Ten Reasons Not to Start a Collection of Any Kind

Collecting can be fun, interesting and educational, but take my advice and if you are thinking of collecting something, stop yourself now! It will be a costly mistake you regret, later on in life.

1. Collections take up space. Space is valuable. You can not anticipate your future space needs and how they will change. You might think your collection fits in a spare bedroom, or in boxes in closets, or easily on display shelves. Think again. As your collection grows, so will your space requirements. As you age you may decide to move into a smaller place and have to deal with getting rid of your collection and at a time in your life when you don't have the energy or resources to deal with properly selling it. Many collectors think their collection is worth more than their investment, but in most cases they sell for half or less than the original investment to a dealer who needs to have a profit margin to resell.

2. When you die, your children will have to deal with your collection. Chances are, your children have no interest in your collection because they are busy with their own lives, and when it comes to cleaning out your living place after you have passed on, they will have the burden of unloading your collected items. They may throw them out, give them away or sell them for pennies on the dollar. Is this what you want?

3. Pets and children are not good around collections. You have to go through extraordinary lengths to keep your collected items protected from child and pet accidents and mishaps. Pets and children do not realize the value you place on your collection until something gets ruined or broken.

4. Weather can be a problem. If you live in a humid climate or dry climate or cold climate, all are potential disasters on the long term care of collected items. Moisture and temperature can affect color, condition, smell, and a number of other qualities of the item you collect. And don't forget natural disasters. The last thing you want to worry about if you have to evacuate is saving your collection. It is also unlikely insurance will cover the real damage a disaster has cost you when your collection gets destroyed.

5. You will probably move sometime. See reason number one again. Do you want to spend your time packing up your collection and unpacking it again?

6. Most collections have no use other than to be admired. Collections are like useless junk. They mean something to you, but they are a form of materialism that takes up space. Do you need excess in your life?

7. Collecting something gets expensive. I don't care what you collect, it is costly. The dollars will add up quickly and that is money you could have invested in a savings account earning interest that you will likely need in your retirement years. That is money that will see a better purpose for sometime in your life when the unexpected happens. Even if you collected garbage for free, what it ended up costing you is your time, your effort and your space.

8. Collections cause relationship problems. If you don't live alone, sooner or later whoever lives with you is going to start to complain about or resent the cost of your collection and the space it takes up. Of course that will just be a sign of deeper relationship problems if that ever happens, but inevitably human nature kicks in when it comes to common shared areas of space or how money is spent.

9. Losing interest. Most people lose interest in their collections a few years after they started collecting. Learn from their mistakes unless you enjoy making your own mistakes that you could have learned from others.

10. Collectors become obsessive and hoarding. One is not enough, even if something is unique, a collector may own 4 or more. Collectors never have enough of what they collect, even if they already have 1 of everything, they still want more. Is this the kind of person you want to be? The kind of person who operates with a shortage consciousness and never has enough?

If you are a collector, I know this list of 10 things will just annoy you. Go on and be happy with your life, collecting all you want if you believe collecting is going to make you happy. But if you are new to collecting something or are just tinkering with the idea of collecting something, then take these tips to heart and choose something else to do with your money and time that will make your life more worthwhile.

Additional note: If you do happen to collect something that has obvious monetary value, such as coins or gold, be aware that talking about your collection to others just invites the potential of theft. I have read more than a few stories of heartbroken collectors who had their houses broken into and their prized collections stolen. Now that is sad.

Clues To Compulsive Collecting

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_2_37/ai_n6006221

Coin Collecting Compulsion

http://rg.ancients.info/guide/compulsion.html

Brain region identified that controls collecting behavior

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/uoi-bri121504.php