You guys ever feel guilty about spending big money on your collection?
I've squirreled away about $1K over the last few months. Now a thousand dollars may not seems like a lot of money to some of you but I'm not the kind of dude who can just blow $1K whenever he feels like it. I've got to save and budget that shit.
So now I've got this money and I can't pull the trigger on a collection purchase. I keep thinking about all the cool shit i could buy for my wife, or my daughters, or both. Or fuck, I could donate that money. I don't know, it sounds stupid, but I've had this cash ready to go for like 2 months and I can't bring myself to spend it.
It feels selfish. My wife has never spent a thousand dollars on herself. My daughters have never gotten a thousand dollars worth of...anything.
But it's not like I've neglected my family. Over the last 18 months I've spent close to $15K on vacations. But that's not exactly selfless, you know? I wanted to go on those vacations as much as they did.
I don't fucking know. Maybe I'm just being a pussy.
Anyone else have this problem?
So now I've got this money and I can't pull the trigger on a collection purchase. I keep thinking about all the cool shit i could buy for my wife, or my daughters, or both. Or fuck, I could donate that money. I don't know, it sounds stupid, but I've had this cash ready to go for like 2 months and I can't bring myself to spend it.
It feels selfish. My wife has never spent a thousand dollars on herself. My daughters have never gotten a thousand dollars worth of...anything.
But it's not like I've neglected my family. Over the last 18 months I've spent close to $15K on vacations. But that's not exactly selfless, you know? I wanted to go on those vacations as much as they did.
I don't fucking know. Maybe I'm just being a pussy.
Anyone else have this problem?
Comments
Of course I'm talking about significant purchases only. You can still buy normal carts / CIBs / etc and just treat it as a normal expense. When you start talking in the several hundreds or thousands of dollars though, it is natural to weigh it against other life decisions.
Don't worry, in 20 years there will be a huge rush of people unloading to pay for kid's colleges. Time will tell how the market is then though.
I don't fucking know. Maybe I'm just being a pussy.
Sounds more like you are being responsible...
I don't fucking know. Maybe I'm just being a pussy.
Sounds more like you are being responsible...
Damn right Arch_8ngel.... Since I completed the Wii-U collection Ive been feeling quite a tad Iresponsible
There is nothing wrong with choosing to do something for others or more responsible with money. Collecting is fun but I am willing to bet we all have enough games to keep us busy for a long while. Sometimes other things are just more important. Friends and family come to mind.
As a guy with arguably too many hobbies, collections, and groups that I associate myself with....I have a piece of advice I think you want to hear.
Spending money/spending time on anything that you are interested in is what makes YOU interesting. That's what gives you the energy to be you. That's why people like you.
Of course, it's an ongoing test of balance...
But I often remind myself that these purchases give me the energy to keep looking for more, going to work, and putting my head down to get through daily challenges. Spoiling yourself is a part of life.
Your kids will spoil themselves one day. Just get them what they need and the rest is essentially up to you. BALANCE.
I been really wanting a neo geo flash cart but I had to take care of dance lessons for my daughter and flag football fees for my son. I know I will eventually get the flash cart so it does not really bother me much. I got plenty of games and there is usually no rush. I set aside a portion of my budget on my hobby and if I have to save to get a big ticket item that is what I usually do. I have also been doing side work doing system mods and repairs as well as software development that gets me games in trade for work.
Funny thing is we paid off our home in November and so we have much more monthly income now but I have not felt the need to use that money to get tons of game.
Hey man!
As a guy with arguably too many hobbies, collections, and groups that I associate myself with....I have a piece of advice I think you want to hear.
Spending money/spending time on anything that you are interested in is what makes YOU interesting. That's what gives you the energy to be you. That's why people like you.
Of course, it's an ongoing test of balance...
But I often remind myself that these purchases give me the energy to keep looking for more, going to work, and putting my head down to get through daily challenges. Spoiling yourself is a part of life.
Your kids will spoil themselves one day. Just get them what they need and the rest is essentially up to you. BALANCE.
Hahah, such an inspiring comment
Welcome to the Forums CBsRetroTs
I certainly wouldn't feel guilty about not spending the money on my daughter.. We make plenty to be able to provide for her and I feel it's bad for kids to have too much growing up. The wife has too much junk already same as me.
Recently though I have been finding things that I just "really really need" or whatever.. and that bugs me because I feel it's counterproductive since I have been trying to simplify and get rid of stuff.
The more expensive stuff is, the harder it is to get rid of, so that makes it even worse..
I'm more worried of my stuff surviving when I have kids.
Spend that shit, and have no regrets. If your family is cared for and is happy, then its all good.
If you don't feel like spending it all, just sit on it for a while and chip away at it.
Life is too short to not do the things you enjoy.
You can easily do the same, but I find that a lot of people new to the hobby just buy buy buy and then once they have it all they just dump it as they don't really appreciate what they have... Since I have zero $ in to my collection, I also don't care if the value goes up or down. If you spend $20k buying a collection and the market takes a hit, then you may be tempted to sell and at least get some of your money back. That will never be the case for me - it's all profit.
