When setting a budget, maximizing every dollar is obviously very important. That being said...

How much more effective is a scouting/training budget of 20 than say 17 or 18?

If you could roll scouting/med/training at 17 that's an extra 9 million else where.

Those are decisions every owner makes every season. There are no hard and fast rules. Some owners swear by 20 med so that they can pump up injured players -- others consider it a waste and go with 0. Most, as you'd expect, go between. Scouting impacts both the number of players seen as well as accuracy of ratings, but 20 doesn't guarantee accuracy and still won't reveal every player that someone else may see, even some with lower budgets. Experience and your particular approach will dictate, and you may find you use different budgets depending on your team's position in a given season (rebuilding, competing, etc.).

I do OK with 16-18 in scouting. I can't imagine not going 20 for training as it effects development/decline in the physical ratings. I use 20 med but understand why others don't.

I want the extra $$ in scouting just so I reduce the likelihood of not seeing a top prospect (if I'm in rebuild mode).

thanks!!!

I switch from 16-20 scouting all the time.

I can't imagine going less then 20 training.

For med I feel like either go 0 or 20. 20 will improve your injured guys stats. Everything in between seems like a waste to me.