I think the term “bead wagon” is probably one of the more dreaded terms for bead collectors. While some people are either lucky enough or disciplined enough that they never have to worry about their purchases, most collectors that I know have considered putting themselves on a self-imposed “bead fast” at least once.
Most of the time I’m fairly good about controlling my spending, and it helps that in general I try to limit myself only to beads that I love, not just like, but there have still been a few times that I’ve had to hitch myself up to the bead wagon. My problem is that one bead leads to two beads, which leads to three … you get the idea. With production beads I’m usually able to convince myself that I can wait another month, but when it’s a beautiful unique, or a retired bead that I desire, I sometimes have to sit on my hands to prevent them from buying something that they shouldn’t. Of course, as soon as I get strict with myself, an unbelievable deal has come along that I have to reluctantly say no to.
I’d love to hear whether anyone else finds that all the good deals come up right when the money tree runs out?