An instagram follower, @nickscards, recently asked if sports cards are a legitimate alternative investment to 401k investing.
This is a great question because I know from talking with many in the sports cards community that some will forego the 401k or roth IRA in order to put that money back into sports cards.
I hope I can make my message clear to the sports cards community.
Please do not replace any retirement accounts whether it is a 401k or roth IRA and prioritize investing in sports cards. Sports cards provide a very high level of risk compared to other investment options so sports cards should only be considered as alternative investments.
I personally view alternative investments such as sports cards as allocating disposable income after I have contributed to both pre and post tax retirements accounts (401k, roth IRA) AND taxable accounts such as a stock portfolio that is not part of my retirement accounts. Only after such contributions will I invest in sports cards.
As a side note, if you have debt, you should prioritize paying off debt. Luckily for me, I have no debt having recently paid off my $77,000 student loan debt, which is why I can put money towards sports cards and stash some for the long term.
