It’s really not right how much emphasis society places on higher-education - it’s really gotten to the point where people look-down upon those that either enter the work-force and/or attend a local community college after graduating from high-school. This mind-set will be tough to change - especially when higher-eduation is turning more-and-more into for-profit “businesses”! As much as the government “admits” higher-education needs to change, they’re certainly not going to do anything about this - especially when they’re the largest “loan-office” for higher-education; charging CRAZY INTEREST on these Federal Loans! I was paying 6% to 8% Interest on my college loan of $80,000.00. Upon graduation, I immediately got a loan from my local bank and got a 4% Interest Loan - HOW??? That’s BS! Instead of lining their pockets with interest, the federal government should want to help students and not place them into position of more-and-more debt. And don’t even get me started on all of these “official reports” explaining the “average debt” of college-students being $25K to $30K after graduating from a four-year program. Yeah, the STUDENT has that much debt, but the parents have an additional $50K +++ that largely get passed-onto the child upon graduation and entering the work-force - but this information is never brought-up in those “official reports”.
Sure, a higher-education is necessary for some professions - allowing you the opportunity to get a jump-start within your field. However, it’s really not for everyone! I look-at a few of my high-school friends who went to college for pointless shit - liberal arts, history, art… WHY? Basically wasted four years of your life and are now in debt over your ass - and for what? Could have used that four years to get a jump-start on your career and used that college debt to get a jump-start on your life (down-payment on a house, car, bills…).
Well, that tuned-into a longer post than originally expecting! LOL I’ll end my rant for now
There is far more to the college experience than just earning a degree. Further, your definition of “pointless shit” can easily be deemed offensive. To imply that History, and Art are pointless is one of the most ignorant comments I have seen on this board. I do not wish to get into an argument, but not everyone views college as a means to an end. I am self employed, and have been since I started college. I double majored in History, and Art History, and I loved every minute of what I studied as well as the entire college experience. That is why I did it. It wasn’t a means to an end; it was something I cared deeply about. Was it expensive and arguably overpriced? Absolutely. But still, I am very thankful for my education in “pointless shit.”
My post above really wasn’t meant to offend anyone (that’s really not the type of person I am). It was more-so to emphasize my point that college is not for everyone and is not the “end-all, be-all” solution that is becoming so prevalent in our society. I just used an example from my own experiences to emphasis my personal view-point - and should have elaborated on that point instead of cutting it short. Honestly, I was just typing as I went and may have gotten a bit carried away - and after re-reading that post just now, can see how some people could take offense - so let me explain (and possibly dig myself a deeper hole) LOL
When you have someone who really doesn’t know what they want to pursue after high-school, but goes to college simply because it’s the “socially acceptable” thing to do - and just picks-up an “easy” / “general-education” major to enjoy the college-life / “college experience” - that’s when it becomes “pointless shit”. It just so happened that two of my high-school friends had that exact view-point; one went to school and graduated with a Liberal Arts Degree and other went to school and graduated with a History / Art History Degree. Upon graduation, they were no better-off than when we all graduated from high-school - the first was and still is a manager at Chipotle and the second works at a car-dealership. That is why I pointed-out those three programs specifically.
Sure, looking-back I could have worded that paragraph differently - and been more vague as to not call-out anyone specifically (was not trying to do that). Those programs are important - and are excellent choices for certain people with certain talents / skills. I’m all-for someone pursuing whatever they’re passionate about. However, when you’re like my two friends - and just picking-up those majors because they’re “easier” - that is when it does in-fact become “pointless shit”.
Hope that helps clarify my point - I’m really not trying to be rude or anything.
I think you are the last person on this board that anyone would think as rude. Until this thread I thought you were a kind old grandma who gave her kids cookies and Pokémon cards
As @garyis2000 alluded to as long as people are willing to keep borrowing at exorbitant rates then why should the gov’t not keep charging them? The bubble won’t pop until people wake up and start realizing how insane college prices have gotten and decide to stop paying them. I wouldn’t have gone for my 4 year degree where I did if the numbers didn’t make sense. I think I was in a huge minority of people to actually sit down senior year of high school and crunch the numbers on what I expected to owe after 4 years of college and plan out what I hoped to make. It wasn’t taught to me in high school to do that it was taught to me by my parents (should be taught in school). Sure, I was fortunate to get a job straight out of college but I wouldn’t call it luck. I was bugging profs for undergrad research while in college to bolster my resume and then looking for internships. The company for my junior-senior year summer internship is where I ended up landing a job.
