A Complete Guide to Being Stingy

The word ‘stingy’ has a negative connotation, but I’m here today to shed a new light on the badly-perceived word. When thinking of the word ‘stingy’, words like ‘Neopoint-pincher’, ‘curmudgeon’, or ‘cheap’ come to mind. I prefer to think of the word ‘stingy’ as ‘thrifty’ or ‘economical’. Those words are put in a much softer light, and I’m here to prove to you that being stingy isn’t all that bad. Here’s a complete guide on how to save your hard-earned Neopoints properly without spending them the next day.

1. Save save save!

While this sounds like something Nigel the Commodity Broker Chia would say at the Neopian Stock Market, this small saying reigns true through every stingy person’s life. It may seem obvious but these three words hold a fundamental truth that every Neopian needs to learn, may they be young or old. Saving is an essential part of the Neopian economy, an essential part of being stingy. Here are a few ways to save.

A) Invest in the Stock Market.

This is one of the smartest ways you can save money in Neopia. The Neopian bank is great and can give you a great amount of interest (up to 13.5%!), but the Stock Market is a long-term goal that even the stingiest invest in. The Stock Market is not for the impatient, though, as it may take months or even years for the stock to rise for you to even get a decent prophet. You need to be patient, as patience is a virtue.

B) Open a Neopian bank account, if you haven’t already.

The Neopian bank is a staple of the Neopian economy. Without it, Neopia would be broke and Dr. Sloth would be planning an imminent takeover. Luckily, a green Skeith has got us covered. Don’t know where the bank is? Simply hover over ‘shops’ in your navigation bar and ‘bank’ should be the sixth one down. Putting your hard-earned Neopoints in a safe space is essential. While the Stock Market is practically a guaranteed return, you never know when or if the stock will rise—there’s always the potential that a company could declare bankruptcy. Putting your NPs in the bank ensures that a random event (like the Angry Tax Beast—which can give you a trophy… for the right price, that is…) won’t pop up and steal them. Or, if they do, they’ll steal a very minimal amount.

2. Leave out a budget for yourself.

Every day, you need to pull a certain amount of NPs each day and stick to spending that amount on that allotted day. This number needs to be consistent every day, and if you need more than what you have, you’ll have to earn it rather than taking it from your bank account. While this may seem like I’m putting you on a tight leash, it is essential for saving up your Neopoints. Your Neopoints are safely secure in either the Stock Market or the Bank, or maybe both, but your Neopoints aren’t safe in your own hands. There are days where I have gone off on a ridiculous tangent where I spent over a million Neopoints on useless paintbrushes I didn’t need because I simply felt did need it. Do not make the same mistakes I have! You must set a strict limit for spending. Letting a few hundred Neopoints slide will only make your situation worse. The next day, you’ll let a few thousand Neopoints slip out of your bank and the next thing you know, you’ll have spent your whole banks-worth!

For example, I have a strict spending limit of 62,000 Neopoints. While this may seem a bit overdrawn, I do a few dailies that bring back a lot of profit, more than 62,000 Neopoints worth, that is. I set aside 40,000 Neopoints for Food Club (a great daily that reaps a plentiful amount of Neopoints—great for old accounts), 2,000 for the lottery, and 15,000 for the stock market. The only time I allow myself to take out more than what I have out is if there are no 15 Neopoint stocks. That alone is 57,000 Neopoints, and I’ve only done three dailies! The other 5,000 is what I use for my other basic dailies. Stuff like the Wheel of Knowledge and Faerie Caverns. If I have a FQC (Faerie Quest Cookie), I’ll use those Neopoints for that as well. Most of the time, I do have Neopoints leftover. With my will power, I put these Neopoints back in my bank and leave the Neopoints in my pocket at ‘0’. Sad face.

3. Put a ‘child-lock’ on your bank account.

This tip is for the desperate, or for the ones who have serious spending issues. Though I have never tried this tip myself, I have considered it a few times when I’ve spent more than what I make.

