<prompt> Human: Hey all, So I guess I will pose a question to all of you, is it wrong for me right now to actually be budgeting money aside for gambling? I am a young computer engineer that always tends to have additional money laying around each paycheck and I do in fact enjoy playing poker at the local casino. Also, if I took the gambling aspect even out of the equation at all and just said that it was for a personal hobby, would it change your response? I think everyone needs a hobby and I am not married, no kids, no significant other right now, so I just have myself to financially support. Sometimes I dont even think of it as gambling, but more or less a way to get out of the house and do something that I enjoy doing.As a side note, I have already payed back all but 5k of my student loans 33k start, I have 17k left on my 1yr old car, and I am a renter. To me, renting is actually better off even in the long term as taxes alone where I live would almost equate to my current rentmonth.Recently however, I guess I think I have become more aware of how much I actually spend at the casino, even if it really isnt affecting my ability to pay any of my bills.  <response>: Im sure youll catch flak for it, but Im on your side. I do it too. I usually budget 50 for the month, but I also dont really go out to bars, etc. Sometimes youll come out ahead overall, sometimes youll go over that 50, but if you play responsibly you can stay within that budget for the year. As long as you stick to that budget, thats the best way to enjoy gambling. As soon as you start consistently going over budget, losing more than you want to lose, then losing more than you can afford to lose, thats when its a problem. Keep it to your budget and youll be perfectly fine in my book. 