The list is not accurate because some people include tax, shipping, gift cards, etc., while others do not. In general, the idea behind this thread is a good one, but in reality it seems that a number of people (not necessarily the top 10 spenders, but others) are using it to make themselves feel better about their spending or their "per-DVD averages" by rounding down, not including tax, etc.

well if you're not paying tax on your orders then you obviously shouldn't include some phantom tax into your purchases.

If you bought something for $15.00 at DDD.com and you used their free shipping and don't live in Illinois, then your total should have been $15.00.

Now if you bought something from Best Buy and the price for it was $14.99, then you should add the tax to your total.

If you bought something from BestBuy.com, you have to include tax & S&H.

To each his own, I guess. According to the OP:

I add everything, but I don't care if others don't. I doubt if anyone's using this to make themselves feel better. I never really even look at anyone elses lists. I just use it to keep track for myself.


Stew

So far in 2005 I only bought:

The Bourne Supremacy R2 UK - £9.99
House of Flying Daggers SE R3 - £7.99

Total: £17.98

Jan
Troy -- $26.75
Re-Animator -- $12.17 (Thanx to Borders 25% off)
Lion King 2 SE/Mulan SE -- $31.32
Kids in the Hall s1/Homicide LOTS s5-- $10.75 (CH TVClub HDL code)
Nothing in Common/Assault on Precinct 13 -- $11.88
Honeymooners 'Classic 39'/Northern Exposure s1 -- $10.75 (CH TVClub HDL code)

Feb
Malcom X SE/Abbott & Costello v2 -- $29.83
Star Trek: TOS s1/Star Trek: TNG s2 -- $10.75
In Living Color s1 -- 6.57
Blazing Saddles SE/Thing from Another World/Star Trek II/Dr. No -- $48.48

Mar
Spongebob Squarepants Movie/Bambi -- $32.91
The Incredibles -- $7.46
Star Trek DS9 s3/Monkees s2 -- $10.75
Kanye West DVD Anthology --$0.45
Arrested Development s1 --$13.91
Here's Johnny Carson -- $5.89

Apr
TV Favorites Megapack -- $8.55
Batman the Animated series v1 -- $13.21
Mary Tyler Moore Show s1 -- $15.45
Lady From Shanghai/Treasure of Sierra Madre/Goodfellas SE/
The Conversation/City Lights/The Color Purple SE -- $13.93
I Wanna Hold Your Hand/Ten Commandments SE/
SNL 25th Anniversary/Bamboozled -- $13.93
Run Silent Run Deep -- $4.27
House of Flying Daggers -- $11.76

May
Ultimate Billie Holiday Collection/Night Court s1 -- $44.92
Seinfeld s4/Scrubs s1 -- $40.98
Newsradio s1&2/Chappelle's Show s2/Star Wars III cd-dvd -- $51.86
The Wire s1 (used) -- $23.49
Adv. of Robin Hood/Raging Bull SE/Boogie Nights -- $0.00 (CH rainchecks)
Speed (5 Star)/Good Times s1/Jeffersons s1 -- $33.30

June
The Job -- $3.19
Serpico -- $5.89
Warner Gangster Collection/Rocky & Bullwinkle s2/
Babe & Babe II/Graffiti Bridge/Ray LE -- $98.91

July
Planes, Trains & Automobiles/Stripes EC/Silverado GS -- $21.72
Top Secret/Three's Compaany s1 -- $11.88

73 movies total -- $683.50 // $9.36 per movie

JBoone, again you can edit your original post in this thread. In your original post, you'll find a button that says "Edit" on the lower right hand corner. You've posted like 10 different times in this thread.

A list comparing people's expenditures is worthless unless everyone is using the same metric.

I think they are. Just glancing at people's lists, there are plenty of comments such as "Wow, this was scary" and "This will be a pretty grim reality check." The fact is that people misremember and subconsciously fudge numbers all the time, particularly where personal expenses are concerned. There are significant psychological incentives to do so, especially in a community such as this one where some people are addicted to collecting/purchasing things (there are plenty of threads where people admit addiction) and may be spending outside their means.

I don't mean to single out any particular member or even this community. Life is expensive in general and I'm sure most people would get depressed or alarmed if they kept/saw an accurate itemized accounting of all their expenses.

