That's for sure my friend!! I started out thinking "$100 for seeds, germinate in a paper towel, put in potting soil, transplant to ground, water, wait for plants to mature." WRONG - The more I've learned on here, the more I've seen the absolute need for good equipement. By tomorrow I will have spent close to $2,000 on seeds, lights, Hydro equipment, lights, fans, lights, meters, lights, nutrients, lights, CO2 boost bucket, lights, mylar, lights, half a dozen different chemicals to control pH and other things, oh and did I mention lights? They can get expensive. Tomorrow I am heading to a hydro shop up the road to buy some Advanced Nutrients stuff. That's gonna hurt but it's head and shoulders above everything else out there. If I can double my yield by using a more expensive product I would be a fool not to use it. What the heck, I'm a fool anyway for getting into this hobby, LOL. To me it's (1) an experiment (2) a chance to grow my own (3) a personal challenge to actually grow a plant to over a foot tall without it dying. I figure the equipment, chemicals, etc will last a long time so this is a front-end loaded investment.if i get a few half decent budds im more than happy.this growing thing is addictive , wat started out as a means to a cause so to speak is becomeing a intersting hobby, ,