How to check how much you've spent on Steam games

I've been using Steam for years, building up my game library one sale at a time. I never really thought about how much I'd spent until I stumbled across a Reddit post that changed everything.

A user named u/HappyMcflappyy shared their Steam Points balance - a staggering 3,566,945 points. Since you get 100 points for every dollar spent, that meant they'd poured over $35,000 into their Steam account.

The comments were flooded with other users sharing their totals, and that's when I realized there was actually a way to check one's lifetime Steam spending. I had to know my number.

Here's how you can check yours:

1. Open Steam and click Support in the top menu
2. Select My Account
3. Choose Data Related to Your Steam Account
4. Click External Funds Used

Steam makes you sign in again, like it's giving you one last chance to back out before showing you the potentially painful truth.

After signing in again, you'll see a detailed breakdown across several categories:

TotalSpend shows your complete Steam expenditure - every game, DLC, and in-game purchase you've ever made. 

OldSpend reveals how much you spent before April 17, 2015, when Steam introduced its refund policy.

There's also PWSpend for Perfect World purchases (relevant for CS:GO or Dota 2 players in certain regions), ChinaSpend for Steam China transactions, and PackageOnlySpend for non-transferable game purchases.

When I finally saw my numbers, I was relieved - just under $300 since 2020, which is not bad considering some of the horror stories I was reading.

Back on that Reddit thread, the numbers kept getting crazier. One user casually dropped "19k, yikes" in the comments. Another admitted, "I'm just shy of 15k myself..."

At first these numbers seemed insane, but someone put it in perspective: if you buy a $4.50 latte at Starbucks every other day for 22 years, then you’ve spent $17,820 on coffee alone. Suddenly those five-figure Steam accounts didn't seem quite so outrageous.

What really hit me was realizing that all this money doesn't actually buy you anything permanent. Your Steam account isn't an asset - trying to sell it violates Steam's Subscriber Agreement. And as PCWorld pointed out, you don't even own the games you've purchased. You're essentially renting them indefinitely.

But here's how I look at it now: that money wasn't wasted if you got some enjoyment out of it. For some people, gaming is their main hobby, and $10,000 over 10 years breaks down to about $20 a week - cheaper than many other forms of entertainment.

Still, seeing that total number can be a wake-up call. I know I'll think twice before adding another unplayed game to my library during the next Steam sale.

So how much have you spent? If you're ready to find out, follow those steps above - just be prepared for whatever number stares back at you.