If you're a real film buff it's more than likely that the mere thought of the amount
of money you spend on your hobby is enough to bring you out in hives.
It's the same way with almost every unembarrassed (or should that be slightly embarrassed?) passion - just be glad yours isn't skydiving or collecting rare stamps.
Still, though, with the big spending period of Christmas out of the way and the good intentions of New Year on the horizon it's well worth taking a moment to think of the many ways that you can save money on this passion without compromising on your love of the movies.
There are several ways to save from the the minute you go to see a must-see flick at the cinema or at a film festival up to the point when you settle down to watch an old favourite on blu ray or DVD at home.
Sometimes these two ways of saving can be combined: for example, some DVD rental services now offer free cinema tickets for new members.
This often adds up to a lot of money saved, especially if you'd otherwise have gone to the cinema at peak times.
A number of loyalty cards and schemes also exist which offer money off cinema tickets.
However, it's generally not the versions of these which are run by the cinemas that offer the best value for money but rather those which are run by more experienced rewards operators.
For example, a UK mobile phone provider offers two-for-one on all cinema tickets to its customers on every Wednesday and a certain supermarket with a rewards scheme also allows you to exchange reward points for cinema tickets for a fraction of the tickets' value.
Another option for saving money is to improve your home film viewing experience.
By signing up to a service such as Lovefilm - which offers rentals through the TV in high quality and allows them to be streamed immediately - for example.
However, this service requires an internet-enabled TV so it does require some initial investment. On the other hand, a more conventional DVD rental service can offer savings on a large scale without the need for any initial outlay.
Since the service charge the same amount no matter what the format of the disc is they're also ideal for blu ray rental since these high definition discs can be very pricey.