Collecting & Spending

Throughout my life, I find myself going through different fandoms. A fandom is a subculture composed of people who share a common strong interest in a particular person or thing and I used to believe that the things you are interested in say a lot about who you are. Expressing your fandoms to the world is great but shouldn't come at a cost. Whether it's owning a prop replica of a Batman Batarang, an Alien Facehugger plushie or a Sailor Moon t-shirt; I felt like I needed these things in order to be labeled as a “true” fan. It’s easy to become obsessed with something new and quickly purchase everything that relates to it in the remotest sense. Funko Inc., a company that manufactures licensed pop culture collectibles has people willing to pay a thousand of dollars for a vinyl figurine to add to their collection. I would never pay that much money for one item but if you add the other stuff I have purchased in the past, it comes pretty close.

Working a minimum job, I should have been saving my money but rather I spent almost a third of my income on things that did not serve a practical purpose in my life. Once I left a fandom, these novelties that once brought me happiness soon turned into clutter; which I would later re-sell at a lower price in which I initially paid. Instead of feeling satisfied after finishing a really good television series, movie, or book, I look for more instant gratification through shopping and collecting. For example, after watching Disney’s Coco (which was a beautiful movie that made me cry), I purchased a $160 guitar inspired by the film and vowed to learn how to play; it is now currently sitting inside my closet and haven’t been touched in months.

After watching countless of minimalism and financial videos, I knew that I had to change the way that I was spending. I didn’t tell myself that I was never going to buy any memorabilia, instead I gave myself an allowance. I also compared it to the things that I did allow myself to keep which mementos that gave me a nostalgic feeling or things that I considered to be real works of art. I grew up watching the Charlie Brown Christmas and Halloween specials, so of course there will be a couple of Snoopy scattered throughout my room. I’ve also de-cluttered tons of DVDs, books, music and only kept the ones that I know are capable of lifting me out of depression and that I will come back to again and again. In this day and age, physical media is something people especially my generation would never consider purchasing but it gives me a piece in mind that whenever the zombie apocalypse comes that I’ll have my most favorite media at my disposal. Another important thing is that I no longer try to tempt myself by watching YouTube videos of other people’s collections and hauls or mindlessly scrolling through the internet, trying to find anything to buy that falls into my interests.

Besides learning impulse control, I had to also change my mindset and abandon the idea that my possession and interests did not make up who I am. Soon other things such as education status, physical appearance, and other collective identification became less important to me. Instead, I try to focus on and living in the present moment and big money saving goals for things that I know will greatly enhance my quality of life and help me grow into a better person; I can honestly say that I am living a happier life. I plan to build my humane animal outreach business and focus on my life's mission to promote kindness and compassion towards animals. So next time instead of buying a 7" Scale Ultimate Pennywise NECA action figure, i'll just write a quick review encouraging everyone to go check out the movie It.