General Forum

I have never set a budget for my spending on cards. I just know when I can afford to buy some stuff and when I shouldn't buy anything. What helped stop my occasional overspending was staying off of Ebay. I haven't bought anything on there in years now. Actually, I think the last thing I bought on that site was a Christmas gift for my nephew. I still buy cards here and there, but now they find me instead of me finding them. I don't use COMC, Sportslots, etc. at all. It's just this site and a racing forum site. I've also started to sell some cards here to fund my trading. The money from the cards I sell stays in my Paypal account until I need to print a shipping label to mail a trade. I did buy 20 cards from an internet friend a coupe of weeks ago for $50. I also have 2 purchases set up for next week. One is a single card for $50 and the other is a mostly blind purchase for $30. All three people came to me with the offer. They are all people that I "talk" to regularly and have dealt with before multiple times in trades, purchases and sells. It's been really good to me, having friends on the internet that know what I like and when I'm willing to spend money. But staying off Ebay has helped me even more. Staying off there means that I usually have money to spend when an unexpected offer comes my way.

I actually stopped collecting, cold turkey, back at the start of summer.  I was buying too much and after a frank conversation with the SO, it was time to stop.  I was chasing every shiny new object, which led to me spending more than should have been appropriate. It wasn't crazy or anything but it also wasn't sustainable.  Additionally, rising expenses on the kid side made me realize that there weren't enough funds to go around.  I started selling some cards and boxes and it's helped me break free from my need to have things.  I don't have the space to enjoy my cards either so it really felt like a pointless exercises to buy cards.  I still like looking at cards and keeping up with new releases but I'm sitting on the sidelines.  Maybe someday I'll dabble back in but not anytime soon.

I am still affected by this Covid outbreak as far as work is concerned (really slow for me), so I haven't been in the position to do any buying for the past year and a half or so. I rely on selling what I have and also trading on this site (and others) to acquire any cards I might be intereted in. It is tempting when I see a good deal but I have to pass until my financial situation changes for the better.

What helped me the last couple months in scaling back my spending (because you can get killed financially by the "it's just $10" line of thinking) is to make sure it is only the top priority cards I want to pursue (I'm working on some cheaper rainbows for my PC and since those cards really dont come up all that often, I don't have to budget a ton). I also keep up with some of the cheaper base or inserts for my PC to keep the cards trickling in a little but not breaking the bank. 

The Admiral and I are on a decent budget that We adhere to fairly closely each month.  Only line item is $10.00, of which $7.00 goes to this awesome Web Site for Trading Card Collectors.  Having over 80,000 cards, there are plenty to trade, beginning with the duplicates.  Plus there will be more as I still have over 10,000 cards that have yet to make into the inventory here.

  My trading card monies mostly come from my work for MLB at The Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Dodger Town.  It is nice going back down there (in my Home Town of Vero Beach) to make some monies as one of the Official Baseball & Softball Score Keepers for MLB & Dodgertown LLC, for different Tournaments, including the MLB RBI World Series.  This makes for a great Retiree Ville "side gig" that is worth leaving Our Space Coast Island, every so often . . .

Yours in The Journey - Felix

" you can get killed financially by the "it's just $10" line of thinking "

This is absolutely true! I've been afraid to do it, but I should really go back and calculate what I've been spending over the past couple of weeks. I imagine the total weekly/monthly amounts would be surprising, especially when trade postage is factored in. I think I might try to do what RonEaston mentioned about buying and receiving only one thing at a time, or even see if I can go cold turkey for a spell like ketchupman36. Ultimately, going with the top priority idea is also a good one. I usually stick to base myself, but even that can add up if I'm casting my net wide for players to collect. 

When I began logging cards on here in February I told myself I would not buy another card until I had them all logged.  No dice.  I have 150,000 cards and have only logged 46,500.  Plus, now that I see (much easier) the cards in my wantlist to finish off sets, I feel compelled to do so.  Plus going to shops is just so much fun.  I guess this hobby is like a diet, stick to a plan and you will find success, however, there will be cheat days of course.  I buy cards now to finish my pre-1980 sets because they are accessable and cheaper since most everyone wants new.  My local shop teases me that the only fingerprints on their vintage boxes are mine.  

My advice is this:  Dont break the bank, focus your collecting on what you want, deviate only a little if its interesting but most importantly have fun with it.   All the best!