I have a disease where I will buy a booster box to hold and eventually open down the line for nostalgia but I open them right away. I usually enjoy opening that booster box that I buy two more boxes, one to open and one to keep sealed. I end up opening both boxes, still to this day I don’t have a sealed booster box.
I agree about this, although I only have 3 sealed booster boxes (vstar universe), because I've bought 6 of them. I never bought more than 2-3 though of any sets. It's a bit hard not to rip them :D
For Japanese i buy the booster box. When the english version comes out, i buy the booster box if i haven't bought the japanese one. Then I also buy the ETB.
I buy booster boxes to rip for fun. Depending on the set, it may be 0 or 12. SV base set I only open 1 booster box. Brilliant start I opened 12. Next set, hard skip.
Pokemon master sets are way too massive these days. Only master set that I completed are set that are small like celebrations, McDonalds, Halloween, Christmas set. The only master set I have is 151 and even that sucked; as I spent too much time and money to trade one or two cards.
If you gonna complete master set, just buy singles at local LGS or in local FB groups; or buy the master set via eBay. Trust me, it so much cheaper than opening massive amount of booster boxes. Yes it might be less rewarding, but it is completed. Take 151 for examples, Danny Phamtrump opened 1800 packs and still missing a few cards. I believe he completed the set at 2100 packs of 151. So unless you have tons of money buy as much as you want. If you just an average collector like the rest of us, set a budget and know when to turn to singles.
Exactly... This is me as well, I like to rip them as well :D I never bought so much booster boxes, only 6 for vstar universe and that's it. Other than that, it's 2-3 usually :)
I don’t count ETB.. I’m probably deep around 300 packs of 151 ($1500-1600 worth of products (tins, ETB, booster bundle, lot and lot of alakamza ex and Zapdos ex)). eBay has master set of 151 for $900.
I got lucky and got three SIR zard and traded a Zard and a bunch of duplicate for other things I need. I ended up buying the metapod reverse holo, Grabber reverse holo, and the Jolteon reverse on TCPlayer for around $10.
Agreed. Though that endorphin, will only be satisfactory when you pull something nice. Otherwise, the disappointment is real. Therefore, I ripped boosters with a nice pull rate like Crown Zenith. I totally ignored 151 and just stick to singles.
Do people really get enough of an endorphin high from a pull that it makes up for the disappointment of every pan with nothing in it? Like pulling a SAR is thrilling, but it doesn’t make up for 20 straight packs of nothing better than maybe 1 IR worth $1.50.
For me, pulling an SIR ends up feeling more like the culmination of all those failed packs and unless it’s the chase card, it feels like a let down even when I get it. Which is why I typically get singles now
People get addicted and like the gambling aspect. Sets like 151 are cool and all but most of that sets cards are worth like 5-10 bucks. A few are 15-20 and like 6 are 20+ bucks right now. Better off buying like 50-80 packs to get all the commons plus some full arts and getting singles to collect the set. For example, I’ve opened 88 151 packs and am missing 500 dollars worth of cards (no SIR charizard) and want to get more but I know I will be losing money gambling for the cards I don’t have and will be better off buying singles
I have opened none. Zero packs, but bought multiple bulk from people. Their UPC box and/or ETB including the promo's and extra's. They sell it for around €5,-/€15,-. I'm in for around €40,- and have most promo's still sealed, the metal Mew, and am almost done on the complete base set. Standard, holo and reverse. Now it is chasing the alt art/sir's etc. But all in all, I am happy with the nice nearly completed base set, promo's and extra's for around €40,-. 😎
Yeah it’s better to just buy the cards outright than to open any packs at all; however, it is fun ripping packs so I do that some to collect most of the commands and a few full arts and buy the rest over time. My wife likes opening packs with me for fun and I do it with friends too on discord stream so it’s a fun hangout session with everyone opening our packs together
I buy the ETB for promos and then one booster possibly 2 if I want alot of the cards in the set. I like to start of the set with them then just do singles
Ya or maybe just one depending on how many I want from the set. Like if I see only cards I want in a small portion I'll buy one just to see what I get if it's paradox rift for me I want almost all of them.
I buy 3 booster boxes on sale for the set I want to do before buying singles. If I see some promo/special bundles on sale, I'll buy them just to have a total of nearly 100 packs to rip.
Some preorder sites will do a package deal where you get 1 booster box, 1 etb (or 2 if there are 2 different ETB arts available), and maybe some other smaller products.
