Very soon I'm coming to a stage when I've more or less finished assembling what I want in my collection(s).

There are a few gaps that I would like to fill eventually in OO at least: a NBR Glen 4-4-0, Southern Maunsell U 2-6-0 and Q 0-6-0, and one or two more Southern Region EMUs (I already have a DEMU on order)

This doesn't mean that I'll close the shop on my hobby. Instead I can focus on chipping locos, working on buildings on my Horniman Park layout, for example, and simply running and maintaining my fleet. There's more to life than constantly buying the latest releases and I've had my share of false starts and dead-ends over the years.

The timing has worked out well because rising inflation, especially the cost of food and energy, and my pay freeze mean I'll have less money to spend in the next 12 months or so anyway and I want to put some money aside for saving. Therefore I'll budget for only a few items next year depending on what's offered.

In short, I'm moving to a situation where I make the most of what I own, and developing layout details to suit around them.