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How To Get Doll Money: The Master List of Ideas!

Mar 21, 2009

    1. Alright, so lots of good ideas on here. I was especially interested in the plasma donation thing since we have one in my area, and decided to try it out. I'm just sharing my experience and maybe it will help someone else decide if they want to do it. On their website (Biolife), they have a list detailing if you are eligible to donate plasma. Something that I didn't see on the website was vein size. I'm a fairly healthy individual who doesn't drink or do drugs so I figured I'd be a good donor, but when I got there, they said that I needed to have one good vein in each arm because their needles were bigger than your average needle (since they put your blood back into you). Anywho, I wondered if that would be a problem before hand (it usually takes several tries and several nurses - ouch), but I didn't think it would prevent me from being a donor. Anywho, I was kind of relieved since I'm not a big fan of big needles anyway. :| I told my sister about it and she decided to go to their local plasma donation center (she's in Arkansas). She had a 5 hour wait (I guess it was first come, first served there) and when they put the needle in, she felt faint and nauseous then when they started taking her blood, she started vomiting uncontrollably. So....yeah, just something to consider. I think that's why they have you eat a good meal and have lots of water before you go (but like I said, she had to wait 5 hours). Hope that helps some of you decide if that's something you want to try. If my veins were big enough, I would have definitely given it a go, although the first time, we only got paid $20. If you do it again the second time the same week, we would have gotten another $30.
       
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    2. What great ideas! It's so nice to see people helping one another out. I've got a potential idea for some of you as well.

      I didn't see anyone mention it, but working as a crossing guard is a reliable and quick way to make some extra cash most months of the year. It pays me $22 for only 45 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon ($11 a shift). At least where I live, you just send them the shifts you can work every weekend and they'll tell you what school(s) you'll be working at the following week and if the times are different than what is normal. There's also a chance of working a shift that's a solid hour or a little more, where they'll pay $15 instead.

      Sure, you'll look a little dorky, but I think it's well worth it. Not a ton of social interaction (I don't care for children but they don't usually talk to me anyway since I'm a substitute), no being called into working a shift at a moment's notice, no long hours or anything like that. It also forces you to go outside and get some vitamin D, which is great if you spend a lot of time inside like I do. And getting to drive around so much has let me find lots of interesting places that I could definitely use for photoshoots someday. If it's 20 degrees or less outside, you can sit in your car too.

      All in all, I earn $100-$150 a week if I work every shift, and start earning more than $100 if I work the slightly longer ones. All you need to work for the city is to be 18 and prove you can hold a stop sign for more than a few seconds. It's ideal if you're a student or work another job for filling holes in your schedule.
       
    3. Lots of wonderful tips here! I'm really appreciative to see them all. :) Since I recently had to quit my job because of health issues, I'm going to have to get by on disability, which obviously means not much to put out for spending money. Really love the tips on this thread though, I'll have to keep an eye out for more, too. :)

      One way I've found good for making a little extra cash online is by using a site called ClixSense. You get payed to do things like taking surveys or doing tasks. I've earned around $58 on it. I really like taking surveys though, so I find it enjoyable. If any of y'all like that sort of thing too, I'd recommend the site for sure! It pays through various methods like PayPal or by cheque. Not necessary obviously, but if you do end up signing up it'd be super cool if you'd put me (niightwind) as your referrer by clicking here!
       
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    4. Hi guys! So I just tried this out, and they paid me $10 for an hour of filling out surveys. They sent the money directly into my Paypal account, so I am super excited about it. Use the link below, so I get a referral bonus. It is actually really easy and awesome! I spent the whole time drinking coffee in my PJs and after one hour got $10! Whoohoo!

      MintVine (full URL = https://mintvine.com/users/register/45dcd702538c7871617db6bd7 )
       
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    5. Cleaning can sometimes turn up a little extra cash. I was cleaning out my childhood room so my parents can sell the house, and I found a jar of money! I'm hoping it has about $60 in it!

      UPDATE: It turned out to be just over $100!! Woohoo!! Iplehouse, I'm getting closer!!
       
