Making Neopets Work For You - A Guide To Budgeting

The first key to perfecting your budget is figuring out how much money you make in a day. Are you a restocker, a gamer, or do you rely on luck? I recommend making at least 5,000 Neopoints a day, because it's a fairly easy amount. I myself make 10,000 a day, and it's not nearly out of the question to make even up to 20,000 a day or more from games! Restocking at the right place can bring in a much larger amount, as well.

In any case, figure out what ever your daily amount is, and multiply it by 30. This will give you your monthly figure. Estimate how much money you spend on collections, gifts and random events (i.e. faerie quests) per month. Subtract that from the total. Now, what ever number you have multiply it by 12, and you should get your yearly amount!

To keep you up to speed I'll give you an example. When you're budgeting for yourself, make sure to change these numbers to the ones that are appropriate for you and your daily money making.

Daily amount : 10,000 NP

10,000 X 30 = 300,000

300,000 - 25,000 = 275,000

Monthly amount : 275,000

275,000 X 12 = 3,300,000

Yearly amount : 3,300,000

Now before you get ahead of yourself and have visions of upgrading everything you possibly can in your Neohome, make sure to read this next bit!

You have to subtract yearly costs as well, and I would suggest subtracting at least 100,000 for random splurges, gifts and events. As well, if you belong to a guild, factor in what you think is probably your yearly donation. Then there's the next big yearly account drainage : Christmas. If you have a lot of friends on Neopets and you feel like lavishing them with gifts when the holidays come around, you have to plan that into your budget.

Another example so you don't get lost! (Once again, remember to use your own numbers.)

Yearly amount : 3,300,000

Random Costs : 3,300,000 - 100,000 = 3,200,000

Christmas estimation : 200,000

3,200,000 - 200,000

Yearly amount : 3,000,000

Judging from the above budget, you will have 3 million Neopoints in 12 months. Your budget will have more or less depending on what you spend, and what you make.

So you have to ask yourself what your goal is. Whether it's an item or an NP goal, make an approximate guess at how much money you have to make. You should always estimate more than the item or goal will probably be. It's better to assume you'll reach your target later than you want than to assume you'll reach it earlier than you want - you could be disappointed. So, take your target amount that you need to make, and divide it by how much you plan to make in a day. That will tell you how many days it will take for you to earn the money for this item.

Of course, your daily price doesn't incorporate your losses, so if your goal is high (perhaps over 500,000 NP) you should probably divide the estimated total by your monthly amount, rather than your daily amount. I know I'm losing you here so I'll give you an example!

If you want a Faellie, and you're budgeting 200,000 NP for it, and you think you can make 5,000 NP a day, then : 200,000/5000 = 40. So it will take you 40 days to earn the money for a Faellie.

However, if you're aiming for a Maraquan paint brush, you should probably estimate about 1.5 million as your total cost. Instead of figuring out how many days this will take you, you should probably use months instead. So if you're making 250,000 a month (after having subtracted monthly costs) then : 1,500,000/250,000 = 6. So it should take you about 6 months to earn the money for the paint brush.

So there are your basic budgeting needs.

However.

Yes, there is more.

All of these budgets are figured out assuming that you're starting from 0 Neopoints! This is probably not the case.

After figuring out the number of days it will take you to reach your total, look at how much you already have in the bank. Divide THAT number by your daily amount and subtract that number from the number of days it will take you to reach your goal. Lost?

Suppose you make 10,000 a day.

Suppose you want a baby paint brush, for 600,000 NP.

600,000/10,000 = 60 days.

If you already have 240,000 in the bank, then :

240,000/10,000 = 24 days

60-24 = 36 days.

The slightly shorter way of doing this is to just subtract the amount you have from your goal, and then figure out the days :

600,000 - 240,000 = 360,000

360,000/10,000 = 36 days

So you see, as long as you save up your money and follow your budget, it is not at all out of the question to reach those seemingly impossible goals! If you know everything you want before planning out your budget, you can figure out exactly when you'll have the perfect account!

Example : (Last one!)

Say you want to be able to afford the following things :

Rainbow Uni (300,000) - Snowickle (4,000,000) - Moach (60,000)

Bag of Peanuts, Snorkle Snout (130,000)

Completely redone Neohome (estimated cost - 750,000 NP)

Your total estimated cost : 5,240,000

If you're making 300,000 a month (after you've subtracted costs), then you have all of this in about 17.5 months - which is less than 1.5 years. If you take the initiative, you can have your dream account in a very short amount of time! Of course, using the methods above, you would separate your goals. (I.e. calculating how long it would take to have a rainbow Uni, then how long to get a Snowickle, etc.)

Good luck in making your budget work! In no time at all, everything you've ever wanted on Neopets can - and will - be yours!