Suze Orman of CAG

[bluedotlounge]

Which CAG member has shown a good record of being a practial collector with really good advice? I'm starting to think that my 1000+ game days are over now that I'm planning to buy a house. Oh, any while we're at it, can someone make a master list (at least as of Feb 2005) of all games at cost over $100 that are mint and opened?

[Mr. Anderson]

Wrong forum, I thinks. I'm sure a mod will move it to the General Gaming forum.

[bluedotlounge]

My bad

[Jrunt20x]

I can give pretty good advice on collecting. I sometimes walk the line of non-CAGness with my collecting habits. Well, what in particular are you looking for.

[bluedotlounge]

For starters, I'm looking for some affirmation that in the long run, clearing my $4000 of credit card debt, is more practical than having a 1100+ game collection, especially when I've only completed 60 games in the past two years. And I'm a completist so I don't leave many games uncompleted. For some reason it feels more fulfilling to complete the hardest mode I can and unlock all that my skills allow me to. Obviously, I know what the answer is, but hearing from someone else is always cool.

[Jrunt20x]

Well, what games do you own. Are they crap titles like manhunt and such? Or games like Katamari Damacy? It's kinda hard to help you without knowing what you own and what you want to sell and such.

[epobirs]

The simple solution is to stop buying anything over a certain low price, say $10. Although something like a CC sale might cause you spend a pile it's rare enough that it bring your spending under control.

Checking eBay for the highest priced selling items would probably be the best way to find out what items in your collection are worth parting with to get your credit debt under control. You can also look at places link te link I'll place below for clues based on their buying prices.

www.gamedude.com

[dafoomie]

For starters, I'm looking for some affirmation that in the long run, clearing my $4000 of credit card debt, is more practical than having a 1100+ game collection, especially when I've only completed 60 games in the past two years. And I'm a completist so I don't leave many games uncompleted. For some reason it feels more fulfilling to complete the hardest mode I can and unlock all that my skills allow me to. Obviously, I know what the answer is, but hearing from someone else is always cool.
Clearing $4000 of credit card debt is certainly more practical under any circumstance. Video Games are not a good investment, if you are a collector, do not consider your collection an investment. Treat it as a hobby, a novelty. Any possible rate of return you could get on your videogames would be easily outstripped by the interest rate on the credit card.

Now go watch the Super Bowl.

[TiKi2]

suze orman is a filthy whore!

[wubb]

What dafoomie said. CC debt is very bad debt.

Take a look at your spending (make a budget), get it to a point where you are taking in more than you are laying out, and pay that CC bill down.

If you can get a loan from a bank or credit union, etc. you'd do well to do that (much better interest rate) and use the money to pay off the CC.

Or if you're planning to buy a house you probably have money saved up for the down payment. You mgiht want to look at just using some of that to pay off the CC.

[dtcarson]

Oh hell yes. Step one, clear that credit card debt. If you're paying 18% interest, and pay only the minimum each month, it'll take you like a decade to pay it off, and you're paying an ungodly sum in interest. Not to mention affecting your home/car loan interest rates.
Sort of defeats any savings you might get from finding a 20$ game on sale for 10.
If you can't pay off your cards, at least pay more than the minimum.
Don't use them again, till they're empty and you can pay off what you owe each month. That's the smart way to use cards--rack up the points or miles or rebates, and pay no interest. Unfortunately very few people do that, which is why they can offer it.
Go cash only, or at least cash/checks--it's harder to spend money when its the litle green things out of your wallet, or when it takes time to write out a check.
If you can take out a loan at a decent rate, or a 401k loan or something, that might not be a bad idea--but change your spending habits before you do it, otherwise you'll be even worse off.
Do it now, while you only have 4k and don't have a house payment and all the things that go along with home ownership. It's a very slippery slope, and it's easy to get in real bad shape real quick. I think when we last counted, my wife and I had about 22000 in credit card debt, plus two car payments and a mortgage. You don't want to be there.

[JAMMR]

Suze Orman would say something to the effect of "What the hell are you thinking? Video games are not an investment, they are a hobby. Never, ever, have credit card debt."

Which is true, even though the bitch annoys me... Credit Card debt is the worse kind of debt, plain and simple. Work on that, any means necessary.

Oh, and a house?!? Then you've got the mortgage and bigger bills to think of...

[bluedotlounge]

Thanks for the advice guys. Deep down I knew I had to follow this kind of advice. I just needed someone else to tell me.

[Gothic Walrus]

Not that I need to say it again, but get rid of credit card debt. That interest is going to kill you.

If you're selling off the games, doing it on eBay is probably your best bet.

And not that it really matters, but there's no such thing as a game being mint and opened. The two can't go together, since mint requires it being in a brand new condition. It can be like mint, but can't be mint.