How to Be a Geek on a Budget

As the content landscape becomes more fragmented, consider your options carefully

It’s getting hard to remember what life was like for geeks prior to Netflix. I could say streaming services in general, but I think it was specifically the advent of Netflix — first in DVD rental and later through content streaming — that heralded the modern age of geekdom.

For years, the running joke in our extended family was that everyone rented from the “Schock Video Library” — as we had an extensive collection of first VHS and then later DVD copies of numerous movies and TV shows within the genre that we freely shared with family and friends. We still have a cute, card-catalog-style DVD storage system containing offerings ranging from the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini DC cartoons to various early MCU movies to shows like Fringe, The Big Bang Theory, Sherlock and Doctor Who. But our accumulation of physical media — of outright content purchases — certainly waned as it became easier and easier to simply access content via Netflix.

When our older child developed an interest — on separate occasions— in Star Trek and The X-Files, we were able to simply stream them. When our younger child wanted to snuggle up and watch Toho’s kaiju films, we simply streamed them. There was even an ill-conceived rental of the full series of the original Flash TV show —not the Arrowverse show but rather the John Wesley Shipp/Amanda Pays vehicle from the 1990s which, I’m sorry to say, didn’t hold up to the way I remembered it from my youth. So as I’ve watched Netflix slowly lose access to content — beginning with Doctor Who a few years ago and accelerating with the development of competing streaming services from Disney, Warner Bros. and NBC Universal — I can’t help but wonder if we aren’t seeing the sun set on a golden age.

Most of the competing content outlets won’t be expensive individually, but the shared global geek culture that has flourished over the last decade can’t help but be impacted by the collective cost of fragmentation. Increasingly, most people will have to become more selective about the content they choose to rent given that less and less of it will be baked into diverse and expansive bundles — each major franchise becoming the tent pole for a separate streaming business. As such, many of the strategies that budget-conscious geeks employed 15–20 years ago will remain applicable in this brave new (yet somehow old) world. They just need to be rediscovered.

Consider Your Purchases as Investments
When my wife and I were young and (very) poor, we had to think of our entertainment in terms of our overall spend. We could go to a movie in the theater and spend $X for perhaps 2 to 2-and-a-half hours of entertainment. Or we could wait to rent the same movie for a third of the cost. Or we could buy it outright for roughly the same cost as seeing it in the theater and then we could watch it on numerous occasions. Similar logic applied to new and used video games. Books were easier because rental wasn’t really a concern — you’d either buy a book or sign it out at the local library. In any given month, we’d have $X to spend and Y number of hours of entertainment we could hope to cover with it.

While the options are a bit different now with the rapid decline in physical media, the decision-making process is pretty much the same. If you love a movie, TV series or game enough that you think you’ll want to watch it repeatedly, do the math — you could well save money by buying over renting if you believe that you’re really going to enjoy that content throughout coming months. Just remember that you’re locking those dollars in — and also be careful to be sure that your access to any digital media is secure, as you don’t want to try to watch that movie 6 months from now only to find that it’s been pulled from the cloud by the content retailer.

When You Do Rent Content, Rent Strategically
Unlike cable companies, streaming services aren’t currently tying people down to long-term contracts. So it can be prudent to time your subscriptions to allow you to binge multiple properties in the same subscription period. The downside can be timeliness, of course — if you’re trying to avoid spoilers for one show that’s ending, it might not be feasible to wait until a second one drops — so that’s something to keep in mind.

On a related note, think of your fandoms collectively when choosing which services to patronize. And that doesn’t just apply to your existing favorites. Consider some of the other shows that these services are creating — as they’re actively trying to keep you on their sites and are increasingly developing compatible content to supplement the tent pole offerings.

Also think of your subscriptions holistically. Your Amazon Prime membership comes with a variety of perks aside from access to streaming content — at least if you’re someone who uses Amazon.com a lot. And there are other content-related subscription services not centered on video — digital comics and other text content, for example. So think carefully about the combination of options that delivers you the most entertainment for your dollar.

Remember That Analog Is a Viable Option
If you’re a reader, I’m sure I don’t need to sell you on the merits of physical books. But you should also consider physical games — specifically tabletop board games — as a cost-effective diversion. While elaborate European-style board games can be as expensive as modern video games, you don’t need to keep up with the ongoing console arms race to play them. They’re made to have a lot of replay value — with games like Betrayal at House on the Hill having literally 100+ scenarios you can encounter. And while many require multiple players, that’s hardly a detractor — as you’re essentially multiplying the value of the purchase in terms of collective player-hours of entertainment.

Remember That Content Doesn’t Have to Be New to Be Interesting or Compelling
The surge in interest in all things geek is still subject to the law of supply and demand. So another avenue to consider is to dive into these various franchises’ back catalogs — as the continuous influx of new content tends to drive down the demand for (and associated cost of) some of its precursors.

Here are some budget-friendly quests that promise to be entertaining yet easy on your wallet:

• Hit up the bargain bins at your local comic shop: If you’re looking to purchase comics for the purposes of collecting, then you likely turn your nose up at the yellow, dog-eared pages of the comics sitting in the dollar bin. But if you’re buying comics simply to read them, that doesn’t need to be a consideration. And there are plenty of full story arcs — great ones — sitting in the bargain bins either because the comics themselves aren’t in pristine shape or because the characters are (currently) obscure. I once bought my younger child an almost two-year-long run of a beloved series from my childhood for something like $10–12 during a sale — a great way to stretch those content dollars. Oh, and remember to just check out sales in general — for both individual comics and TPBs (trade paperbacks)/graphic novels — as that will likewise help to stretch your dollar.
• Ditto for your local gaming shop: Same philosophy as above save applied to gaming books and modules.
• Don’t forget your local public library: New video and book releases tend to be in high demand, but you can typically get your hands on them if you’re patient and thoughtful about it. Also, be aware that many libraries now have sections devoted to comics compilations and graphic novels in addition to their science fiction and fantasy holdings.
• Don’t forget the public domain: I’ll never advocate pirating because that hurts content creators. But you’d be surprised by how much content is out there for free because the copyright on it has simply lapsed. When my kids first got their respective Kindles, I remember that they were able to download a lot of classic science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels at no cost. And there are more than a few classic sci-fi and horror movies from the early days of cinema that can likewise be found for little or no cost.
• And last, but not least, never forget that used can be as good as new: If you don’t mind going a little old school, physical media are still an option — and a very inexpensive one if you’re willing to buy used. Used books are usually pretty safe, of course. And while I’ve had a handful of bad experiences buying used games or DVDs, it’s hardly been common enough to dissuade me from the practice.

Ultimately, it comes down to making the best use of your limited entertainment dollars. Consider what your priorities are — what you absolutely need to have when it’s hot off the presses — and then work backwards from there. You’ll likely find that your fervor for certain fandoms exceeds others and that the urgency to get access to that latter content isn’t great enough to warrant it being a big part of your overall spend. Once you’ve drawn that line, it won’t be too hard to reconcile your content consumption strategy to those priorities without reducing your enjoyment. And doing so might even put you on the path to discover some great guilt-free options that you might not have encountered otherwise.