How to keep check of your finances

Gold is always coming in. Gold accumulates in slow increments, whether you are killing mobs, questing or leveling professions. However, you aren’t always able to make it count, as there are so many distractions and possible ways to spend it.

In the following pages we will discuss the ways in which you can keep a tight lid on your purse, allowing you to save gold for more important purchases like mounts, respecs and large gear upgrades.

Loot everything that mobs drop! While people tend to do this at low levels, many forget to do it at high level, when all those greys start to add up! Have enough empty bag space when grinding to pick up everything that drops. Leaving things on bodies is just wasting money.

Do not undersell your items! Know how much all that leather, ore or stone that you collected is worth. No need to guess when you put it on the Auction House and take a loss just to sell fast. If you value your items correctly they will usually sell.

Only buy things you really need! This seems like straightforward common sense knowledge, but you’d be surprised how much the average player wastes on less than needed upgrades. Especially while leveling: unless you really need a new upgrade due to rotten luck with quests and instances, refrain from purchasing those overpriced Blues or Epics. Armor in general tends to be upgraded fairly often, and if you buy it during your leveling spree, it can turn into a large money sink. Those Epics and Blues you’ve spent your mount money on, will not be worth their pixels in 5 levels, while that mount will serve you well a great deal longer.

Another type of items to watch out for are rare patterns for professions. Remember that players have many options for gear now, including Badge Items, Gladiator and Arena Gear, 10-man and Heroic gear. Your crafted armors and weapons cannot compete with such Epics. Think critically when you want to buy them: is there a market for such crafted items, will you get your money back in a timely manner? An example is Formula: Enchant Cloak – Superior Frost Resistance.



The pattern might go for 800-1500 gold, but the enchant itself will rarely sell and even when it does, it will rarely bring in more than a few gold profit over the raw materials. Research the market when you are planning on dropping large sums of money on uncertain items.

Only enchant and gem valuable gear! Sure, you might be stuck with a green helmet for 2 weeks after reaching 80 due to poor drops in instances, but that is no excuse to waste hundreds of gold on it just to vaguely improve its stats. Save your gold for Rare or Epic gear that will not be easily replaced, such as Heroic Emblem gear, Gladiator or Arena gear.

Use your guild! This is of course dependant on you having a guild. Fellow members of a guild will gladly exchange crafting services at no charge in return for the raw material cost. This can save you hundreds of gold in enchants, gems, armor kits and consumables. Make friends with an enchanter in your guild and save all the BoE gear you get. Have him disenchant it into raw materials, thus further funding your enchants. An Alchemist can transmute eternals and green gems into Skyflare or Earthsiege Diamonds, a Jewelcrafter can then cut those meta gems into your desired form. This will save you 50 gold at least when compared to the average Auction Houseprice. Do not abuse your guild though. Making profit at their expense is dangerous, especially if they catch you. If you must sell the items you get crafted at a iscount or for free, then make sure they are not traceable to you or to their crafters (Alchemy, Enchanting and Jewelcrafting materials work best) and use an alt to do the sales.

Following these safety tips will at least ensure that you know where your money has been spent and that you reach high levels with more in your wallet than just dust and air.