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At Castle Point Anime Convention (CPAC), when it came to the artist alley/dealer's room it made me realize that I need to start being picky about the things I get. There's a lot of great things that I want but I need to spend wisely and so I need to figure out what I "need" instead of what I "want". To do that I started making it a habit of creating a list of things to get. For example if I can't get a certain manga(s) or anime(s) on amazon.com (because I can get them new & used for $3.00 or less, depending on what it is though) then I will try looking for it at the convention.
I also made a new rule for myself and that's to cut down purchases of artwork. I'll make a few exceptions for some but otherwise I'm not going to buy that much art. Simply because I'm an artist myself and I can draw and create my own prints of my favorite characters or pairings. Doing this would save me a lot of money since I have a habit of going to my favorite artist tables and buying things from them. Hmmm, I should start talking to them and get to know them on a personal basis since I always see them in the conventions I go to. lol
I will also stop buying candy, pocky, ramune, keychains, cell phone charms and buttons (eh, buttons will be a hard habit to break) because I have plenty of those things at home. Plus, for some of the snacks it can get costly and I rather not spend nearly $5.00 just for a small bag of candy when I can get a stack of 4 containers of chips in a local drug store just for a dollar each and a few cents cheaper. The same with a $3.00 bottle of ramune, why get that when I can get something cheaper to drink? Some people buy it to try it, which is fine but constantly buying it because it's convenient is a little much. That convenience will start to burn a hole in your wallet.
It might be the frugal in me but I rather save money because it all adds up at the end of the day. More money I save, the more I have a chance of getting something else. That is how I will same money in order to buy the things I need to get. I'm planning to save as much as I can and try to limit myself so that I don't go splurging and getting things I really don't need. What I want to get is some manga to finish the collection I started on (I'm kind of a perfectionist and it bothers when things are not completed), some DVDs volumes to finish the box sets I have, a hoodie or two, and some jewelry. If I have some money left I will decide after I get those things, if I want to get something else that I haven't planned to get.
I highly recommend for those going to the dealer's room to figure out what you really want. Don't wait until you're there because you will go crazy with your money and/or will have a hard deciding what to buy when you're short on cash. The first time I went to a convention I only had $50 on me. It wasn't a lot but it was enough to get a few things but seeing all those things at the convention made me want to get everything and it sadden me that I couldn't decide. I realize after that I need to prepare myself and manage my money better so that, that situation won't be an issue for me.
 DamnBlackHeart · Tue Apr 12, 2011 @ 11:35pm · 0 Comments |