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    6. I've picked up a summer job as well, and it's really not that enjoyable, but I'm saving at least half of everything I make- I only deposit half my check and pull the other out in cash and put it in the jar. Since here in the States pretty much every transaction is done in plastic, I've found it's a lot easier to save money when its not in the bank! I never carry cash with me, so the little expenses like starbucks and fast food add up in my debit account, but the cash in my jar remains safe :)
       
    7. There's been a lot of posts about survey sites and similar, so I apologize if it seems I'm jumping on the bandwagon, but I have an Android tablet and use this app called Google Opinion Rewards. The surveys are usually 1-4 questions and award 10-40 cents per survey, but they show up fairly often. You just have to wait around for them to show up, so if you use your phone/tablet a lot for other things it doesn't hurt to install. However, the money awarded can only be used in the Google Play store- it's actually just Google Play Credit. But if you have an app that, say, costs money to get power-ups for, you can spend the credit you've saved instead of real money. I've gotten about $24 total and I've had the app for a couple months, so it's not as fast as some of these other things claim to be. There are usually 1-3 surveys every two days or so. It can be slower or faster. The main reason I feel like it's enough to share here is I managed to earn enough to buy a really good game for about $18 (The World Ends With You Solo Remix, if you're wondering) and even though it took a while to get there, it saved me from spending my real savings on something I wanted to get when I had the chance anyway. And if you're impatient like me, at least it should help with those pesky in-app purchases. ;)

      (one thing I've heard though, which I haven't had a chance to confirm, is that you can't mix Play credits earned through the app, with credits bought with real life money. So you'd have to have enough Play credits for the entire purchase of whatever it was. I don't know if this is true, and to me it seems a bit implausible given that I can't tell the difference between types of credits when I'm actually shopping in the Play store. But it is something to consider)
       
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    8. I've seen some threads about saving money in the past, but I cant quite find them now and I want a more specific help, so I hope its ok if I bring this topic again.

      I really want this doll which is being selled for 600R$ (its second hand, and there is already more 3 person wanting to buy it from the girl who is selling), but I currently have no money. I'm a student, so I don't really have my own money. My parents dont like the idea of me working while I'm still studing cause they think I need to focus. But they spent a lot of money with me this month already (I'm going to our local genfest, I needed new clothes, I'm doing a special vacation curse @ uni, I bought two other "expensive" dolls this month already, I had to change my phone - after I waited quite some time with a older phone with broken camera) and that without mentioning other things they had to spend with this month (like castration for 4 of our cats, and there is still more 4 in the queue to go), so they cant get me this doll.

      I have put some itens for sale, like a camera, clothes, sport itens, but I don't think they will sell as quickly as I need. I kind wish there was a safe method to get some lend money to pay later cause I can get the money, but not as fast I need to. I thought about doing vector art comissions, but I also dont think I can find enough people looking for this service as fast.

      Does anyone knows a method to get fast money, even if its to pay later on (with not a lot of interest hopefully)?
      I have like, four days!
       
    9. The only (Safe) Way I can think of getting money quick, is seeing if you get accepted for paypal -bill me later- service. It's like a credit card, but through paypal. There WILL be interest fees, and you need to be smart on payments and not overdoing it... but that's the only option for a potential quick relief.


      That being said, Theres a chance teh doll in question could pop up for sale again. Start saving! Save all your change in a container. It'll add up fast! Do little odd jobs when you can, pop them in the container. Know that money is for your own special purchase so you aren't compulsed to spend it on anything else.
       
    10. I only recommend this if you are absolutely sure you will pay it off, but if you have a credit card linked to your PayPal account, you can get approved for PayPal Credit. My first approved amount was around $1,000, now that I’ve used it for a long time and have never been late on payments they allow me up to $3,000 (but I do not use it all up, I’m mindful of what I can actually pay off and don’t go above my personal limit).

      PayPal Credit gives you 6 months to pay interest-free on purchases over $99, but the interest is still calculated over those 6 months. If it’s not 100% paid off, they will charge you the full interest on top of the cost of the item. I hope this makes sense!

      There is a catch that it is not available in every country, I’m in the US and have it, but my Canadian friends don’t have this option. So I’m sorry if the advice is for nothing :...( I hope you find a way to safely get your doll if PayPal Credit isn’t available to you.

