I've always wondered how game collectors fund indulgences. The membership here is pretty diverse in age and locale so a thread like this could lead to an interesting exchange of ideas and perspective. Not too long ago, I decided to force myself into being more fiscally responsible. I did basic research and came up with a plan: Step 1 was leaving my former secondary bank for having brutally high monthly maintenance fees. Step 2 was opening a high-yield online savings account in it's place. Step 3 involved designing an income partition system with safety nets (i.e. 30% of income to debt/bills/rent, 20% to savings, 15% to emergency fund, 10% to invest when relevant, 10% to splurge, 10% to car, 5% to games). Step 4 revolves around dedication and constant upkeep of accounts and budgets. Very simple approach, but now the same amount of income goes much further: I'll have my student loans paid off in full by the end of the year, my purchases are wiser, I have a way to provide for short-term unexpected bills/emergencies without taking a serious hit, a way to save and invest in both the short-term and long-term, and even a way to justify holding out for expensive game purchases (if I want Panzer Dragoon Saga, or for some reason FM Towns Marty, I can build up that consistent percentage of funds until there's enough saved.. which in turn has also inspired me to burn though a pile of backstock games I put down/barely played). Have any tips? Share them here!
I'm a pretty good budget-er myself, so nice idea to have it organized like that. I budget like this: For games, my limit is $5-$10 a week. I don't drink coffee or eat out much, so $5-$10 is like my eating out money I didn't use. It rolls over for weeks I don't use it (which is often). For consoles. I have to save up prior to buying it. Like for my PS4 I had been saving for months. Setting aside $20 here, or $50 there, until I could buy it with no remorse.
Didn't mention credit cards yet. They can be deceptive and exploitative, but... they are instrumental in gaining good enough credit to get approved for a car loan or, better yet, an apartment/mortgage. A lot of people think it is good to carry a balance on a card. They think it is good to charge a lot to a cashback card or a travel rewards card to get the points so excitedly offered to them by the agencies despite their credit limit being at a low level. These two factors can do a lot to damage your credit score. Always, always keep within 8-9% (10% max) of your credit limit. Keep hard inquiries at a low minimum (if you've already had 1-2 in the past 2 years and the bank is asking you to do an inquiry to see if you qualify for some card they have? absolutely not). Use it to buy gas or pay a phone bill and then pay it off immediately. The more you do this, the more reputable and creditworthy you will appear. This will boost your score and your limit. Then once your score and limit are higher, you can upgrade to a better card and filter bills through it for rewards. It can go much further from there. I have to admire the people that manage to pay off a 10 pound bag of rice with 12 different credit cards and somehow get a free hotel room and a free trip cross-country for it.
