General Chat

with all my certs and the meets site fees and
visiting the places the people lived probably thousands

Golf club annual fees are around £400-500 - average ones. On the rare occasions my OH passed a remark about my hobby I would remind him of what his hobby cost, without the away days, competitions, replacement of shoes and balls etc. Don't think I have spent that in 20 years. Best value - GR - so much help from others especially on the Records Board.

lol Chris I was going to say it's cheaper than golf which is my OH's hobby.

It's one thing me saying I just have to have this cert. but OH says I need that putter ..why you got 3 already and you can only take 1 to the course ..xx amount of euros later I get my cert. lol I will be fair to OH he hasn't bought any new clubs for a couple of years now but then he has 2and half sets.

Oh, and annual membership of here and several family history societies.

I don't begrudge a penny because it's the only expensive hobby I have. Annual membership of the National Trust and Heritage pays for my other obsession.

And I get paid for doing what I love doing best, working with children and teenagers.

Gwynne

Absolutely, Chris :-)

And the people that I have met during those travels, they have been an education in themselves :-)

btw I used to like golf, too :-)

Probably a tidy sum - more so in the early days when I bought quite a lot of certs and visited the old Family Records centre a few times, before so much was online. I don't begrudge a single penny - when I think how much I have spent (and sometimes wasted) in much less pleasurable ways - car repairs, gifts bought 'in a hurry', fashion 'mistakes' etc.....

I don't think anyone would disagree that it's not
a great hobby or enjoyable else we would not do
it, the question was cost and that has affected us all
one way or the other. Happy hunting to all here's to
future discoveries.

Emmax

I absolutely daren't add it up.

Been doing it for 13 years and have certs for all direct ancestors and lots for siblings etc.

Ancestry or FMP for years, innumerable films at the LDS, ordering photocopies from Record Offices, fares to record Offices, a researcher to get me copies of newspaper articles from The Colindale Library, wills from the Probate Office and from TNA.......

Gwynne

Added to which Joy you have enjoyed visiting places in our country that you would never have dreamt of before so it has contributed to your wellbeing and education!

Not solely certificates etc, but also travelling and accommodation costs :-)
(Cornwall, London, Suffolk, Ireland)

Worth each and every penny :-)

Oh it's a brilliant addiction ahem hobby Chris.....I wish there was another one that you could follow on the internet with such interest.

Think of how much golf, for instance, would cost and we have a hobby which will be of interest to future generations. Will the fact that you played golf be of interest to g.gchildren? And this hobby (with the exception of hunting in churchyards) keeps you warm and dry and you can do it in the middle of the night if you are so inclined!

think we spend more "time" than "money" lol n thats saying something but what else would we do with ar time and money that we would get so much joy from or be more worthwhile x

And what about the ink for the printer?? lol

I agree SRS like you I have English and Scottish
records to research also. Scotlands People is my
main help and as you say a good site but costly
especially when they come up with the wrong person
you asked info on which has happened to me several
times.

Emmax

I must have spent a small fortune sending away for Scottish certs before Scotands people, Scotsorigins I think it was. Scotlandspeople has been a godsend but is still costly when you've got English and Scottish records to research, you can't just keep to one site.

and there's lots more which I won't even go into......not to mention wearing out my computers lol

Travel to and from Chichester to do searches in Record Office
+ B & B for a couple of nights

Travel to and from Herefordshire for a B & B stay to search in Hereford Record Office.

Travel to Southampton and Winchester to search records......

Phone calls to friend to discuss likely scenarios.

2 or 3 years subs so far to Ancestry.

Oh yes... and the certificates...

Gwyn

SRS I have been very lucky. I had lots of family info like 'in memoriam' cards for dates of deaths and now the LMA records are on Ancestry I have a lot of baptisms and marriages that fell just within the London area :)) so I can print off the certs.

I spoke about this last week with one of my contacts, and
we both were out in a sweat as both use Scotlands People. A small fortune over the years.
We would love it to be by subscription half or full year but
they make more money this way.

Emmax

I think it would scare me too much lol. What with subs and credits, and then the certificates - including a few that weren't who I thought. Phew!!

Now that I am not working there will not be so many certs, but there is so much more online now, and also the time to go to records offices :-)