Welcome to Gaia! ::

We all have that problem. We want something, we try to save for something, we spend the gold on some random item we bought in a spur-of-the-moment fling. Therefore, quests never get finished, birthday presents go unbought, and bumping in other's threads occurs in an attempt to get gold.

Well, cut it out. You need it. Yes, "it". You know the it I'm talking about, too.
The B-word.

BUDGET

*GASP! HORRORS! SHOCKS! OH NOES! PANTYHOSE WITH A RUN IN THEM!*

Yeah, I know. It's hard to even think of that word. But if you ever want to get anywhere in your quests, and still be able to buy yourself a new sealed letter or something each month... well, read on.


EASY STEPS TO GETTING THE BUDGET THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU!

Step One: Look at your gold count. Do you have a lot right now? Is it over 10,000 or under 1,000? Well, I don't care because it doesn't matter. What is a lot of gold for you? If you're used to seeing numbers with at least 7 digits, then 10k is (probably) not a lot to you. However, if you rarely see anything above three digits, then 10k is like Lanzer handing you the keys to Gaia and saying "OMG your so cool i like how you post so here you own gaia and all the events and gold and stuff. oh here have a few halos."
Yeah. Well, whatever. If you have a lot, good for you, but chances are you need to read this anyway, SO!

Step Two: Look at your wishlist. This may involve actually opening up a Microsoft Word document and TYPING OUT ALL THE THINGS YOU WANT. xd (omg horror!) Count the number of things. Might as well do your income taxes while you're there.

Step Three: Add up the total costs of those things. If you have at least 10% of what you need, then you are on your way. If not, and you have been on said quest for more than a month, then you have money issues that need to be solved, and swiftly.

Step Four: Determine what you really want to have and what things you could do without.
*Gasp* But P.A.! I just HAVE to have both sets of minis and bear hats and scarves! I couldn't live with just one!
News flash: The chances of you getting ONE of a pair of rare items is slim... or at least very far off. Stick to one item at a time. And please, stop it with the halo quests. It's getting n00b.

Step Five: Bribe me to continue this FAQ. xd

Step Six: Set your goals in order of priority. Want the banis more than the gotis? Get the banis first.

Step Seven, and the beginning of the hard parts: Don't. Buy. Anything. For at least one week after setting your goals. I know, it's hard. Don't even visit the vend to tempt yourself. You won't win, I promise. xp Bump, vote, sell art, I don't care.

Step Eight: Once the first week has passed (and you're in tears), you may buy ONE THING per week for three weeks. The purchase MUST be at or below 15% of your present gold count. Um, in short: If you have 1000 gold, you can't buy anything over 150g. Mwah. twisted

Step Eight Point Five: If you have a quest thread and/or donators, give them the name of your mule account to donate to. Why, do you ask? Because even the strongest of persons has a hard time resisting the urge to buy a bargain item if they have the gold. To that end, send all donations to your mule account (get one if you don't have one, you also get 400 extra gold ^^).

Step Eight Point Five One: Make sure you have enough gold extra to get your mule a trading pass. It makes it a lot easier...trust me. 500g won't kill you. Well, unless it comes at you late at night with a rusty kitchen knife.

Step Nine: Try auctioning some of your unwanted stuff. The 2k you get from those pants you never wore can make a big difference in your sanity levels.

Step Ten: Credit to Hiroko Investing. Once you've gotten quite a bit of gold (more than 30%, or 15% if it's really expensive), you should try dabbling into items that go up in value over time. No, not store items...duh. And not rares either, because they go up and more often than not, down.
I'm talking letters. Buy some current cheap letters, as inexpensively as you can find them (SHOP AROUND!). Hang onto them for a couple of months or longer, preferably longer. The longer you save them the more they will be worth when you near your goal. Imagine having bought a December back then for 5k and selling it now. What interest!

That was a later part in it: Investing. I KNEW I was forgetting something! Thanks, and since you reminded me, you gets credit... now to edit.

Hmm. But people tend to do the fun things anyway. I'm just statin' the darker side of questing.

Er... sweatdrop right. I'll fix that.

I think I sold my soul once. I can't remember what for though. Mayube it was my memory...? O_o

*ate Soul Cookies for breakfast*

You must be the fresh meat... erm... new member Dani was telling me about! ^_^;

Was it? Or is that sarcasm...? sad

hehe what a wonderful thread!