The other night, I visited a club and tipped the DJ $100L, one hundred Linden dollars. One hundred divided by two hundred and fifty equals 40. $100L = $0.40 USD, forty cents.
If you and I were standing around in RL, I would offer to buy you a cup of coffee. Why? Because it's a nice thing to do. No strings attached; I'm just being a nice guy. That cup of coffee could cost anywhere from three to five U.S. dollars and even more if you get the vanilla sweet cream cold foam and the cinnamon dolce sprinkles. Ha!
My point is that tipping somebody $100L is a trivial amount of money. When I go to a club, I tip the DJ, the venue, the hostess if there is one, and the dancers if there are any. I like to say that I want to show my appreciation for everybody's time and effort in contributing to my entertainment. I tip more than once, so it's not uncommon over the course of an hour, I tip a thousand Linden dollars, which is the equivalent of four American dollars, once again, the price of a cup of coffee. And a bagel if I'm lucky.
Let me come back to the previously mentioned RL cup of coffee. Five U.S. dollars equals $1,250L. Now, spending five bucks to offer you a cup of coffee seems kind of inconsequential financially. A nice gesture, but not an overly expensive one. However, saying one thousand two hundred and fifty Lindens sounds bigger. Technically, it's the same, but the number sounds more impressive. Tipping a hundred Lindens sounds substantial even though it's only forty cents. Now, I have no idea who tips and who doesn't tip. I have no idea how big tips are. I've noticed that some pop-up tip menus have pre-set amounts of $5, $10, etc. Imagine that five Linden dollars is equal to two cents. Yup, two measly cents. This is where I jokingly add, "It's the thought that counts."
Monthly Expenses
How much do people spend per month? My "home" is a cheapo Skybox which costs $80L per week or $320L per month, the equivalent of $1.28 USD. Big deal.
I have a friend who runs a SIM. She spends $100 USD or $25,000L per month. Her rationale is that SL is her entertainment. The average cost of cable TV varies from $60 to $130 per month. The average cost of a movie ticket is $10 to $12. The average cost of a meal is $10 - $20 for fast food and $30 - $60 for a mid-range sit-down. When you start comparing SL to other expenses in your life, it doesn't seem all that expensive. However, I do think there's a psychological effect of looking at Linden dollars and seeing large numbers due to the exchange rate.
Income
Most of us do not earn money; we spend it. Obviously, we are slapping down our credit card periodically and buying Lindens.
However, some people earn their way through the game. One friend told me she came to SL in 2005 and spent $10 USD to get started. Since then, everything else she's earned herself. Dancer, escort, hostess, DJ, club manager, club owner, she has held a variety of positions producing income to support her land, her house, her wardrobe, and such.
Personally, I've never worked. I thought about it over the years, but in the end, decided I was coming to have fun and didn't want to tie myself down with the responsibility of a job. Once in a while, when I top up my wallet with more Lindens, I think of the expense, but as I said above, if I compare this expense with other things in life, it's a relatively inexpensive form of diversion. I have to chuckle when I think of a friend in RL who owns a family boat, a motorcycle, several skidoos, a truck and associated trailers, etc. and undertakes the maintenance of all that equipment. My expense for Second Life? Pshaw!
$600,000
A few years back, I met a young lady who told me an incredible story. Over the space of two years, her former sugar daddy had given her six hundred thousand Linden dollars. Divided by 250, that's equal to $2,400 USD. That's an average of $25,000L or $100 USD per month. I've been around for 15 years and had never heard of such a thing before. For me, that truly was an incredible story.
One question always comes to mind when I think about all that money. Just what the heck is anyone going to spend it on? I've got so much stuff in my inventory, I no longer even know what I've got. I'm reminded of that funny saying: "Shop in your own inventory.", the idea being you can find stuff you forgot you had which can, in effect, feel like brand new.
Recently, I chatted with an older woman who was looking for her own sugar daddy. I told her this story, and she didn't think $100 USD per month was unreasonable. I've heard it said that the most valuable gift we have to give anyone is our time.
Years ago, a woman suggested an "escort RP", so I paid her $2,000 for one hour of her time. I'd hate to offend her, but it was, at best, okay. Nevertheless, it was an hour of her time dedicated to me. That's $8 USD for her time. I just checked: In the United States, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 USD. So, I return to the six hundred thou. Is that a fair amount for being at someone's beck and call?
Perspective
Six hundred thousand Lindens. $2,400 USD. A friend in RL rented an AirBNB cottage for one week. The cost of the rental, food, gas, entertainment, etc. totaled six grand. That's $6,000 in one week. Now compare that to $2,400 over two years.
I saw an advertisement in SL for an escort charging $5,000 for one hour. That's equal to $20 USD. Five thousand as a number seems like a lot. But twenty? Is $20 all that much for one hour of somebody's time?
Final Word
I could go on and on about all the different aspects of money, both income and expenses in SL. But my main point in all of this is the conversion to Real Life dollars to best understand exactly what the true cost is. As I said, looking at $100L as merely $0.40 USD isn't such a big deal.
I tip regularly. I have been known to tip generously. Body, skin, head, clothes, never mind the time and effort to get everything arranged. People have made an investment in themselves to look their best. I like to acknowledge their contribution to my evening of entertainment. We're all in this together.
As for the expense of SL, it's relatively small when compared to other things in my life. The other day, in RL, I stopped at a coffee shop and ordered an espresso for a cost of $3.20. That works out to $800 Lindens. If ya wanna play, ya gotta pay. :-)
2025-09-21
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