For a long time I have tracked how much I spend on Magic with a strict budget in mind. Even when I had a lot of discretionary income (pre child) I would track my spending. This type of OCD about money is probably why I chose to get a Commerce degree from University.
My budget at the moment is $2.5 a day which adds up to a lot in a year $2,281.25 but feels like a small amount daily and weekly (17.5) to spend on my primary hobby. That yearly figure though is 3 weeks salary and for a family man with a lot of responsibilities it makes me feel guilty.
I think trying to get Magic to pay for itself entirely would be an interesting experiment and there certainly are ways to play for at least nearly free but I really enjoy drafting and I don't want to give up my weekly draft for the benefits of science just yet. I'm not in the business of actively punishing myself and then later regretting it.
That $2.5 covers a draft (which must be paid in cash) but doesn't stretch any further. Things like sleeves, tournament fees and singles will put you in the red. Right now courtesy of buying a Battle for Zendikar fat pack I am in the red to the tune of $24 even after recouping $15 by selling my promo Serum Visions. Later this month I will miss a couple of drafts due to a camping trip and such which will make up for that.
Puca Trade has really helped in regards to singles, I don't plan to ever pay cash for singles again for as long as Puca Trade works. I have slowed down on using it due to a lack of cards I really want right now. My modern decks are pretty much finished apart from gaping holes like Scalding Tarns which I am waiting on to be properly reprinted in a form that is accessible.
In Puca trade it's easy to forget about the postage fees and associated costs (top loaders, envelopes and printing) but I don't. Thanks to selling my points a couple of times I have those costs well covered.
Sleeves and Tournament fees as well as my fat pack addition (I like to get one each set) are the primary pressure on my $2.5 a day Magic Budget. It feels like I always need new sleeves for something, oh and I could do with some more commander deck boxes if they were sold locally. I plan to document my $2.5 a day challenge with a weekly status amount in "Magic Monday" to keep the pressure on myself to stick to it. I knew that fat pack figure would push me over but I brought it anyway, just so I could make a fraction of my cube lands full art.
It was worth it, because fuck half art lands. But the line has been drawn.
Maintaining a cube, multiple modern decks, a few EDH decks, drafting each week and hoping to participate in game days (standard) each quarter is not easy on $2.5 a day. It's an expensive hobby.
My budget at the moment is $2.5 a day which adds up to a lot in a year $2,281.25 but feels like a small amount daily and weekly (17.5) to spend on my primary hobby. That yearly figure though is 3 weeks salary and for a family man with a lot of responsibilities it makes me feel guilty.
I think trying to get Magic to pay for itself entirely would be an interesting experiment and there certainly are ways to play for at least nearly free but I really enjoy drafting and I don't want to give up my weekly draft for the benefits of science just yet. I'm not in the business of actively punishing myself and then later regretting it.
That $2.5 covers a draft (which must be paid in cash) but doesn't stretch any further. Things like sleeves, tournament fees and singles will put you in the red. Right now courtesy of buying a Battle for Zendikar fat pack I am in the red to the tune of $24 even after recouping $15 by selling my promo Serum Visions. Later this month I will miss a couple of drafts due to a camping trip and such which will make up for that.
Puca Trade has really helped in regards to singles, I don't plan to ever pay cash for singles again for as long as Puca Trade works. I have slowed down on using it due to a lack of cards I really want right now. My modern decks are pretty much finished apart from gaping holes like Scalding Tarns which I am waiting on to be properly reprinted in a form that is accessible.
In Puca trade it's easy to forget about the postage fees and associated costs (top loaders, envelopes and printing) but I don't. Thanks to selling my points a couple of times I have those costs well covered.
Sleeves and Tournament fees as well as my fat pack addition (I like to get one each set) are the primary pressure on my $2.5 a day Magic Budget. It feels like I always need new sleeves for something, oh and I could do with some more commander deck boxes if they were sold locally. I plan to document my $2.5 a day challenge with a weekly status amount in "Magic Monday" to keep the pressure on myself to stick to it. I knew that fat pack figure would push me over but I brought it anyway, just so I could make a fraction of my cube lands full art.
It was worth it, because fuck half art lands. But the line has been drawn.
Maintaining a cube, multiple modern decks, a few EDH decks, drafting each week and hoping to participate in game days (standard) each quarter is not easy on $2.5 a day. It's an expensive hobby.
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