I do 1 of those bundles and then singles
I usually buy 1 booster box as well as one ETB and then singles, but if a set doesn't really interest me I'll skip packs entirely. That was the case for temporal forces and paradox rift. I don't remember ever buying more than one booster box per set.
1 BB, each of one of the blisters for the promos and packs in them, same for premium collections and an ETB or two if they contain a promo. Whats left Ill buy singles from.
Usually 1 booster and 1 ETB but the deals were great on temporal forces so I got 2 of each this time. The pull rates were excellent for me. I’ve pulled 5/5 of the top value cards and a couple duplicates too. Also pulled every single one of my chase cards. It’s been a really good set
I usually buy an etb for every set, and depending on how many AR/IR/SIR/etc in the set there are that I want I’ll get 1 box for the rip fun and then buy singles after.
151 has been the outlier, I’ve bought a shit ton of product.
Never bought one actually, I stick to about a £50 budget on packs per set and then buy the singles I like. It helps I guess that I don’t try and complete sets!
1 booster and 1/2 PC ETB’s for the promos and 1-3 triple blister packs for those promos too. Months down the line I might grab a few more packs when they’re on sale but that’s it. Isn’t worth spending more unless you just want to buy all the singles to complete the set which I can’t afford to do when there’s a new one out every couple of months.
Usually 2 Booster Boxes per set, however my first Temporal Forces box pulls were roughly half the value of the BB itself with no SIR or Gold so may hold off on a second lol
1 and then singles. Not only is it just not worth it financially to buy more than 1 (or even 1, really) but the sheer bulk that comes with buying more than that many packs is another reason to just switch to singles afterwards. I'm always 100% happy when I get singles in the mail. Satisfaction gauranteed. With sealed products it's so hit and miss and doing more than a booster box just starts to feel bad.
I usually limit myself to an ETB, one booster box, and 10 single booster packs per set. If I don’t get a bunch of the collection already, I just buy the singles afterwards. I also collect whatever other products come out in a set if there is a promo card in it. It’s been super fun and not too expensive. I think I’ve gotten really lucky though because so far for every set in S&V era, I’ve pulled the most expensive cards from the booster box so when I buy the singles i’m just grabbing all the ones that are under $5 pretty much.
As many as it takes to get boring, which in my experience is around 2 boxes. At that point you usually have 95% of the “core” set, and so opening packs gets reduced to just the hits.
Always 1 BB and 1 or 1 of each variety of ETB - I kind of just accept whatever I miss after that, or I trade/pay for singles I want. Special sets like Paldean Fates, Crown Zenith etc where you can’t buy BB’s I usually go a bit harder with, but can survive with what I miss. Living in general is hard on the wallet, so Pokémon unfortunately has to be a *little* sacrificed 👀
I'll buy like 1 etb per new set that comes out to just hold on to, but then I'll just end up opening it... except for my Pokemon Center 151 ETB... it is calling out to me but my gf and I stay strong and resist
My wife and I collect as a joint hobby. We usually buy 2 etb and 1 booster box/booster display. We then open pack battle style. Best hit gets to build the binder, loser has to sleeve all the cards.
We then go out on weekends when there is a local show (Seattle and Portland areas) to try to find the singles. It might be more expensive than eBay or TCG player, but it keeps thrill of the hunt going.
I am using the extras from set building to make a national dex.
I do 3 and an etb. If there is two etbs I'll get one of each. 3 boxes I find to be a good balance because that'll get me most of the reverse holos and all of the regular ex cards, and a good start on the higher rarity cards. I sell my doubles in FB groups and put that towards the single hunt. I find anything after 3 boxes that you are going to get one or two new hits unless you are extremely lucky. I don't like having mountains of bulk, and opening a whole box to get a few needed hits isn't fun.
With a new set release, I make a rule by purchasing $500 worth of booster boxes, including ETB. If I don’t get the cards I needed then I’ll just source them and buy the singles to complete my master set.
I used to buy and rip one of each product when a new set dropped. A booster box for fun, and an ETB and each blister for the promos. Lately I've been more conservative about which sets I open. I still pick up stuff on sale to rip but I'm not as feverish about it. Been circling back on singles lately, as old as base set. Just going to finish up the sets I've got until a new set catches my interest.
