Should we level up our spending on this hobby? Or is it game over for our budgets?

Answer: $76 per month on average

Questions:

• What are the benefits of spending on gaming? Are there any negative consequences of spending this much on a hobby?
• What are the opportunity costs of spending money on gaming? What else could you do with $76 per month?
• Do you think spending $76 per month on gaming provides good value for the money? Why or why not?

Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Yahoo!):

"A recent survey by All Home Connections found that the average gamer spends about $76 a month on their hobby, or $912 a year. The average life expectancy is 78.79 years, and assuming that gamers started gaming at the age of 12, that amounts to $60,912.48 over a lifetime.

Millennials as a cohort spend even more than the average gamer overall: $86 per month, or $1,032 a year. If an average millennial started gaming when they were 12 and lives to be 78.79 years old, they’ll have spent $68,927.28 on their passion for gaming. Gen X spends a pretty penny too: $62 a month ($744 a year) and $49.691.76 over a lifetime, assuming they also started gaming at age 12. Unsurprisingly, baby boomers — whose childhoods weren’t necessarily filled with gaming consoles — spend the least: $52 a month (or $624 a year) on gaming."

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About the Author

Dave Martin

Dave joins NGPF with 15 years of teaching experience in math and computer science. After joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program and earning a Master's degree in Education from Pace University, his teaching career has taken him to New York, New Jersey and a summer in the north of Ghana. Dave firmly believes that financial literacy is vital to creating well-rounded students that are prepared for a complex and highly competitive world. During what free time two young daughters will allow, Dave enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, gardening, and taking naps.