So, I am relatively new to the world of pre-ordering trains. I started in the model train hobby when I was about 12 years old. Most of my trains in those days were Christmas presents or as I got a little older, spur of the moment purchases during visits to local hobby shop (Northeast Trains in Peabody, MA.). But I now live in Tennessee and there is not much around for local hobby shops. So most of my train purchases are now made online based on catalogs and posts on this forum, rather than seeing items in a shop. Now with the new build-to-order policies, I have begun pre-ordering some items, both MTH and Lionel, that I don't want to miss out on. But along with this brings one issue I have yet to determine a great solution for. Generally speaking I won't pre-order an item that I don't already have money for. But sometimes the wait for pre-orders can be very long. I have on more than one occasion now forgotten about the pre-order or at least it has slipped my mind long enough that I spend the money allotted for the item on something else. Does this ever happen to anyone else? Any tips or tricks for making sure the money gets set aside and then is not spent on something else. Just curious as to how others handle pre-ordering items since the money is not due until the item is in stock, which can take months to happen.
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