Well my experience is that it's cheap - I gamed for about 2 years on $15 a month (WoW subscription), with the odd game downloaded through Steam every 3-4 months.
Also, I gave up drinking and within about a month I had a 4870X2... that said, I'm Irish and tend to buy rounds for friends so it'd explain the high cost of a night out...
Anyway, it's still the safest (provided you remember to eat, drink, and sleep... and occasionally bathe...)