Good luck, Brandon. I wouldn't worry too much about what's happened in the past or what not, and as a poster above stated, it's really more important to do what's important for your family than the cardboard stuff. Collecting is fun, and card are always there, but it's easy to get in too deep. I started collecting when I was a kid, and re-started a couple of years ago. One of the things was that I could now afford cards that I wanted to buy that I could never afford when I was a kid. All of those things that I wanted, I now had the wherewithal to actually get. However, this can definitely go too far where you are now spending past your alloted "entertainment" budget, and into your mortgage and "living" budget. There are a lot of people on this board with extremely nice collections. Some of them have the means to put down considerable amount of $$$ on cards. Others have been collecting for eons. They can easily flip there cards for tremendous profit, and use these funds to buy very nice cards. Or they just show the very nice cards that they picked up a long time ago for peanuts. None of this is wrong, and it's really fun to see all of the great cards that people have on this board. Some of the threads like "show of your best card" or "what are your top 3 cards" are some of my favorites since I love seeing those rare valuable cards. Seeing these can definitely make you feel like you really want to own some of these cards that people just love seeing. However, just like in those days when you were a kid, sometimes, you can't afford it. Even as an adult there are cards you simply cannot afford or makes no sense to buy. That's just how it is, but if you want to keep collecting, you can still find that niche that keeps you happy in the hobby. Keeping a budget can be very, very tough sometimes. There are times when I've hit my budget limit for the month, and then I see a card that I want selling for a steal of a price. It's tough to just let it pass by, but that's what you need to do sometimes. There will always be other cards that fit your collection that will come by again.
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