FTGT Hobby Budget Challenge Update and FAQ

First things first, we have a Facebook Group for everyone interested in joining the FTGT Hobby Budget Challenge and sharing their progress. To recap, the budget challenge is a six month challenge in which we will make monthly purchases and paint schedules. At the end of the challenge, participants should have at least the core of a solid army. The challenge kicks off December 1, 2014, and will run through the first week of June, 2015.

Now, for a quick FAQ:

• Can budgets roll over from month to month?
• Yes! If you spend under your monthly budget, you can roll over that budget into the next month. Less ideally, if you overspend one month, that overage should be deducted from the following month. 
• Do I have to do a 40k Army?
• No, the principles of the challenge are largely applicable to other gaming systems. Your focus might be a little different, but at the end you'll still have a good collection for your game painted up.
• Are there requirements for the army, such as points?
• No, this is largely what you make of it. In tossing ideas around at the beginning, we estimated most 40k armies would wind up around 1,500 points with the set budget. That said, some armies are less point:dollar efficient than others. Similarly, the goal of your army is your own. One person can be starting a new army from scratch, another can be rounding out an existing force. 
• $75 a month is a bit out of my price range. Can I participate at a lower level?
• Yes, part of setting a budget should be based on what you can spend. Feel free to adjust your personal Challenge Budget to whatever level you can afford. We set the budget based on what we were comfortable with and what we thought could get us to having the size army we were aiming for. 
• I have a bunch of models for my army in boxes still, can I use those?
• Yes, for items you already own, feel free to "purchase" the items from yourself with your allotted budget for the month. 
• Do taxes or Codexes/Rules count against the hobby budget?
• No. You do not need to include taxes, just use the price listed on GW's site for your region (for GW minis, for other games, use the manufacturer's site). We are also assuming you have relevant rules in hand before the challenge. That said, if you want to include them, you can feel free to, this is your budget after all.

To update, we have a few more weeks until the Challenge officially kicks off on December 1. In the first week of December, participants should put together their basic gameplan and first month's purchases. 

If you have any other questions or clarifications, ask them below or post them in the Facebook Group.