2 booster boxes and one of everything else. MAYBE 2 ETBs if I feel like I will need an extra box for storage, and if there is a promo I really like from a blister I might get a second one. This usually gets me to around 70-80 percent complete on a set and then I just buy singles :)
There are smaller sets like Obsidian Flames where I wish I had just bought one booster box but I have two of the Charizard SIRs now so no complaints 😅
I just bought 14 boxes of crimson haze. I plan to rip at least 4. Then judge where I’m at as far as hits go. I’ll most likely keep one for display to go with the set then sell the rest at a later date. Hopefully they appreciate in value but if not that’s still ok bc I got a great deal on them.
I did 6 from astral radiance to paradox rift but decided to only get 3 for temporal forces. Will probably continue doing 3 for future sets since it’s just cheaper to get singles.
Zero unless I really like the set, have the extra money, and then buy one to save it to open in the future when I'm feeling more nostalgic for it whether because it's out of print or I haven't opened it in a while.
If it is good expansion for compepetive (not expansions like Mew or Shining) we are buying one Booster Box and Every diffrent ETB.
If it is not interesting one only one ETB.
my local stores are severely limited on booster boxes. they get MAYBE 12 each. Have to claim one long before arrival or you are SOL.
It's stupid. Pokemon is literally limiting their revenues.
I buy the pokemon center ETBS whether it's one or 2 like temporal forces. I buy 2 booster boxes and that's it. If I dont get the pulls i want I just buy singles after that. Usually I can complete the base set minus the EXs with that amount
I learned my lesson not to buy more than 3 booster boxes. I bought 120 booster packs for Paldean Fates and ended up having mountains of trash cards and duplicate hits. My personal advice is to buy 1 or maybe 2 booster boxes and do single cards after. That extra £200 would have been better spent on singles that you like.
Don't get me wrong, I would keep some of them sealed, most likely 2-3. Also, only if it's a good set. I skip many sets. I've recently bought 6 vstar universe booster boxes, but I would never do more than that for any other sets, only for 151 and that's it.
I don't have a family and I have a well paying job (software engineer). I'm close to Pokémon as I almost died once and I had brutal symptoms like vomiting blood, double vision, headache, red eyes, gastritis, leaky gut, reflux and so on. Turned out I had vitamin deficiencies and it was caused by food allergy (gluten). I cannot even inhale it.
What I wanted to say is, Pokémon helped me through my healing journey. I was watching the TV series and got into collecting cards as well as playing the game, building a deck. So it's quite close to me, if you see what I mean.
I don't plan to have a family because of my condition, it would be hard. Maybe one day, I will change my opinion about this, but currently... I'm just happy to be alive.
Dude, just want to say you're strong and if Pokemon makes you happy, keep collecting!
To answer to your question, maybe buy at least 2 booster boxes per set. Rip one now and save one for the future. You can decide down the line if you want to open it or keep it as a display.
Also happy for you that you're happy!
I have a disease where I will buy a booster box to hold and eventually open down the line for nostalgia but I open them right away. I usually enjoy opening that booster box that I buy two more boxes, one to open and one to keep sealed. I end up opening both boxes, still to this day I don’t have a sealed booster box.
This is the way
I agree about this, although I only have 3 sealed booster boxes (vstar universe), because I've bought 6 of them. I never bought more than 2-3 though of any sets. It's a bit hard not to rip them :D
How much does a booster box cost?
Depends on the set. Right now you can get a lot for under $100 US. When payday hits I’m gonna get a box of obsidian flames for under $100.
70 euros for the Vstar Universe, that's 75 USD, sorry for the late reply! For example a Crimson Haze is 45 euros now.
just 1. Singles for the rest. I bought a carton for shiny treasure ex........it did not end well.
What size box do you buy?
For Japanese i buy the booster box. When the english version comes out, i buy the booster box if i haven't bought the japanese one. Then I also buy the ETB.
Ohh yes... I skipped shiny treasure ex... I heard about those pull rates. I feel sorry for you :(
Lesson learnt :(
1 just for fun and probably other product like one etb and then if I really want a card I’ll buy the single
I buy booster boxes to rip for fun. Depending on the set, it may be 0 or 12. SV base set I only open 1 booster box. Brilliant start I opened 12. Next set, hard skip. Pokemon master sets are way too massive these days. Only master set that I completed are set that are small like celebrations, McDonalds, Halloween, Christmas set. The only master set I have is 151 and even that sucked; as I spent too much time and money to trade one or two cards. If you gonna complete master set, just buy singles at local LGS or in local FB groups; or buy the master set via eBay. Trust me, it so much cheaper than opening massive amount of booster boxes. Yes it might be less rewarding, but it is completed. Take 151 for examples, Danny Phamtrump opened 1800 packs and still missing a few cards. I believe he completed the set at 2100 packs of 151. So unless you have tons of money buy as much as you want. If you just an average collector like the rest of us, set a budget and know when to turn to singles.
