Do you collect anything?

[disneysteve]

After the number of people who posted to my vanity plate thread saying they were too cheap to get one, I started to wonder if there were any collectors here. And no, I'm not talking about collecting stocks and bonds or change on your dresser.

Do any of you actively collect anything? Stamps, coins, baseball cards, Precious Moments, Swarovski, Lenox, etc. Anything at all.

I've been collecting Disney memorabilia since about 1975. I've got a pretty extensive collection. It definitely isn't a frugal thing to do, since purchasing collectibles doesn't fill any need. Curious to hear your responses.

[tinapbeana]

um, does dust count?

my grandmother started collecting Fireking Goldenshell dishes for me when i was about 8 or so. i still pick up a piece if it's in good shape when i come across it, but only at flea markets/yard sales, junk stores. have never gone out specifically looking for a piece to buy.

[JanH]

I love books and pottery. I would love to collect quilts, but they are expensive. But if I add up a bunch of the books and pottery pieces....probably the same costs. Oh well. The pottery is more like kitchen pieces so it can be useful. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.......

[Broken Arrow]

I don't currently collect anything right now.

There are some things that I wouldn't mind collecting, but my take on it is to set a solid foundation first, before I start thinking about how to decorate it. So, that's what I'm focusing on right now... to get my basic finances in order first.

[vsjhoc]

Clownfish refrigerator magnets. And I started years before the Nemo thing.

[frugalmomof1]

Stephen King Books
Willow Tree Angels
Barbie Ornaments from Hallmark

[kealina]

when i was younger (high school) i used to collect precious moments figurines, those really cute large sized teddy bears (i forget the name... cherished teddies?), and probably a few other things that i can't recall right now... does it count if you use them? stuff like clothes/shoes, backpacks or even craft supplies...
after i moved out i purged my belongings (no space) and gave all the bears to a toy drive and all the precious moments to my older sister who also collects them...
if i collect anything right now it would probably be things like clothes, shoes, purses, makeup, etc...
mind you when i say "collect" i mean picking up stuff i like at garage sales and usually only if it's a good deal...

[Daylily]

No time, no money, no desire to dust = NO COLLECTING in this household!

[jodi]

For a number of years I collected Reader's Digest magazines. A bunch from the 1950's were given to me, and it just took off from there. I have probably 300-400 from the 1920's through 2007. I don't want them anymore - they take up too much room - but I can't find a market for them either. One of these days I'm going to try to post some on E-Bay...don't know what else to do with them.
DH collects records. I usually find them pretty cheap at garage sales - for as little as $.10 each. I never pay more than $1, or occasionally $2 for a really good one. He has several hundred, which he actively still listens to.

[scfr]

I don't actively collect anything.

I know this isn't what you asked, but I have INACTIVELY accumulated collections of: CDs (main category is classic jazz), crystal (glasses, candlesticks, and vases), and monogrammed vintage handkerchiefs. Absolutely none of these fill a need but gosh darn it they sure do make me happy!

[aurielle]

I try not to tell people what I collect. Otherwise I get inundated with them then I don't want to collect them anymore. Because I get what the giver finds 'cute', and I don't find it cute. Then I feel obligated to display them even when I don't like them in case the giver stops by. I usually only like certain styles or aspects or colors or whatever within a given group of whatever I'm collecting at the time.

Right now I collect fairies. DH buys me fairies but he knows what I like. I don't spend alot of money on it, the fairies usually find their way to me for free or cheap

[pearlieq]

No real collections to speak of. I really don't enjoy much in the way of "stuff".

The less I have, the less I am encumbered!

[mom-from-missouri]

Antiques, quilts and apprently children.

[PRICEPLUS]

I used to collect Dept. 56 Dickens Village. It became an obsession and I had to stop. My daughter collects anyhting having to do with walruses. She says I remind her of one. I don't know if that is cute or insulting. I'll go with the former rather than the latter!

I really don't collect anything at the present time!

[safari]

I collect US state quarters

[LuckyRobin]

I have a stuffed penguin collection I started in 1990 that branched out into figurines, but not because I bought them. I went for the stuffed only, even if I do like the figurines. I haven't bought any myself in years and finally had to put a moratorium on them as gifts. I have a lapel pin collection I started when I was eleven in 1981. Every state I go to or significant place like Golden Gate Bridge or Grand Coulee Dam or Meteor Crater, I get a pin. I've got several from Disneyland as I get a new one each time I go. They are all pinned to a jean jacket I wore in high school. And I was getting them long before the Disney lapel pin craze started. And we collect Hallmark Puppy Love Christmas ornaments from 1990 when my husband and I first started dating. Come to think of it, he gave me my first penguin that year, too.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by PRICEPLUS

I used to collect Dept. 56 Dickens Village. It became an obsession and I had to stop. My daughter collects anyhting having to do with walruses. She says I remind her of one. I don't know if that is cute or insulting. I'll go with the former rather than the latter!

I really don't collect anything at the present time!

ko-ko-kachoo!!!! if it's cool enough for john it's cool enough for me and hey, at least you aren't the eggman

[PRICEPLUS]

Thank God! I don't ever want to be the eggman!

[LuxLiving]

Used to collect cobalt glassware, but have spent the last two years deacquisitioning it in my junque' booth. Replaced it with ironstone and made a quick swoop of collecting all I need and have now stopped. The deal w/the cobalt was I did not stop and it became a deal that I had cobalt glass in every room of the house!! So, this time I'm FINISHED!! My family didn't get notice I guess because I got a whole set of china for Christmas and a platter, but really I'm FINISHED PEOPLE, I don't need any more.

REALLY! I am.

F.I.N.I.S.H.E.D.

Except for books and I've got to stop!! Really. ...and I have to start culling many MORE if I ever hope to downsize to a condo. That full size basement? It's the library and it's FULL of books!

Note to self - STAY OUT of the thriftstores and bookstores and garage sales!!

[Aleta]

Collecting can become obsessive and one more thing to account for, dust, and lug around. I have a problem with collecting paper. I'm a paper junkie and have to be careful or it takes up too much space in my house. I collect recipes, lawn care articles, home decoration ideas, etc. It's hard to get rid of them.