How do you justify your gaming-related expenses to your relatives?

for me....
buying just one game per month if it was like $20
telling them "it was a limited time discount" or something like that
or try to tell them something like "even woman are always buying new bags even though the old one are still good"
in short, pleading lol

I don't really have to justify it for anyone except for myself. Everytime my parents ask something like "did you buy another game?" (when I'm talking about one they never heard from for example) I just straight up lie and tell them I already had it for a long time, since what I do with my money is none of their business. If I eventually end up getting a girlfriend I probably am going to make some agreements with her, since I don't want to stop spending money on my hobbies (especially not on my guitar stuff). But either way, as long as it is MY money, I don't really have to justify to anyone.

you get a good job with good pay and ya r O. K. - Pink Floyd

man, when I was student I usually was saying "hey mom, need some cash to hang out with friends" and that worked 3/5 times. but that worked if I had good grades.

also there was a way to have "more cash" for mobile phone, like "I am talkin on the phone all day long dad, pls give da cash".

after that was this way, I always was given pocket money but it was never enough so I decided just to save the money by not buying stuff like candies, beer, smokes, videogame press (magazines) and new bags to carry books and the shit for school and university + fashion clothes.
saved a huge pile of gold.

and the last... well, that's hard to confess... but I was pretending to have a girlfriend and moma always (5/5) gave me money for the cinema, ice-cream, presents for "my girl". that was a great sweet deception, the money was flowing like hell, I didnt have enough wishes to spend the money for. but in the end I had to say that "the girl" left me.

then I got my first job, half-time, low income but that was MY cash and was SPENDING it without any problems.
get a job, for example, pizza boy - easy job, no need to think hard, low pay but that would be YOUR LOW PAY.

peace

Just typed a reply and it didn't post, strange,

I only have to justify it to myself as I live alone. Still, I struggle at times. Someone made a thread recently asking what our monthly gaming budget was and I calculated that I'd averaged $180 a month for the past 3 months. Got a bit of a shock when I worked that out and think it's too high.

Did tell myself that if I was still a smoker, and hadn't quit 3 or 4 years back then smoking 10 cigarettes a day I''d come close to the same monthly spend, and at least gaming was healthier. That didn't really work though, so I'm going to reel the spending in a little.

I went a bit overboard, spending something like €20 in a month

Excuse my stupid question, but this concept of "per month" always confused me. Are we talking average, or max? Aren't you "allowed" to save some money for something pricier, or i.e. next month?
So my point being: maybe just buy the stuff you really gonna play?

I hope that bank employee got in trouble for doing that!

Well, I'm still a student (though not at all "too young" since my parents keep pressing me to try and find a job), so I am basically limited by what my parents put on my card. Being suuuuper stingy on using my money helps a lot. Both when it comes to games and food (which is what said money is supposed to be for).
They don't really question what I use it on so I don't exactly need an excuse. They know I'm stingy (heck, I'm less willing to give money than them) so they know I can handle it by myself. As long as you're not too greedy to run out and be forced to awkwardly ask for more, you could always say that it's not their business what you spend it on and they are kinda breaking your privacy by being nosy (for some tiny 20 euros spend in a month... wtf... food alone would cost more for a month even if you eat the cheapest stuff possible)...

I don't, though I have cut backed over the past month or so.

€20 doesn't seem like very much to me, but maybe Italy is a lot different from the USA. Anyways, most hobbies are a lot more expensive than €20, so I'm not sure why they'd have a problem with it, you shouldn't need to try and justify it. Some people just don't understand videogames, my mom for example is kinda (more so when I was younger) against videogames.

I don't, because I don't have any money to spend on games. I can't even afford bundles. Thankfully this site exists.

Is your money , you know?

Only take care of not over expending and you should be fine

I'm in almost the same situation , but I don 't have to justify it because of my bad health. I also use $20-$30 monthly (games, books, comics). Anyway I don't know why I keep buying them, I don't/can't enjoy these things anymore, I hope I can fix my life soon someday.

''Luckily, the receipts are kinda generic, so all she knows is that they're sites related to videogames''
hmm are u implying there's other nongamingbutentertainmentforsure sites u paid for? lol
jk anyway, just be upfront about it. then u won't have to worry about it anymore

I mustly buy bundles and games on steam sale. But i cant spend much i think i spend like 2 dollars a month so i dont have to hide it. On steam sales i spend more but its from cards

You shouldn't have to, but the easiest way to put it into perspective is the per hour cost of entertainment.
A decent 2 hour game often can cost as little as $1, putting the per hour cost at $0.50
A game you sink 100 hours into might cost $20 putting the per hour cost at $0.20
Compare this to an entertainment form like watching a movie:
$5 movie lasts 2 hours; per hour cost is $2.50

Video games are generally amazing per hour cost of entertainment compared to other options.

Tbh, she's probably more upset that you're spending time playing videogames instead of getting a job

I'm trying to beg my mom to give her card for Rebirth 3...its on sale for a big discount right now..only 4 days left and the bank decided to block..me getting all Bs for exams didn't help either

if you don't study and even if you do try to get a job or a part-time, you will earn money for games, computer, your expenses and save some, and help the family!
And the most important part you don't have to justify because its your own money :)

I don't.

Although I don't spend much due to a very tight budget, it's none of other people's business where I spend my money. Some people buy expensive cars, other buy expensive bikes, some spend money on restaurants and shopping. I spend my money my way and I have no obligation to justify why. :P

Huh ... how do you mean that? I always explain that they can have my account when I am dead ... beside that, I am 35 and have a job and THIS isn't the most expensive hobby I have.

Quite frankly:

• Hobbies tend to cost money
• Gaming is a valid hobby to enjoy and have fun.
• Other 'hobbies' a lot of people have are more expensive (and worse for your health) such as smoking, binge-drinking and so on.

That being said: If you already got loads of unplayed games: play those first and try to tone down the signs of addiction. Especially if your money essentially comes from your mom. No offence. :)

Well that is a very tricky situation. Im kind of in the same boat but I make the money on my card online through sales/etc. The real kicker is "how can you play games everyday when you dont have a job/blah blah blah". But to me looking at your situation or any others it really just comes down to "that is what makes you happy". I mean if not $20 on games then what? Go watch a $15 IMAX 3D movie? God forbid you buy a $6 drink and $5-7 popcorn. Or if you were like me back in the day weekends = paintball time. Entrance fee $10-20 depending on the field. Case of paintballs were $35 (cheapest you could find) to $45 (field paint). ORRRR maybe youd go out for fast food twice and poof there goes $20 if youre one of those people who buys a combo and supersizes.

I mean people waste money on stupid shit everyday (cigarettes and beer), I dont see $20 in games that provide countless hours of entertainment as a bad purchase.

Thats how I would justify it. If not $20 on games which are now yours FOREVER to be played as much as you want then on what? Food? Movies? CRACK???!? Clothes? Shoes?

Never !
but this monthly bugdet increase if needed to be sure i stay lower ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Other than this, i do not talk mutch about my weeb and game hobbie with my friends ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't justify my expenses to anyone. It's my money, I can spend it how I damn well please.