, to me. Yanked every dollar I had invested.
Lost absolutely nothing. Well except time. But who am I kidding, I will be at work when I die. What
retirement?
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I've handled quite a few Holland & Holland rifles and shotguns through the years, and believe me, they are something special. The level of craftsmanship and finish that goes into them is unreal. These are heirloom items. Older ones, if bought wisely, can be terrific investments as well.

The Barrett is awesome, and quite an experience to shoot.:-)

Cheers,
G
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I have an alibi I have two sons that smoke cigars otherwise My hobby would be called Insanity. :-):-)
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:-)

We are all different, and all subject to creating unintended interference in our lives with "excess spending".

One of us spending $ 1000 could create the same problems in their household that another spending $ 100,000 would for theirs. It's the "it's all relative" comment used off and on here.

It's a hobby that can provide great joy on a variety of fronts so long as we keep the financial aspect in proper perspective for each of us.
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I apparently completely fail at using a spreadsheet. I was adding in a couple of recent purchases and my "sum" total was only adding up about half of what I've actually spent.

I fixed it and...need to go sit down now :-)
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I might spend about $300 a year on this hobby.

Usually between November and January I'll buy a few boxes of some midrange smokes that I enjoy (Devils Weed, Iguana, Erin Go Bragh for instance) and I'll spend about $100 on just sticks that are higher dollar.

Gives me a chance to sample some really nice cigars.

I doubt I'll ever have the money to get a box of the Ashton Heritage (one of my favorites) for instance, But I readily acknowledge that I'd rather have 60 of my mid range smokes to enjoy all year than 20 smokes that I'll constantly be asking myself "If I smoke this when will I be able to afford to replace it?"

So I buy the expensive sticks when I can and hoard them like a miser :-)
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You are better off not calculating...if you enjoy the hobby, don't bother with the numbers, unless it really hinders you from actively saving money for other objectives. Fiscal responsibility. Understand it.
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It started off as a boredom thing (adding the numbers up) but I honestly think keeping tabs on my cigar spending IS the fiscally responsible thing for me to do.

I know some of you can work it out without writing it down or keeping track, but it looks like this is what works for me :-)
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Don't panic until you try to write 50k off on your taxes for smokes :-)
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"Loss, due to fire damage."
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http://www.snopes.com/crime/clever/cigarson.asp
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i don't want to be insensitive and say the OP's amount of 15K isn't that bad, but when i break it down this way, it makes sense and seems reasonable:

that amount is just about equal to what a pack and a half a day cigarette smoker would spend on their cancer sticks over the course of 6 years. and in some areas of the country, it could be a helluva lot more.

i say this, because that was me up until about 5 or 6 years ago. now i spend actually a bit less on something a helluva lot better!
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man, my spending is going to go through the roof when I return home in a couple of days from this deployment...scaring myself now lol
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoBmCl-q_54 :-)
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