For gamers, a smaller budget doesn’t mean that you have to cut back on the number of video games you play - just re-think how you get them.

Stores like GameStop specialize in selling used video games in its stores at a lower price than the new video games. Or bid on games through auctions on eBay, where you can get the latest used games for less. eBay also offers new video games at “buy it now” options. The price may be a little higher than a used video game, but you sometimes get shipping for free or at a reduced price.

If you prefer to play titles, you can either rent video games from traditional Blockbuster stores or you can rent video games games online from GameFly.com (think of them as the Netflix of games). Another option for you to find some cheap used video games is Recycle Video Games Network. They sell and trade new and used video games and accessories.

Even if you want to keep buying new video games, you can avoid buyer’s remorse by taking advantage of the fact that many companies make short demos of their games available for free. Game demos for consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 can be downloaded directly to those systems’ hard drives.