Cleaning House - 2007 Final Expenses
Following along with fellow blogging brethren Stripey and Adun, it only seems right that the “Overlord of anime expenditure, Grandmaster Moy” put in his two cents on 2007 expenses and other financial expectations for the new year.
Don’t expect anything all inspiring like the other two but do look at it as an example of how not to live and spend 
For the most part, the post I wrote back in September of 2007 is still valid but all financial calculations after September are not. Or to put it simply, I spent a lot more inbetween that day in September until the end of the year. Of course, I completely blame the fine folks in Japan for releasing merchandise that any anime collector such as myself would want and get; otherwise, I would not be able to rationalize the close to $8000USD I spent in 2007 on anime related goods. Yes, that’s right roughly $7932USD was spent on DVDs, figures, manga, CDs, mooks, and other misc. anime items which also makes me one of the ten people on Adun’s poll that voted to spending over $2700USD in 2007 ^^;;
Honestly I can say without a doubt that the majority of the cash went to figure collecting with me buying roughly 69-72 figures in 2007. Don’t know what started the chain reaction with figure collecting but before I knew it I was on places like HLJ and Hobby Search daily checking for the newest preorders and releases. Unfortunately this also started the ever declining amount of free space in my room as well, as well, figures gosh darn take up a lot of space whether one likes it or not!
2007 also saw me starting to collect random merchandise like character towels and plushies, which until that year I never cared about. Just like with figure collecting, honestly have no clue what started the trend but I’m pretty entrenched now. I mean, I just paid $32USD for what amounts to either a wrist pad and/or small lower back comforter that has Tama-nee (from To Heart 2) on it!
Well hopefully that will all change this year. My current job, while nice given the circumstances, doesn’t seem to be offering the job security I thought it had a year ago especially given recent developments. So I may find myself jobless or looking for another job in the coming months, which means I need to save as much as possible now for the worst case scenario. This means, thankfully for my wallet, cutting back on anime and just general random purchases. Sure it’s fun to give out Haruhi Character CDs, buy the newest game systems, and randomly order a new LCD but it all has to stop. Minus whatever I currently have preordered at the moment, I need to set a $500USD or less limit on the anime spending I can do monthly. Tis the only way I’ll have money I can actually save with. Plus with my hours being cut back to what they used to be months ago, I literally cannot afford to go nuts as I have in the past.
So who is with me on this great quest to avoid poverty via anime spending? Any takers? 
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
o_o $7932!!! senpai~
post like this makes me want to calculate my 2007 spending, I also voted above A$3000 on Adun’s poll ._.
Time to start calculating to shock myself @_@
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Limit yourself to US$500/month? That’s still a lot lol
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I try to limit myself to $250 a month.. but I only pick up DVDs and Manga..
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Woah you had that much to spend?! Truly you had a sort of demi-godhood in 2007.
I came off rather badly too; according to my Quarterly Report for Fiscal Year 2008 so between October 2007 to December 2007 I spent 3607.96 USD on non essential purchases (Anime, Games, Manga, Figures, LCD TV, etc.). That basically amounted to almost 48% of my budget. Not sure if I am supposed to feel proud of spending the remaining 52% on actually living or be horrified that I spent so much in 4 months…
Good luck with your god hunt. Looking at your resume you might want to see if the US Federal Government is willing to take you since I know the civilian contractors on some bases are nearly impossible to fire (how’s that for Job Security?). Best of all you don’t have top be that nice or cheery when it comes to customer service! If all else fails I am sure Uncle Sam would welcome you in as a enlisted information tech specialist as an E-4 to E-5. Provided your recruiter is merciful they might cut boot camp to 2 weeks for you as a Pitstop…I hear they get treated like human beings.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Nuts, I need coffee.
Good luck with your job hunt.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I’ve been trying to keep it around $400 a month for dvds and figures. Probably closer to $300 a month now that I’m getting better about waiting for the lower priced box-sets.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:53 pm
…. We are not worthy! *prostrates* XD
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:30 am
damn~ i wished I was as rich as you. then again, i dun understand why people classify me as rich either. why not get me something nice if you have spare cash? =DDD
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:06 am
There is no such thing as spare cash!!
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:54 am
I think everyone goes through that phase of where they start buying random things just because they can. I myself have done that many times, and still do it to a small extent. Though I think the worst thing was that a friend of mine always competed on who could buy the most every time we went out to Kinokuniya, and trust me, it can add up to phenomenal amounts.
I don’t think limiting yourself to $500/month is too hard. You’ll come to the point where you start picking out quality items and know what kind of stuff will fit in your room. For me this year, I’ll leave the preorders for now, but I’ll have to start saving a lot to reach a far greater goal in August.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:25 am
With that uncertain future, you have to save some money!
But limit to 500$/month? That´s a lot you know!! Maybe not for figures but for me it´s a lot of money and it would bring me a lot of games/DVDs/manga if I could afford it every month
Save money, that´s my take on it. Only game you have to buy for the PS3 is Disgaea 3
Which is released 31 January this year. Japanese version that is.
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:03 am
This makes me feel better about my meager 1500 dollars on anime goods year. I thought /that/ was a lot. Though, if I had a constant job, lemme tell ya, my numbers would probably be up there with you.
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am
I feel so pathetic now, when I compare my spendings to yours.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
hmmm, i am torn. in a way, i am happy for you in that you are saving money however, i am also sad that i will not see as many random orgies of consumer delight in 2008
j/k Moy, cutting back is always a good idea. i stopped collecting anime in 2007 and although i was sad for a long time, it was a good decision in the long run. i saved close to $9000 last yr from cancelled preorders and purchases so it can be done, it is just very very hard at the beginning. when you start seeing that money grow in your bank account tho, it is all worth it. the extra bedroom space is also appreciated as well
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
70….figures….Gosh, I don’t think I can even fit that many figures in my room without using the floor. Here’s an idea, build a museum/rent space and charge a 4 dollar fee to see anime figures. Depending on how well that goes, you could get your money back in no time!
January 4th, 2008 at 1:19 am
ron~, LOL I definitely will not be trying so hard this year. And it looks like you yourself made as bad as of a dent in your finances as well huh?
double, meh not really compared to my average monthly pay.
kiryuu, now that’s self control!
Crusader, not too bad yourself and thanks for the advice on trying for a government job. Do know my resume is a bit out of date, so I should have a few more skill sets companies may want ^^;;
super rats, oh another one with true restraint!
Stripey, yes bow before your spending god… not
bj0rN, LOL right. What do you want?
tj han, LOL a good motto for those that spend like crazy.
Adun, true true. I feel this year will be a lot better on the finances as I can already see myself cutting back a bit.
manga, I see. Too bad I was never into the Disgaea series. Tell me how it plays!
wildarmsheero, good to know my path to poverty can make others feel better about themselves
Zeroblade, no that’s a *good* feeling… knowing you actually have money compared to me!
Zanza, hahaha thanks? But yea, I’m looking forward to having more money and *some* space in my room this year
Everlasting, nice idea but doubt it would work out that well. Food for thought if I really need the cash.