How many of you collect things? I've gotten really worried about my brother because he began collecting base ball cards and figurines and memorabilia for about two years now. I mean his room is covered with stuff and he has boxes and boxes of stuff. I mean the only positive thing I can think of is he keeps a file on his computer of everything he has purchased so he doesn't get duplicates. Have you ever looked in a sports shop before? I mean you think you could run out of things to buy, but they have made everything imaginable for every sports team. I was snooping, but I was in his room the other day and he had his credit card bill opened on his desk. I couldn't believe how much debt he is in because of this. I had no clue. I'm worried about him, but I don't want to tattle on him. What should I do? I've researched this and I found that many guys have collections and spend a lot of money on them. Any ideas?

That's interesting how all of a sudden he got really into all of this just 2 years ago.. Something must have triggered his need to collect things, and it's an addiction because he's risking his finances just to buy all of these things.  I think you should definitely tell someone so that he can get some support and get a hold of his obsession.  I know a few people that collect things, but not to the point that it becomes an obsession.  It's basically for fun, but when you take it to that level it's not fun anymore.

My old neighbor used to collect things for cars. He remodeled them and would collect the parts for cars even if he didn't need them. It got so bad that he had to keep it from his wife and would have the shipments mailed to his work address so she didn't know what he was buying. One day his wife went into the garage to get something and noticed all these empty collapsed boxes so she confronted her husband about it. He tried denying it, but it was too late she already knew what he was up to. She made him go to counseling and it seemed to really help both of them.

My mother has a problem with shoes. Its as if she collects them. She buys a pair every time she goes shopping and she only buys the expensive ones too! We moved into a new house and I noticed her shoe rack looked kind of empty and I asked her about it, she smiles and looked proud and said she threw out all her shoes and only kept those and she is not going to buy shoes. My dad always would yell at her for that. Well the other day I needed some pantyhose so I  was searching through her closet (she has a very big closet too) and she has this big cabinet with about 6 drawers in them. I opened up one of the drawers and it was PACKED with shoes. I opened the rest and ALL of them were fully loaded with shoes!

I don't really drink, but I collect shot glasses from the different places I travel to. I also don't collect, but have a hard time not buying new purses!