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Hey, Benjamin, good question! And I know exactly what you mean! This is something all of us run into and there are various ways to approach this dilemma.

One is to alter your design and limit yourself to what you have. These don’t always have to be big compromises. For example, parts of your model that aren’t seen could be a different color than you originally planned. Or where you thought of using a 2×6 piece, you may be able to use another brick configuration. You can still keep the main features intact, and even purchase a few pieces on BrickLink that you feel are a most important part of your model, but overall, if you have 60,000 pieces, you should be able to build pretty much anything.

Another option is to use BrickLink both for inflow and outflow of pieces. You can sell parts that you have too many of or you don’t need, and use the money you make from sales for purchases for your own projects. Yes, it’s possible that right after you sold something you are ready to build a project that needs that exact element, but for the most part, you should be able to manage your inventory in such a way that you end up with elements that better match your building style.

Yet another way is to have more free-building sessions with the pieces you have. As adults, we tend to be more rigid and more perfectionists, and we want everything just right. Children build with whatever they have and effortlessly fill up the gaps with their imagination. By practicing creativity, you allow yourself relax and be more perceptive to alternate options.

What I do is sort of a combination of all of these approaches. I also have something called the “greebling box”. These are all kinds of pieces in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but they are all gray. When I’m still working out a project, I use these elements to figure out the shape and size of the model but eliminating color. Because all the pieces are gray, I can focus on the design itself without getting distracted by color variations. Once I have the model pretty much nailed down, I will go back and rebuild it in the final colors I want. Sometimes I will have to get a few specific parts from BrickLink to finish the project, but because I know exactly what I need, I won’t be wasting money.

In addition, you can almost always find LEGO sets on sale. When building up your stash, don’t focus on the design or theme of the set. Focus on the colors and pieces it comes with. For example, if you’re planning to build spaceships, retired or less desirable Star Wars sets are a great option because they are full of parts great for building spaceships. And if you don’t care for Star Wars otherwise, an extra bonus is that you can sell the minifigs for good money and use that to cover the cost of the sets you just bought. Buying and selling LEGO is a great and natural way to keep your hobby inexpensive. You can even strictly limit yourself to only spending money on LEGO that you generate from LEGO sales. This way non of your real paycheck is spent on the hobby.

Hope this helps a bit. Feel free to write back if you have more questions and/or comments on the subject. 🙂