Then I suddenly lost interest, I don’t know what it was, but I sold them all, that was a heartbreak. Not just for selling memories but also what little money I got back from it.

Collect what you love, keep it in check and you’ll be fine.

But when you’re going on eBay, looking to buy that rare comic or card, most likely you’re doing it ecause you think it will go up in the value in the future.

Drop that thinking, because it might not be worth it to drop that money for something in the past that you’ll enjoy for a fleeting moment. And though you can have many fleeting moments with it in the future, that’s probably taking it over the bounds of being frugal since the means don’t justify the cause anymore. Just my opinion.

Festival of Frugality…

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Festival of Frugality. For those of you who don’t know, this carnival is about frugal living and saving money. (BTW, entries not matching this description have been left out.) I’m sticking with my…

I think the key is not so much to focus exclusively on “needs” vs. “wants”, but to pick your “wants” very carefully and to focus on value. The object is not to die with a pile of money. The object is to have a good life for all of your life, includeing those years where you’re no longer earning an income through labor.

I rarely buy anything new, and have the fortune of living in a region rich with large independent stores who often have bargain bin sales, which I raid and end up getting far more music for the buck than may have otherwise. Stuff that is uninteresting I try to sell back on Amazon, as often what I pick up for 2.95 at Amoeba or Streetlight records I can recoup between 10-50% of the purchase, and frequently enough ends up being a profit maker (what is worthless in Silicon Valley may be a real gem for some collector in Topeka, where my bargain bin item can be sold for a dozen times the cost I paid).

As for comic books, some stores I have known had similar setups (i.e. Bizarro World in Davis, CA sells series of books as collected sets. Often they are not in pristine shape, but if you are not a speculator, you can pick up an entire series or story arc deeply discounted). More and more often, I am hearing that TPBs are being carried (and subsequently discounted) at B+N and Border’s stores. Amazon is once again, also an option, and people go through phases of spring cleaning their collections where possible.

I would also look into some of the free material available (i.e at Deviantart)

Now I find myself reassessing even that expense. One of my favorite bits of advice comes from John Patterson: “Seek elevating recreation.” For various reasons, I find myself enjoying comics less as the years pass — and equally, it becomes more embarrassing to admit that I’m a professional writer who’s never read War and Peace. So I find myself asking, What the hell am I doing reading comics instead of literature, and can I really justify spending $XX.XX on that when I don’t yet own a house?

I’m also working towards a 52 deck of playing cards I’ve found in the street. After three years, I have around 15 unique cards.

My advice: don’t ever collect things as an investment (ie. expecting them to increase in value). Your heirs will end up moving the whole lot to a dealer at half price or less.

Instead, collect what you like. Collect things you enjoy. Live in the moment and try to avoid becoming a pack rat. The more stuff you have, the more things you imagine you need.

As a frugalista, my friends find it very frustrating at holiday times–there’s little I want. If it’s the same for you, you might consider steering your friends toward your favorite comic shop for gift certificates.

Do you enjoy it? If you stopped now and sold what you have collected would you have lost money?

Think about the hobbies you could have instead. Almost every hobby aside from collecting leaves you worth less and less every time you do it.

You spend time and money doing other hobbies. Collecting just costs time.

I’m also a big believer that since I’m frugal in most areas, I shouldn’t feel guilty when I make that rare splurge on something I love, like a new item for my collection.