What do you mean by affordable - by the box?

[RevSmoke]

I have noticed a couple time people asking for advice as to affordable cigars with specific flavor profiles. However, when I think of affordable, some of the suggsted cigars would NEVER be what I consider affordable.

Now, I'm going to narrow this down a bit, I am talking about buying in quantity. While we may splurge to buy that one time stick for more than we normally would when we find one at the B&M, I am speaking about normal purchases of boxes and/or bundles.

Now, while buying a box prices can vary a bit. What I mean is, that $100 for a box of 20 is not the same as $100 for a box of 25, and certainly a far cry from $100 for a box of 50.

So, when you think of affordable - and like I said, I mean when buying a box or bundle - what do you consider an affordable price per stick?

At my home, cigars come out of what I call "disposable income." This is money that isn't part of the regular budget, could be gifts or honorariums, but it isn't normal budgeted $$.

As that is the case, I personally like to keep my cigar price under $5.00 a cigar. And I really prefer $3.50 per stick and less. If I watch the deals, I can usually manage that.

So, how about you?

[Blueface]

Affordable:
What I can get away with paying off without the wife knowing or screaming at me about it.
Affordable.

[McSmokey]

Originally Posted by Blueface

Affordable:
What I can get away with paying off without the wife knowing or screaming at me about it.
Affordable.

I'm on a college budget and affordable for me means about 2 or 3 bucks a stick.

[neoflex]

I'm with Grrogs and NCRadioMan on this one. I usually know what I want to buy but try and find them at the most affordable price possible. What that price is, is all dependent on what the box I want at the time. If it's not financially feasible for me at the time I will just wait on the purchase until it is unless something else comes up that I maybe interested in before than.

[Vigiles]

Well i haven't bought my first box of cigars yet, but the cheaper the better! I'm still trying too many things to decide on a box yet, although I'm leaning towards the Ashton Benchmade, I really like them and the price is very good.

As for singles, when I go to the B&M I'll usually pickup 2 or 3 sticks and smoke 1 or 2 of them there, and I'll spend anywhere from 15 to 20 dollars.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by Blueface

Affordable:
What I can get away with paying off without the wife knowing or screaming at me about it.
Affordable.

Usually a box of 25 less than $100 is what I can get away with.

[Volt]

Good question Todd. For me as you say, the daily smoke, I my range is in the $4 - $7 area. Sometimes a touch more or a bit less if I'm on Cbid, but this range keeps me in just enough to smoke and bomb out (must always have ammo ). Typically ammo is more than I can bring myself to smoke. But as we all have have different budgets I would imagine "affordable" has a lot of room for interpretation.

[Skywalker]

Great thread Rev! You're keeping it real!!!

I love a good bargain, but I look for "value" more than cheap, if that makes sense. If I can find what I like at $2.00 or $2.50 a stick (per box/bundle) then that is what I going to purchase without question.

Is this a part of my regular household budget??? No!

I tried budgeting and doesn't work for me. I find something and spend my budget... then another deal comes up and I can't resist... then I feel guilty because I'm over my allowance!

Am I going into debt (credit) to pay? No! I go without other luxuries or entertainment!

This year I hope I do better! I have my daughter's wedding to pay for, and who knows where this economy is going to take us!

[captain53]

I try to keep my "everyday" smokes (even though I do not smoke everyday) at around $3-3.50 maximum but I shop very hard on the specials to get good stuff for this price range. I keep 50-75 "sort of special smokes" in the humi that range from $5-10 mostly but again I buy them on the best of specials and they usually represent $10-20 retails. I keep a few (maybe 5 or 6) true "top shelf" stix in there at around $20-25 but rare for me to smoke more than 1 or 2 of these a year. (I only buy NC's)

I have found if you really watch the Monster, CI and Cigar.com you can get some super stix for $2.50-3.50.

[WyoBob]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

This year I hope I do better! I have my daughter's wedding to pay for, and who knows where this economy is going to take us!

My two daughter's were married 6 and 7 years ago. I still don't know what it cost me and that's the way I like it. I offered them both $5,000 to get married by a judge. That brought some laughs! They both said, "but this is the most important day of my life". I said, "nope, not even close. It's the day, the week, the year and the years after that are the most important". Guess what? They both agree with me now and wish they would have taken the money!

Oh, and on topic, for quite some time, I was able to keep my average cost around $2.00 by using CBID and e-mail deals. I'm around $2.50 to $2.75 each now and it's going up as I intend to go to a "higher plain". My old standby's just aren't doing it for me anymore and I've got to find some new favorties.

WyoBob

I don't smoke every day, so for me my budget can go a bit higher. I usually go for sticks in the 8-10 dollar range and smoke 3-5 per week.

[paris1129]

Originally Posted by DougBushBC

I don't smoke every day, so for me my budget can go a bit higher. I usually go for sticks in the 8-10 dollar range and smoke 3-5 per week.

I smoke about every other day, on average, and I try to keep things under $10.00.

I look for $100 a box for everyday smokes then get the really good stuff for special occasions.

[md4958]

When I first started smoking nothing over $5 was "affordable". Now, because I smoke much less often, I prefer a nicer smoke, and I'd say $10-$12 would be "affordable". Maybe because Im smoking less than half as much as I used to.

[Whynot]

I generally try to stay under 4 for a regular smoke. Diesel, samplers, Famous, and RP have made that fairly easy. I smoke 1 or 2 a day. I have found Cohiba(ReD Dot obviously) Pequenos to be fairly good and cheap smokes when I am trying to squeeze 1 in at lunch or something.

[14holestogie]

The cheaper, the better. What was a range of $2-$4 a year ago has grown to $4-$8 these days. I suppose as my palate continues to morph, that could go higher, but I don't see myself spending $250 or more on a box of cigars in the future.

[captain53]

I forgot to mention that by the box I only buy two smokes, LFD's and LGC's unless there is a super box special or something unusual I want only sold by the box. These two are usually in the $150-175 range by box.

[pmwz]

affordable for me is up to 5€/stick. i dont like paying much more for a cigar. i dont really have a budget but if i buy pricier sticks i usually add a couple of RyJ mille fleurs or JLP petit cazadores to come down to a lower average stick price.

Most of the cigars I really like enough to keep re-buying a box of are between $5 and $10. Even cigars that go for $12 or so can be found on sale for less.
I think Bluface's definition above fits perfectly.