It's a dilemma every collector constantly faces. Since money is limited for most of us, you either have to sell a bunch of stuff or stop spending for a while. It’s probably a combination of both.

I’ve been waiting in the wings for about six months. Waiting for the economy to get a little worse and find some deals on collectibles that I want. I’m not sure if my recent buying spree is a result of these great deals I’ve been waiting for or simply because I found some things I couldn’t pass up.

It started a couple months ago when I bought two game-used bats from Mastro Auctions. Then I bought a Muhammad Ali single-signed ball from Iconic Memorabilia. Then a James Stewart single-signed ball from Bricol. Then a Richard Nixon single-signed ball from Memory Lane. And that doesn’t take into account the smaller items I’ve bought on eBay, like a 1996 U.S. Amateur complete ticket book set.

I’ve wanted a Yaz bat since I started collecting game-used bats five years ago. The Ali signature was just too nice to pass up and the Stewart ball was a natural fit since It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my all-time favorite movies.

I purchased the Nixon ball because I’m trying, like many others, to get a single-signed ball from every recent president. For now, I’m starting with Nixon and going forward with the possibility of filling backwards once I get the first goal completed.

The ticket book set fits nicely with my Tiger collection. I had the Sunday ticket from this set, but you don’t see many complete books around so I couldn’t pass it up. I wish I could find one from 1994 or 1995. I’ve got all of his Masters and British Open badges from years he won, and am still working toward the complete run of PGA Championship and U.S. Open badges.

Now I just have to figure out what to sell so I can start saving up for the big run of Nov. and Dec. auctions.