My "interest level" has ebbed and waned over the 42 years I’ve been doing this...I’d guess somewhere between an 8 and 10, depending on what’s happening in life. I prefer to call it a passion more than an obsession, because it’s simply my activity of choice most of the time. I’ll admit it was more of an obsession early on, and I didn’t enjoy it as much until I finally got a system that took me where I needed to go. I’m much happier now, use it daily, and enjoy it immensely. 😎
When the kids were younger I obviously couldn’t spend as much time or money. Now that they’re older, I definitely spend more time on it, but since having a very small working budget from the start, that’s pretty much remained my mantra...."poor man’s highend". It takes more time to build or modify gear than to buy a new piece, and takes patience and time to buy the right used gear. So, yeah, I still spend on a lot of time listening and plotting and scheming my next move, and that’s what keeps me interested.