From the ashes will rise a new Hivemind.

[Jdvn1]

Also, I've finally been able to gather a few people and start up a new gaming group. I hope it lasts a long time!

 

[megamania]

The money that is being spent is my inherence. If I keep it to 500 dollars of "fun" money and the rest to bills and house repairs I should be doing well.

Kids seem to have a new interest in Overpower again which is good.

 

[Relique du Madde]

HOLY CRAP BATMAN! Green Ronin is doing DC SUPERHEROES using M&M!!!

In other news, the likely hood that there would be a viable 4e Supers RPG just became nill, after all, why play 4e Super Heroes if WoTC can't get a BIG 2 supporter?

Also, there is a likely hood that this book represents what would be Mutants and Masterminds 3.0 + DCU "re-theming."

 

[Jdvn1]

The money that is being spent is my inherence. If I keep it to 500 dollars of "fun" money and the rest to bills and house repairs I should be doing well.

As an economist, the specific source of the money matters little to me when advising on what to do with the money. What matters is that you use if efficiently (and, spending some on yourself could be considered efficient).

Nonetheless, if you have yourself taken care of, then great.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have an econ degree as well!

My thing is, I actually know people who have won lotteries & sweepstakes- always the bridesmaid, never the bride- so I got interested in the stats behind them (and other windfalls).

Some early studies on windfalls showed that the majority of those who get one (even those lottery winners who got $5M+) were back to their old standard of living within 7 years. This was bad press for states with lotteries...the "promise" of a future relatively free of financial worries is one of the things that helps drive ticket sales.

Another thing they found was that there were certain behaviors in common among those who beat the odds and maintained their wealth:

1. They didn't radically change their lifestyles. After paying off debts, they lived just slightly above their former way of life.
2. They didn't stop working: they may change jobs, or they may go part time, but they don't stop completely.
3. They dedicated a certain amount of money from their windfall to simply having fun...and generally kept to that limit.

As a result, most states with lotteries have laws making it mandatory to take a little course- 1 day to 1 week, depending on the state- on handling money, including the lifestyle advice.

IOW, mega, it looks like you're spending wisely.

 

[Jdvn1]

I have an econ degree as well!

My thing is, I actually know people who have won lotteries & sweepstakes- always the bridesmaid, never the bride- so I got interested in the stats behind them (and other windfalls).

Some early studies on windfalls showed that the majority of those who get one (even those lottery winners who got $5M+) were back to their old standard of living within 7 years. This was bad press for states with lotteries...the "promise" of a future relatively free of financial worries is one of the things that helps drive ticket sales.

Yep, this was Friedman's Permanent Income Hypothesis. People adjust their consumption to the windfall (positive or negative), and they come out the same by the end.

Some save wisely and end up financially better off, and some spend recklessly and end up financially worse off.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yep, this was Friedman's Permanent Income Hypothesis. People adjust their consumption to the windfall (positive or negative), and they come out the same by the end.

Some save wisely and end up financially better off, and some spend recklessly and end up financially worse off.

Yep! yep!

Its just that until we started having big state lotteries all over the place, it was hard to get good empirical data on people getting windfalls- most people who inherit money or win at a casino don't necessarily publicize their before & after.

But after those lotteries popped up, "Uncle Miltie's" hypothesis got a whole lot of proof.

(Fortunately for my acquaintances, they were fairly savvy about their money and still have most of what they won, decades later.)

 

[Jdvn1]

Also note that the empirical evidence for negative windfalls doesn't support the hypothesis quite as strongly as the positive windfall evidence does. Further, it's an interesting problem when applied to developing nations.

Anyways, it is interesting work, and led to much more advanced theories later down the line.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It also shows up prominently in Conan stories- when hits a big hoard, he lives it up...until he's reduced to raiding and thievery again...

Hmmm...remind you of any RPG campaigns?

 

[Jdvn1]

This should be every barbarian's character motivation.