How do I convince my parents that buying pokemon cards isnt a waste of money

I have run into this issue. I am 14 and I just got back into pokemon again after not collecting or anything for like 5 years. I decided to start playing the trading card game and I invested about $30 into making my first deck (consisting of a couple theme decks that I combined to form a pretty decent first deck. It is by no means a deck that will win any tournaments but it got me going and started. My mom thinks that I am wasting all my money on pokemon cards and she doesn't understand that its fun and be very rewarding. She says I shouldn't buy anything pokemon related for awhile because she thinks I will waste all my money on it. What do I tell her? I want to keep building my collection and build an actual competitive deck but I don't think she'll approve and let me spend that much money on it.

It's your own money? If you're earning it regularly, you can show her a budget - say half of it goes towards Pokemon and the other half goes towards savings. In the end her worry probably isn't related to Pokemon, but related to whether or not you're responsible with your money, so you have to show her that you are regardless of what you choose to buy.

Yes all the money is mine except she did pay about $10 to buy me some cards for an 8th grade graduation/church confirmation gift. Otherwise it is mine, yes. I have been umpiring baseball games but soon that will come to a close so I'm not sure how I will come up with money when that's all over..I will try to present that idea to her. I think she'll like that I am acting more responsible with it. Thanks!

There's also the social aspect of it: you can meet new people and potential friends by playing it regularly with people offline.

It helps build self confidence? Its a good way to exercise your brain in strategy, social skills, and other things of that nature.

Ok, look at it from your parents perspective, she wants you to be able to save your money and have some sort of stability when you're older. It's weird, because when I was your age I was convincing my mother to buy me Warhammer and gaming stuff - something I wish now I hadn't completely wasted hundreds of pounds on. But yeah, make sure you try and save as well as spend, make sure she knows you're considering your future.

Realistically though, you can buy cards in singles and can build a desk without spending a massive amount of money. So really you could convince her that way. Additionally, there is the social aspect of Card games as it does allow for a group of people who enjoy the game to meet and play.

Learn the value of your money. Save half of it, put it somewhere safe where nobody will be able to get it (including your parents) and forget about it for a while. Or save all of it for a while and trade your duplicate cards so you can get other cards and still save money. There's an online site that trades through mail. Most of the traders are very reliable. If your parents worry about people online knowing your address, save up for a while and get a P.O. Box that you can have your cards sent to. Buy a few packs here and there, but don't go crazy and blow your entire allowance on cards. I used to do this and I completely regret it.

Since I got a job it's a lot easier to collect cards now. I just buy a booster box once a month to satisfy my collector craving. But unfortunately you're too young at the moment to get a job. So just save some money. You'll thank me later.