Then I’ve got old high school classmates who went for teaching/liberal arts/etc. degree and paid $100,000+ for a piece of paper with some fancy school name on it that still only expected to net them ~$30-40k per year after graduation best case. Nothing against those degrees as they are perfectly fine but you don’t buy a degree at 3x expected salary when there are option to get that same degree for 0.5-1.0x expected salary. I think that is the foolish behavior @oldskoolpokemon alluded to and meant to deride… not the specific degrees themselves. Another example… I got a degree in Chemical engineering for ~$50k and I wouldn’t have gone for it had it costed me ~$150k+ (which it did for some people and it could have cost me at the wrong school.)
Collector (and general life) tip: Be aware of your finances. Track how much money you put into Pokemon and make sure it is an amount that is reasonable and sustainable for you given your own unique budget situation. I know folks who are making 5 figures and living paycheck to paycheck and they don’t know where all their money goes. It’s a crazy thought for me. I think everyone should track their finances and have a bit of an emergency fund. Not even calling it budgeting because I know that is a dirty word for so many people, just at the end of each month take all your statements and do a review of how much you spent in each given month. This is something I’ve done most of my adult life and I’ve gotten my wife on board with it to. Takes us about 45 minutes at the start of each month to look back at the prior one. It allows us to know how much our cost of living really is. It’s good to do such a thing during good times and know what your margins of safety are and what amount of money you can have for play (such as Pokemon) without causing detriment.
Collector (and general life) tip #2: Don’t pay interest on consumer goods including Pokemon. Just don’t. If you have “bad” debt e.g. revolving cc debt or high interest car loans you probably shouldn’t be throwing loads of money into Pokemon. “Good” debt I’d call anything sub 5% like mortgages, student loans and (needed and reasonable) car loans. Being debt free is one of the best feelings you can have.
Something about me tying into collector tip: Due to my wife and I tracking our finances and properly planning/saving, we are able to have her take next year off and we know with pretty good accuracy where we will stand after 1 year on 1 income. The reason for the year off is that we are expecting our first child in July! Hopefully later this year will be raising a part of the next generation of Pokemon collectors.
@gottaketchumall Stole my thunder. But lemme just hinge in on his post.
Collector tip: Keep on budget, maintain a spreadsheet or even just a notepad what you put in, what you buy and what you sell for. It will make the end of the month a lot easier. When I jumped back into Pokémon 2,5 years ago I went guns blazing, just buying and not tracking. When I hit financial hardship and had to part with some of it, I took heavy losses. The one caused the other. Now, since February I kinda got back out of hibernation (also no longer have to tie ends together) and I stick super tight to my €100 monthly budget, which is working out great!
Something you didn’t know: After well over 6 months of therapy and almost 18 months of depression I finally got peace with my inner demons. A depression caused by a vicious cycle of never really able to give the cancer I had in 2011 a place, struggling finding my place in life after a study I really lost interest in while being in college and post-graduation, and a general feeling of being very alone and under appreciated.
Now, I am working for four months as an entry level front-end developer with a boss that really understand my situation and is giving me room to grow, and more important; fail without many repercussions. To add the cherry on the cake, almost on the same moment I started my new job I made bold move of approaching a girl I met while gaming online and ever since sparks are flying everywhere with this weekend us meeting for the first time. I really turned my life around in matter of a few months. I still have my down moments, but I now know how to put them aside, reason with it and have someone to talk to and with.
Collector’s tip :
Always have some cash aside in case that one rare card or opportunity comes your way. You never know when that Trophy Kangaskhan or Master’s Key is going to show up. Another tip, collect with a purpose and stick to it, I have had one too many times where I just bought a card I thought was cheap at the time only to find out I didn’t really want it and when I sold it I took a loss. Once you have a mental list of cards you want to collect, it helps a lot financially and emotionally.
Something about me you didn’t know:
I am a very sporty person juggling between badminton, basketball and indoor soccer. In 2015, I fully tore my left ACL(anterior cruciate ligament) while playing basketball which made me very miserable because I have to stop all physical activities for the next 6 months after surgery which I had undergone. 2 months after surgery I started university but avoided all the sports I loved during the ‘taster session’ but I went to one, ultimate frisbee
I had zero experience playing frisbee before this and didn’t even know it was actually a sport. I had some fun while keeping in mind my recovering knee. I fell in love with the sport instantly due to it being a no contact sport and the seemingly interesting plays. 4 months after surgery I started training intensely for my University team. My knee has been fine since then and I had won 12 tournaments since, including 3 golds and 1 MVP award.
