I balance my gear buying fanaticism with bargain price, bargain price, and bargain price....I'm patient, I keep looking and I wait. I average about 50% to 60%+ off everything I buy related to being prepared and/or for my backpacking. And I recycle stuff I no longer need (household items,DVDs, CDs, books, etc) through a local auction house and turn stuff back into cash. That helps.