TO WISER FINANCIAL DECISIONS THIS 2024

Sobrang happy ko sa mga Christmas budols ko this year because I discovered the beauty of "loose" animé figures and fanmade Kpop merch.

Okay let me explain. "Loose" in collector terms are figures that are already taken out of the box and the accessories and parts were already assembled. There are times when some of the accessories are missing or may issues, that's why it's priced wayyy cheaper. But a "loose" set is still way cheap compared to "sealed" merchandise. Sealed, as the name implies, are still inside the box, with intact packaging and the like.

In my case, I found a loose Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Yuta Okkotsu Bandai Ichiban Kuji Prize A online, whose original prize would range from 5k-6k plus shipping. And I got it for 1k plus only. The only difference is that it wasn't in a sealed box and the accessories and parts were already assembled (plus it's second hand).

Contrary to animé, K-Pop merch is rather expensive. Even "unsealed" or second hand ones wouldn't go down as low as "loose" animé figures. Most especially "photocards". They even become more expensive when sold solely, most especially when it is a rare, unreleased photo of a K-Pop member.

Thus, I began searching for unofficial and fanmade merch. Design-wise, they are wayyy better than the official ones. The only downside is that you won't be able to resell them with a hefty price tag to other fans. But when you come to think of it, isn't the whole point of getting merch is because you like them for your own use? That realization had me in a eureka moment, and made my stan life better ever since.

For instance, an officially licensed mini acrylic standee of TWICE Mina would cost around 700-1k plus, while dupes and fanmade ones don't even crack 500 pesos at most. As long as it looks fine, I really don't mind. Gone were the days when I would spend more than 5K in one sitting when a set of new merch would be released. And I've never been happier! I can still enjoy their music and mv and be a fan the same way other stans do even when I have some unofficial merch.

Aside from saving a lot (I mean a lot a lot) of money from it, buying unofficial and second hand items are also helpful for the environment and the local economy.

Imagine this: every merch takes a certain amount of carbon emission to produce and would probably just end up in the environment when you would throw them away, adding more trash to the world. But when you buy second-hand items, as the popular saying goes, "one man's trash is another man's treasure". It would lessen the amount of waste that is produced and would instead maximize the carbon footprint produced by that item.

On the other hand, patronizing fanmade merch provides business opportunities for local talents. I'd much rather have artists get my hard-earned money, rather than huge corporations that probably won't be affected when I don't buy from them, because they already earned from advertising and selling rights of their music already.

Who would've thought that I'm already this far in my journey on being a "Kuripot Guide". Truly, if you really want to support your hobbies without breaking the bank, there's always a way. And I believe that our K-Pop idols or anime actors wouldn't want to see us go broke over patronizing their art.

The right thing to do when it comes to being a collector is to not spend above your means always. Plus, even when your income increases, it doesn't mean that your expenses should also follow. Lifestyle inflation doesn't equate to a better life, believe me. You are better off spending less and saving more, rather than spending more and having little when the time comes that you are no longer as capable as you are now in producing wealth.

I've always believed in delayed gratification, because the thrill that you experience when collecting, can still be achieved without breaking the bank and saving more for your future.