[SCA-AE] reign costs?

[Dorinda Courtine-White]

>I did have one question/poll/ whatever? I'd be very interest in hearing 
>from past rulers on out-of-pocket financial costs for an actual reign.


That is a more complicated question than you may think.  I kept pretty good 
records of what we spent, but we used fabric that we already had for garb, 
and then bought new fabric etc. that didn't get used until later.  We 
certainly bought things we could have lived without and we bought things we 
would have bought even if not on the throne.  And while we spent money going 
to events we would not otherwise have attended as Crown, we also did not pay 
entrance fees or feast fees for events we would have attended anyway.

However, we spent an average of $9500 on the SCA during each of the time 
periods we were on the throne.  Of those sums, we were reimbursed $700 per 
reign for travel from the Kingdom, and I think we may have been reimbursed 
another $400-500 on the second reign for out of Kingdom Travel.  Those 
amounts may be a bit higher these days.  During that time, we did almost no 
home repair etc. as most of our extra funds went to the SCA.

It can certainly be done for less, but my advice for new Royalty is to look 
at your budget early, and make sure you have enough for gas, hotels, and 
food for the whole reign before buying the pearls!  <smile>  And if you know 
your car or roof is due for replacement, now may not be the time.

Dorinda