The Low Budget Collector Segment Origin

2017 was a very tough year for me.

I dealt with multiple health issues since May including the removal of only three of four my wisdom teeth they wanted out. My heart rate/blood pressure went too high and they didn't feel safe to continue pulling the fourth one at that time which is something I will need to deal with in 2018. I was also put on a medication to help with my kidney stone problems, four rounds of those already in the past so I am prone to them, which backfired into me having tachycardia I dealt with for 3 months including multiple ER visits. Because of those issues, I not only was dragged through the ringer with heart tests before they could figure out the main problem, it also led to me having anxiety which was not at all easy to deal with. Anxiety was probably the toughest thing out of all of this and anyone who has ever dealt with anxiety I bet will agree. Oh, and I also forgot to mention my hernia surgery in this midst of that as well and the stress of not being able to lift for six plus weeks.

Even though it wasn't easy, I still made my way through and didn't lose a day on here in the process as I used this as a distraction from my health.

Not only was it tough for me with health, but for my collecting as well. We all have our financial struggles and financial limitations and reasons for them, and I fit into that category the last two years with extremely limited funds to collect with. That doesn't make it very easy to stay in the hobby. There were many times I just wanted to hide in the corner and give up.

But, I didn't.

Instead of giving up on the hobby I have been apart of for 25 years because I couldn't afford to add any cards to my PC-it's really embarrassing when someone tags you on Twitter for an incredible deal on a $2 PC card you have to kindly say no-

 

or bust any of the new products especially in football one of my top sports to collect. Busting in general is my favorite thing to do in the hobby and not being able to pick up a hobby, blaster or even a fat pack is extremely tough. You don't know how many trips I went to Walmart and saw some good markdown deals I simply had to say no because there were necessities that had to come first.

Luckily for me, I found a way around not having many funds to keep the hobby fun and myself interested. I couldn't just give it up because I couldn't afford it like I used to. I find we lose so many collectors because they feel they can't afford to be apart of the hobby anymore and I just don't want to see more leave when they don't have to.

That's where my Low Budget Collector Segment comes into play.

I will give you tips on how to stay in the hobby without even selling a card and keep your interest peeked. It's how I survived and will have to again in 2018 and beyond more than likely. Some of these tips you may know and some you may not have thought of and some may even be obvious.

This series will have multiple parts to it as does the hobby and it involves you not spending much money to bring you that hobby joy and as Donald Trump would say if he collected, #MakeCollectingFunAgain. (of course Donald wouldn't have to worry about funds if he collected)

I hope you will all enjoy this series when it gets posted and hopefully we all can have a healthy, fun 2018.