      EDIT: PayPal Credit also only applies through a checkout process (meaning simply sending the funds manually, you only get one month to pay, not the 6 months.) If they send you an invoice for the item, then you can select PayPal Credit as the payment method, and you’re golden! But again this may be country restricted and you won’t know until it’s tried
       
    11. My mother was a financial advisor so I very much advise AGAINST instant credit, mostly because they are faaaaar too easy to end up in massive debt with. their APR is usually ridiculously high and unless you can pay them off monthly you're sure to spend more in the longrun. Growing up hearing my mother talk at dinner about her clients who were at risk of losing their home because of loans or credit just.. really put me off ever having any sort of credit card, ever.

      Quick money, I usually sell things on ebay or do some emergency commissions if you have a talent you can sell. It might also be worth seeing if the seller will take a layaway to spread the payments but at the end of the day you have to ask yourself this simple question "do you NEED this doll"
      Another WILL show up secondhand at some point, this one deal isn't the only deal out there and is it worth potentially putting yourself into massive debt over?

      At the end of the day, it's a doll. It's not a necessity. It's very easy to get caught up in the material desire but there are times when you simply have to step back and say "i have spent enough this month, I have to pass".
      It sucks not having infinite money, but that's life. Most of us just don't have a huge slushfund of near infinite cashflow to play with.

      What I can suggest for saving is to have a secondary account, either use your paypal account as a bank account or open a second one if you can without fees. A second account will allow you to send a small amount of money from your "I need to eat and pay bills" account into your "I deserve some fun money" account. It's important for your mental health to have a fun money account. Into this account goes however much you decide you can afford each month as well as any extra money you make selling things/skills. The advantage of this is that it removes a lot of the "Oh there's money in my account, I can cover it" temptation that can then leave you unable to make rent. It's very easy to look at a bank balance and think "yeah, I have like a grand, that'll be okay" and then oops, you forgot about a bill that comes out or you are hit with an unexpected extra expense.
      Having a "fun money" account means you can ONLY spend money from that account, which reduces the temptation to overspend.
      Being strict on yourself and ONLY allowing yourself to use that account to fund purchases also means you limit yourself more, it avoids the temptation of the perceived "free money" of the credit card and forces you to really consider each purchase and budget.

      Budgeting was a huge thing my mother taught me. It means my desk is often covered in bits of paper with maths all over which is me working out how many months I have to save to afford a doll and how much my income from things i'm selling is earning me after fees and so on. I can sit and say "okay, I have a layaway I have to pay the next installment of on this date, how do I get the money in time? Will I have enough by that date or do I need to start selling stuff again?" because with layaways it's also very easy to forget that you still owe on that purchase. For instance, take my current situation. I bought a bjd on 2 part layaway spread over 3 months. So I paid the first half (£100) to the dealer and my second installment is due July 1st.
      Problem is, I look in my "fun money account" and i've got £150 so my brain goes "whoo money!" and I buy some other stuff and then whoops, suddenly I have overspent in the 2 months since. So then I have to do maths to work out how much I need in my account at the end of June to have £110 in my account when my monthly stipend goes in on the 1st.
      It would be very easy to forget I had to make that payment and then I could end up short if I wasn't constantly on top of it and checking things.
      It's better to have more in your account than you thought than less, ALWAYS.

      Remember, pretty much EVERY get money fast deal has a catch, usually that catch is a massively huge APR, which means you end up paying in many cases up to 5000% (yes five THOUSAND percent!) in repayments. I mean they are a massive money making scheme, they wouldn't do them if they couldnt' make money off it. Even pawning stuff they take interest because otherwise why would they loan money? (either they give you peanuts for the thing because they gotta make a profit, or they hold it knowing they can sell it for more and you have to buy it back for slightly more than they gave you.) Nobody will loan money for nothing, it's better to simply not be in a situation where you need a loan.
      Fast cash always means you pay more in the long run, it's just not worth it. I know it's tempting but don't fall for it.

      Remember, it's JUST a doll. It's not a unique one of a kind item, it's not a once in a lifetime deal, another will come up for sale and another chance will happen. In fact, in my experience, often the deal you pass on or miss turns out not to be that great a deal anyway. A better offer usually crops up. Its interesting how life works that way.

      Don't put yourself into debt for a doll, it's not worth it. Take a breath, take a step back and accept that maybe this time you'll have to pass. Next time though, next time you'll have money right? Next time one will crop up at just the right moment.

