56-year old Bob Bretall of Mission Viejo, California is the proud owner of the largest comic book collection in the world. At present, he is said to be in possession of more than 105,000 comics which is more than 3,000 more than what he owned when he was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records back in 2014. Collecting comic books is without a doubt one of the coolest hobbies any self-proclaimed geek can engage in. As with any hobby, collecting comic books can not only take up a lot of your time, but also set you back quite a few dollars if you are not frugal with your spending. Luckily there are a couple of ways to fund your favourite geeky pastime.
Stick to your budget
Once you decide to become a serious comic book collector you need to sit down and draw up a budget for yourself. While the cost of a standard comic book is roughly $3.99, a limited edition collector’s item can set you back a good couple of million rand. When you are drawing up your budget, jot down a rough estimate of what your comic books would cost you on both a monthly and annual basis. Set goals for big purchases to allow you enough time to save for them. As tempting as it may be to spend half your family’s income on your hobby it may not go down well with everyone else in your household. If there is a special event such as Comic Con coming up where you know you would want to spend some extra money, either put away some money on a monthly basis or, alternatively, apply for a credit card or personal loan. If you do plan to obtain additional finance to fund your adventure, just make sure that you include the repayments in your monthly budget as well.
Save money elsewhere
If your financial situation does not allow you to buy comic books to your heart’s content you may want to try saving money in other avenues of your life. By decreasing your electricity usage or cutting down on the amount of water you use each month you may find yourself with some extra cash to put to good use. If you can’t justify your cable or satellite subscription cancel it and opt for a cheaper alternative such as Hulu or Netflix instead. Other ways to save money that you can put towards your comic book collection includes refraining from buying name-brand clothing,eating at home instead of getting takeout, and making use of coupons whenever you can.
Earn an income from your hobby
Did you know that you can monetize your geeky hobby? If you are passionate about your comic book collection you can find a way to make it pay for itself. Starting a blog is one way to earn an income from your collection. If you have a way with words and are able to take a couple of decent photos you are more than capable of creating a blog that will be of great interest to like-minded individuals. Apart from selling advertising on your blog you can also include affiliate links in your content and even launch a sales platform for comic-related goods.
Collecting comic books will undoubtedly bring great joy to your life. As long as you can find a way to fund your hobby without it influencing your life negatively in any way you can continue to indulge in it with a clear conscience.