Well, after several years buying flies and getting yelled at by my significant other for spending so much on them I asked for and received a Renzetti Traveler 2000 vice and an Orvis Master Series tool set for my birthday. The Orvis tools were overpriced, but since the wife was doing the purchasing I figured that would be easier than her ordering a bunch of separate tools.
So I have the vice and tools. Time to get some materials to start saving some money on making my own flies! (/s).
I had $75 worth of Orvis gift cards so off to Orvis Southlake to get some stuff. Just wanted to make some woolly buggers and maybe some bunnie leaches. After maxing out the gift cards plus some after getting home I realized I didn't purchase any hackle and left out a couple of colors of chenile and maribou.
No problem I thought I will just go online to Barlows and pick up a few things.
Well I started putting things in my shopping cart and as I did I saw other stuff that I thought "Hey, I sure could use that!".
I got up extra early Thursday and completed my purchase before the wife got up and yesterday the stuff magically appeared in my mailbox.
To make a long story short it looks like I am going to be getting yelled at for spending so much on materials to save money.

Welcome to the money saving world of tying your own flies.

But it is a lot of fun.

In theory, tying your own can be a cost saving measure. It probably doesn’t work out that way for most people including myself. Hard it is to stay disciplined when buying supplies.

Get you some Arizona Simi Seal from John Roemer materials. Those little ~ $2.00 packs go a long way and you won’t even need the hackle, just a little marabou for the tail. Simi Seal leeches, I like the balanced type, are an alternative to woolly buggers.

Craft fur seems cheap, but it’s hard to get a lot of good stuff off a patch. If you don’t need it to be especially long, the craft store type can work out as a less expensive option. Craft stores have other goodies like beads, yarn, foam and wire that can work out to be way less than the fly store option.

Enjoy your new thing and go take a look at your wife’s closet if she gives you too much guff.

"go take a look at your wife’s closet if she gives you too much guff".

No joke; for awhile I think the wife's shoes had their own breeding program going on.

$2.99 + 5.99 + 1.99 + 6.99 + 4.99 + 4.99 + 3.99 + about 45 minutes adds up to around $500.

Yep. Each individual item is so small. Then I look at the total at the end and it's OMG!
But I've got to have it all.