Is it just me, or does everyone else have lots of Warhammer lying around the house that never gets painted? Join the Warhammer Mindful Spending Challenge and you’ll smash through your pile of shame.
Warhammer can be an expensive hobby. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. It is easy to get swept in the hype release cycle that Games Workshop likes to force on us hobbyists. It is also very easy to go out and buy a box of miniatures. Unfortunately, it takes way more time and effort to get that box fully painted and ready to play. And so the grey pile keeps growing in your cupboard, collecting dust and occupying space. So this year I have decided to create the Warhammer mindful spending challenge 2025.
Hot on the heels of last year’s NO Warhammer challenge, I decided to repeat the challenge and formalise it a little better. The ultimate goal behind this challenge was to help me to reduce (somewhat!) my backlog of miniatures.
Why a Warhammer mindful spending challenge?
The main reasons why I’m doing this mindful spending challenge are:
- Combat FOMO
- I already have a lot of Warhammer
- I love to look at my collection of painted miniatures
- Save money
- Declutter space and clear my backlog
This is why I’m going to stick to it this year as well.
Combating FOMO is definitely up there. Game Workshop releases a lot of stuff often. It’s impossible to keep up with even a single game system. Combine that with all their hype cycles and FOMO boxes. You can see that it can be stressful at times. You end up with purchases that you don’t actually need. This challenge will remind me not to fall for them!
I have so many Warhammer miniatures already that I don’t really need to buy more either. They occupy a lot of space too! So this challenge will help me clear my space, having more models painted and saving money. It’s a win win win for me!
The rules for this mindful spending challenge allow to buy some miniatures. However, it doesn’t allow me to buy all of them all the time. Exercising willpower to not buy things all the time can be tiring. Allowing some purchases during the year helps recharge your batteries. And it’s fun!
The Rules
The essence of the challenge can be summarized as not buying new miniatures until all the current ones are painted. However, it does have a more flexible spin to it.
Subdivide your collection into “mini collections” first. This is the bed rock of the challenge. Once you have done so, the rules are these:
- You have to paint all your miniatures in a mini collection before buying new miniatures for that given collection.
- You can sell miniatures to reduce the size of a mini collection.
- Gifts are allowed. Birthdays, Christmas and such occasions should allow joy in our lives as we battle our pile of grey. Gifts do not to follow any of the rules in this list (except this one!).
- You cannot start any new games systems.
- You can start a new game system if you finish one mini collection. Painted all your Necromunda? Go head, you can start Blood Bowl now.
Let’s see what I mean by dividing your Warhammer collection into “mini collections”.
Subdivide Your Collection
A “mini collection” is a subset of your existing collection. You’ll divide your collection in many mini sets. When completing one, you are allowed to go ahead and buy something new. The criteria for subdividing things is up to you. As long as discrete boundaries are well defined, you’re good to go.
As a few examples, your collection can be divided by:
- Game systems
- Factions
- Army list
- Model types
The game systems method works well for skirmish games, as it’s easier to have all your warbands painted. For example, you need to have all your Warcry painted before buying more. In my case, all my Underworlds warbands need painting before I’m allowed to get more.
For big scale games like Warhammer 40k I prefer the faction/army list method. It gives more wiggle room for your spending! For instance, after painting 2000 points worth of Space Marines, you can go out and buy something new.
The Model types version can be used if you have an eclectic collection. Many all vehicles? or all monsters. If you are for a challenge, maybe a subset is all the chaff units!
Warhammer mindful spending challenge 2025 let’s go!
I hope this challenge inspired you to paint lots of Warhammer this year while keeping your wallet safe.
I did this same challenge myself last year, albeit it was less structured. Head over to my Warhammer Challenge end of year recap post to read how it went. It’s a good example because it shows how it can help you paint more of your Warhammer collection.
I’d love to know if you will be taking part. Or if you have any feedback, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments. Good luck to you all!
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