January ($25.40 Total)

Degrassi: The Next Generation Season 1: $11.22
Daredevil: Director's Cut: $14.18

February ($124.95 Total)

Wonderfalls: $27.99
Grudge: $15.99
Charmed Season 1: $29.99
Secretary: $7.50
One Hour Photo: $7.50
Saw: $15.99
Happy Gilmore/Billy Madison: $19.99

March ($518.84)

Kill Bill Vol. 1: $10.00
Kill Bill Vol. 2: $10.00
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: $10.00
Ali G Indahouse: $10.00
Gargoyles Season 1: $21.99
Bourne Supremacy: $8.00
Saved: $10.00
The Hole: $12.99
Dodgeball: $8.50
Felicity S4: $44.99
X-Files Season 2: $54.26
Carnivale Season 1: $79.99
Donnie Darko: DC $19.99
Panic Room Superbit: $8.50
Mr. Deeds: $8.50
Lone Gunmen: $28.29
Black Sheep: $7.78
Tommy Boy: $9.36
Evanescence - Anywhere But Here: $19.88
Twin Peaks S1: $24.78
Profiler Season 1: $31.98
Profiler Season 2: $31.98
Brooklyn South: $19.99
Closer: $16.99
Orange County: $7.50
Truman Show: $7.50

April ($35.98):

Amityville Horror Collection: $23.99
Hercules Season 1: $11.99

May ($518.90)

Fox 50% Off Sale:
Angel: Season 3 $22.98
Angel: Season 4 $23.99
Angel: Season 5 $23.99
Millennium: Season 2 $23.99
Roswell: Season 2 $23.99
X-Files Season 4 $39.98
Shield, The - Season One $23.99
Shield: Season 3 $23.99
Shield, The - Season Two $23.99
28 Days Later $7.99
Abyss Special Edition, The $10.79
Avril Lavigne: My World $5.62
Batman The Movie $3.99
Bedazzled $3.99
Beverly Hillbillies $3.99
Cleopatra 5-Star $10.79
Edward Scissorhands $5.99
Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World (Collector's Edition) $14.98
Napoleon Dynamite $9.98
Nine Months $3.99
Never Been Kissed $5.99
Office Space $7.99
Predator 2 (Special Edition) $7.99
Omen Gift Set, The $13.13
Speed 2: Cruise Control $7.99
Dude, Where's My Car? $7.99
Out To Sea $5.99
Futurama Volume 2 $19.99
Futurama Volume 3 $19.99
24: Season 3 $0.00
Futurama: Volume 4 $17.98

Team America: World Police Unrated: $16.99
The Adventures of Pete & Pete: Season 1: $26.99
Scrubs Season 1: $27.19
Seinfeld Season 4: $19.75

May finally caught up with me, the next three were pre-orders. Took a five month hiatus to pay off the massive bill.

July ($28.04)

Dead Like Me: $28.04

September ($35.98)
Desperate Housewives Season 1: $17.99
Lost Season 1: $17.99

October ($181.49)

Lois & Clark Season 1: $18.04
Smallville Season 2: $18.04
Wonder Woman Season 1: $18.04
Nip & Tuck Season 1: $19.86
American Gothic Complete Series: $35.40
Dracula Superbit: $9.99
Exorcist Version You’ve Never Seen: $7.99
Tripping the Rift Season 1: $12.99
Ultimate Matrix Collection LE: $41.14

November ($244.69)

House of 1000 Corpses: $3.01
Devil’s Rejects: $16.99
Meet the Fockers: $8.99
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle: $9.99
War of the Worlds: Limited Edition: $19.99
*Black Friday*
Simpson Season 6: $15.99
Wild Things: $4.99
Fever Pitch: $9.99
Hulk: $4.99
Apollo 13: $5.99
Kicking & Screaming: $9.99
A Beautiful Mind: $3.99
Catch Me If You Can: $3.99
Honey: $3.99
Along Came Polly: $3.99
Shark Tale: $3.99
Road to Perdition: $3.99
Arrested Development S2: $14.99
Happy Gilmore SE: $3.99
Billy Madison: $3.99
Bewitched SE: $9.99
8 Mile: $3.99
Minority Report: $3.99
Shrek 2: $5.99
-------------------------------------------------------
Marilyn Monroe Diamond Collection: $27.97
Degrassi Season 2: $25.97
Lara Croft Tomb Raider & Cradle of Life: $8.97

December ($413.33)