Well all know that the bank staff gets angry at the National Neopian Bank. To put a ‘child-lock’ or ‘self-lock’ on withdrawing for the day, simply withdraw from the bank 15 times. This way, the bank staff gets angry and will refuse to let you withdraw. An easy way to do this is withdraw 1 Neopoint 15 times, and then put them all back into your bank. This way ensures that it’s practically impossible to withdraw from your bank, leaving your pockets dry. If the situation is desperate, you’ll be forced to play a few games to earn your Neopoints.

4. Make a petpage.

A petpage is a good way to keep track of your Neopoints. When I first started saving my Neopoints for bigger things, like expensive avatars, I set up a petpage that kept track of my spending. Seeing how much I spent on each activity and how much ended up in my bank account at the end of the day was oddly satisfying to see. It was interesting to see how, sometimes, my bank account spiked with growth, while other days, I barely made any profit. This is a good way to make sure you’re not spending too much, as it will keep track of your bank account by the day.

5. Put your pets in the NeoLodge.

The NeoLodge is a guaranteed way to keep your pets happy. For the stingiest person, you can send your pet to the NeoLodge for only 140 Neopoints at 28 nights. Keeping your pets in the NeoLodge will keep them well fed and entertained.

6. Put ALL of your Neopoints in the bank before you go to bed.

As I’ve said constantly, and I’ll say yet again, the bank is very important. Before you pop off to bed, make sure you put all of your Neopoints in the bank for the max amount of income you can get. This may seem futile, and overall dumb, but in the long run, this kind of persistency WILL pay off.

7. Do ALL of your dailies, and I mean ALL!!!

Yes, I’m even looking at YOU Obsidian Quarry! Okay, you don’t have to do Obsidian Quarry, but you should do it anyways. I do Obsidian Quarry, for practically no reason whatsoever, but I do it anyways! You could stock up your Obsidian and let it waste away in your Safety Deposit Box until the price for it miraculously goes up one day. The Daily Neopets has a great dailies page that you should check out. If you’re premium, you could put a few dailies in your dailies section on your taskbar at the bottom of the page.

Doing all of your dailies is important. Make sure you’re around at least once a day to battle the Jetsam Ace fifteen times (he reaps great rewards in the long run), visit the healing springs for a quick refreshment, or place your bets. I cannot stress enough how important Food Club is, especially for old accounts. Don’t skip over something that looks like it doesn’t yield great results, like Anchor Management. You may find yourself walking home with a Pirate Draik Morphing potion and then you’ll be saying “Thank you, Emma!”.

8. Train your pet.

This may seem like I’m suggesting you do the opposite of being stingy, spending money. While it is true that putting out a strict budget will help you, training your pet will help you even more so. A very low-stat pet can beat the Jetsam Ace in two blows! One blow, if you have the right weapons. Jetsam Ace hands out Nerks, Codestones, and r90 food for your gourmet palate! My pet, as I write this, has an HSD (Health, Strength, Defence) of about 180. To be honest, that isn’t that much! I’m actually still in the pirate training school, currently paying about 1,750 per five dubloon coin. Compared to the Ninja School, that’s super cheap! Fighting Jetsam Ace can fund your future Ninja School expenditures, anyway, as he gives out Red Codestones as well. Battledome is like the Stock Market, a great long-term investment.

9. Sometimes, you need a break.

It’s true, it can get tiresome not buying anything for yourself. While being stingy and holding your Neopoints for greater adventures you might never see, you can spend a few here and there. Make sure it’s budgeted, though. For example, for every 200k you save, you can spend 10k on a gourmet food, a new book, or something else that you like! You don’t need to be stingy forever, just stingy for a long enough time where you’re satisfied with your bank account. Or, you can be stingy forever if you’d like. To each their own.

10. Adhere to the rule “double or nothing” rule.

A common practice with saving your Neopoints is adhering to the “double or nothing” rule. If you want that Royal PB SOOOOOO bad, save up to the 1.75 million Neopoints that it requires, but then double it! Make your goal 3.5 million, so when you blow your money, you’ll still have a lot left over. It may take time to save up, but in the end, you’ll be glad you have money left over. Now you’ll have a head start trying to buy that 550 million Coltzan Stamp!

Take these words with a grain of salt, as this is just a guide to help the impulsive-shoppers like I once was. Remember, these are YOUR Neopoints and you can choose to spend them however you please. :)