Time, Money & Gaming | Resource Management Versus Hobby Upkeep

There's a lot of us these days who cannot afford to buy the latest releases. We're bending over backwards trying to pay the bills as earning a living grows more difficult by the second. In fact, between time and the pursuit of money there's a lot of limitations imposed upon us in life. Thus, as consumers, we have to be selective about what we spend our time an money on. Lest we end up regretting it later. 

As a gamer and film fanatic I, myself, have found that I've reduced the time spent on my favorite hobbies by a huge margin in my adult life. I only commit to short sessions of gameplay outside of review work, and spend the rest of the time trying to stay relevant in my review career. Connecting on my socials, and interacting with my audience to keep people interested, and up to date. My job, and life comes first in a lot of instances, as it should. 

There was a point in my youth when time and money was of no consequence. When I spent both things freely without a care even if the money was hard earned. I bought video games and movies as often as they were released, and spent countless hours playing them as my parents worked their lives away. The only thing that would put a pause in my efforts was school, but even then I was somehow able to enjoy the leisurely entertainment focused activities enough to remain hooked on them. 

Looking back, if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have wasted my time on such frivolous things, nor would I have wasted money on it. At least not as much as I did. Hindsight is a b*tch like that though, and we only mature when we are able to mentally wrap our childish minds around the concept of adulthood. Sadly, maturity hit me late into my teen years, and it was only through a reflective look at who I had become that I was able to stop acting a fool.

While I do still dabble in video games, and movies as an adult I've learned that I cannot keep up the commitment to them that I once had. Neither desire or investment can keep me glued to the TV screen for long. I have, by all means, become casual. It's something I never thought I'd hear myself utter, but that's where I'm at. In addition to time, and money constraints I'm finding added disdain towards corporate greed, and bad industry practices. The insight I've gained as a reviewer has effectively tarnished my view of the industry, and the studios who produced the games and films I loved. That, in itself, lends way to picky purchasing habits, and gives me less incentive to buy into whatever is being sold. Priorities have kicked in, you could say.

Though I see the bad in industry dealings, and subpar products being pushed for premium prices I still remain a fan of gaming, and films. I know not all studios are evil bastards looking to get into your wallet without deserving it. I also know passion still exists among the developers, and creators. It's why I'm willing to bring to you the occasional JRPG review, and indie coverage. 

That having been said I think we all need to take the time to step back, and see where we stand financially as well as where we stand according to our health. If need be we should cut our time and money invested, and redirect those precious resources to something more beneficial. Maybe even help others who are struggling if we are doing well enough. Time is something we can never get back, and money is a fleeting commodity that weakens in value through the corruption we inadvertently support through it. So, maybe the next time you are out and about shopping pause a moment to figure out if your time and money is best spent on other things. It might just save you some regret down the road. As always ... live, love, and laugh my friends. Life's too short not to.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko