This should be the No. 1 problem of a fangirl: okane.

You see, money don’t grow on trees. You have to earn it unless of course you are royalty, but then again, even they have to earn their keep.

And why is money important? To buy merchandise and products that the marketing teams of our beloved idols churn out of course.

 

 

Here are the stuff that your money will be best spent on:

Albums/concert DVDs

Choices, choices: do I buy this edition or that edition? Wait, they’re going to release a level-up edition with add-ons? But they just released that like a month ago?! No. You have to buy this. There’s a photobook, autographed what-not and a used towel from your bias with the smell of sweat intact. Okay, I’m being gross, but one gets the idea.

Dramas/Films

There are the drama series, in case your idol acts too. And the movies, oh the movies! There’s a memorial edition though that sounds morbid. But well, it’s still one of those must-buy because you know, your bias looks good in the photo set that comes with it.

Concert merchandise

And what about the concert merchandise? Light sticks, even if you’re not going to the concert. You need those in case there’s a blackout. Very useful. My Jay Chou light stick saved me one night so you never know. And those phone straps, better buy all the member colors. You can match according to your mood. Those clear files too! Even if I have never understood their purpose. Are they very useful for keeping work-related files and would be pretty to submit those CVs nevermind if they make you look uh, unprofessional? Well at least you found some use for them. What about those photos? Even if we’re in the digital age now, you still need hard copies the better to drool over and smudge them. Ah, don’t forget the posters, they’re good for wallpapers. Don’t forget the bags. Because you need a gazillion of eco bags. And the shirts! Even if you’d probably end up wearing them to sleep or on weekends or to somebody else’s concert because you never have the chance to wear them in your own idols’ concerts since they never perform in your own country.

Travel expenses

No, it’s not because your idols are the tourist ambassadors of their country or they promote an airline that you have to travel, though it can be an excuse for others to sit on the plane with the faces of their idols emblazoned on the aircraft. But let’s say you were lucky enough to get a ticket to a concert after staking your future in the lottery… of course, you need to travel to wherever the concert is unless you are Do Minjoon who can teleport, then good for you. You need to spend for airfare and hotel, not to mention all the other incidental expenses. But hey, it’s worth all the money. As St. Augustine said:

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.”

Other merchandise

Oh the many things that fangirl commercialism tellsus we need: scented candles, towels, lunch box, pillow… the ideas are endless. Maybe they should consider cloning our very own idols. Imagine if we can order them off the Internet ala Absolute Boyfriend.

In reality, I just got off YesAsia to order HIDAMARI NO KANOJO with English subtitles (I tell you, very rare for Japanese movies) and CNBlue Blue Moon concert in Seoul (also with English subtitles… uh, Johnny, the Koreans can do it, why can’t you?!). Last week, I also went with the mad rush to pre-order the long-awaited ARAFES ’13 Limited Edition. Am I glad because it’s already sold out in CDJapan and YesAsia.

Now, I’ll just have to wait for happiness to arrive in the mail.

Who says money can’t buy happiness?!

And this is where I invest my money.

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