To not let DD use her savings on a gaming computer?

[edole]

DD has saved over the years from birthdays and christmases and also from grandparent money when she goes and sees them. She enjoys THREE just 3 computer games and she now wants a gaming computer. The one she wants is 2 grand she has about £1500 in the bank and as her birthday is 2 weeks before Christmas she will get around £500 for them both combined (in total from everyone). So she wants it then.

I have so far said absolutely not, it's far far too much and it's better to save it for maybe a car when she's old enough to learn to drive. AIBU

It’s her money you can’t (or shouldn’t) stop her). It’s not like she’s spending it on crack cocaine.

She saved for years for this. Let her buy it.

Ah, my MIL was like this with my DH when he was young, as “it’s a waste of money and time”. He moved out as quickly as possible, bought all the consoles he wanted and now runs a gaming store . It’s her money, let her get the console.

It’s her money to buy literally whatever she wants with.

Maybe she only likes three games because she has never had a good enough computer to play more?

(Grown up girl gamer with a PC game obsession here )

Why did you let her save up for it over all this time? It’s her money, let her spend it on whatever she wants!

We are a family on a tight budget and as much as I would be horrified at the thought of my dc 'wasting ' that amount of money on a gaming computer i think you just have to let her do it.
It might be an expensive lesson once the novelty wears off, but it's her money.

My child did this. I helped her choose a great spec pc and it’s used for homework as well as games. I thought it was great that she saved her money for so long towards something she really wanted. It’s not your money and shouldn’t be your decision. If she’d blown it on clothes and sweets she’d have little to show for it two years later and I bet you wouldn’t have told her she couldn’t...

Yeah you are being massively unreasonable. How old is she ?

Sorry if it wasn't clear. She hasn't been saving for it all this time. She has just been saving in general.

It is something she enjoys, she's saved hard for - why not let her buy it?

Why don't you want her to? What you prefer she did with it - most kids I know spend all their birthday money at Costa!

She's 14

Oh and I say that as a single parent on a tight budget. Also worth pointing out that two years in its still a great pc that can play the latest games and isn’t slow and outdated like a cheap one might be.

Surely a computer is a computer and can be used for other stuff like homework etc? Or is a gaming computer something else entirely?

I think that's irrelevant really, it's her money.

Did you put conditions on the savings before she started? Or was it just her saving because she decided she didn't want to spend it?

Unless the savings were specifically set aside for something prior then imo you're being a bit jack stipulating what she can & can't do with it

I'd be pretty sad if my dd wanted to spend their money on something like that but then I am very anti-gaming.

Let her fgs. Her money. It's a decent thing to spend it on and will be used for a lot more than a few games - homework, Netflix etc.

Btw you can get very good spec gaming pcs second hand a bit cheaper - maybe get her to think about sourcing a second hand one at the spec she wants.

i play games all the time. I have a £400 laptop for internet/work stuff and a £300 xbox for games. The laptop would also play pc games if i wanted it to.

So what games does she want to play? why do they need a 2k pc as opposed to a £400 pc with good graphics card? or a console. Does she spend hours pouring over pc forums as to HOW to buy the exact write components to make the games run perfectly and how to build the best gaming pc?

At 14 she's old enough to understand the value of money, and if that's what she wants to spend her savings on I think you'd be mean to stop her.

I'm a gaming girl .. Normal laptops / desktops don't have enough graphic cards and specs to run games at high speed and can be a difference between competitive play.

She saved up her money she should be allowed to use it however she wants. Would you prefer her to have blown it in clothes?

Let her buy it if that’s what she enjoys. I reckon she could get a decent gaming pc for cheaper though, mine was £600 ish and top of the range a while ago, built to spec.

It's too much computer!

DS was the same but I got him to speak to some of our techies at work and he ended up getting a much cheaper Mac (although they sneer at macs) because of its graphic capabilities.

Maybe get a refurbished alienware one (find somewhere reputable through). Our techies love these (although I did see one spectacularly fail in a demo of 3d software to a room of amused delegates).

I agree that she has saved the money, so should be allowed to spend it as she wants to.

A decent computer is an investment - it’s not as if she is frittering the money away - it sounds like a very sensible purchase to me.

When my MIL was a young adult, still living at home, she wanted to be a musician, and saved up out of her wages to buy herself a piano. Her father disapproved so much that he charged her rent for having the piano in the house.

She went on to become a professional musician and teacher, and never forgot this nastiness from her father.

Her money her choice. If you deny her choice, you will put her off saving and she will squander it on Macd's and 12 quid knickers from Victoria's secret. This way you are showing her a,reward for saving and she will get lots of enjoyment from it.

If you spend a lot on a good gaming PC they last for years. I bought my top of the line PC back in 2010 for around £1,200 and it only started to struggle to play new games at the minimum requirements a couple of years ago.

It's stll running strong though and still runs all my favourite games and I've literally spent nothing on it since the initial purchase 8 years ago. I'll probably keep it another 2 years (10 years old), and buy a completely new system, so not a bad investment for 10 years worth of entertainment.