Stargate S7: $16.31
Stargate S6: $16.31
Serenity: $17.99
Cry_Wolf: $19.99
Cruel Intentions: $9.99
Ginger Snaps: $9.99
Resident Evil Apocalypse: $7.99
Baseball Returns: Washington National’s Inaugural Season: $19.99
American Pie: Band Camp: $15.99
Dark Water (Original): $4.99
Millennium Season 3: $49.99
Family Guy V3: $32.99
The Thing CE: $14.99
Ju-Rei: $12.99
Valentine: $6.99
Dark Water Unrated: $16.99
Stewie Griffin Untold Story: $12.99
Sin City: Recut Extended: $19.99
From Dusk Till Dawn: $4.99
The Shining: $4.99
Animal House: $7.99
Signs: $4.99
American Pie 2 Unrated: $7.99
Deuce Bigalow: $4.99
Walking Tall: $7.99
White Noise: $9.99
The Rock: $4.99
Van Helsing: $9.99
40 Year Old Virgin: $16.99
Lethal Weapon Complete Series: $14.99
Jack Frost: $4.99

Total Amount for 2005: $2127.60

Total bill: $76.96, after tax (no shipping)

Prices before tax:
Hoosiers CE: $15.29 (3/1)
Spongebob Squarepants, the Movie: $14.99 (3/1)
Spongebob Squarepants, Complete Second Season: $25.19 (3/1)
Incredibles: $15.99 (3/22)

Plus a couple cans of pringles, some yogurt, and a toothbrush with The Incredibles.

I got bored and updated the top 10 list as of 3/20/05 could not find laserdoggs total on here so here is the list

10-EVe Brown728.06
9-Tonydvdfan-746.63
8-Crazee4DVDs-752.26
7-Gobear-786.78
6-yogi12526-960.83
5-LasVegasMichael-963.19
4-Dabaomb-993.11
3-dryars-993.66
2-MichaelMeyers-1209.90
1-Heartagram-1503.09

Updated mine a little, March has been a busy month so far.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showpos...&postcount=203

(all prices include tax + shipping)

January:
None
Total: $0

February:
Avia Guide to Home Theater $36.37
Total: $36.37

March:
Bambi $17.31
The Incredibles $16.23
Columbia House DVD Order #1 $13.82
- Casablanca SE
- Duel CE
- Enter the Dragon SE
- Good The Bad and The Ugly SE
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Ran The Masterworks Edition
- Shawshank Redemption SE
Columbia House DVD Fulfillment #1 $56.09
- 8 1/2 CC
- Red Shoes CC
- Third Man CC
Columbia House CD Fulfillment #1 $112.48
- Adaptation
- NBA Dynasty Series - Chicago Bulls
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest SE
- Schindler's List
Star Wars: Clone Wars $12.98
Total: $228.91

April
None
Total: $0

May
Hoop Dreams CC $19.47
Total: $19.47

June
Amelie $11.04
Akira Kurosawa Four Samurai Classics $57.56
Back to the Future Trilogy $16.32
Total: $84.92

July
None
Total: $0

August
Ghostbusters $14.06
Total: $14.06

2005 Grand Total: $383.73

About the whole spending thing; I include tax and s/h when they apply. Why? Because they do add up. A couple of bucks for tax per purchase seems like small potatoes, but by the end of the year, most of the people in this thread are probably looking at a couple of C-notes just for those expenses. It'd be nice (and easier) to just include the amount paid on the price tag, but that's not accurate. It's a bit more complex to figure in tax and everything, but it's less of a headache if you are able to update your list periodically and preferably, with your sales reciept in hand.

I haven't been adding in tax on my tab. One, I'll see I'm spending more money, and that scares me. And two, some people are lucky enough to live in a state with no sales tax (I know Alaska is one), and therefore our tabs would be greatly different, even if we paid the exact same price for the actual disc. I probably would add in shipping, but I always use the free shipping option at whatever retail I order from.

Uhh, I think that the point of this thread is for you to post an accurate # of what you are spending and in order to do that you need to add any applicable tax or S&H charges. When you don't include those extra charges, you may be fooling yourself, but you're definitely not fooling your wallet.

In NYC, we have 8.625% sales tax and if I didn't include that, then I would be short changing my total $8.63 for every $100 that I spent.

If Bob is paying $10.00 for a DVD in Delaware cuz he doesn't have sales tax, he's definitely not paying the same that I am in NYC (I'd be paying $10.86)

Plus, a lot of ppl order online so that they can avoid getting charged tax and S&H if possible.

