Prior to his transformation from miser to geyser (of charity) in A Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge refers to the holidays as “a time for balancing your books and having every item in ’em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you.” In that spirit, and inspired by yo go re of OAFE, I decided to keep a running tally of every toy I bought in 2008 to find out exactly how much money I spend on this hobby. The list does not include any toys or figures I received as gifts from friends or family. Shipping costs are included in the price.

This certainly isn’t an attempt to brag. It’s often considered gauche in America to reveal anything about one’s salary or spending habits, but suffice to say DMG and I are by no means rich. Also, keep in mind that this is all spread across twelve months, and that it comes at the cost of a number of DVDs, videogames and other items I might have bought for myself otherwise.

OK, I’m done trying to downplay spending thousands of dollars on toys. Without further ado, I present to you Poe’s Official Toy Tally of 2008.

[TABLE=4]

Total number of toys: 112
Total amount spent: $1,762.96