Tame the collecting beast

Hi fellow collectors,
We are going to talk about how easily a collection can get out of hand and some ideas on how to tame the beast.
When I first started collecting Olympic pins, I had only a manageable handful. I then went to an Olympic game and my collection exploded. The same thing happened with Disney, Coca-Cola, and others.
I decided that I needed to be more focused on what I collected while still collecting all the themes I loved. In order to tame the beast, I had to make some tough decisions, but in the end, i think it was the right decision. There is no way I could keep up with every pin that was put out by Disney, much less the Olympic committees, sponsors, teams, etc..
I decided to make some of my decisions based on what I could live with and made some sub-themes that I could specialize on instead of going all over the place. For instance, on Disney i decided to concentrate on Lady and the Tramp as well as Lilo and Stitch, those being my favorite movies. That does not mean that I won't get some of my other favorites, but I specialize on those two movies. So, if it really cute, unusual, or extremely limited edition of some of my lesser characters Chip & Dale, Jessica Rabbit, or Ariel) I might get them but when I only have enough cash for one, my primary collections wins out.
I will have some other suggestions and examples on how to cut back next time.
Until next time, happy hunting!