Anime is one expensive hobby

I am not a very smart person.  I decided to pick two very expensive hobbies to dedicate my free time to.  Both video games and anime are fairly expensive ventures, especially if you're trying to stay up to date on the latest content out there.  Specifically with anime, you have to worry about the formats you purchase your anime on as well.  There are multiple methods (digital, DVD, Blu-ray), but none of them are too cheap if you're looking to own.

When you're looking to pick up the latest anime releases, you have to be ready to pay top dollar.  Even when you're buying online, you'll only end up saving a few dollars along the way.  Being a big anime fan on the cutting edge of localized releases can be an absolutely grueling experience on your wallet/purse.  Thankfully some localization houses are offering great deals on box set series' in recent months.

Box sets are certainly a great way to save some cash and max out on anime, but this kind of content isn't exactly available when new series' are around.  If you're willing to wait for box sets, you can end up spending a fraction of the cash that you would if you picked up each DVD in that box set.  Like I said, you have to be willing to wait.  You could be holding out for up to a year, if not more, when it comes to box set releases.  By that time you'll be ready to move onto something new!

I'm sure it's no surprise to you guys that anime is a costly adventure.  How do you guys go about purchasing your features?  Do you just let the new content come down in price?  Do you like to stay up-to-date with localized releases?  Do you stay strictly to what's on TV for free?  Perhaps you even have an anime budget each month!