Collect What You Love Now to Help Fund Your Retirement Later

Utilizing a variety of ways to accumulate money for your retirement is smart. Although making regular deposits to your retirement accounts is a fantastic way to keep your retirement bucks growing, with a little creative thinking, you can come up with some fun and interesting ways to beef up the gold for your golden years.

Why not consider collecting something that you truly enjoy? Collecting cherished items for 25 or more years is bound to accrue additional revenue for you at retirement time. Take some time to ponder what type of items you could start collecting. 

What Do You Want to Collect?

Collecting is an enjoyable activity for millions of people. The excitement of seeing a piece like you've never seen before and the thrill of procuring an item you thought you'd never get truly make collecting one of the most rewarding activities you'll ever do to save for your retirement.

When you're trying to decide what you want to start collecting, take these issues into consideration:

1. How much extra space do you have to store your collection? For example, do you have just a couple of empty drawers, a whole cabinet, or a basement in which to store your cherished items?

2. What are you interested in collecting? Going with your personal interests will make collecting a lot more fun.

• For example, if you loved your Barbie dolls when you were young, why not collect them now? You'll most likely be interested in ferreting through all your local flea markets and second-hand shops seeking your next Barbie.

3. Do you have special knowledge about something? For example, if your dad collected baseball cards when you were growing up and told you all about them and what to look for, maybe collecting baseball cards would be a great hobby for you, too.

4. How much do they cost? Some collectibles might be quite pricey while others are very affordable.

• Keep in mind that you're going to collect these items to earn money from selling them years down the road, so it's best to find something whose value increases.

5. How fast does their value appreciate? Do some research into collectibles you're considering collecting. Find out how much the items are selling for now and what their potential prices may be in the future.

6. Are they hard to find? Is a particular collectible quite rare or are there quite a few of them around? Be aware that if you decide to collect a rare item, those collectibles will require more work to find and possibly cost a lot.

• Availability of a collectible is important when trying to determine what type of collectibles to collect.

Examples of Collectibles

Use this list as your inspiration when exploring what you might want to collect:

• Old comic books
• Antique dishware
• First edition books
• Dolls
• Specific trendy toys, such as Barbie dolls or Tonka trucks
• Old candy dispensers, such as Pez
• Stamps
• Coins
• Letter openers
• Various superhero toys - Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the like
• Rocks
• Figurines of a specific type or brand
• Salt and pepper shakers
• Tea cups
• Old tools
• Classic cars
• Paintings
• Sculptures
• Folk Art

Collecting items that you love or have a special attachment to will truly enrich your collecting experience. Plus, taking into account your storage space, current knowledge, and the results of your up-front research will help you decide on the collectible that's right for you. Enhance your life now and your retirement account later by collecting what you love.


Image by Jon Sullivan