When Collecting Goes Bad.... Obsessive Collecting Adictions?

Has anyone out their ever decided that their collecting was, or is adversely effecting other aspects of their life???

I have been thinking of late that maybe I should stop looking at ebay and Decampe auction sites and spending money on stuff I WANT but don't NEED. I often justify it to myself by saying "it's only 5 Euro/US etc so that's ok"..... but they all add up in the end to a quite large sum!

Just thinking out loud really...

Regards
Gavin

I collect "Any philatelic material that depicts a motorcycle, or part thereof, or name of manufacturer, where the make of motorcycle is recognizable as being of ITALIAN ORIGIN."
See some of my collection at.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/593463...28141992497/

Very early in my collecting, I vividly recall overbidding on an
auction item, it wasn't much, possibly $50-$80, but I wasn't particularly
well off at the time.
I recall my later reflection, how I had become caught up in the moment
and with some shame decided I had erred.
I used that reflection to set up a budget, which I still do, and stick rigidly to it,
With some experience behind you, you realise that there are gadzillions of stamps
and if you miss out, well there's always a next time.
Budgets also have a way of building, when sometimes you are busy
with other things, the stamp budget bank builds slowly, and suddenly
you find you are flush and can go after particular items that were out
of reach before.
The trick for me was the constant recollection of that auction.

Your reflection seems to be heading the same way.
Try and formulate a route that will have you sit easy
with what you should spend, and how often.

I tend to over spend, Like rod I set up a limited that I will spend each month if I don't spend that amount I will roll it over to the next month. Sometimes a item comes along and if I can get it at a very good price I will add a little to the budget.
I collect Queen Victoria Common wealth and tend to buy old albums and collections, I will sell off the stamps I don't collect and this money is added to the budget, it helps to keep the pay pal account topped up.
Maybe something like this would help you with having a little bit of cash flow.
5 DOLLARS HERE 10 THERE YES IT ADDS UP REAL FAST
But stamp collecting can be addictive once you allow it to take up money that's needed elsewhere you have a major problem

irishjack, what countries do you include in "Queen Victoria Commonwealth" ... besides Canada.

Well my goal is to have a complete collection of all countrys,

Agustanz, Yes, good point - it's often crept thru my mind, in the past prior adequate security. I do remember times when I would not go somewhere because of active thoughts about domestic security intrusions.

I began to wonder if those coloured bits of paper were in-fact controlling me rather than the other way round.

take a hobby (coins and stamps) obsession, and add a dose of bi-polar disorder. not a good mix. ask my ex-wife.

Irishjack, "But stamp collecting can be addictive once you allow it to take up money that's needed elsewhere you have a major problem." Please define "needed elsewhere" to include based on who's need? My needs and my wife's needs have changed drastically over the past 44 years of maritial bliss and with shared bed and bank a discussion will surface from time to time.

I have been known to 'buy extra', beyond what is needed, but when you think of it, all stamps-related stuff can be classed thusly by non-stamp collectors.

I think the hobby has helped me more than hurt me. Friendships, setting and achieving goals, budgets, learning about anything and everything, helping others the little I can, etc, etc.

Broadened and expanded my life beyond what it would have been. Even though I spend 'too much' at times, this too is, or can be, a learning experience. An opportunity to learn.

Stamp collecting is an opportunity to appreciate what is in the world, what was and what might be. What more is there?