I set personal limits. I just buy budget because A) the budget system is a little screwy at the best of times, B) I have nothing else to spend the massive stockpile of stubs I've accumulated on. C) Ignore budget alone doesn't solve the problem. At least it didn't in previous iterations. It just ignores budgets for trades, NOT free agents or the off season. D) I don't want to do 30 team control, mainly because I've already invested three years real time into my current franchise. Not starting a new one.
I still haggle with free agents and I run the team as if every dollar I save is a dollar I can spend later (or pocket, I am trying to run a business here). I only throw my financial weight around when it makes sense to do so. I just went through an off season where I trimmed a significant amount of salary despite having a nearly 600 mil budget plus 50k in stubs in reserve. My personal limit was 350, and I managed to get well under that and prepare for the future.
I will not bow my head as a cheater... I will and do hold my head high... I have purchased over a half a billion dollars between real cash and stubs.
I have $561 Million dollars to play with going into the offseason. that is if my team does well in the post season.. it could and probably will go up...
I have been asking for SCEA to loosen the purse strings and they did and I couldn't be happier. I was on course to get a billion dollars but real life issues came into play and that money went away.. or else I would be well over a billion available.
With all the players I will have to retire with my fantasy drafted team this year, I will need as much money as I can to keep this team running for the foreseeable future.
Also if i DON'T use it all i will have a nice start to a nest egg for season two of my carry over... so i can continue to build on to it for future free agents in the next offseason.
so yes i use it... i abuse it and couldn't be prouder of it...