Pick one fixed monthly figure, decided after the household essentials you already treat as non-negotiable, and treat an overspend as a pause month rather than a bigger month. That is not an invention. It is close to what the adult collectors profiled in Shannon Chow's Business Times Money Talk column of 8 October 2026 already do for themselves, whether they fix a flat monthly sum, set aside a fixed amount every couple of months, or stop at a set number of pieces. [1]
Consider a hypothetical reader who sets aside S$40 a month for figures once groceries, transport and rent are paid. In an ordinary month the budget is simply the ceiling. In a month that runs to S$95, the rule is not to compensate the following month but to buy nothing and let the shelf settle. Both halves — the number and the consequence — have to be agreed before the first purchase, or the second half never happens.
What the reported collectors are actually doing
John, a 26-year-old psychologist who buys gacha toys, action figures or Lego sets once a month, budgets S$30 a month for Lego products. When he goes past that figure, he pauses purchases the following month. That is the whole rule in one sentence: a fixed ceiling, and a skipped month as the penalty, rather than a quietly raised budget. [1]
Others structure it differently but arrive somewhere similar. Christen Teo, 26, a freelance creative, spends about S$20 every two months on squishies, Pokemon cards, blind boxes or whatever catches her attention — a figure for every two months rather than for every month, but still a fixed amount. The columnist keeps to a monthly budget by funding it elsewhere, skipping drinks and more expensive meals. Audrey Wang, 32, a designer, owns about 30 Pop Mart figurines and has stopped buying more, preferring to spend on essentials such as food and transport. A fixed count does the same work as a fixed sum. [1]
Why buying more often flattens the pleasure
There is a reason to keep the ceiling, and it comes from the buyers rather than from scolding. John told the column that buying sets on such a frequent basis has diminished the anticipation and excitement he used to feel. A set received only on rare occasions, he said, was more special; now that he has an income and buys more often, the build-up and perceived value is lower. More purchases bought him less. [1]
Singapore Management University makes the same point at a structural level. In a commentary summarised by SMU's newsroom on 16 December 2024, Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) and Associate Professor of Marketing Michelle Lee explained that the immediate gratification people expect from a product often leads them to buy more than they need. She highlighted how businesses fuel consumerism, and advised mindful, intentional consumption to avoid creating clutter, regret and environmental harm. A pause month is that advice with a mechanism attached. [2]
Order your ceiling after your own essentials
There is no correct number for everyone, because what counts as essential is not fixed across households. An SMU study funded by the Ministry of Social and Family Development asked Singapore respondents which items and activities they regarded as essential; 40 came out, including smartphones, air-conditioning, short holidays and family bonding. The study's lead, SMU Professor of Sociology (Practice) Paulin Straughan, said the aim is to reveal gaps that may help disadvantaged Singaporeans break out of deprivation, defined in the study as being unable to afford items considered essential. [3]
Straughan also noted that perceptions of higher-expenditure items, such as holidays, and of the need for adequate savings differ across income groups. That is the practical point: your ceiling is a personal number, set behind what you yourself would not cut. And the habit itself is not new. A Sunday Times feature of 17 May 2009 quoted the founder and chief executive of the private Mint Museum of Toys saying toy collecting was still a niche activity in Singapore, because society had many other priorities. Dated context, not a current measurement. [3] [4]
Reading the market signals at their actual value
The figures circulating about kidult collecting are easy to over-read. In the US, adult-only households accounted for 55 per cent of toy sales, according to market research group Circana, as the column reports. That is United States data about who buys toys, not a measure of what Singapore adults spend. Kevin Kwok, director of Kids Village Asia, the official distributor of NeeDoh in Singapore and Malaysia, said inbound trade and retailer enquiries had risen by nearly 20 times from the same period a year earlier, after celebrities showcased the toys on social media. Enquiries are a trade signal, not retail sales data. [1]
Both point to real shifts, though. Dr Hannah Chang, associate professor of marketing at SMU, says brands increasingly target adults as consumers rather than only as parents buying for children, citing Disney's Star Wars and Marvel products and Lego's 18+ category — products aimed at adults, the segment Chang describes as having more purchasing power. She attributes the speed of today's trends largely to social media, which helps consumers discover new toys, see what others are buying and join a trend almost instantly and visibly. [1] [5]
Whether a craze lasts is a separate question: an SMU newsroom record of a January 2025 commentary by Chang and Joy Zhang, a student from United World College of South East Asia, examines what lets some fads become enduring icons. Keep your number; ignore what trended this week. [1] [5]
Sources
- Why 'kidults' are spending their salaries to relive their childhood – The Business Times
- Clicking 'add to cart' may spark joy for now. Don't expect it to last
- New study identifies 40 items deemed essential for household needs | SMU Newsroom
- ST_20090517_2.psd
- Will Labubu be a keeper like Hello Kitty and Pokemon? | SMU Newsroom
BUTLER Magazine Editorial · AI-assisted research and writing, reviewed by our automated editorial team. Sources checked 2026-10-09. Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration.