“Don’t be tricked by the saying, ‘You’ll regret it if you don’t buy it.’” Budgeting tips for otakus. / Thus Spoke Hijiki Isoflavone

Dear readers, it has officially been ten months since my monthly column, Thus Spoke Hijiki Isoflavone, started. How time flies!

From today’s post onwards, I will be doing things a bit differently by incorporating the topics submitted to this column in my articles.

Since this is more of a space where I blather on about that month’s theme than an actual agony aunt column, however, I can’t guarantee I will be answering your questions properly... But anyway.

Today’s theme is “how otakus manage their budget.” If you’re an otaku, this topic is most likely one that is close to your heart, given that many of us are essentially broke most of the time.

Just look at the internet, and you’ll see people talking about collecting oshi badges, visiting collab cafes, going on anime pilgrimages, and attending every single stage adaptation of their favorite franchise as if they’re rolling in dough. So, how on earth does everyone find the money to fund these unmistakably expensive activities?

One day after school, however, while my friend and I were wandering around town, I found a video game soundtrack album I’d been dying to get my hands on for ages. As a broke student, I didn’t have enough cash on hand, but something came over me that prompted me to beg my friend to lend me some money on the condition that I pay them back the following day. Thanks to my friend’s generosity, I was able to obtain the album I had long sought.

As illustrated in this example, otakus are sometimes forced to make difficult decisions to spend money, often without warning.

Lately, more and more otakus have been spending money on their health and beauty too, which makes obtaining money and sticking to a budget all the more necessary.

While I’m sure that this isn’t the case for everyone, otakus are often celebrated for spending all their money on what they love and neglecting to save any for themselves.

However, let me say this: if you can’t look after yourself, you can’t be expected to care for the things you love either.

Instead of resorting to a simplistic budgeting tactic such as refusing to spend a single penny on anything aside from your hobbies, it’s important—and much more sustainable—to figure out how to manage your spending overall.

For starters, I try my best not to buy any merch or books that won’t fit in the drawers I have.

Since moving out of my parents’ house, my storage space has become limited, meaning any merch I buy that won’t fit under my bed or in my drawers has a direct impact on my living environment.

By deciding where to store my clothes and other necessities and how much space they’re allowed to take up, I also have a good indicator for whether I should buy something or not when I go shopping.

Additionally, I have several “no-spend” days a week where I forbid myself from spending even a single penny.

Barring certain necessary expenses such as transportation costs, I’m not allowed to eat out or buy anything on these days. The more you practice this, the easier it becomes to control your spending.

In my case, whenever I review my expenses, the biggest culprit tends to be impulsive purchases I make online. If I can keep myself from making too many said purchases, that should, in theory, result in me spending less money overall.

If you struggle with impulsive online purchases like me, these “no-spend” days can be incredibly useful since you’ll be forced to leave your items in your cart for a few days. By the time you come back to them, you might realize that you didn’t need them after all, thereby saving yourself from wasting money and tears.

One more thing I would like to mention is, don’t be swayed by the saying, “Better to regret buying it than regret not buying it at all.”

Before I sat down to write this column, I decided to count just how many doujinshis I’ve bought in the six months since I moved. The result was a whopping 98 doujinshis in six months, which was a very alarming number to be confronted by.

Not only have I completely run out of space to store them, but I fell victim to the fact that doujinshis are the type of thing you buy precisely because they’re only available at certain times or events. Most of them were ones I purchased online too...

Well, I guess the good thing is that I don't regret buying them, but...