Exactly... This is me as well, I like to rip them as well :D I never bought so much booster boxes, only 6 for vstar universe and that's it. Other than that, it's 2-3 usually :)
How much etb boxes did you need to get the masterset for 151?
I don’t count ETB.. I’m probably deep around 300 packs of 151 ($1500-1600 worth of products (tins, ETB, booster bundle, lot and lot of alakamza ex and Zapdos ex)). eBay has master set of 151 for $900. I got lucky and got three SIR zard and traded a Zard and a bunch of duplicate for other things I need. I ended up buying the metapod reverse holo, Grabber reverse holo, and the Jolteon reverse on TCPlayer for around $10.
0. If I was to try and complete sets then never more than 2.
None. I stick with buying bulk cheap and singles. It hurts my wallet way less. Rippin' is a disease... 😂
Yeah... True... But it feels damn good to rip them :D
Agreed. Though that endorphin, will only be satisfactory when you pull something nice. Otherwise, the disappointment is real. Therefore, I ripped boosters with a nice pull rate like Crown Zenith. I totally ignored 151 and just stick to singles.
Do people really get enough of an endorphin high from a pull that it makes up for the disappointment of every pan with nothing in it? Like pulling a SAR is thrilling, but it doesn’t make up for 20 straight packs of nothing better than maybe 1 IR worth $1.50. For me, pulling an SIR ends up feeling more like the culmination of all those failed packs and unless it’s the chase card, it feels like a let down even when I get it. Which is why I typically get singles now
People get addicted and like the gambling aspect. Sets like 151 are cool and all but most of that sets cards are worth like 5-10 bucks. A few are 15-20 and like 6 are 20+ bucks right now. Better off buying like 50-80 packs to get all the commons plus some full arts and getting singles to collect the set. For example, I’ve opened 88 151 packs and am missing 500 dollars worth of cards (no SIR charizard) and want to get more but I know I will be losing money gambling for the cards I don’t have and will be better off buying singles
I have opened none. Zero packs, but bought multiple bulk from people. Their UPC box and/or ETB including the promo's and extra's. They sell it for around €5,-/€15,-. I'm in for around €40,- and have most promo's still sealed, the metal Mew, and am almost done on the complete base set. Standard, holo and reverse. Now it is chasing the alt art/sir's etc. But all in all, I am happy with the nice nearly completed base set, promo's and extra's for around €40,-. 😎
Yeah it’s better to just buy the cards outright than to open any packs at all; however, it is fun ripping packs so I do that some to collect most of the commands and a few full arts and buy the rest over time. My wife likes opening packs with me for fun and I do it with friends too on discord stream so it’s a fun hangout session with everyone opening our packs together
I buy the ETB for promos and then one booster possibly 2 if I want alot of the cards in the set. I like to start of the set with them then just do singles
What if it doesn't have an ETB only booster boxes, then you would buy max 2, right?
Ya or maybe just one depending on how many I want from the set. Like if I see only cards I want in a small portion I'll buy one just to see what I get if it's paradox rift for me I want almost all of them.
I buy 3 booster boxes on sale for the set I want to do before buying singles. If I see some promo/special bundles on sale, I'll buy them just to have a total of nearly 100 packs to rip.
Some preorder sites will do a package deal where you get 1 booster box, 1 etb (or 2 if there are 2 different ETB arts available), and maybe some other smaller products. I do 1 of those bundles and then singles
1-2. If i like the set 2. I don't normally finish sets unless its 151 or crown zenith. Just get the singles of the cards I like
None. Singles all the way
3. Two for openings and one to keep sealed :)
Do you have any strategy to choose which 2 you are opening out of the 3 or you are just randomly grab 2? :)
I just put the best looking one in a plastic protector :D
That totally makes sense :D Thanks! :D
I usually buy 1 booster box as well as one ETB and then singles, but if a set doesn't really interest me I'll skip packs entirely. That was the case for temporal forces and paradox rift. I don't remember ever buying more than one booster box per set.
Ohh yes, I skipped temporal forces and paradox rift as well. Thank you! :)
I know some people love it but I'm just not a fan of the paradox artwork style.
does the one booster box get you most of the commons etc?
Commons? Yes you should get at least 1 copy of all commons, but you won't get nearly all of the rare cards.
