Blood, Semen, and Plasma the staple of any college guys budget.

Turn the heat down.

Pretend your on hoth.

Dude, I live in Canada and have for the last 5 years. I don't need to pretend.

I'll be honest, when I read the headline I was expecting a very different kind of "adult" thing to have happened.

Something like your gorgeous neighbor knocks on the door to borrow a cup of sugar...

Welcome to the dark side.

translation = remember to turn off lights in rooms you are not in, power off your PC and all non-essential electronics. having them all plugged into power strips you can switch off helps, as some devices even though turned off will still draw small amounts of electricity.

OK, I am gainfully employed, married, have a house, and a child, and my wife hates gaming. She says I pulled a bait and switch on her.

I buy my miniatures by exchanging Bing search rewards for Amazon gift cards. For every 500 point in rewards you can get a $5 gift card. You can get up to 25 points a day by using their search engine, often more when they offer bonus points. I average about $10 a month, so every 6-8 weeks I can buy a miniature from Amazon. You can also get bonus points for referring people to the rewards, up to 500 points. I actually set up a second account to double down on points. Send me a PM if you want to try the program and I will refer you. You don't need a reference to set up an account.

This keeps my wife happy as my gaming habit doesn't affect the family budget and the transactions don't show up on the credit card.

If you are scrupulous about paying off your credit card you can also get one that offers cash back on purchases and use that cash back for gaming. My wife and I use our credit card when ever we can to rack up points, but this only works if you pay off the card every month. DO NOT try this if you carry a balance as the interest will FAR out weigh any bonus.

Hmmm... for a small apartment even if you use energy like my kids, your bill shouldn't be that much.

Unless it's electric heat then I can understand but if it isn't it may not be your fault.

1) Check your bill and see if the meter was actually read or if it was estimated. Power companies don't always send a meter reader out every month, for where I live, it's once every 3 months. The previous tenant may have had an awesome grow room complete with halogen floodlights, and they may have estimated your consumption on that.

2) A bad water pump can single-handedly crush your electricity bill. If the pump can't hold pressure, the pump has to run constantly. You can ask your landlord to check, but a good symptom is your lights will frequently dim for a few seconds at fairly regular intervals.

3) If you have your own hot water heater, check it for leaks, make sure it's wrapped (most power companies will do it for free). Then go to your local hardware store and get a cheap timer. You really only need hot water in the morning, there's no point in having it run all day.

4) Refer to your electric bill again. If you have a smart meter, you may be able to get a usage by time of day breakdown. That should also help you narrow down the trouble spot.

Again, this is all null and void if you have electric heat. If you do, you may want to look around for another place. That's like throwing away money.

Another heating tip.

I have a smart thermostat. It is programmed to keep the house comfortable. It does not heat or cool to a set threshold when no one is at home. I have it programmed to heat/cool during the times we are there and I can make changes with my phone. I can also turn off/on a few key lights and even lock/unlock my front door anywhere I have computer access or cell service.

And another thing... chicks don't dig tighty whiteys so swap those out if you're sportin em, go with the always solid choice of boxers or if you have the abs for'em boxer briefs.

What makes you think Zylynn is a guy? Or a straight guy?

Great point so for posterity's sake... Zylynn if you're a dude, go with my undie advice, if you're a gay dude the undie advice is still solid I think; if you're a chick, lingerie... at all times, whenever humanly possible.

...but to take that savings you make and keep it in savings.

Because there's another part of adult life: unforeseen circumstances. You'll want to be covered for those.

Oh! And cars are a liability, not an asset! They will depreciate in value every minute of every day, and eat as much money as you have if you let them. Gas prices will always go up, unless there is an outbreak of peace in the MidEast and/or Argentina.

So: every mile you live from work/school is some money you are spending on gas- every day. It's worth paying some amount _more_ in rent to avoid this ever increasing expense.

These two posts are related. More often than not, the unforseen circumstances are from your car having issues. That's been my experience since joining the work force. I've got enough saved up right now to buy all the X-Wing miniatures I could ever want from the currently released waves but a: I have saved my money up for a reason and b: I expect my car to have a new issue every month. It doesn't have issues that often but I am cautious by nature.

Don't spend money on expensive phones, a new computer twice a year, the church or any other religious institution.

Why is a church considered as frivilous as a new computer twice a year and expensive phones?

Yes, I know that I am probably being trolled.

Don't spend money on expensive phones, a new computer twice a year, the church or any other religious institution.

Why is a church considered as frivilous as a new computer twice a year and expensive phones?

Yes, I know that I am probably being trolled.

well it can be seen as a waste of money

particularly if one is not religious

Don't spend money on expensive phones, a new computer twice a year, the church or any other religious institution.

Why is a church considered as frivilous as a new computer twice a year and expensive phones?

Yes, I know that I am probably being trolled.

well it can be seen as a waste of money

particularly if one is not religious

Only if you believe that it has a more negative than positive effect on society. I have no pets and don't give to the humane society, but I recognize that it benefits some people and animals so I don't consider it a waste of money. I don't have to be an animal rights advocate to realize it has benefits. In the same way, religious institutions are often heavily involved in humanitarian activities.

Don't spend money on expensive phones, a new computer twice a year, the church or any other religious institution.

Why is a church considered as frivilous as a new computer twice a year and expensive phones?

