[Dale Murphy Collector]

I have $37,000 in credit card debt right now. I can reconcile it back to my initial investment in 1988 Topps cases.

[smapdi]

When it comes to life issues like retirement, a diversified portfolio of long-term, well-established financial instruments are best. Some advisors say part of that portfolio can be in tangibles like blue-chip art or sportscards, but a small amount is best, since they don't pay interest, can be lost in a fire or whatever, and are always subject to whims of the market.

When it comes to short-term, goal-oriented stuff, collectibles are fine. I did one stock flip in my life, but I've sold hundreds, maybe thousands, of cards and comics, profiting 98% of the time. Cards and comics yielded me a large percentage of the down-payment of my house, and they subsidize my permanent collection. If I sold more, I could pay for the couches and hardwood floors I'm about to buy. Home improvement is its own form of investment, but I just want to get rid of my junky old stuff. But I don't think of my cards in terms of paying my property taxes and medical bills when I'm 70. By that time, it'll cost 10 cases of BDP a day to stay in a hospital.

[CampWest]

smapdi Wrote:When it comes to short-term, goal-oriented stuff, collectibles are fine. I did one stock flip in my life, but I've sold hundreds, maybe thousands, of cards and comics, profiting 98% of the time. Cards and comics yielded me a large percentage of the down-payment of my house, and they subsidize my permanent collection. If I sold more, I could pay for the couches and hardwood floors I'm about to buy. Home improvement is its own form of investment, but I just want to get rid of my junky old stuff. But I don't think of my cards in terms of paying my property taxes and medical bills when I'm 70. By that time, it'll cost 10 cases of BDP a day to stay in a hospital.

Yeah, I got hammered holding onto Starting Lineups, when Kenner ruined those...

[ccouch (Chad)]

I could go on forever when it comes to this topic, but I'll boil it down to one big thing -- if you are spending a great deal of money on things like sports cards and doing it at the expense of carrying credit card debt and at the expense of saving for retirement (no matter your age), you are making poor decisions.

Trust me -- I was there a few years ago. Thankfully, I recognized the error of my ways and changed my behavior for the better. I'm much happier now that I have placed limitations on my hobby spending and made retirement saving and planning my main priority.

Spending addiction is one of the most underrated problems that we have in this country. We are addicted to debt and it is not healthy.

I'll add one more thing -- I don't know of one person who has ever said, "Boy, I wish that I hadn't saved all of that money for retirement when I was in my 20's." On the other hand, I constantly hear people say, "Wow, I wish I had saved more money when I was in my 20's."

[bballjunky24]

I am in the wealth management business and I have a hard time at my age and current income staying out of debt. It has very little to do with my card collecting. I've probably bought upwards of $2500 in 5 years on a credit card. However, I do this because I have maxed out my 401k each year since I was 18. I'm 22 now and I could cover all my debt (student loans, credit cards, car loan) if I absolutely had to.

However, my future income potential greatly outweighs the $7k of short term debt on my books. I don't live a lavish lifestyle and my collecting has greatly changed since I have increased my business related expenses. I used to break boxes and now I rarely find it prudent to do so.

This is a hobby for me and the money that I spend on it is money that would be going into other entertainment if I didn't collect cards.

[MU Chuckwagon]

Dale Murphy Collector Wrote:I have $37,000 in credit card debt right now. I can reconcile it back to my initial investment in 1988 Topps cases.

Nice....you can use the cases as sandbags if we ever have a flood!

[Dale Murphy Collector]

MU Chuckwagon Wrote:

Dale Murphy Collector Wrote:I have $37,000 in credit card debt right now. I can reconcile it back to my initial investment in 1988 Topps cases.

Nice....you can use the cases as sandbags if we ever have a flood!

No. They are holding up my collapsing basement walls right now. If I had room on my credit cards, I'd get that problem fixed and then bust the cases.

[MU Chuckwagon]

I find it interesting that with the amount of money spent on cards there is nobody pointing to having any hobby related debt. There are countless post of people debating if they should sell a major case hit because they "need the money" or have to sell sports cards to cover emergency expenses due to a lack of a rainy day fund.

My guess is that those people are not posting....

:?

[metrotheme]

I think by self-selection, alot of people who have made poor choices or who have an "addiction" to buying cards will not get in on this post.

Being that I'm down to only doing TTM, I say if I spend $300 / yr on it, that's what it is. I never was huge into buying cards in mass quantities, so I would say that it doesn't impact my spending habits.

For those saying that some teenagers aren't concerned with their money, I wish I would have started investing (even if it were mutual funds) when I was in high school. The power of compound interest is amazing.

I started with my 403(b) account at 25. I'd like to put more into it, but I'm saving for a house and the options aren't the best in a 403(b). I may open a ROTH IRA in addition to the 403(b).

We as a society are way too caught up with keeping up with the joneses and putting our stock in material objects that depreciate a ton (fancy car, sneakers, huge plasma TV's, alcohol, eating out, etc etc.).

MU Chuckwagon Wrote:There are countless posts of box/case breaks and members chasing down high-end cards on ebay. However, one topic is almost never discussed...debt....and I have a feeling more than a fair share of members are carrying sizable hobby related debt.

I am interested to hear from those who carry hobby related debt and those who have stopped and made an effort to pay-off their debt.

Many members talk about "investing" in a prospect....or selling off a collection to purchase a house or a car....which leads to my second question. Do you spend more on cards each year than you save for retirement? Does you hobby spending impact what you save for retirement or a big purchase (house/car)?

[kingtopps]

I think you'll have few if anyone admitting they've been put in a deep hole because of sportscards...as a board filled with prospectors and investors, most could never even admit they're not breaking even.

It would be refreshing to see more posts that read "I lost $2K last quarter, here's where I went wrong, don't let this happen to you" but that would never happen.

MU Chuckwagon Wrote:I find it interesting that with the amount of money spent on cards there is nobody pointing to having any hobby related debt. There are countless post of people debating if they should sell a major case hit because they "need the money" or have to sell sports cards to cover emergency expenses due to a lack of a rainy day fund.

My guess is that those people are not posting....

:?