People collect things for a variety of reasons. Some people start collections with the hopes that their collection will gain value over time and then be sold for financial gain. Some people start collecting because of sentimentality.

When I was a kid, I collected Smurfs. I collected them because they were cute and you could always find a Smurf that shared your interests. I loved those characters, and I can still remember the smell of a new plastic blue Smurf right out of the box. When I outgrew the Smurfs, I put them in a shoe box and forgot about them. When I moved out of my childhood home, it never occurred to me to take them with me. My nieces likely played with them when visiting my parents. I have no idea where those Smurfs (and the villain Gargamel) are now. Their absence doesn’t diminish my memories of playing with them or receiving them as gifts (I got several for my 12th birthday). Smurfs still make me smile. But if I still had them, they would probably still be in that same shoe box. I’m glad other generations in my family got to enjoy them. Who knows, I may find them again when I clean out my parent’s house one day. What would I do with them, then? I admit, if I found them today, I’d check eBay to see if there’s a market for them. I might keep a favorite or two to display on a shelf, but time has already proven that I don’t need the physical object to remember the joy associated with those cute little blue creatures. 

What do you collect? Do you collect purely for joy and/or with the hope that your collection will bring financial gains? Have you included instructions in your estate plans for your collection or discussed it with loved ones? I’d love to hear from you.

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