I have really enjoyed these postings, as I do most that deal with addicted collectors. As I remember this subject came up earlier when someone was trying to establish a tracking method and there were many great suggestions. I personally use the standard, an Excel spreadsheet. The main reason for that is the ease of calculating, flexibility of entry, and the fact that HL accepts Excel as a way to register your collection. I currently track 20 pieces of data on each piece, and have broken them into 4 major areas.

I also am always scared to view the bottom line of the investment and understand why the insurance premium goes up each year. John's analysis of the monthly investment puts a pretty good perspective on why my VISA is always more than I budget for. I can also relate to the storage problem and still have not found a good way to store the boxes in a small footprint, although I will think about my addiction before renting an air conditioned storage space, as this would probably make my wife officially commit me to the Bill Younger institute for compulsive collectors addicted to lighthouses. Actually this might be a new revenue source for HL and have a good theraputic value by having all addicted collectors stand up a a reunion and say I proud to be a Wacko and I'll double the bid on the current piece in the auction.

Bottom line if you want to be an HL collector you don't need to always look at the $'s invested, but the intangable reward from the collection. I look at my collection every day in some respect or another. If one has to be addicted it is a lot cheaper than drugs, has a longer term value (I hope), builds good relationships, has daily enjoyment, and brings a purpose to the term collecting for personal enjoyment. If I have to make a decision on whether to collect or not based on the spreadsheet of my investment, I choose to stop using the spreadsheet. Ignorance is bliss.