Yes, I know that I am probably being trolled.

well it can be seen as a waste of money

particularly if one is not religious

Only if you believe that it has a more negative than positive effect on society. I have no pets and don't give to the humane society, but I recognize that it benefits some people and animals so I don't consider it a waste of money. I don't have to be an animal rights advocate to realize it has benefits. In the same way, religious institutions are often heavily involved in humanitarian activities.

They are... often on their own terms. But let's not get into religious arguments here, that'll lead to a downward spiral and thread locking. With Religion there can be no convincing one side or another, and then it goes down to - you guys did this, you guys did that... (For the record, I lean towards my opinion of negative, but I refuse to take what comfort people take from religion away from them). I have a wife and kids, and for me it's balancing my hobbies.

I play x-wing so while I am getting x-wing stuff i am not getting 40K stuff. Now that 30K is going plastic I have to choose between buying into 30K, reinforcing 40K an Xbox one or more x-wing.

Raiders not out yet and i have enough ships for the time, so x-wing nullified. Lego for the kids happens anyway.

I concur back to real life advice for Zylynn... once you purchase one, never, and I mean EVER, take an equity loan out on your house to buy a car or a boat or something of that nature... never leverage one of your best assets for something frivolous.

This thread almost took a dark turn... As a matter of fact I work at a church so the church is my livelihood!

Anyway, someone above mentioned some good advice, but yes it IS electric heat. : ( So I guess I'm screwed. I turn it off now. Woke up cold. Came home cold. It's cold now.

I am also a dude. And I also have a girlfriend. But when I told her about the bill she goes "Really you gotta cut back on the electricity. We don't want it to cut into the Star Wars (really I mean Jennifer) funds!"

She knows. She knows what her competition is.

This thread almost took a dark turn... As a matter of fact I work at a church so the church is my livelihood!

Anyway, someone above mentioned some good advice, but yes it IS electric heat. : ( So I guess I'm screwed. I turn it off now. Woke up cold. Came home cold. It's cold now.

I am also a dude. And I also have a girlfriend. But when I told her about the bill she goes "Really you gotta cut back on the electricity. We don't want it to cut into the Star Wars (really I mean Jennifer) funds!"

She knows. She knows what her competition is.

Remember young padawan... women come and go, Star Wars is forever

After about 15 years as an "adult" I've learned that it's better to forgo lunch to buy toys. It also keeps me in pretty good shape.

At first I was like "why would you do that to yourself!?"

... But then I realized that you're actually on to something both beautiful and brilliant, there...

I concur back to real life advice for Zylynn... once you purchase one, never, and I mean EVER, take an equity loan out on your house to buy a car or a boat or something of that nature... never leverage one of your best assets for something frivolous.

So much this

the #1 law of Adulthood is Murphy's Law

If you put yourself in a position where X (such as debt) could possibly happen, you have only yourself to blame when it happens

Wait until you're buying toys for your kids instead of yourself... that's a fun day.

Wait until you're buying toys for your kids instead of yourself... that's a fun day.

I was going to say the same thing. Nothing has hurt my gaming more then the kids, lol.

Don't spend money on expensive phones, a new computer twice a year, the church or any other religious institution.

Why is a church considered as frivilous as a new computer twice a year and expensive phones?

Yes, I know that I am probably being trolled.

well it can be seen as a waste of money

particularly if one is not religious

Only if you believe that it has a more negative than positive effect on society. I have no pets and don't give to the humane society, but I recognize that it benefits some people and animals so I don't consider it a waste of money. I don't have to be an animal rights advocate to realize it has benefits. In the same way, religious institutions are often heavily involved in humanitarian activities.

They are... often on their own terms. But let's not get into religious arguments here, that'll lead to a downward spiral and thread locking. With Religion there can be no convincing one side or another, and then it goes down to - you guys did this, you guys did that... (For the record, I lean towards my opinion of negative, but I refuse to take what comfort people take from religion away from them). I have a wife and kids, and for me it's balancing my hobbies.

I play x-wing so while I am getting x-wing stuff i am not getting 40K stuff. Now that 30K is going plastic I have to choose between buying into 30K, reinforcing 40K an Xbox one or more x-wing.

Raiders not out yet and i have enough ships for the time, so x-wing nullified. Lego for the kids happens anyway.

This thread almost took a dark turn... As a matter of fact I work at a church so the church is my livelihood!

Just for the record, the comment was meant with a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek.

There was no intent to insult anyone, nor was it meant to troll around.

I am happy to oblige anyone in a civil discussion about religion, but I do not think this forum in general or this thread in particular is the place for it.

Wait until you're buying toys for your kids instead of yourself... that's a fun day.

I was going to say the same thing. Nothing has hurt my gaming more then the kids, lol.

teach them to play --> profit

I had a 500 square foot condo outside a mountain town, and that extra layer of plastic over the window area (leave an air gap) realm helps! I had a WoW addiction and an 800w computer... The cheaper gas heat rarely turned on. Just be smart with what you do have and efficient where you can. There are lots of good ideas in this thread!

And if all else fails, paint ships and put em on eBay. You can do a pretty good side business if you're decent, and afford those raiders!

I'll be honest, when I read the headline I was expecting a very different kind of "adult" thing to have happened.

Something like your gorgeous neighbor knocks on the door to borrow a cup of sugar...

Or even better she wants to borrow 4 green dice, because she is playing x-wing with her hot single sister.

Maybe we need to start the zlynn22 Imperial Raider Charity fund?