Going Into Debt For Dolls - are the potential long-term consequences worth it?

I'm afraid I'm quite guilty of going into debt for my dolls but really I don't regret it. I make sure all my bills are paid first & then I indulge myself, a bit too much though. I'll probably be paying for these kids for a long, long time but their beauty & the joy they bring is worth every last cent.

 

I don't think it is ever right to go into debt for dolls. This is a luxury hobby and nobody is entitled to an expensive doll - needs should always come first. (And nobody needs a $xxx doll.) This goes double for anyone in a position of supporting another. I would be absolutely devastated if I knew that a doll purchase - or any other frivolous thing, for that matter - deprived my girlfriend of her medicine or made her have to skip a meal.

Dolls should come absolutely last on the list of things to spend money on (sorry, resinkids) because they do not get hungry or cold or sick. I love my dolls, but loving my dolls =/= dropping huge amounts of cash on them. Anyone who can't make a distinction between needs (bills, food) and wants (dolls, other hobbies) has a serious issue with priorities and needs to really reexamine how they are managing their life.

 

since i have my first doll and im paying off my first layaway im still trying to get the hang of things. i thought i could handle the layaway no problem and my boyfriend said he would help. but i completly forgot about exchange rates and how much im actually paying for her.
this is the first hobby that im interested in and the first time ive EVER spent money on something for myself thats over $20 ^_^; so i kinda went crazy. luckily i have a very considerate boyfriend who loves im being as enthusiastic about something as he is with his models. and he allways assures me hes going to help as long as im stuck in this layaway. i cant wait to just pay off soom and get it over with.. not just to have the doll but to get out of this money problem ^_^;
im being so much more concience of how much money is going towards the dolls and i allways make sure my bills are payed

 

Why do you assume that someone who would charge their doll on a cc doesn't pay their bills or take care of other priorities (especially people and pets)? And is it really a case of entitlement--after all, if a person uses a cc they still have to make payments on it, and that money comes from the job they work everyday.

You made a very black and white assessment, when a lot of people don't go to the extreme that you mentioned.

 

I agree with what Kalliope says, and I want to add that it should go for any sort of entertainment item. If you can't afford food/clothes/a roof over your head, you probably shouldn't be buying dolls, going to the movies, etc.

That being said, I don't think anybody here has actually been in that situation. Most people here agree that, as long as you can comfortably pay off the debt, it's generally OK. Technically speaking I went into debt when I bought my Puki because I put him on my credit card. But I completely paid off the card with this paycheck. Nobody lost any meals, we didn't lose the house, and cats and dogs didn't rain from the sky.

 

I've put a doll on a cc before...and I've paid it off, with little detriment to my life or my other needs! I wasn't crippled with debt, I don't live in a cardboard box and I haven't been shunned by my family and friends. It was a very considered measure, I thought long and hard about doing it, and now I can sit back and know it's all been sorted and I won't have any charges.

It's quite judgemental to suggest that someone who has gone into dolly debt cannot distinguish between a need and a want, if they are prepared to pay off the balance on their credit card, or take on extra hours or a second job to cover their spending, then who are you to tell someone to reexamine their life? Whatever works for you (general you), works for you. I just think people should be educated about how a credit card works before they can apply for one. They should pass a test to show they are capable of using a credit card and understand the limitations and the payments that have to be made, but credit companies aren't going to agree to this because they love the uneducated people using their cards and getting into a debt trap.

 

I have several collections and hobbies that I more or less keep up, and have just gotten interested in BJD (thankfully interest seems to be fading in at least one of my other collections...). I do have some credit card debt right now, and have decided to save up for a doll and buy it with money I actually have on hand. I may put the actual purchase on my credit card for safety purposes (and I know as soon as the charge goes through I'll get a call from the company to confirm I actually made the order), but I'll immediately pay the money I've saved up for it to the credit card.

I am also working right now to pay my credit card debt off. I actually have enough in savings to pay the whole thing off AND buy a doll or 4, but I don't want to drain my emergency savings account. I have about a 3-month cushion in savings right now, and while my job does not in any way seem to be in jeopardy, I know things can go bad in an instant, so that savings money is off-limits. A co-worker's husband was in a motorcycle accident, was in the hospital for months, and still over a year later isn't really able to work and will likely never be back to his former pay level PLUS it took MONTHS of constant meetings and phone calls to get disability payments for him. Seeing that has convinced me that I need that savings cushion!