I have no interest in tracking my entertainment costs to the detail you require. I maintain an accurate financial record that suits me and I'm not one of those that find the amount spent on this hobby "scary" or "a grim reality check".
I withdrew because I didn't want to change my accounting method and I began to see this thread as a useless competition. It is an interesting way to see other members spending habits. Perhaps it's use is to alert those who aren't tracking their finances so well......

I guess I'm just naive and don't understand this thread. I use it to keep an accurate account of what I'm spending. I have no interest in what others are spending and I don't think I've ever looked at anyone elses list. Why would I? How is it a competition?



Stew

When someone began posting the Top Ten Spenders list.....

I rarely looked at anyone else's either. Only read the new posts when an email alert came in.

I already have this info somewhere else, so this was not my primary place to keep track of spending.

For me, the whole point behind this thread was so that everyone could keep an accurate record of how much coin they're throwing down on DVDs during 2005. I was inspired by a thread at the end of 2004 which questioned how much money everyone spent on DVDs that year. I figured that if a running tab was started at the outset of the new year, everyone who wanted to, could have a place to update their own tab as they made their purchases.

It was in no way intended to be a competition. I started the thread and was mildly curious how much everyone else would spend during the year. However, my main objective was to keep track of how much I spent. I just figured that while I was doing so, I could open the idea up to the forum and anyone who wanted to participate could do so.

I wouldn't necessarily consider being in the top 10 of DVD spenders something to be proud of, but if you are, then whatever. It wasn't the objective of the thread, but virtually everything in life is eventually turned into a competition, anyway. I couldn't care less where I rank. I just want to have an accurate reading on my spending habits on DVDs in '05.

It wasn't necessarily meant to be a scare tactic. I did, however, envision it being a wake-up call to some. Not that anyone doesn't know a general idea of how much they spend on the hobby, but to get precise numbers is an interesting tidbit to be aware of.

I don't think it's that hard to include sales tax or S&H costs to the total but hey whatever floats your boat.

I made a comment that I'm scared about what I spend on DVDs in my post but in reality I'm not. I get good deals on what I buy. Plus, although living in NYC has a higher cost of living, that means that items such as DVDs which have a universal cost across the country don't cost as much to me as it would to someone in say Iowa ($10 to someone in NYC is definitely not $10 to someone in Iowa). Plus, I'm not the type that lives paycheck to paycheck but I know that some ppl here do.

Yes - It is hard...
Let me restate: I don't track tax and shipping. Never have, never will. My records go back to '85 for laserdiscs (somewhat spotty then) through today's 2 DVD purchases and any costs apart from the discs themselves don't exist. Should we calculate the gas we consumed driving to the store and back? Do you?

In the end who cares.......most posters have indicated they don't bother with the other lists anyway. Why make assumptions about people's income and the way they manage their finances? Why do you even care how much $10 will buy in IA? If you want to use this thread to manage your spending, great. I just don't have the info to share...the minor extra costs are overhead and are not recorded. Besides, this is all starting to feel a little personal and I'm uncomfortable with that so I shall end it with a friendly "whatever spins yer crank" ....so go forth and prosper.

I didn't intend to make it personal (I just noticed that your location is in the midwest, so sorry to offend you if that's where you live....I could've easily said Vermont or some state like that). If you wanna include gas, subway fare, whatever, that's fine as well since in accounting that would be included in total cost.

I don't include that since I use an unlimited metrocard for the subway and would have to buy one even if I didn't buy a single DVD.

I'll just end it here as well.

I dig the idea of keeping track of this. I've been good so far this year.

February
Best of Abbott and Costello vol 1
0.00 (a gift)

March
Doctor Who - The Visitation $17.50
Doctor Who - The Green Death $17.50
- $25 Amazon GC =
$10

June
Amazon.com order:
Doctor Who - Leisure Hive $18.73
Doctor Who - Ghost Light $18.73
Appleseed (Collector's Edition w/Tin) $22.48
- $50 Amazon GC = $9.94


DeepDiscountDVD order w/20% sale:
The Mysterians $9.58
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind $16.91
The Making of Space Battleship Yamato $11.98
Cosmo Warrior Zero Box Set $19.18
= $57.65


Grand Total: $77.59

Updated the list:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showpos...&postcount=203

Orgazmo Special Unrated Edition 14.99
Apollo 13 Anniversary Edition 13.50