Late New Year's Resolution

Looking back at last year, I realized that even though the vast majority of the games I reviewed were bought and paid for out of my own pocket, I probably still spent less on video gaming than any other year in the last decade. How much is uncertain, and I don't feel like going back and doing some seriously unnecessary guessing, but with only four or even fewer games bought on disc and a handful of XBLA/WiiWare titles I doubt it was over $300. That seems like a large number when you just throw it out there, but considering that counts GameFly for the first few months of the year as well as the fact that many gamers can spend that much in two trips to GameStop it starts to look like a pretty small number for someone who lists video gaming as his main hobby.

And I think I can cut that number down even further. Would you believe...in half?

So here's my late resolution: by year's end, I'll only spend $150 on video games. And each Saturday I'll document every last cent I threw into gaming. That's $12.50 a month on gaming And consider that snagging a new game at retail kills 40% of my budget for a year.

Think I can do it? I'm willing to wager that, for every dollar I go over, I'll put that much into a charity of someone's choice (dunno who yet, I'll decide on that part later). If I don't, I'll still put the remainder into that charity with a minimum of $25. The only allowance I have is that I can use the remainder of my MS Points (roughly 950 MSP or $12) without it counting, since they were part of a Christmas gift. After that, $150 for the rest of the year.

And yes, I think I can do it.