The people I don't understand are those living paycheck to paycheck that spend large amounts of money on a collection. They really should prioritize that money to go toward bettering their overall life, not just the entertainment portion of it. Once you have a solid retirement plan and money set aside for your kid's college, then spend whatever you want.
If my wife knew exactly how much I've spent on my personal collection, she would kill me.
that makes two of us
do i feel guilty? no.
do i feel stupid? oh ya!
since i got baby kai, hobby funds come from flipping yard sales stuff. even then (like jonebone said) i use that $ for life/family stuff.
What I do for a large purchase; say I budget for 100 bucks every month on games, if I really want something and its 500, I dont spend the 100/month for 5 months, and with that money buy the thing I really want. You can spend money on stuff for you and still be smart about it.
You can always just sell the thing afterwards if you really regret it
This reminds me of a quote I saw in a signature somewhere on NA, I think it was :
"My biggest fear is that my wife sells my collection for what I told her I paid for it."
Whoevers quote that is, that guy is a legend.
Doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing, give a little to charity/a cause if you're so inclined, buy a few things for the kiddos and wife, and then hang onto the rest for when something falls in your lap that you just can't pass up.
Plus it is bathing suit season. (Come on, it wouldn't be an attakid thread if somebody didn't mention that....)
However, if the money you have truly is just completely disposable then I don't see an issue in spending.
Since collecting for Atari, my daughter loves sitting and playing games. Stuff previously was too complicated for her but these games she can actually sit and play with me. Another way to look at it is a future collection for the kids to enjoy. Wouldn't we all have loved to have huge collections as kids?
Plus it is bathing suit season. (Come on, it wouldn't be an attakid thread if somebody didn't mention that....)
haha
I'm in the same boat. Although my overall expenses are rather low, I am not rich by any means, and $1K is a lot to throw around on a whim.
So now I've got this money and I can't pull the trigger on a collection purchase. I keep thinking about all the cool shit i could buy for my wife, or my daughters, or both. Or fuck, I could donate that money. I don't know, it sounds stupid, but I've had this cash ready to go for like 2 months and I can't bring myself to spend it.
How did you earn this money? Was it from flipping / selling games on the side, or from your day job? Was this money intended as just general savings, or was it "play" money you alloted to yourself each month, but never spent? I the answer to this question could make a huge difference in my feelings towards the situation.
It feels selfish. My wife has never spent a thousand dollars on herself. My daughters have never gotten a thousand dollars worth of...anything.
As a few others have mentioned, I also feel it better not to spoil children. They don't need a lot to be amused, and if their needs are being appropriately met (they are happy, have decent clothes, food, have a satisfactory number of toys to play with, etc) then I think it isn't necesary to try to compare the money you have to what you spent on them. As an example, in Taiwan, if I give any kid about $0.50, they would be tickled, it doesn't take thousands to satisfy children, and they need to learn about not being able to have everything, too.
With your wife and spending, and comparing it to your own, this is what I think (I am not married, so feel free to disregard this all): If your wife wanted an expensive piece of jewelry, would you buy it for her? One of my friends told me he spent around $2000 on his bike, what if she wanted an expensive bike, would it be okay to fund and purchase? Or suppose you wanted to purchase an expensive guitar, would she be okay with that?
I have an ex-colleague and he would always blow his money on buying motorcycles. He once asked me how I spent my money, and I refused to tell him, just laughed, and said that I wanted to upgrade guitars. But the truth of the matter is that I just use my guitar for travel, and want a cheap, beater for this purpose, yet often spend quite a bit of money (in total) on games, when it is summed up (usually totalling $100 a game at max, often a lot less, but I am referring to the summed total). But I guess my point is, just because games are (often thought to be) cheaper than some big purchase, why does it make it unacceptable to spend that sort of cash on a game, if it is something you would like to have? Where I live I know many people that drive Porsche down congested streets, but if everything else is taken care of and you can save a bit up to get it, why not?
But it's not like I've neglected my family. Over the last 18 months I've spent close to $15K on vacations. But that's not exactly selfless, you know? I wanted to go on those vacations as much as they did.
If you haven't neglected your family and want to treat yourself to something and can afford to do so, why not?
I don't fucking know. Maybe I'm just being a pussy.
For me it partially goes back to that first question, where did this money come from initially. It is all about balance, it is responsible to save, but there is also a point where saving too much is a negative. Balance is key.
Anyone else have this problem?
The people I don't understand are those living paycheck to paycheck that spend large amounts of money on a collection. They really should prioritize that money to go toward bettering their overall life, not just the entertainment portion of it. Once you have a solid retirement plan and money set aside for your kid's college, then spend whatever you want.
this was me a year or so ago. I was stupid and spent money we [my fiance and i] didnt have. which led to money troubles and me getting out of the hobby.
moral of the story, be like thearcadegeek, dont be like me.