Smart Budgeting for Steam Game Acquisitions

Adding funds to your Steam wallet might prove to be a little tricky if you’re new to the platform, but we’ll show you how to do so and then buy games.

There are many benefits to owning an active Steam account. At the forefront of these is that you can own games without going to a physical game store.

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1. Add a Debit or Credit Card to Your Steam Account

Debit or credit cards are the primary way you should buy games on Steam. It’s easy to block them outside of Steam; you can place a fixed amount on them to budget for your gaming, and they offer many more advantages.

Here’s how to add a card to your Steam account:

1. LaunchSteam , sign in, and click your username in the top-right corner of the window.
   
2. ChooseAccount details on the menu.
3. SelectAdd a payment method to this account from theStore $ Purchase History section.
   
4. In the resulting window, select your card type (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, or JCB). Steam only supports the options there, and, by default, it’s onVisa .
   
5. Enter your card number, expiration date, and security code (CVV).
6. Scroll lower to theBilling Information section and add your details. Make sure to add the details attached to that card—even if it’s different from your current name and address.
7. ClickContinue to finish.

If you run into any errors while adding your card, re-confirm the card number, expiration date, CVV, and billing information. If it persists, make sure you have at least $1 on the card you want to add.

2. Add Steam Funds With a Card or PayPal

Adding funds to your wallet is the primary and default way to make payments on Steam. Even after adding a payment method, Steam will attempt to debit your wallet first when making game purchases.

Additionally, you can use PayPal to fund your Steam account. So, if you don’t want to or can’t use your debit/credit card, you can still make purchases on Steam.

Here’s how to fund your account:

1. LaunchSteam and click your name in the top-right corner.
2. ClickAccount details and navigate to theStore & Purchase History section.
3. Choose+ Add funds to your Steam wallet .
4. Steam will present a menu of funds you can add. The minimum is $5, and the maximum is $100 (at a single time).
5. SelectAdd funds on the tier you want.
   
6. A review window will appear where you can change your payment method.

7. Optional: Use PayPal to pay by clickingChange inPayment method and clickingPayPal in the dropdown menu.

8. Tick the Steam Subscriber Agreement box and clickPurchase .

If credit/debit cards or PayPal don’t work for you on Steam, try buying Steam gift cards on third-party websites. After you get them,redeem the Steam wallet codes to fund your account.

3. Buy Games and Check Out on Steam

Now you have some money in your wallet, the final most important part of all of this is buying a game. Follow the steps below to buy a game on Steam:

1. When you launch Steam, clickStore in the left part of the overhead menu.
   
2. Use the search bar on the right side of the window to look up the games you want. Steam has a vast, well-cataloged library of games. It’s one of thereasons we recommend Steam for all gamers .
3. When you find something you like, click it to open its store page. Scroll down to see its available price points and packages
   
4. ClickAdd to Cart when you find something in your budget.

5. ChoosePurchase for myself on the resulting page.
6. Select your payment method from the dropdown menu when prompted and clickContinue .
7. Agree to Steam’s Subscriber Agreement and clickPurchase to complete the process.
   

After the payment is complete, Steam will add the game to your library. You’ll find all your games when you clickLibrary in the overhead menu.

Leave Your Digital Games Payments to Steam

Valve has made Steam a household gaming name across the industry. By funding your Steam wallet, you can have funds on-hand whenever you want to make a Steam purchase.

You should find pretty much any game you need on Steam, and its secure payment system makes it an ideal choice for all gamers.

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