Question 1 - Costs

[alig99]

Hi everybody, as you know I just started looking into my family tree and thanks to Heather's tip just ordered ftm 2010 world edition. However, I wondered if people set aside a budget or has an idea what sort of costs researching takes? I appreciate it will depend on how big you go when researching etc. Ali

[Christine in Herts]

I'm a bit of a nerd about things like that... I guessed that it could prove expensive, so I set myself up a spreadsheet in which I record my genealogy spending... that way, I can spot if it's getting out of hand. I have spent a little under £30/month so far (assuming no errors in my sheet!). That's an average, and masks some more substantial numbers - usually when someone has a special offer for a resource, or a big sub goes out.

As I no longer have a personal income while changing careers, I decided not to renew my Ancestry sub this spring, because they didn't offer much discount (for loyalty or my thousands of corrections) and I can get it free if I'm prepared to wait and go to the library; my FMP sub is still running, too, so BMD and censuses are covered. It is an excellent resource, though.

Christine

[Darksecretz]

Ali,

I think it depends on what you want to 'get out of it' your research I mean. Some people ONLY buy certificates for direct lines, which is good but if you are anything like me then I'll buy whichever cert takes my fancy. I do like to get BMD certs (or copies thereof from the Archives) for all my direct lines, (like to kill em off). but will buy other certs for other family members. If you have Ancestors near to where you live, then the local library might have a local studies section where they have parish records on microfiche that you can look through there and get the nessasary info from without buying a cert. I would advise though that you DO record every source for your findings, it might be that you find a baptism in a particular place, you take the info from it and move onto another part of your tree, then you might find another family member or cant find the information you need and wonder where on earth you got the original info from. (sorry if this is information overload, but a few people have fallen foul of not recording sources) I didnt used to, btu then thought that it should be done, and when you have 4,000 people thereabouts in your tree its a tall order to go through every name and record it. start as you mean to go on.

you can purchase CDs from Family History Societies to aid you in your research, which I have found most useful when unable to get the Archives.

[Uncle John]

You can spend as much or as little on your tree as you like/can afford (or indeed can't afford!!). But generally you have to speculate to accumulate, as the saying goes. Each generation you go back doubles the number of people you are tracing. The trick is to use free resources where you can, but be prepared to spend out on certificates to confirm that you are going back up the correct line. The annual outlay on a subscription to Ancestry or other online resources may seem a lot up-front, but when you divide it by the possibly thousands of records you may locate, the "unit cost" dwindles. Some people have simple families who stay in the same place. Others have people who move around or have complex marrying patterns.

[Olde Crone Holden]

There's always the hope that family members/new contacts already have certs which they are prepared to share with you.

Once you have your certs you can then concentrate on peripheral stuff like Wills and so on, which help to flesh out your tree and rach places bmd certs can't reach!

There's no doubt that genealogy is an expensive hobby but cerrtainly some of it can be done for free, or very cheaply. The other point is - you don't have to spend the money all in one go, your ancestors are not going anywhere so you have plenty of time!

OC

[Christine in Herts]

Seeing the wise words above... Have you looked at what's behind the link, called "Starting Out on Your Research", at the top of the page? I think you may find it's worth a look. Some will be stuff you already know, or had worked out, but there's always likely to be some hint or idea that had escaped you.

Christine