[Serious] Help, I'm addicted to buying RPG books!

[bubbalin]

Hey man, I feel your pain...
I too am studying, and I too have spent a lot of money on gaming, expecially in the past year as stress built up. The problem is that my compulsion is taking me to e-bay, where in the middle of the night when my resistance is lowest I start bidding on stuff...

Yeah, I'm going to work on this thing... But I can already feel more books calling out to me. The problem is I'm at this stage where I'm looking at other systems and also looking at old books that sound good...
I'm screwed. But I think I am addicted, because I buy more when I'm stressed. It fits the addiction indicators I have read about.

 

[bubbalin]

Before you go to the gaming store, determine how much you are willing to spend. Go to your bank and withdraw that amount. Then before going to the gaming store, remove all means of purchasing things, except for the aforementioned cash. Once you are in the gaming store, you will only be able to spend as much as you decided you were able to spend.

The problem is, you might suddenly decide to withdraw more money, or if you go in with the omney, you might spend it anyway when you don't REALLY want it...
Trust me, I know...

 

[realmprotector]

Yes you are addicted...

However don't do what I did... I'm also addicted and early last year I sold my Call of Cthulhu books I was sure I'd never use. I sold them to buy other gaming books. Well later last year around August I re-bought the CoC books...

 

[D+1]

Yesterday, when I walked into the local gaming store I ended up spending $65 on Unearthed Arcana and D20 Modern Weapons locker.

Start there then. Take them back to where you bought them. If you can't do that then I'd say you might have a problem. And of course the first step of combatting an addiction is admitting that you DO have a problem.

 

[FullTinCan]

The problem is, you might suddenly decide to withdraw more money, or if you go in with the omney, you might spend it anyway when you don't REALLY want it...
Trust me, I know...

If you "rationally" decide you can afford to spend $40, and upon arriving at the ATM, you decide to withdraw more, then perhaps you should stop and reflect on why you want to spend more money.

 

[Desdichado]

Seriously, is this a serious post?

• Are you spending money you don't have? i.e., debt purchases on RPG material?
• Are you spending money you need for bills/food/tuition/etc.?
• Or are you just spending a lot of money on RPGs and occasionally you start to think, "Damn, that's a lot of money to spend on a hobby!"?

I'm not addicted to RPG spending, but I spend a lot, and I impulse buy. I don't consider it to be a problem, it's a part of the hobby that I like. It's nice to be able to do that, frankly. If d20 had come out while I was still in school, I'd be in a very different boat.

 

[physics_ninja]

You can also go to campus health and talk to one of thier counselors. All that you have to tell them is that you're spending money when you don't really want to. They *will* be professional and confidential about it.

The goal here is to unlearn your bad habits and replace them with new, better ones.

 

[shurai]

Addiction is such a strong word. Rather, I'd say that if you buy things and later wish you hadn't, that you instead have a bad habit. Like biting one's nails or having trouble saying no to dessert. Everybody's got them.

It's increasingly my philosophy that almost everything in life is a choice. The brain makes these choices, the ones of habit, automatically, without really consulting you, and it takes time to teach the automatic parts of your brain otherwise, but you, you personally, easily have the power to do this. If you choose.

The real trick is doing that, retraining yourself. It is hard, but it can be done. Just be patient, and mindful, and you can change anything you like about your own personality. You are in control of what you do, and nobody else. This last bit may be offtopic, so sorry about that.

-S

 

[Desdichado]

It's increasingly my philosophy that almost everything in life is a choice. The brain makes these choices, the ones of habit, automatically, without really consulting you, and it takes time to teach the automatic parts of your brain otherwise, but you, you personally, easily have the power to do this. If you choose.

Yep, yep, I'm with you there. And it's increasingly to my dismay that folks don't want to accept responsibility for things like bad habits. It's someone else's fault, it's an addiction, there should be a miracle fix out there--- really, if you're spending too much money on something, you need to learn to stick to a budget. It's all about personal accountability, responsibility and discipline. It's a tough line, but the only one that really works in the end.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Yes you are addicted...

However don't do what I did... I'm also addicted and early last year I sold my Call of Cthulhu books I was sure I'd never use. I sold them to buy other gaming books. Well later last year around August I re-bought the CoC books...

Sweet Zombie Jesus!

You should have sold them to ME! I'm in Miami as well, and I would forbid you from buying them back, thus avoiding that problem.

Did you sell a Cthulhu by Gaslight perchance?

(Jaws soundtrack begins)