D&D 4E Are you saving up for 4E or "wing it" financially?

[Gundark]

Stay-at-home mom here. Husband earns a good living. Four children. We live life on a budget, don't eat out, don't buy new clothes, don't buy new cars, don't take vacations, don't spend money on fast food, cell phones, etc, etc, etc..

I am somewhat shocked at your post. Not enough to report it for what I feel to be poor taste but shocked enough to post a gentle reply. My husband and I are fiscally conservative and are, like many folks here, plugging along and doing alright for our family. We also make sure to tithe to our church. Hawaii's expensive, true. Flat out, no money in my budget for gaming books other than those I already own that I bought years ago. Heck, we tanked cable TV a couple of months ago and will tank our high-speed internet this coming month to make our budget work. Wouldn't consider myself in need of what you term "life advice." :\ Moreover, I posit that there's a lot more to life that being upwardly mobile and living according to the mantra "Greed is Good."

.

Hey I'm in the same boat, my wife and I have 4 kids and she stays at home with them. I have a decent paying job too. I tithe to my church as well (wonder if it's the same one?). I'm putting aside money for the books. $100 bucks wouldn't have been a big deal when I was a single man....but now it's a bit of a bite considering my monthly expenses. And no I don't live beyond my means.

 

[Ktulu]

I put down "some other method". Recently, my radio station held an online auction where a number of items were $20 gift certificates to my local FLGS. I picked $100 worth for about $20 bucks.

Ktulu

 

[Green Knight]

It's three $20 game books, not a new car. If I need to count my pennies over the next 6 months in order to buy it when it comes out, then I've got bigger problems I need to be worrying about.

 

[the Jester]

I can prolly fund my 4e core rules off of one paycheck, simply by not drinking and smoking so much for two weeks.

 

[Festivus]

I stopped buying any 3.5 specific items (except pathfinder) until 4E comes out. I preordered the base books so I can give them a read, and then I will determine where my monthly gaming budget will go.

 

[Emirikol]

It's three $20 game books, not a new car. If I need to count my pennies over the next 6 months in order to buy it when it comes out, then I've got bigger problems I need to be worrying about.

True for many people. For those of us who also purhcase players books, DM's books, scenarios, 4th party stuff, new miniatures, battlemat's, terrain, markers, dice (hopefully not!), paper, player character record sheets, printer ink, subscriptions to Gleemax, gas to the game store, convention fees, etc., it's just a tad more than whatever you guys who buy them on sale at WalMart.com get them for

jh

 

[Eridanis]

I can prolly fund my 4e core rules off of one paycheck, simply by not drinking and smoking so much for two weeks.

And if you stop rolling up the pages of old game books and smoking them, you'll be twice as far ahead.

 

[Terramotus]

When did homeless people become gamers?

If you live in America and if you are not a student, then you really need some serious career introspection if dropping $100 on game books involves a savings account.

That's not an attack on anyone. That's life advice. I am always stunned (and sickened) by these threads about how penniless gamers seem to be. Dudes, get better jobs. Students, I totally understand, but the rest of y'all?

If you think I'm being harsh, keep in mind that I am a headhunter and I am always stunned to see how many times smart, hard-working educated people suffer crappy jobs for crappy pay when there are FAR better options right around the corner.

Repeat after me: Greed is Good.

There is a point to be made here about the family situation that can be softened up quite a bit, and makes a lot of sense. I won't respond to any of the people who have brought up the issue of kids on a budget because I don't want to presume about their finances.

I understand completely that some people have kids and don't want to spend that large a portion of their discretionary income on D&D when it could be spent on other things more relative to the children. That's one thing. But not being able to afford it due to a budget without a large amount that's either being set aside towards savings or having a large nest egg? That thought terrifies me.

What if someone gets sick, and there are expenses insurance won't cover? What if the car breaks down? That's living really close to the line, far more than I would ever be comfortable with, and far more than is safe, IMO, given our modern economy. So I think Spinachcat's point about there being potentially much better options stands with regard to most able-bodied people. It's easy to get stuck in a rut in a crappy job - I've lived that for a good long time, but I know personally that if my finances were that tight, especially with kids, that I would be desperately looking for a solution.