There’s something incredibly dangerous about growing up, getting a job, and eventually realizing:
Wait… I can just buy this shit myself now.
Pokémon cards.
Video games.
Consoles.
Collectibles.
Computers.
All the random nerdy shit that catches my attention.
As a kid, there were obviously things I wanted and couldn’t just go buy whenever I felt like it.
But I also want to make something very clear:
I had a great childhood.
And when it came to video games especially, I was pretty damn lucky.
My Dad Loved Video Games Too
One of the reasons gaming has always been such a big part of my life is that my dad loved video games just as much as I did.
So I wasn’t growing up desperately staring through the window at other kids playing games while I sat at home with a stick.
We had games.
We had consoles.
We played them.
And some of my favorite memories from growing up involve video games.
My dad wasn’t the parent standing there saying:
“Why are you wasting your time playing that?”
He understood it.
Because he wanted to play too.
That made gaming something more than just a childhood hobby for me. It’s tied to a lot of really good memories.
Of course, being a kid still meant I couldn’t walk into a store and say:
“I’ll take everything.”
Which, looking back, was probably an important financial safeguard.
Because now I’m an adult.
And that safeguard is gone.
Well…
Except my wife.
I Can Just… Buy Pokémon Cards?
As a kid, getting Pokémon cards was an event.
Maybe you’d get a few packs.
Maybe you’d save up some money.
Maybe you’d get cards for your birthday or Christmas.
Every pack mattered.
Now?
I can walk into a store and buy an entire booster box.
That’s fucking dangerous.
The little kid part of my brain still sees a shelf full of Pokémon cards and thinks:
HOLY SHIT.
Except now the adult part of my brain has a debit card.
That’s a terrible combination.
Then You Start Buying the Stuff You Remember
Adult money also unlocks something even more dangerous:
nostalgia purchases.
Remember that game you loved as a kid?
You can buy it again.
That old console?
Yep.
That collectible you always thought was cool?
Sure.
And sometimes it isn’t even something you couldn’t have as a kid.
Sometimes you just want to own it again.
Because seeing an old GameCube game, Pokémon card, controller, or console doesn’t just remind you of the thing itself.
It reminds you of being a kid.
It reminds you of playing games with your family.
It reminds you of coming home from school and turning on the console.
You’re not always buying the thing because you never had it.
Sometimes you’re buying a tiny piece of that memory back.
And eBay is more than happy to assist with this terrible financial decision.
“It’s Only $20” Is How It Starts
This is how hobbies get you.
You don’t usually start by spending $1,000.
You spend $20.
Then another $30.
Then you find something for $15 and think:
“That’s actually a really good deal.”
And it probably is.
The problem is you’ve found 37 really good deals this month.
Pokémon cards are especially dangerous because everything feels relatively inexpensive individually.
A few packs here.
A card there.
Maybe an ETB.
Maybe a Japanese booster box.
Maybe that single you’ve been wanting.
Then one day you look at the shelf and realize you’ve somehow built a small retail inventory.
Whoops.
And It Isn’t Just Pokémon
That’s the real problem.
If I only had one hobby, we’d probably be okay.
But apparently my brain doesn’t work that way.
I like Pokémon.
I like video games.
I like retro games.
I like computers.
I like programming.
I like game development.
I like 3D printing.
I like servers and networking equipment.
I used to collect a ridiculous number of Funko Pops.
And every single hobby has its own accessories, upgrades, collectibles, and completely unnecessary things that I can somehow convince myself are necessary.
Buy a 3D printer?
Well, obviously you need filament.
And different colors.
And maybe an AMS.
And tools.
And spare parts.
And now you need somewhere to store all the filament.
Congratulations.
Your hobby has developed dependencies.
Technology Might Be the Worst One
Tech is especially dangerous because I can disguise buying toys as productivity.
Pokémon cards?
Obviously a hobby.
A new computer?
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
That’s a development tool.
Another monitor?
Productivity.
A 55-inch TV mounted above my existing three monitors?
Dashboard.
Raspberry Pi cluster?
Education.
Server rack?
Infrastructure.
Ethernet throughout the house?
Critical infrastructure.
See?
Completely different.
My wife remains unconvinced by this distinction.
Eventually You Run Out of Space
Money isn’t even the only problem.
Eventually you need somewhere to put all this shit.
I recently realized this with my Funko Pop collection.
For years I loved collecting them. Pokémon, Avatar, video game characters—you name it.
Then eventually I looked around my office and realized the walls were covered with hundreds of tiny plastic people staring at me.
The collection that used to make me happy had basically become decoration I didn’t even notice anymore.
That’s another weird part of having adult money.
Sometimes buying the thing is more exciting than having the thing.
But Honestly? It’s Pretty Awesome
I’m making fun of myself here, but there’s another side to all of this.
I think it’s pretty damn cool that many of the things I loved as a kid are still things I love today.
Video games weren’t something I grew out of.
Pokémon wasn’t something I completely left behind.
Technology certainly didn’t go anywhere.
If anything, those interests grew up with me.
And now I get to experience them from a completely different perspective.
I can buy Pokémon cards and open them with my wife.
I can introduce my kids to games.
I can go back and play the games I remember playing when I was younger.
I can build my own games now.
I can buy a 3D printer and make random shit because I think it would be cool.
I can build computers, screw around with servers, write software nobody asked for, and spend entirely too much time researching a Raspberry Pi cluster I absolutely do not need.
And when I think back to being a kid playing video games with a dad who loved them just as much as I did…
It’s actually pretty cool that I’m still that same nerd.
I just have a paycheck now.
Adult Money Is Dangerous
The trick, apparently, is moderation.
I’m still working on that part.
Because childhood hobbies combined with adult income is an incredibly dangerous equation:
Kid Brain + Adult Money = “Add to Cart.”
My parents no longer have to approve the purchase.
I have my own money.
I have Amazon.
I have eBay.
I have a car.
I can literally drive myself to the store.
I have become too powerful.
Thankfully, there is one final line of defense.
My wife.
And somewhere in the house, she just felt a disturbance in the Force.
Probably because another package is arriving tomorrow.
What childhood hobby became even more dangerous once you had adult money?
Pokémon cards? Retro games? LEGO? Comics? Cars? Computers?
And did you have a parent who was just as into your hobby as you were?
Tell me in the comments so I can feel slightly better about my own terrible financial decisions.
