The only thing helping me reducing my Postcrossing budget is a current limit of official cards I can send (11 cards at a time). And since postcards are traveling relatively slow from Russia I have to wait a month or two until I can send another one.
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I really like leaving one “emergency” slot open - good idea, thanks 
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I am bad at this at the moment. I restarted Postcrossing a month ago and I’ve already sent so many official/unofficial cards. I bought more cards than I’ve sent! …I should portion out stamps as suggested earlier in the thread - then if I use my limit of domestic/international stamps, send no more cards (unless it’s a WBMP situation, in which case I’ll still want to get them out and on their way home.) Perhaps I’ll try that going into August. We’ll see if I can get it to stick!
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Interesting topic. It really consists of two issues - buying too much and sending too much.
I am currently trying to cut down on my stash. I don’t like the idea of having so many cards that I would never be able to send them. It feels wasteful to me (poor cards laying on the shelf forever, never achieving the purpose of their existence 
). So I told myself that I cannot buy any new cards until I have used up those that I already have. I have two categories - viewcards and other. So when I run out of viewcards, I can buy more of those even if I still have illustrations. It is important to have extremly limited number of categories (if any) though. It won’t work if you have separate sunsets, mountains, beaches, lighthouses, cats, dogs, bears, babies, illustrations by artist A, illustrations by artist B… 
Now the sending too much issue can be more tricky to control when you have enough slots, at least for me. I try to really focus on quality over quantity, meaning I conciously don’t rush the process and really send my best effort every time. And don’t get any new addresses until you have sent all the previous cards! I can see @Kitxel that you are quite new so the system should force you to send only a few cards a month if you use only the official site. It can be also helpful to set yourself a personal limit of how many cards you can send each month. And just not allow yourself to go over it. May or may not work depending on your personality Maybe even buying only that amount of stamps at the beginning of the month so you physically see when you run out?
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what an amazing idea… hmm… except postcrossing I have another money consuming hobby - orchids growing. And … it becomes really expensive when local stores can’t fulfill your needs anymore)) So now I order from nurseries abroad, expedition costs are massive…
I really like your methodology for managing this problem. Especially the idea of transferring money between two hobbies. I really like it. I just wanted to say thank you, because somehow your idea reached a person who really needed it 
Thanks for sharing your experience!
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When the sales time come, every budget put aside is all used up! It’s just a manner on how discipline you are sticking to your budget planning.
The best way is setting a limit to the amount of X cards to send out per week or per month. That is the best method. It’s not too restraining and you can find yourself happily sending and receiving.
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I control myself from buying too many cards by having a folder, where I store my unwritten cards.
It can hold 160 cards, and I don’t buy more. I know this is very little cards compared to many others, but perfect for me, as I remember what I have.
Also I try to keep stamps at home, preferably enough not to think about it most preferably as many or more than I have cards, so if I would not have money, I could still send some mail.
I know buying is fun, because you get new ones. (At least for me.) If you already have a lot of cards, I would put part of the ones I already have away, and not look at those. I would send only from one pile, maybe 50 cards. Then make a date when I can take the other pile - they will feel new then.
If you feel you send too much, and don’t wish to spend that much money, make it slower.
Like, write one card, have a walk and mail it. Decide an amount you can send in a week, like 5. And if you send only 4, you can use the one next week, maybe then you want to save.
And if possible, individually buy the card you send. (By drawing the address, buying it next time you are in a shop, then write it and mail it.)
Sometimes I make the card writing a reward. So, if I need to hoover, I can only write the card after it.
Or I tidy up really good, put some good music, candle, or I go running so I feel nicely tired, and then I can write.
But I also think, of course I’m worth a hobby that makes me happy (and maybe someone else too) 
. It’s my money and I can use it like I want to. (Although before I joined, I thought, seeing how many I sent, will I think the money amount, but no. I would not have kept the money anyways.)
Also mail has been my hobby most of my life, I don’t look at it like it is something that only takes money. It also gives so much, and is a way of life, occasionally writing something down and sending it to someone.
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Since I live alone, my place is small that’s why the rent it’s cheap
If I had family and rented bigger place in this area, monthly rent would be equal as sending 100 cards to USA.
