State of the hobby: content and cutting back.
Summary
Still into Lego but choosing to enjoy it less intensely. Channeling more time towards writing.
Timeline
- 2022 November: Becoming an AFOL (adult fan of Lego) started with an Arctic set, a Mandalorian set, and the magnificent Ideas Treehouse.
- 2022 December: Started blogging about the hobby.
- 2023-2024: Super obsessed with Lego. Blogged about obsession, self-control, and contentment.
- 2025: Started feeling I should cut back because of rising prices and limited time for hobbies. But didn't act on it.
- 2025 October: In a three-year retrospective I aimed to limit 2026 purchases to 4 sets max.
- 2026: Did well enough in cutting back: I bought 7 sets, mostly very small ones. More certain that I want to scale back further in 2027.
2027 plan
Avoid buying anything new (or even used) in 2027, except an occasional set and preferably tiny ones. "Tiny" defined as costing around US$20 or less, and "occasional" defined as roughly 4 sets for the whole year.
Instead I want to spend more time writing than looking for good deals or reselling Lego on the secondhand market. By writing, I mean blogging (about Lego and games) and also working on a short story.
In January 2026, I set myself the challenge of writing 1 short story by December -- thinking that would be manageable -- and it's turned out incredibly difficult!
Obsession
I'm still keenly interested but no longer obsessed.
It's not that my interest naturally waned. Rather, limiting my 2026 purchases helped reduce obsession.
Rising prices also put a dampener on interest. Lego prices have reached the point where I've simply put my foot down and said, "I totally love how this set looks and want to buy it, but this price is insane so I won't."
But most of all, I've seen that interest in a hobby increases with time investment, and vice-versa. I want to write more, which means clearing headspace and making more time for it. I'm deliberately channeling time away from Lego towards writing, reading, and gaming.
Self-control
I had been reselling Lego as a way to fund the hobby. As long as I resold, I could keep buying new sets.
In 2026, I recognized that the best way to slow down is to limit how many sets I buy in a year, regardless of whether funds are available.
So the self-control method that truly works for me is limiting the number of sets, not just the amount of money spent.
Lately I'm also less willing to part with sets, which means much less funds for new purchases.
Storage is another issue. I don't like how much space my boxes are taking up and want to downsize.
Contentment
It's not just about self-control and channeling time into a different hobby but also about contentment.
As I realized a long time ago but didn't practice until recently, contentment is a deliberate decision more than a feeling. Make the active choice instead of passively waiting to feel content.
I'm choosing to be happy with sets I already have and enjoy rebuilding/re-displaying them, rather than chase novelty.
With all the above, I'm moving towards being actually satisfied with my collection.
Just because I like numbers
I made an Excel sheet to record every purchase, sale, and gift between 2022 and now. Tallied up how much I spent over 4 years and how much I recovered from selling.
It's embarrassing to disclose gross totals, but I'm proud to report that:
- Selling Lego recovered 48.2% of what I spent buying Lego for myself.
- Selling Lego and non-Lego items recovered 66.6% of what I spent buying Lego for myself.
Purchases for friends were recorded separately.
- Over 4 years, I made 30 such purchases (including keychains and minifigures). Of these, 7 were for adults and 23 for children aged between three and twelve.
- Purchases for friends made up 10% of all money spent on Lego.
I also owned 27 sets or minifigures I didn't pay for.
- These were either gifts from people, GWPs (gifts-with-purchase), lucky finds, or paid by coupon/points.
- Out of these, 11 sets or minifigures were gifts from my husband, often from his leisure allowance and Rakuten points.
Looking at all these numbers made me realize, "Wow, I spent (and sold) a lot." I've put a lot of time and money into this hobby. After 4 years, I'm genuinely ready to slow down and just enjoy what I have.