Budgeting for dolls: How much do you spend a year?

I don't know how much I spend in total, and I don't want to know!

I buy based on a combination of time periods (this goes for eyes, clothes, and wigs, too - some stuff is only available occasionally), my list of characters I want to shell, stuff like that. I'm not methodical about it at all, really .

Now that I'm in a much, much, much tighter financial situation, though, I've cut back a lot, and have to stick to real priority items (like the doll that has zero in-character outfits gets an outfit, that kind of thing).

 

Oh boy... ^^; Well I'm an impulse buyer, so I tend to just splurge without thinking and then regret it later. Sometimes dolls are so tempting that I have to take a few months off from even LOOKING at mine or I'll start buying again. I didn't play with my dolls for a year and a half, started back again before Christmas and have spent about $2000 since then, including three dolls and a slew of wigs and clothes. I work part time while living at home and going to university, but most of what I spend is on my credit card soooo.... that's not good >>; Basically in answer to your question, I don't budget. But I wish I did/could!

 

I don't make a budget, I'd rather not... I'm a pretty impulsive buyer as it is, and since I plan everything monthly, if I were to have a doll budget I'd end up buying something every month... Mostly wigs and fabrics, though, since I'm already making clothes for the dolls I have not bought yet Here I'm hoping I may have restraint until the summer...

Mostly I try to stay away from buying now, except limited ones win me over, because of the short period they're for sale. I should really stop looking at sites...

 

I have a certain amount of money that gets automatically deposited into a savings account every paycheck for all major purchases; not enough money in there, no doll. Smaller purchases come out of my personal fun money, though I do keep those limited in number - the little wallet-eaters get enough of my cash as it is!

 

I don't have an average amount because I'm still saving for my first bjd. This year I'll spend $300 in October for my doll and probably another $200 at Christmas for clothes and accessories. So about $500 in all.

 

I usually save a certain amount whenever I can into my "dolly fund" for dolls and outfits purchases, like Anriko, no money = no doll. I do try my best not to spend all of my dolly fund though. I do a little budgeting and that's it. I am not too fixated on it (though I feel I should be -.-) and I don't really keep track of how much I've spent in total. Actually, I tried to keep track once, but I gave up - I think I'd rather not know, but then again, my bank usually send me statement every month, and I almost got a heart attack when I saw my statements from Nov and Dec 2010 -- that's was when they had all this Xmas events going on, so this year Xmas I'm going to plug out my pc lol.

 

I only buy what I really really love, and I save up to buy.
sometimes that means I have to wait for something to come around 2nd hand, (my 1st one and one of my pukipuki and one of my MSD) ...sometimes it means I wait and maybe never get him or her.

but I wait till there's one I really love.
I was going to try to limit myself to one of each size-class, but that went out the window with the 2nd MSD and with the pukis it didn't last long! now my Yo boy wants a "twin" sister. Not sure how THAT happens.

 

I've managed to budget quite well. First off I pay my bills, rent, utilities, etc. In my daily life I live within my means and have a certain amount of money I can spend how ever I want no questions asked. When I want a doll or know it's coming in, right now I'm awaiting Miss Lilly my Xmas doll and her promo friend, I cut back on buying not so necessary things. It's a great diet when you can't afford to eat out much.

A dolly diet has actually helped me with a bit of a shopping problem I was developing. Do I really need/want what I'm about to buy or do I want to put that in the doll fund to be able to buy something for her?

 

I don't make budget or anything, when I feel to buy something and I have the money I will buy it without asking me anything. when its come to doll I don't question myself at all and I never had any money problems with that.

I obviously buy more to my dolls than for myself tought xD
Like this year I have spend at least 2k minimum

 

What I buy in a year depends on how much I'm making and what other things are going on. I've spent a lot some years, and a mere fraction of that in others. I budget by month and don't tend to look at the year as a whole.

 

It depends what new dolls come out during any one year!

More seriously though, in terms of budgeting, I wonder if a more telling question wouldn't be about the percentage of income devoted to hobbies/dolls rather than actual numbers - after all, a person who spends a few hundred dollars/year but is unemployed is (in some ways) making a much bigger investment than a person with a well-paying job and no dependents who spends $1000/month!

 

I don't have a specific doll budget, but I have my leftover money every month that I split between all of my hobbies. Sometimes dolls get all of that money, and sometimes they get none of that money. It depends on a lot of things - what is being released in my other hobbies, what I am currently really interested in, is there any doll stuff that I actually like available, that sort of thing.

If there nothing that appeals, I save that money to go continue into the spending money fund.

 

That pretty much sums it up for me, too.

Most of my money goes into the dolls. If it isn't going into the dolls, it's going directly into software for work or for other work expenses (resource licensing, promotional costs, etc.) and that, while a hefty chunk, I've learned to budget around very well since the days when I was making considerably less than I do now. I also have no real expenses -- including no car, no mobile phone, no game system to suck money, no nook/kindle/etc. and a lot of the other things that people forget they're spending a small fortune on and tend to assume that everyone is similarly spending a small fortune on monthly -- and no dependents.

 

I don't actually budget for them, I have my doll money separate from my other funds....it's mostly any income I get that's not directly from my actual paycheck lol which includes any freelance work, gifts, and sales money. This money I feel I can throw around on dolls while still making sure I can afford to live XD

Right now I'm lacking in the doll monies, and I don't have anyone in my collection I want to part with, I have to let it build up so I can afford a body for one of my heads!

 

I don't have a set budget yet, since I JUST bought my first BJD, but I definitely tried to keep the whole package under $300, for the doll, his clothes, wig etc. *sob* He'll be faceless and naked for a while, but I'm planning to do the face an clothes myself, which'll hopefully save me some money... OTL

 

I started with an overall hobby budget of $4000. After I got my collection fully going (which included 8 dolls and ALL the starter supplies) I blew right past that budget. Now I have made individual project budgets, like how much I spend on specific photoshoots, etc. It works out much better that way! Now that I have my initial supplies and things figured out, I don't feel like I'll sink nearly as much cash into the hobby this year.

 

There is a master list of how to make doll money here on the forums if your search kung-fu is good enough.

As for simply managing the budget itself, I'd say to focus on ONE project at a time. I wound up spending so much (and ultimately losing so much!) because I didnt take the time to focus on developing one doll. At one point I had three or four naked dolls because I hadnt bought their outfits! And after developing the a little more I realized not all of them were meant for me. By focussing on one project/one doll you can save what I ultimate dubbed my "screw up" money

 

I should budget! I spend way too much and most of it I try not to keep track of because it's just WAY too much!!! Easily thousands per year... I was hoping it would be less than a thousand per year, but I suspect it's more around 2 to 5 thousand, roughly. I know I spent way too much last year... 3 large dolls (one second-hand but not cheap) and one new mini... plus hundreds in clothes and other items... But there are some years that I spend much less... (still too much, though).