Use a credit card if you need to - it's basically a backwards version of layaway but with interest - but please be smart about it!

 

It depends on the debt you're asking about. If you're asking about people who have gone bankrupt or who can't afford to feed themselves, they are in the wrong hobby. I have no sympathy for poor money managers and think they deserve whatever falls they take.

But if you mean paying your doll off overtime so you're in debt to the doll company/seller but not your cc company, then I don't see a problem with that. That is, if you're paying it back regularly without having much of a struggle.

Or if somebody has dolls and an accident occurs that puts them into debt, I do feel bad for them. Of course, they can sell thier dolls and easily bail themselves out of the debt. These dolls are very good investments.

 

Jescissa - I think she was referring to people who aren't paying thier debt off in an appropriate manner. If somebody if not buying what they need, like food, to pay off thier debt, then they obviously are not working another job or doing any of the things you suggested.

 

My first doll wasn't a problem for me financially. My second, the one that's arriving now, has put me in debt, but only to myself. I do not have credit cards, nor do I intend to right now, but I do have a savings fund that I fill for emergencies, special things here and there, car troubles, books, tuition and the like. Most of it is filled by selling on eBay or from portions of my work checks. It's typically well stocked, but whenever I use it to buy something like a doll, I HAVE to pay it back the very next paycheck or I go crazy. I haven't had a paycheck to spend on myself for nearly two months, thanks to a busted car window, rent, car insurance, rent and then a phone bill the company forgot to send me until last week, in that order, but I'll still be paying back the account for Ezra in full with my next check even if it means eating Top Ramen for a while. The second I drop the limit in that savings account, I can't stand myself for a few days. I could never go into debt with anybody but myself for a doll. I tried to do a layaway on my first, but I couldn't make myself do it. I am far too cautious to do something like get into financial situations with others. I don't see anything wrong with people who do go into debt for their dolls. It's their lifestyle choice. Not one I'd choose, but everyone is different. Some people are in debt for buying worse things like drugs or alcohol. At least dolls have SOME resale value and can give a boost in a pinch.

 

Like many have said before me, it's not so much going into actually debt but putting off my emergency money savings/dipping into my emergency money savings. I've never missed a bill but I have ended up in a tight situation.

 

I don't believe in going into 'true' debt for dolls - spending money I don't have / won't have (going into negatives). I have an expensive doll on layaway, but that is because I know I will have that money on time, and will be able to pay it off - without going into the negatives. I preffer the long layaway because I can keep a good float in my bank account incase something comes up.

Dolls are nice to have, but I'd never go spending money I really don't have on a luxury item.

 

Not once in my post did I mention credit cards. By "going into debt" I mean spending money that you do not have nor can expect to bring in within a reasonable amount of time, or any financial practice that would leave you with insufficient funds for the things you actually need. I know all about responsible (and irresponsible) credit card use and I'm not even going to address that.

I stand by my statement that food/housing/loved ones/etc. > dolls/luxuries, and I agree whole-heartedly with Ostrich.

 

Debts aren't a good thing as far as I'm concerned. However, to an extent the paying for a doll with money I don't have is something I might actually do...I'd probably mooch off of friends' food for a while to pay off a dollie ^_^;

 

This is one concern that i'm somewhat familiar with. I'm still studying, so i used my allowance to pay off my boy. I reserved him with the seller first, and put a deposit down so nobody would take him.

My parents though, were really pissed, because i would have to pay for him over about 3 months, and they felt that i was spending on something i couldn't afford, spending money that i didn't as yet have.

I feel guilty about it, but in hindsight, i would still have done something like it. For me, real life hasn't intruded much on my desire for dolls, since i don't have bills to pay and whatnot, but i do think that as much joy dolls could bring, its not worth it to have your water and electricity cut off, so... Bills and living expenses first - live frugally, and then indulge your doll-loving tendencies. XDDD

 

I don't have a credit card cos I'm under 18, but I owe my mum money for Christelle. I'm already feeling the stress from being in debt, and, I got to say, IT'S SCARY!
I'm currently working to pay her off though. She's pretty good motivation to continue working. =D I would have quit if I didn't have her around.

 

I think a lot of the contention in this thread is based on people's definitions of "in debt"-- it seems like some people practically think that borrowing a dollar from a co-worker for the snack machine constitutes "debt".