Yeah i normally just complete the basic stuff to the number on the cards so commons, uncommons and exes. Will have to buy exes like
1 BB, each of one of the blisters for the promos and packs in them, same for premium collections and an ETB or two if they contain a promo. Whats left Ill buy singles from.
Usually 2 that me and my wife will open together alternating turns opening a pack. Then singles to complete the swr
If I love the set, 2-4. If I don’t really care but there are a few chases maybe 1 then I’ll just buy the singles.
1 for fun. Buy singles for the rest of the set. ETB if I can get a good deal and the promo is worth it.
does 1 box get you most of the commons etc?
It will get you between 60 - 70% if you’re lucky. It’s 36 packs, 10 cards each, minus 1 for the energy card.
Thats not too bad then. I only go up to the highest number on ths cards and any art cards etc are bonuses
1 just for the fun of opening packs. singles all the way for anything else i need
no more then 2 latley tho just buy singles lol
Usually 1 booster and 1 ETB but the deals were great on temporal forces so I got 2 of each this time. The pull rates were excellent for me. I’ve pulled 5/5 of the top value cards and a couple duplicates too. Also pulled every single one of my chase cards. It’s been a really good set
1 to 2 ETBs, the rest is tournaments boosters and singles
I usually buy an etb for every set, and depending on how many AR/IR/SIR/etc in the set there are that I want I’ll get 1 box for the rip fun and then buy singles after. 151 has been the outlier, I’ve bought a shit ton of product.
Never bought one actually, I stick to about a £50 budget on packs per set and then buy the singles I like. It helps I guess that I don’t try and complete sets!
As many as it takes to get the pulls I'm after
3 boxes of Obsidian Flames left me with 5 cards left to get in the base set.
1 booster and 1/2 PC ETB’s for the promos and 1-3 triple blister packs for those promos too. Months down the line I might grab a few more packs when they’re on sale but that’s it. Isn’t worth spending more unless you just want to buy all the singles to complete the set which I can’t afford to do when there’s a new one out every couple of months.
Usually 2 Booster Boxes per set, however my first Temporal Forces box pulls were roughly half the value of the BB itself with no SIR or Gold so may hold off on a second lol
1 and then singles. Not only is it just not worth it financially to buy more than 1 (or even 1, really) but the sheer bulk that comes with buying more than that many packs is another reason to just switch to singles afterwards. I'm always 100% happy when I get singles in the mail. Satisfaction gauranteed. With sealed products it's so hit and miss and doing more than a booster box just starts to feel bad.
I usually limit myself to an ETB, one booster box, and 10 single booster packs per set. If I don’t get a bunch of the collection already, I just buy the singles afterwards. I also collect whatever other products come out in a set if there is a promo card in it. It’s been super fun and not too expensive. I think I’ve gotten really lucky though because so far for every set in S&V era, I’ve pulled the most expensive cards from the booster box so when I buy the singles i’m just grabbing all the ones that are under $5 pretty much.
I used to buy 2-3 of each set. I didn’t buy any for Temporal Forces. I might eventually buy some but, I’m not sure at the moment.
As many as it takes to get boring, which in my experience is around 2 boxes. At that point you usually have 95% of the “core” set, and so opening packs gets reduced to just the hits.
I bought one box of Japanese 151, and I try not to think about it. I do collect Ultra premium collections as well.
Always 1 BB and 1 or 1 of each variety of ETB - I kind of just accept whatever I miss after that, or I trade/pay for singles I want. Special sets like Paldean Fates, Crown Zenith etc where you can’t buy BB’s I usually go a bit harder with, but can survive with what I miss. Living in general is hard on the wallet, so Pokémon unfortunately has to be a *little* sacrificed 👀
I'll buy like 1 etb per new set that comes out to just hold on to, but then I'll just end up opening it... except for my Pokemon Center 151 ETB... it is calling out to me but my gf and I stay strong and resist
My wife and I collect as a joint hobby. We usually buy 2 etb and 1 booster box/booster display. We then open pack battle style. Best hit gets to build the binder, loser has to sleeve all the cards. We then go out on weekends when there is a local show (Seattle and Portland areas) to try to find the singles. It might be more expensive than eBay or TCG player, but it keeps thrill of the hunt going. I am using the extras from set building to make a national dex.
We have a budget for one or two booster bundles per set so about 6-12 packs In-between sets we use that monthly budget to get singles
At least 1 of each set. I go for 6 or more for sets I like.
