i am only about two years into this new hobby, brought about by my husband needing upholstery for his classic car. the second year expenses go way down. I was able to credit the new sewing machine to my husbands car,lol so he was not too upset over the expense, and it has given me great joy! I have sewn off and on for my entire life, so had alot of the tools needed for quilting, and mostly have spent on building stash. I also spend to keep my mom in material as she is on a very fixed budget, and can rarely get new material unless it is purchased for her. Hopefully my stash is large enough when it is time for me to retire, to only have to pick up a little at a time. until then, I pick up what I need and will accasionally allow myself to add to my stash, usually about every two months. I have 4 quilts worth of material picked out and ready(just picked up the final pieces of material for 3 yesterday) so between the full time job, and normal chores I should be good to go until summer! I tend to wait for the perfect color or pattern, so a quilt may take me several months to find the perfect material for. Between the everday stuff and the extra time I have to spend on other emergencies, I dont need to worry about keeping a budget. thaqt may all change when I retire in another 15 years!