      Good luck and happy budgeting!
       
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    12. I would not recommend buying this doll. There are, unfortunately, some situations where you just aren't able to stretch your finances enough to afford to buy all the dolls you want.

      I'm considering buying Dollmore's new Trinity girl, but ONLY if my current job extends my contract another six months. I'll still be employed regardless, but I'm only going to buy her if I'm guaranteed a one year in this position entry on my resume.
       
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    13. -This is good life advice, not just for someone in a doll hobby. Great response! I'll definitely be taking this to heart myself:)
       
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    14. Thank you for the further explanation for the paypal credit card! I was confused on it because I thought about applying for it to help build credit but I wasn't to sure of the full terms/didn't have the best understanding of what it entailed.
       
    15. When I was new to the hobby (well, I am still new, but not as much as then) I met a girl who told me something like: "I don't buy almost anything for myself and I eat junkfood to have money for dolls. My boyfriend pays for everything we need and rent for our flat just to give me the opportunity to buy dolls and things for my dolls". DO NOT GO THIS WAY. Love dolls, but don't let them to be your obsession.

      There will always be dolls you like. There will be plenty of them. You can't have everything. Focus on your studies and when you graduate, try to find a good job and become independent. You want a toy. Just a toy. You really won't die if you don't get it in four days. You are still lucky to get two expensive dolls in one month. If they are blank, maybe just think about buying/making them some clothes or wigs - finishing one doll is always helpful when you think about another one.

      I wish you all best!
       
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    16. Wow, I'm happy with so many of you guys trying to help and giving great advice!

      @Fate I'm quite resposable with my money (in fact I'm taurus, and people say I dont like to spend money to the point its bad), one of the dolls I got this month was with friend-lended money and I already paid off. I do support some ongs when I can though, but I would rather join events and work voluntary when the money is short. I would never not-pay, but I'm not really sure about paypal fees since its a international site and it probably needs money convertion, but I will check anyway, thank you!

      @Cuteasadoll oh, if paypal will only work through paypal I dont think I cant use than. I dont think the girl accept this method, we dont use paypal a lot in my country (I only ever used to international purchases).

      @purple_monkfish Yes, I'm pretty aware how those things work, I'm really caution with this kind of thing, I never did something like this formally, only through friends, but I dont have anyone who can lend me such ammount at this moment. I do really want this doll though. Its a slinky neko, so its not easy to find it, especially with this price and already inside my country.

      I do think about not having it, I agree its a luxury. But I want to check all the other options before giving up.

      Also, I know it seems I'm expending too much from what I told, but I'm actually holding myself since the start of the year, its only that all the great opportunities showed up in the same month XD

      I know about some people who lend money, but I know about having a catch too, I dont want to get involved with people that can get me killed or in something dirty, so I'm not considerating this kind of thing.

      @Layn even when the price is so good? As I mentioned, I do think about giving up, I just want to make sure I will be able to get over it cause I'm quite psychologically unstable and this kind of thing can make me feeling regret for a long time.

      @Skolopendrokot I would easily become this kind of person, so thank you for the advice! I'm not someone who like to have many dolls, but when I like one is hard to get over it (also the other dolls I mentioned are not bjds, I guess my problem is liking different dolls cause I buy one of each and it ends up being the same as having many dolls). And do think of it as a priority and wouldnt mind not eating some meals to save money, or walking long distances to save transport money... As I was telling purple monkfish, some people see me as frugal. Which I also know its not health.

      I agree I'm lucky and privileged, its just that having grown like this is hard to see from another point of view sometimes. Thank you again!
       
    17. I sell things all the time and based on how popular it is and how valuable it is I can sell my items pretty quickly. Places like craigs list are a godsend for fast selling. Its not really worth it to get into credit card debt if you know you can't pay it back.
       
    18. Even if the price is so good. Remember, the doll will probably come up for sale again, and even if the price isn't quite so good, by the time it comes up again you'll have had the opportunity to save up more money and become more financially stable, so buying it won't be as much of a hardship. And you won't be stuck paying off the massive interest rates that short term borrowing generates. That could very quickly add up to several dolls worth of money thrown away because you couldn't wait a bit.
       
      • x 3