If you've been reading my blog very long, you know about my little (huge) problem back at the turn of the millenium. You know the one. The nearly $25,000 in hidden debt I incurred buying sports cards. I never went into great detail on that story, at least not yet, but it was a very big stumbling block that I threw into my marriage.
Fortunately, my wonderful wife somehow found a way to forgive me, and we are better than ever. It did take three years to pay off, so it's not she's forgotten about it.
Now, I'm pretty good at self-control when it comes to spending money on cards. No credit cards get used and I don't buy/sell on Ebay because that was a problem too. I like to think I would win the "Master of Your Domain" bet with Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer.
How about you? Are you in control. I don't expect any great confessions here, but it's a good time in the collecting calendar to take a step back and evaluate your current state of mind.
Take it from me, you don't want to let this hobby get a crazy hold on you.
yes i am... but then again, with no $$$, what choice do I have? :)
ReplyDeleteI like to think I'm in control, but my wife would disagree!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to be in control when you have no other hobbies... I for one love to spend money on cards but i know that when there's no money i shouldn't be whipping out the charge card and buy cards on there. but overall i think i'm in control.
ReplyDeleteAs long as my eBay SOLD is greater than my BOUGHT, I am ok with the wife.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I need a car (my beater rape van is on it's last legs). My wife said the other day, "don't you have a couple of thousand dollars in cards down in the basement you can sell for a new ride?"
Gasp!
She is the master of my domain.
I like to think yes - on the edge of my budget as many of us are, but I generally fall on the good side. There was one month where I dropped $200 on cardboard (a ton when you make like $1500 a month in grad school haha) and then I was kind of losing it. But I reigned it in since then and I'm doing well.
ReplyDeleteI would say that I am. but that is due to years of watching every penny that I spent. I think this year I have spent more on cards than any year since 1990. It was then that I stopped tryign to hand assemble sets and started to buy factory sets. I have gone back and tried to fill in some of hte older sets and hand collect one, but I am having serious trouble parting with the money.
ReplyDeleteMy wife gives me a tight "allowance" and she updates Quicken as much as I do so she would see any spending I do (and also I'm generally cheap at heart ;-) so I'm pretty well reigned in. I prefer trading anyway -- TWO people benefit that way.
ReplyDeletewait...you guys still have a domain? I gave that up with marriage. She is the master of our domain...I am just happy she allows me to live in it.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to see that I'm not the only one with domain problems (not the Seinfeld kind...that's a discussion for another blog). Some women have a problem with shoes, purses, or jewelry. Mine is a cardboard problem. We should form a support group...CA (Cardboard-aholics Anonymous).
ReplyDeleteI grew up with a store in my small town called Carboard Addiction, so my village raised me with a noramlized sense of regular overspending. But, like many of you, my wife and I are thrifty. I try to keep myself at $10 per week or so. And, really, I've learned to make that go a long way.
ReplyDeleteI just got back to cards a few months ago after a long hiatus.
ReplyDeleteI'm generally cheap, so I've definitely spent more than I would normally be comfortable with since returning, but I try to limit myself to cheap eBay auctions and only splurge for something I'm dying to acquire. I've recently found trading is the way to go for a lot of stuff as well.
It also helps that I don't have a credit card.