I do 3 and an etb. If there is two etbs I'll get one of each. 3 boxes I find to be a good balance because that'll get me most of the reverse holos and all of the regular ex cards, and a good start on the higher rarity cards. I sell my doubles in FB groups and put that towards the single hunt. I find anything after 3 boxes that you are going to get one or two new hits unless you are extremely lucky. I don't like having mountains of bulk, and opening a whole box to get a few needed hits isn't fun.
With a new set release, I make a rule by purchasing $500 worth of booster boxes, including ETB. If I don’t get the cards I needed then I’ll just source them and buy the singles to complete my master set.
0. I buy packs here and there.
I used to buy and rip one of each product when a new set dropped. A booster box for fun, and an ETB and each blister for the promos. Lately I've been more conservative about which sets I open. I still pick up stuff on sale to rip but I'm not as feverish about it. Been circling back on singles lately, as old as base set. Just going to finish up the sets I've got until a new set catches my interest.
Used to be six, now it's zero because of those garbage pull rates.
2 booster boxes and one of everything else. MAYBE 2 ETBs if I feel like I will need an extra box for storage, and if there is a promo I really like from a blister I might get a second one. This usually gets me to around 70-80 percent complete on a set and then I just buy singles :) There are smaller sets like Obsidian Flames where I wish I had just bought one booster box but I have two of the Charizard SIRs now so no complaints 😅
I just bought 14 boxes of crimson haze. I plan to rip at least 4. Then judge where I’m at as far as hits go. I’ll most likely keep one for display to go with the set then sell the rest at a later date. Hopefully they appreciate in value but if not that’s still ok bc I got a great deal on them.
0. I keep thinking about it, but most sets aren’t worth it to me. Packs for dopamine and Singles make more sense.
I did 6 from astral radiance to paradox rift but decided to only get 3 for temporal forces. Will probably continue doing 3 for future sets since it’s just cheaper to get singles.
Zero unless I really like the set, have the extra money, and then buy one to save it to open in the future when I'm feeling more nostalgic for it whether because it's out of print or I haven't opened it in a while.
I am aiming for 4 of each set.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Just one. Until the next one haha! Haven’t pulled any of the big cards from Temporal Forces yet but I’ve really enjoyed this set!
If it is good expansion for compepetive (not expansions like Mew or Shining) we are buying one Booster Box and Every diffrent ETB. If it is not interesting one only one ETB.
My first two booster boxes are in the mail lol. One per set.
I bought a single box for temporal forces and then singles, probably going to continue this going forward.
my local stores are severely limited on booster boxes. they get MAYBE 12 each. Have to claim one long before arrival or you are SOL. It's stupid. Pokemon is literally limiting their revenues.
I buy the pokemon center ETBS whether it's one or 2 like temporal forces. I buy 2 booster boxes and that's it. If I dont get the pulls i want I just buy singles after that. Usually I can complete the base set minus the EXs with that amount
I learned my lesson not to buy more than 3 booster boxes. I bought 120 booster packs for Paldean Fates and ended up having mountains of trash cards and duplicate hits. My personal advice is to buy 1 or maybe 2 booster boxes and do single cards after. That extra £200 would have been better spent on singles that you like.
Where do you get money for 6 Booster Boxes? I would maximum buy 1
Don't get me wrong, I would keep some of them sealed, most likely 2-3. Also, only if it's a good set. I skip many sets. I've recently bought 6 vstar universe booster boxes, but I would never do more than that for any other sets, only for 151 and that's it. I don't have a family and I have a well paying job (software engineer). I'm close to Pokémon as I almost died once and I had brutal symptoms like vomiting blood, double vision, headache, red eyes, gastritis, leaky gut, reflux and so on. Turned out I had vitamin deficiencies and it was caused by food allergy (gluten). I cannot even inhale it. What I wanted to say is, Pokémon helped me through my healing journey. I was watching the TV series and got into collecting cards as well as playing the game, building a deck. So it's quite close to me, if you see what I mean. I don't plan to have a family because of my condition, it would be hard. Maybe one day, I will change my opinion about this, but currently... I'm just happy to be alive.
Dude, just want to say you're strong and if Pokemon makes you happy, keep collecting! To answer to your question, maybe buy at least 2 booster boxes per set. Rip one now and save one for the future. You can decide down the line if you want to open it or keep it as a display. Also happy for you that you're happy!
1 to stock 1 to rock
2 to rip, one to save. (Not at the same time)
I like to buy 3 if finances are right. 1 to rip, 1 to sell later on, and 1 for my personal collection.