Two Months So Far

[David Swan]

Back in July I decided to impose a spending cap and immediately spent into a deep deficit when a couple can't pass up auction items came up for sale. So then I had to hold back on my spending to get my allowance back in line. This meant a wait until October at the earliest. July to October. *whew*

 

At this point it's officially been two months and since no must have items have arisen I've stuck to my goal. Sure, there are some items out there I'm burning to purchase but I'm proving to myself that I control my spending not the other way around. My longest gap between purchases since collecting CGC collecting was 67 days late last year to early this year and I'm very close to surpassing that. This is coming from someone who purchased 27 CGC comics last year alone.

 

This in no way means I've given up my goal to have the number one Captain Marvel Adventure collection on the planet but it may take awhile. My spending limit is not exactly austere and given my budget for the rest of the year and available comics I plan to add another 1700+ registry points and probably between 4 and 5 thousand registry points a year going forward. Not a small amount but certainly less than I was doing. My hope is to get around 2x registry points per dollar spent but that's not always possible so 4 to 5 thousand may be overly optimistic.

 

Regardless, I am looking forward to continuing my collecting in the next month or so but not buying anything can sometimes be as refreshing as buying.

 

See more journals by David Swan

[meshuggah]

I just realized it has been awhile since we've seen a journal with a Captian Marvel book from you. Its always nice to see those old books in such great shape. But you definitely don't want to break the bank getting them.

[SW3D]

David,

 

It's great to "read" you back!

 

Missed your insightful journals and Cap Marvel passion!

 

Your journal reminds me of my days in the Karate Dojo when I stepped barefoot for the first time as a white belt and always looked forward to the day when I would get a black belt.

 

But I had to go through all the other belt levels (blue, advanced blue, yellow, advance yellow, green, advanced green, brown, advanced brown)... which meant channeling and tempering my energies with passion and dedication, perseverance, sacrifice and most importantly patience.

 

I asked a San Dan (3rd degree black belt) what the demarcation line around the dojo floor which led to the changing room/showers meant and he replied... "It is considered disgraceful to simply cross the threshold to the changing facility but most importantly it is a symbol to remind us that each one of us must travel on the long road in order to accomplish self mastery... there are no short cuts".

 

And that's true for most everything in life including building a collection. A mediocre and good collection can get built in a short time... but the finest collections takes years and years and years of dedication. Think of it as an art form. Hopefully we'll travel together on that long road... and smile back on the journey we've taken... and amaze ourselves in what we've accomplished!

 

OSU!!!

[surfer99]

Good to hear from you again David. I admire you for being smart about your spending...love the line about proving to yourself that you control your spending, not the other way around. A good lesson for all of us. Looking forward to seeing the next book to come along that's just right for your collection.