I often see people making bad decisions when buying figures. I don't mean that they're choosing the wrong figures or anything, but that they've chosen to pay for their figures using a bad method or are ordering from weird sites or just otherwise doing things in a way that is sub-optimal. This is a big topic, so for this first installment I'll just cover the basics of having a budget and finding some efficient and free ways to fuel it.
Note: this guide is from the point of view of a collector in the US. I know that import duties and currency exchanges are different in other countries and that generally you guys in the EU and Canada are boned, so for that I'm sorry. Credit cards are also a lot different in other countries and they don't have all the insane cash back and promotions we have here in the US. We have it pretty alright here when it comes to shopping I guess.
Note: this guide is from the point of view of a collector in the US. I know that import duties and currency exchanges are different in other countries and that generally you guys in the EU and Canada are boned, so for that I'm sorry. Credit cards are also a lot different in other countries and they don't have all the insane cash back and promotions we have here in the US. We have it pretty alright here when it comes to shopping I guess.
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| Can't I just buy them all?!?!? (No. The answer is no.) |
Budgeting for hobbies and general financial advice
Budgeting is a real problem for a lot of people apparently, and it's probably worse for figure collectors considering how expensive figures have gotten since I got into the hobby. Before it seemed like prices of around JPY 10,000 JPY were normal for high end figures, and many figures could be had in the 6,000 to 7,000 JPY range, but now those figures are basically non-existent and average prices seemed to have crept into the 13,500 to 15,000 JPY range with prices as high as 20,000 JPY to 30,000 JPY depending on the figure and how complex it is (or just how much of a franchise tax is getting bolted on). To keep from putting yourself into debt with this stuff you gotta have some basic rules. Mine are as follows.
Have a budget - Just set some amount of money each month that you'll spend on figures. You don't have to spend it every month, and it'll just roll-over into the next month. Mine is set at $50. That seems like a lot, but seriously if I cook one meal at home for my family instead of going out to eat that's my monthly figure budget. I get half that amount on rewards from the credit card I use for groceries each month (more on this later). It's not a lot of money for me. Chose an amount of money that you can trim from unnecessary expenses, and use that for your hobby. Never use money you need to live for your hobby. That should go without saying.
The important thing about having a budget is just having it. This may seem dumb, but staying under budget or within budget all the time isn't that important. There are times when you'll be under budget and it'll feel good, and other times when you're overspent and it'll feel bad. The most important thing is that you're tracking your spending, otherwise things can spiral out of control without you knowing. They will spiral out of control occasionally, this is normal. The important thing is to be aware of this when it is happening so that you can adjust things going forward. If you always stay within budget, congratulations, but if not that's okay too.
This is a great exercise for any hobby, not just figure collecting. Use a website like Mint.com or software like You Need A Budget to track your spending and manage your budgets. Go through your spending and look for unnecessary waste (eating out a lot, expensive cups of coffee, unused subscription services, etc.) and cut them out. Sometimes your interest in the hobby will wane and in those times you can just save the extra money or use it for other expenses that pop up and are difficult to predict, like car repairs or replacing a broken appliance or something. Redirecting your extra figure money to other expenses can help keep you from feeling guilty about spending so much on figures when those expenses suddenly come up, but if you can, try and set aside some money to cover those unfortunate surprises as well.
Take advantage of free money - You can generate a not insignificant amount of passive income just by managing credit card rewards and savings interest. I've seen a lot of people not taking advantage of this but once you start you'll wonder why you weren't in the past.
The first way in which you can do this is by having the right credit cards. I have three that I use for nearly all my expenses: Capital One Quicksilver (no foreign transaction fees, 1.5% cash back on all purchases), American Express Blue Cash Preferred (no fee first year, 6% and 3% cash back on groceries and gasoline, respectively), and US Bank Cash + (5% or 2% on categories). Just counting the Amex cash back from groceries and gas (minus the annual fee) and the 5% cash back on my electric and phone bills from the Cash+ (I've picked phone bills and utilities for my categories), I'm looking at around $23.50 a month - nearly half my budget for figures. I use the Quicksilver for basically everything else so any other non-rewards category expenses are chipping in another 1.5% as free money.
It should go without saying that this system completely falls apart if you don't pay your credit cards off in full every month. Don't carry credit card debt! Don't listen to people who say you should carry some amount because it's good for your credit they are WRONG. I haven't had any credit card debt for years and my score hovers around 800.
Also related to making free money, make sure your savings account is one that pays interest. Right now that's around 2%, but for me to get it I need to use an online savings account separate from my normal savings account with my bank where I get my direct deposits and pay bills from. My normal bank has a crummy savings account that barely gives me anything back, so I don't keep anything in there. It's not a lot of money each month, but over time it adds up.
In Summary: Set a budget, and then find ways to cut unnecessary expenses and also generate free passive income to fuel that budget.
The important thing about having a budget is just having it. This may seem dumb, but staying under budget or within budget all the time isn't that important. There are times when you'll be under budget and it'll feel good, and other times when you're overspent and it'll feel bad. The most important thing is that you're tracking your spending, otherwise things can spiral out of control without you knowing. They will spiral out of control occasionally, this is normal. The important thing is to be aware of this when it is happening so that you can adjust things going forward. If you always stay within budget, congratulations, but if not that's okay too.
This is a great exercise for any hobby, not just figure collecting. Use a website like Mint.com or software like You Need A Budget to track your spending and manage your budgets. Go through your spending and look for unnecessary waste (eating out a lot, expensive cups of coffee, unused subscription services, etc.) and cut them out. Sometimes your interest in the hobby will wane and in those times you can just save the extra money or use it for other expenses that pop up and are difficult to predict, like car repairs or replacing a broken appliance or something. Redirecting your extra figure money to other expenses can help keep you from feeling guilty about spending so much on figures when those expenses suddenly come up, but if you can, try and set aside some money to cover those unfortunate surprises as well.
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| OK fine I'll just buy this one. $126.69?!? How do I pay for it?! |
Take advantage of free money - You can generate a not insignificant amount of passive income just by managing credit card rewards and savings interest. I've seen a lot of people not taking advantage of this but once you start you'll wonder why you weren't in the past.
The first way in which you can do this is by having the right credit cards. I have three that I use for nearly all my expenses: Capital One Quicksilver (no foreign transaction fees, 1.5% cash back on all purchases), American Express Blue Cash Preferred (no fee first year, 6% and 3% cash back on groceries and gasoline, respectively), and US Bank Cash + (5% or 2% on categories). Just counting the Amex cash back from groceries and gas (minus the annual fee) and the 5% cash back on my electric and phone bills from the Cash+ (I've picked phone bills and utilities for my categories), I'm looking at around $23.50 a month - nearly half my budget for figures. I use the Quicksilver for basically everything else so any other non-rewards category expenses are chipping in another 1.5% as free money.
It should go without saying that this system completely falls apart if you don't pay your credit cards off in full every month. Don't carry credit card debt! Don't listen to people who say you should carry some amount because it's good for your credit they are WRONG. I haven't had any credit card debt for years and my score hovers around 800.
Also related to making free money, make sure your savings account is one that pays interest. Right now that's around 2%, but for me to get it I need to use an online savings account separate from my normal savings account with my bank where I get my direct deposits and pay bills from. My normal bank has a crummy savings account that barely gives me anything back, so I don't keep anything in there. It's not a lot of money each month, but over time it adds up.
In Summary: Set a budget, and then find ways to cut unnecessary expenses and also generate free passive income to fuel that budget.
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