That being said, I personally think of "in debt" as being in the in-over-your-head kind of debt, rather than just any money you owe at all, whether or not you are completely able to pay for it. I wouldn't think it should matter whether you use a credit card or not, as long as you are financially responsible about it. Being unable to pay your rent and having creditors at your heels is a much different animal than having charging one six-hundred dollar purchase and paying it off over the next few months.

I personally did use my credit card to order my doll, despite having more than enough to pay for it sitting in my bank account, and I plan on paying it off over the next two months in portions. Large purchases, for me, make me anxious, so spreading it out a little helps me freak out less, and lets me maintain my pool of "buffer" emergency cash at a level I prefer. Just because I prefer to spread things out a bit does not mean that I am fiscally irresponsible-- I am conscious of my purchases and do not spend lavishly. Like most adults, I have student loans, a car loan (though that is nearing being paid off), and a mortgage. However, all those things are getting paid just fine.

I was married recently in a small ceremony that we did pay for outright, thus avoiding the large wedding debt a lot of couples seem to start out with. That, to me, is a silly thing to be paying off, because it's something you only have for one day. A doll, although equally frivolous and unnecessary, is something that you keep and which could theoretically be resold in the future, so paying that in a couple handy installments doesn't bother me. It's more of an investment to me than an event is.

(Also, if anyone knows anyone looking for a wedding dress, I'd love to sell mine. =P )

 

i wouldn't go into debt for bjd. i have to earn the money and have it on me b4 purchasing one.

 

When it comes to money, keeping track of what I have, and what I don't have is everything to me. I've all my life been raised to be careful around money and never "waste" anything. Im only 17 years of age, but sometimes it feels like Im more concerned with how much money I got than most of the adult people I know.

I NEVER buy on credit, it's completely out of the picture, and every withdraw I make (be it food, clothes or a doll) is carefully planed and thought through before actually carried out.
Here in sweden, teenagers that are in high school get study grant, which is about 130$ a month, and I can, without overdoing it, say that 99% (if not 100) of the high school students that I know, are spending these money as soon as they get them, like "oh my god, I got money! Let's go shopping!" and then all of a sudden, everything is gone. I think Im the only one in the circle of friends I hang out with, who actually save all of if. I have a separate saving-account in the bank where I keep all my savings, which includes this study grants that we get. Thankfully my parents have arranged it so that the grants never even touch my regular card, and instead goes straight to the saving-account in the bank. If I want to withdraw money from the saving-account, the bank need both of my parents signatures (until I turn 18) before they accept a transfer or withdraw.

This is the one and only reason why I could afford to pay for my first BJD, who will be shipped shortly. But even if I have a lot of money in the bank, this spending of exactly 712$ for the doll (inkl shipping fee) is still encouraging me to get a job as soon as possible to fill the gap that this doll has caused.

When people go into debt for something that is not considered necessities, (necessities being bills, food, rent and so forth) I don't really understand what goes through their minds. It's not only dolls, it's everything actually, shopaholics that have to buy everything, just for the sake of buying it, people who collect miniature cars, people who buy new phones as soon as a new model comes out, just because "it's the latest model, the phone that I already have is so last year", computers, have 4-5 cars when they only need one, games, movies, books, whatever, there's no difference.
I only buy stuff when I know I have the money to pay it off right away, and I know that it won't damage my economy to a degree that I have to start cutting down on basic needs like food to manage until I somehow get more money.

But let's say I've bought a doll and I suddenly get a huge bill of some sort (since for example medical treatment here in sweden is free, it's hard to give you an example), and I know I haven't enough money to pay it, I would sell my doll just to get the money for the bill. Because let's face it, dolls are toys, really. Even if we love them dearly and treat them as our own children, they're simply just lifeless pieces of plastic, to put it simple. Our own lives and our own health is far more important than dolls, or the latest mobile phones, or the latest shoes, or that brand new computer, or a porsche. All of these things are stuff we always can get later on in life, when we can manage the bills they cause. What matters in the now, is that we're healthy, have a house to live in, can get food on the table every day and can afford the things that there's no escape from.

 

I bought Nicco last week on my credit card. I still have a fair amount of debt in my life but I am being able to pay well over the minimums and still have money left over for day to day expenses. I've wanted a doll for years but I've waited until I could reasonably afford it without depriving my real child of anything..

So I guess my answer would No, I wouldn't go into debt that I couldn't pay off in a reasonable amount of time (ie 6 months). After the holidays, I shall start saving for his boyfriend.