Broadway Flea Market Fund

My magic number has always been around $200. With that being said I'm usually very frugle and only buy things I know I can't live without early in the day at asking price, then I usually come back around 1pm when they start marking stuff down and are more willing to haggle. Let me be clear, just because I limit myself to $200 doesn't mean I don't wish I could afford spend more! It's such a fun event to experience and I hope you have a blast.

It is hard to say. Sometimes you can get stuff really cheap. Sometimes it can be expensive. Last year I paid $50 for a Side Show revival window card signed by Erin Davie and Emily Padgett. A couple of years before I got an invitation from Cinderella signed by the whole cast for $5 near the end of the day. It really varies on the time of day and how many of something a table has.

It's always the last Sunday in September, which is the 25th this year.

I've spent under a hundred dollars some years and others I've spent over a thousand. There's no way to know how much money one will "need" for the day.

Another thing about budgeting, don't spend more than what you can afford. I totally get that the expensive stuff is cool and you will be happy when you buy it. But, if having it is going to cost you being able to pay your rent or buy food, you might want to rethink its importance.

I've been going for the past 10 years or so and I usually budget around $100 and I've almost never gone over. I think the most I've spent on one thing is around $50 (in 2014 I splurged on one of the guitar string bracelets with the holder signed by NPH, Lena Hall, and Tits of Clay and a piece of sheet music from Cabaret signed by Danny Burstein and Linda Emond and I think that's probably the most I've ever spent overall). My general rule is that I get it if I think I'm going to really regret not getting it later. If I'm waffling, I pass or wait until later to see if it's still around at a lower price. I usually make one loop in the morning, break for lunch, and then make another loop later in the afternoon when it's calmed down. Last year when I went in the morning it was so crowded I could barely move and I definitely couldn't see anything at the tables...it seems to get more crowded every year, and I had a much better experience when I went back over after I ate and sat down a bit.

I try to limit myself to $100 cash, with a little room for splurging on something special. Most years, I don't splurge, but every now and then I do.