Cash reserves?

[willpax]

I was wondering: do many of you play with some general guidelines about preferred cash reserves in different situations? I've been reading about triangle diplomacy, and looking at how expensive it is to play aggressively on the diplomatic front--I never seem to have the money. On the other hand, I also do much more upgrading than I probably should, and tend to play builder/cultural games to boot.

So: what mental goals do you have for cash reserves in different situations in the game? I know money is one of those things for which you'll never have enough, but what amounts do you aim for in different eras and situations?

 

[CivDude86]

Enough to keep the deficit spending going but I'm not big on upgrading/rush buying and rather use techs for my diplomatic needs.

 

[drkodos]

Enough to keep the deficit spending going but I'm not big on upgrading/rush buying and rather use techs for my diplomatic needs.

Negative cash flow is not the same as defecit spending. There is no defecit spending in this game. If you do not have the cash, your units strike and are disbanded.

True defecit spending is when a there is a money shortage that is financed by Government borrowing. The shortage may occur when expenditures outpace revenue, but the money spent to keep operating is from loans.

In short, the best definiton of defecit spending: government spending financed by borrowing rather than taxation.

This does not happen in this game because it would be far too overpowering and easily exploitable.


Just sayin.

 

[Sisiutil]

In the early game, my finances scrape by; I'm usually spending more on research than I'm bringing in so that I can keep up as much as possible tech-wise.

By mid-game, I probably have some funds socked away thanks to capturing a few cities, which is nice. As Ayn Rand said, there is a certain buddhistic calm that comes from having money in the bank.

The biggest expense most players incur in the game is usually upgrading units. I have a rule of only upgrading Level 4 units, since I can easily produce Level 3 units by running Theocracy and/or Vassalage, and even then I don't upgrade all of them; it makes no sense to upgrade an Axeman with Combat I/II and Shock or Cover when gunpowder is imminent.

That being said, I like to keep some cash for emergency upgrades in case I'm attacked somewhere unexpected--500 gold is a good-sized rainy day fund. I will also regulary dip into it when I'm in some sort of tech race (Liberalism being the prime example).

 

[cabert]

my big spending is late, when I have universal suffrage
A wonder can be quite expensive...

Other than that, i usually run a light negative cash flow to be in a sustainable tech frame.
Meaning when I have 500 gold in the bank, it's a lot
When money is easy ( pillaging, ...) I go further into negative cash flow.

 

[willpax]

Thanks for the interesting posts.

What I've found is that I am rarely able to get even warmongers to fight wars against other people, as suggested in the triangle diplomacy. Even with high diplo modifiers and a common religion, they are rarely willing without a large cash payment--several thousand, which I rarely have. And I have trouble being the tech leader even on monarch, my usual difficulty level.

So, if you don't have the tech lead (and can't trade high value techs), you don't have many options?

 

[Jet]

(also Monarch) Usually I spend wealth on research ASAP, or like Cabert, with a light negative (but without much in the bank). Sometimes I'll time it so that I get to zero wealth at the next tech, but as Cabert suggests, if there are opportunities to make wealth, it's smarter to push harder negative, because then you might get the tech sooner. Later in the game I might keep a little for emergency upgrades only, but I consider it a bit of a luxury. Sometimes, especially if I've just gotten a windfall, I'll go zero research for a few turns and attempt to accumulate enough wealth to enable a stubborn tech trade that looks like it should be close. I'm terrible at getting AIs to declare on each other.