Comics conundrum, and when life gives you lemons, get sushi

Last night's planned dinner was canceled due to some spoiled chicken, followed swiftly afterward by a a dropped and broken Brita filter.
Clearly the only way to salvage the night was to get sushi.  It worked.

I've been holding off on buying the individual issues of Buffy, and waiting for the books to be collected in trade paperbacks.  The only problem with that is the series is up to issue 12, and the second story arc won't be published until June 4th.  For those comic readers out there, do you collect current issues of your books, or do you want once or twice a year to buy the trade paperbacks? 

I've already started collecting Angel: after the fall in individual issues, so I've set a precedent.