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I pull an address and send a postcard every other day/on odd days. (This means I’ll get to do 2 in a row at the end of this month - July 31 and August 1!)
I find it makes it easier for me to feel like I’m always looking forward to the next one, rather than pulling a bunch at once and then having to wait a long time.
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I wouldn’t be able to do that… by day 20 in which I am sending the tenth postcard, it’s unlikely that the first one has arrived!
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One visit to the cinema would be 3-4 cards here. Well, unless you are a student or have some sort of discount. If you add popcorn, it would probably be twice as many cards but I never buy popcorn at the cinema 
I have limited myself to 5 official cards a month mostly because I really have no time for sending more. And I’m active only in one RR, anything else is very rare. Having very little time for your hobby does wonders for your budget
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I’m new and I’ve already bought a lot of postcards.
What I’m planning to do is only post postcards on a new stamp release/national holiday. This is so that I can make the cards more meaningful - plus Malaysia has a lot of public holidays (phew!)
The slow postal delivery really makes me need to plan my postcards - so I need to plan some postcards for this holiday and another on that one. I think that the postcard limit is really a blessing in disguise too - if it didn’t exist I’d probably send hundreds!
Its really tempting though to buy a lot of postcards at once - some e-seller in Malaysia offer a wholesale rate for the more you buy… Any tips to scare off that tempting deal anyone?
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I also sent out a lot of cards when I first got back into Postcrossing because I felt like I overcompensated since there’s a gap between sending you first batch and getting your first batch. And because I didn’t really have any other place to focus my energy - I was a student and didn’t have time, money or other resources to pursue other hobbies and PC was relatively easy and flexible.
Annnnd then I started hoarding washi tapes, stickers, etc…
So, I think I know how you feel! As do many other people here.
I don’t personally think setting a budget for myself would work like it does for others. If anything, I think it would make me feel restricted especially because I really enjoy sending out cards. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have my finances in mind, though.
I found that ordering stamps online in batches helps limit me - I used to always drive to the post office and would request so many addresses at once, write them all and then go to the post office. Now, I order about 30-50€ worth of stamps and when I realise I am getting low, then I know to order more but first always check my expenses. I think doing this helps pace me since I need to actively take count of how many stamps I have which dictates how many cards I can write.
I also think that once you start receiving cards on a “schedule,” (whether that be every day, once a week, every few days, etc…) this also helps reduce the feeling of needing to send, send, send.
As for collecting cards, I found that once I had built up a solid foundation of cards where I felt like I had something for everyone, my impulse to keep buying cards died down. My drive to continuously purchase cards was driven by the simple fact that I was afraid that I could only “cater” to the interests of some people.
With that said, I still haven’t figured out a way to get out of always feel the need to order washi tape and stickers 
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I think the advice someone else wrote further up is the best; draw one address at a time. That way you’re more likely to spread your limit over more days. I’m always fascinated when I watch the front page and see the same person drawing address after address after address … just feels like a lot of work to me!
I’ve never needed to limit myself, but I find only sending cards when you feel you have something to say is a good way to do things. That way you might feel your sent cards have more value too, instead of some of them being sent just to send some.
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I limit myself to one postcard sent each week - my Sunday afternoon treat! - when I can find a suitable postcard for that recipient, and then post it on Monday!
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I don’t have any advice. I’m also a postcarding addict and have given into my addiction This post is a fun and entertaining read from like-minded people: Postcard Anonymous
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First, I decided what was the most I wanted to have travelling at any one time. I decided 25 was appropriate for how much time and money I was willing to spend. So some months are more expensive than others depending on how many cards make it to their destinations. I also buy cards only when I am physically present at a place that sells them. No ordering online. I get stamps ahead of time, and it is never a problem to use up stamps. Sooner or later I will want to send a parcel, and I can stick any that I am tired of onto it.
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Love this idea of an emergency card! 
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I am in the USA and local postcard stamps are like $.50 and international are maybe $1.60.
My rent (without utilities) is $1200/m for 2 bed 1 bath apartment. So stamps for 100 cards are around 13%
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