How Pokémon Go Affects Personal Finance? (In Positive Ways and Also The Things You Need to Be Aware Of)

Do you think it is too much of me making this How Pokémon Go Affects Personal Finance post? If you think so, just read it thoroughly to know whether I make valid points or not. Haha! You’re already here anyway! 😀

Yep, I’m a Pokémon Go player and go with Team Valor (the red team). Don’t ask me what is the meaning. It was just a random name came up in my head. Now I’m already at level 8 of the game and captured more than 3 dozen pokémons already and evolved some of my pokémons.

The game is great. It redefines the adventure in the adventure game genre. With the Pokémon Go, I really went and explore places I never thought before would go there on foot while having a great time hunting those cute monsters!

Read this article from CNB about how Pokémon Go could boost retail industry and this video about how Pokémon Go push Nintendo shares soared.

I know there are so many articles highlighting the downside of the game. How dangerous it is to focusing so much on the game and unaware of the surroundings and so many other things you may already read it. But what about your personal finance? Does this game have any effect on the area? Let’s see!

Know That Pokémon Go Affects Personal Finance This Way:

Reduces Your Gym Membership Expense

*Positive point

If you were like me, you better install this game and abandon your gym membership. Spare yourself some hundred of thousands rupiah each month for a gym membership and go chase pokémons!

Seriously! This is one of the good effects of the game. I walk more than I had for the past years. It is so much fun to hunt Pokémon. I even went to places I had never gone in years. My parents’ neighbor in Surabaya! I went for walk passing their houses and eventually said a word or two to them.

Not to mention in order to hatch pokémon eggs, I need to walk a certain distance. So I walked the total of 10 km in one day. Not bad for an exercise right? A free yet purposeful exercise compared to boring cardio on a treadmill which was apparently my main destination when I hit the gym.

I have determined to have more walk or run after this and use it to find more pokémon as well. 😀 So long expensive gym membership! I didn’t just make it up right when I say Pokémon Go affects personal finance right?

Read my post  three simple things for healthy financial life which may help to improve your financial life.

May As Well Cut Your Transportation Fee!

*Positive point

For those who live in Jakarta most likely know that commuting cost is so high and may be the biggest part of their daily expenses.  Then Pokémon Go might help to decrease your transportation fee.

How so?

With so many online transportation apps available in the application store in for Jakarta people and traffic so bad, we no I, even use those available services to getting here and there even for the walking distance destinations.

Even with only Rp. 10.000,- or less than a dollar, it hurt my finance with the fact of how many times I use the service.

Use Pokémon Go to help reduce your transportation fee. No, not that the app will help you getting around here and there faster but it will make you walk with more fun and more purpose!

Read my post about what you can do when you are stuck in Jakarta traffic.

(Hopefully) Makes You More Aware of Your Credit Card Usage

*Things you need to be aware of!

Yes, all games must come with the in-app purchases, this Pokémon Go as well. You need to buy items in order to advance in the game. Becoming a super pokémon trainer.

The purchase(s) of course require payment with the real money and the fastest way is by using your credit card. Thus, you need to be very careful playing the game as you may run out of Poké Ball while a Legendary Pokémon appears or need potions to cure your monsters.

I always try to limit myself not to use real money for a game though I did that several times in the past for other games. 😀

Getting Financial Profit or Loss?

*The Positive Point

Of course, you will get a direct financial profit if you already have some shares of Nintendo game of any company related directly to Niantic and Pokémon Company. I read some news that Nintendo shares increase by 25% in less than a week from the release of the game.

Looking at how massive the game players of this game and the amount of money it generated in one day, maybe beside the Pokémon Company related shares, the share values of a company producing and providing services related to the game may also getting positive effects.

How so?

Reading from various sources, the game revolutionizes how a game runs. It combines reality and game environment in a way I have never imagined before. A new kind of technology that I just learned from the game.

I assumed there’ll be many similar follower apps/games that will use the technology. So you may already imagine which companies may benefit from this. Telecommunication companies for instance.  At least they will sell more cellular services with a bigger data package and more subscription service so that we can play the game.

What about cell phone companies which selling you the very gadget you use to play the game? Hahahaha! Maybe it’s just a wishful thinking to expect a game to boost the stock market in general for our profit.

But be careful of your decision on buying stocks of the companies. Don’t let your euphoria for the game blur your judgement. You still have to factor in the company past performance, the local condition that affects company’s operation and many other things. 😀

Read this article in Indonesian about how I learn about the capital market and what to do when there’s massive downturn in your stock value (instead of selling them in panic).

Find Opportunities and A Business Idea (os Two!)

*you can make it as a positive point

Data Breach Which Could Lead to Financial Disaster (?)

*The thing you really should be  aware of!

As you may already aware, in order to be able to play Pokémon Go, you should register either with your Google Account or Pokémon Trainer Club account. To make it all easy, I just registered with my Google Account.

I intentionally use my other account which only needed for trying things out. I kept my main (Google) account save from any kind of game. 😛

If you happened to use your main Google account which you already keep your credit card and other critical information, please do take necessary action to secure your account. There’s nothing wrong being too strict on your personal data right?

You can read a guest post talking about this data security in this internet age.

Final Words about How Pokémon Go Affects Your Personal Finance