Following the example set by Dino over at Chaosbunker, starting last month, I will abide by a simple rule:
Every month I have a budget of $25 for my hobby.
Last month I predicted I’d be able to hold onto my hobby funds for October. I was wrong. Oh so wrong.
Let’s start with the positive cash flow. I had $8.74 in the hobby bank, plus the $25 added for October, plus $115 in sales from the Michigan GT Bitz Trading event. I sold off some old models that were just sitting around collecting dust (Blood & Plunder, ASOIF). I was a highly motivated seller and didn’t want to bring anything back with me from the trading! All told, I was looking at a $148.74 surplus in October! That’s the most I’ve had in the hobby bank since the beginning of this tracking. Thus, with almost $150 burning a hole in my pocket, I only had one choice – spend it.
And spend it I did!
My friend of mine heard I was looking for just a couple Tomb Kings kits for Under the Baking Sun and he was willing to part with them. It was a more than fair price for both Settra the Imperishable and a metal Screaming Skull Catapult. And just like that, poof, the hobby budget is blown. Not complaining! I’ve been on the hunt for these two models for a long time and I’m looking forward to getting them painted. I had one more large purchase for the month. Shipped directly from Germany, the Deepcut Studios Cobblestone Streets v2 6×4 mat! It arrived a couple weeks back and let me tell you, this is a beautiful game mat. I am thrilled with this purchase as my Bolt Action table finally nears completion.
| Month | Funds remaining | Item |
| April | $13 | Stug Ridders ($12) |
| May | -$5 | Zodiac Kickstater ($15), Jaws Board Game ($15) |
| June | $1 | Campaign: D-Day: US Sector ($24) |
| July | $11 | Warhammer Armies: Ogre Kingdoms ($14) |
| Aug. | $-9 | Wargames Atlantic Skeletons ($19), Tomb Kings bits ($15) |
| Sept. | $-2.26 | Paint ($27.26) |
| Oct | $-33.26 | Settra the Imperishable and Screaming Skull Catapult ($80), Battlemat ($102), Bitz trade sales (+115) |
| Total | $-33.26 |
Well, I was once again unable to hold funds for a month. And I put myself in the red. I need to hold that November $25 and try to get back to even. Tune in next month to find out how it goes!
– Andrew
Back in the black! Welcome to November! In October I attended the local Armour Con and played in an Age of Sigmar event. At the tournament I was able to score a Best Painted award for the Chicago Dice club! (Andrew, add it to the flag.) This event ran a unique prize pool system. For everything you did at the Con, you would earn stamps for your passport. Play in a demo, two stamps. Play in a tournament, five stamps. Buy from a vendor, one stamp. Podium or win a painting award, ten stamps etc.
With my stamps, I picked up some random boxed sets for games that I do not play. (At that point the prize table was pretty cleaned out). So I was able to sell them and snag some cash to cover these other hobby expenses.
With Phase 1 of the Cosmic Frogs complete, moving into Phase 2 requires some more hobby supplies. So, I’ve ordered some more spray primer, airbrush paints and restocked my Vallejo drip bottles.
Back in the positives for the budget, but I know I have a 3D print I still want to get… but I do not foresee any other expenses for the rest of the year…
| Month | Funds remaining | Item |
| May | $10.05 | PoweredPlay circuit board ($14.95) |
| June | $14.01 | Ring Light ($10.99) |
| July | $0.00 | Egyptian Horus Guard ($13.19) and General’s Handbook ($42.25) |
| Aug. | -$25.67 | Green Stuff, magnets and 28mm Predator masks |
| Sept. | -$3.95 | Magnet bases, transport tub, metal sheeting ($38.95) + Sales (+$35) |
| Oct. | -3.00 | Sales (+$50), Vallejo, primer, airbrush paint ($50) |
| Total | $8 |
– Jeremy
I have been a good boy in the month of October and haven’t spent a dime for anything hobby related. This month just passed so extremely fast, I just didn’t had time to pull out my wallet in time, haha. Hobby wise I am still on the ultramodern and Zona Alfa hype, currently still trying to get my arms around this 3D printing and accumulated pile of “extra” shame. I did start a coop campaign with two buddies in Zona Alfa with the Kontraband expansion and we are all having a blast so far!
For our unofficial Spectre Discord Server Challenge I managed to finish this bad boy up – actually planned to use it for something else, but the scaling is a bit off (tad too small), so I repurposed the Truck as a Technical for my fictitious PMC company, but see for yourself.
Fitting for it I finished a Team of 7 High-Risk Contractors in the familiar scheme of the graphic novel Black Powder Red Earth. As they just released their own 28mm rules for a fast sub-30 minute skirmish game played on a 2′ x 2′.
Models by Turnbase Miniatures – painted as EMBER Crisis Troops
Financially the month of October brought me back into a positive balance. Yay!
| Month | Funds remaining | Item |
| June | 5.02€ | Campaign: D-Day: US Sectors (19.98€ ) |
| July | 30.02€ | x3 Rubicon Models Schwimmwagen (39.71€) |
| Aug. | -88.56€ | Sale of terrain (+140€), Big Spectre order (243.87€) |
| Sept. | -5.12€ | Sale of terrain (+79.17€), Exploit Zero PDF (-20.73€) |
| Oct. | 25€ | No purchases! Is this even possible?! |
| Total | 19.88€ |
– Daniel
The Fine Print
The $25 per month limit applies to models, rules, paint and supplies. It does not apply to event tickets or travel costs.
Chicago Dice 