I think I am a Gen X'er too...current age is 36.
My first old rust bucket was in high school a 1977 Toyota Supra...had to starve for about 3 months...but hey, got freedom!
Back then, my first Macross toy was a High Metal toy (1/72 scale) of VF-1A which came with a small Lisa(Misa) figure, gee...back then I loved Misa more than Minmay...
So being a student, working part time, you don't get enough cash to pay your rent, pay for gas for the car, and living expenses. So Macross was something for the rich kids...my dream was to have a 1/55 VF-1S....(Takatoku/Bandai)...
15 years later, I am a successful with my job, money flow was steady, and started to collecting Macross (back then searching on BBS forums) any find was a treasure.
Now, I am with a room full of Macross books, models, toys, you name it and with an angry wife asking me what these "trash" is all about...I tell her it's part of me, a childhood I never had!
So will I sell them? Not likely! I still invest in funds, stocks, you name it, but I balance buying Yamato toys.
And life goes on, maybe one day, my son will cherish the toys I collected, and not sell it for 1 buck at a flea market a 1/48 Yamato VF!
Just my thoughts!