Unfortunately for me, last November I tore my right ligament(not a full tear) and damage my meniscus while playing for my team in a regional event that put me out for the rest of the season. I am still considering surgery since this time it is not a full tear. However this time I am less miserable compared to the last due to having a caring gf and Pokemon in my life again. Hopefully all is well and guys, take good care of your knees by strengthening your quads consistently
Organize everything in a way that pleases you, don’t just stuff everything in boxes! Especially once your collection gets larger, this becomes unmanageable… I’m trying to consolidate these days, but I have thousands of worthwhile bulk to sort and it’s so time consuming to do all at once. I’m really into color coding binders, custom drawers, etc. My biggest collection goals are PSA 10 Crystal and 1st Ed. Shining sets, so I’ve been planning display frames for these! Dreaming about showing their art off on my wall (even if no one who visits me cares as much about Pokemon lol) really motivates me more than “Oh, I happen to own these cards hidden in a box somewhere”. Of course, to each their own! If you’re worried about security etc., storage boxes and safes are fine. My cards are insured, otherwise I probably wouldn’t want to just put them up on a wall.
I still struggle with this, but don’t agonize over coulda shoulda wouldas. This just beats you up mentally. I have had sooooo many opportunities to buy cards that are much more expensive today that I passed on. I played competitively in a rather lull age for Pokemon collecting, so people would often have WOTC cards in their binders looking to trade for competitive cards. I once purchased a 1st Ed. Base Charizard for $15 at a Regional Championships from the licensed vendor, though it only graded a 4 or 5 IIRC. However, there were TONS of times I passed on crystals/gold stars etc. in favor for playable cards that are now worthless. I wasted way too much time being pissed at myself for this and at every eBay auction I missed. This mindset holds you back and isn’t healthy – took me a while to realize and accept this. People here seem interested in crypto, so I’ll share a “regret” - I bought bitcoins when they were $11 each and sold them all when they were around $400 each a few years later, as soon as I remembered I still had them when I saw a news article. This was great at the time, but of course if I had waited longer I’d have been able to quit my job and retire! It took quite a bit of therapy to move past this…
Just Personal:
I find Pokemon sorting to be calming/therapeutic, so I don’t mind it. I have a pretty bad anxiety disorder (I even participated in a study at the National Institutes of Health!) and going through my cards relaxes me and gives me a sense of accomplishment. Pokemon cards got me interested in design at a young age and I’m considering moving into a more creative field in my next job. I work at PBS and am very passionate about nonprofit advocacy and public policy - one day I hope to run for office myself and make a positive difference in people’s lives
Collector’s tip, Something non pokemon related: If you ever find a metal Leica camera(or lens) at a yard sale/thrift shop, buy it. They can be worth anywhere from $300-300,000k. Canon and Nikons aren’t worth much, despite people thinking they’re top of the line. Also contrary to what non camera people think, Lenses will always bring more money than bodies and will retain onto value more.
Personal: I have a speech impediment, Doctors and Scientists haven’t found the cause of it or the cure. I find it more difficult to talk to men than woman, kinda blessed by having mostly female friends…and the perks that comes with it.
Collectors tip:Use the saved search/ follow feature on eBay! It makes finding the cards you need way easier.
About me: I did varsity track and field in high school and competed in the 800 meter and triple jump! As of recently I picked up powerlifting as a new hobby. And if I am lucky to have free time outside my hobbies and day to day responsibilities, I enjoy sleeping
Talking about basketball injury. I was playing with one of my sons and fell into a concrete bench. I got my hand up in time to protect my head but ripped that finger. Moral: play hard while your younger but slow down when you get to be my age:(
That is pretty graphic @garyis2000 but yeah I agree about playing hard when you’re healthy but always make sure joints are ‘warmed-up’ before diving into the playing hard part.
Yeah. They tried to temporarily stitch it up but the bone was shattered and the chips were in the way. I know it looks bad but compared to the pain it caused, the look was nothing lol.
@qwachansey how many bitcoin did you buy at $11 each? Can’t blame yourself for taking profit at $400 each. Handsome return and not many would have guessed that it would run to peak at $19k (so far). I kick myself for not buying a few hundred of them when I first saw it at $8 each. I know though at the time having had student loans I would have likely sold them off when I could have paid those loans so I’d be in the same boat.
