I had posted on Twitter about this and my thoughts from the day have brought me here. This is a concept that I have struggled with for basically my whole life. It is something that has just grown as access to stuff and the expansion into digital stuff continues.
I have considered myself a collector in the past, and present, and I will do so in the future. This is something that we each hold within ourselves whether we acknowledge it or not. The feeling of ownership can bring about pride and a feeling of accomplishment. When you start to boil that all down, does everything you own bring about that same feeling?
I will use Pokemon cards as an example as I had been swept up in the recent events of the card game market going wild. During that time and even looking back now, I can’t tell you exactly why I collected them. I did put some to good use and have since built something that is functional out of them. The project came after I had bought and opened packs while chasing the various rares.
Today, I look back and question it. My obsession with finding cards is completed. I had learned a lot of new things such as delivery and reprint schedules as well as met a lot of great people from the community. The only regret I have is that I could have used the funds I purchased cards with for a better purpose.
When I talk about the money I used, I had known what I was doing would not be a good return on investment. I was able to hit a few big cards and sell them to get a portion of it, but that was a small minority of it. This could have been used for stocks, crypto, or investing in myself.
I spend more time now thinking about what I spend money on. I follow the advice of another great Vincent in the form of Vincent Chan on Youtube who says “if you want something, wait 14 days. If by the end of that 14 days, you still really want it then buy it.” This has helped curb some of my spending on things that I did want but did not necessarily need. Most purchases now go through the scope of 1) do I need it, 2) can it potentially bring in money, and 3) will I use this for content. If one or more of these are met, I will purchase.
What are some of your favorite purchases? Thank you for taking the time to read.
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