How to stop yourself from spending all of your money...

I have the same problem but I`d suggest you should try to “finish“ your first doll first. If you haven`t already, buy clothes and wig, eyes and maybe furniture if you really want to spend more money.
Spoil your first doll Because trust me, nothing is more sad than having a doll and not having anything to dress them in or not having anything you could use in photos of your first doll!

 

This is my issue honestly.
But what I've learned is that firstly, you gotta make sure that if you pay bills/rent/loans/etc that those are covered first and foremost. Make sure you pay for groceries and whatnot first.
You also should make a wishlist of dolls and things for them that you want and figure out what is most important.
Save up for these things little by little!
I also agree with the statement about finishing one doll before getting another. The dolls that you just bought? Make sure they have all the basic things you need for them first.
But my number one tip for not buying dolls?
Don't constantly check sales threads, in stock dolls, anything like that if you're really impulsive! It gets super tempting when you find a good price and that's usually how I get sucked into buying another doll when I already have some in need of something as simple as eyes.

 

Oh, I got my second doll while waiting for the first one to arrive. And both were second hand, just that one I got in my city while the other one was on her way

 

Haha,that´s a good question....
I had a time where I bought many Dolls and stuff...and now I try to think about the "need" of one doll or something.
I give me the time to think enough about it,so one night or some more days better. And maybe she will be sold in this time (but that´s better for my bankaccount and the problem ist resolved then -no new Doll-no money spent). And first of all I´m also thinking about what I need in the future too (that´s more important than a doll).

 

Ooh the horrible wait >< I wouldn't buy another one if I already had two on the way though, to prevent getting two many at the same time.
You could try making stuff for the dolls while you wait, using measurements from the company site. That's what I do
You could use elastic materials or make them slightly loose fitting or use other solutions to make the size adjustable to make sure it will fit at least a bit once they arrive
Maybe make more stuff for your MH too?

 

Ugh I have the same problem ;-; I keep spending all my money on clothing for my future doll and I Dont think I will even have enough money to buy the doll when it comes out xD what I try to do is look for outfits that I know for sure I won't change my mind on and switch/buy other outfits (basically keep her in an outfit for a long period of time) and then I try to make items (i sell crystal crowns) to try and sell to make little money as I can if possible haha

 

I had that same problem when I bought my first doll,I ended up buying five at the same. Then I didn't bother to open them,they sat in the closet for over a year, a year later I bought four more again at the same time, and a few months later I got another one. All of them are still unopened, I'm trying to do something with them.

 

Hmh I sew cosplays since I was sixteen and also thought of sewing the clothes for my dollies myself but then suddenly I got my first one sooner than expected and had too much work for my job and no time to work on clothes so she didn`t have anything to wear for like a month. Maybe distract yourself with sewing already then? Since the measurements of the dolls are usually available on the website it shouldn`t be a problem to make a matching outfit before you get the doll.
But if you really want and can afford another one, maybe you should just get a second one so your first one won`t be alone for too long?
Just like previously said make sure you can purchase another one without having trouble with rent and such xD
Oh and I don`t know where you are from but you may have to pay customs fee as well so put some money aside for that, too.
Other than that I can not be of great help since I constantly purchase new dolls when I have the funds xD

 

Well... if you have the money and it will not put you in debt... why not? I mean if you don't have the money or have other things you might need to spend it on then don't, but if your fine for money whats wrong with spending it if you think you'll enjoy what you buy?

I just got a doll and have another on order and sent out an old one for a face up. I had the extra money and I don't spend money on other things like movies and dinner out, because I don't enjoy that stuff. So I figure why can't I spend it on my dolls! There is nothing wrong with spending money on things you enjoy if you have enough money.

If you truly don't want to spend the money because you want to save or spend it on other things then the best advice I can give you is to try and remove yourself from thinking about the dolls you have on order and focus your time into something that will make you less likely to think about getting more. Even if it's doll related. Like I've been practicing sewing while I waited for my first little one. I didn't want to buy a forth doll so I put all my free time into that so I could make batter clothing for them when they got here.

Mostly it's about priorities. If your can spend the money and do want another doll... then just spend it! However, If you really don't want to spend the money... you just have to build up your will power or find ways to distract yourself. Don't give into it if it's not something that is right for you, sure it's hard, but building up will power can help with many other things in life too... so it's good practice.

 

I have a "finish a doll first" rule which really helps. I also have two accounts. The family money account for home expenses and my "buy dolls" account. That account gets £75 put into it monthly as a stipend which is my "luxuries" account. Husband has one too. He uses his to buy comics and video games, mine usually goes toward dolls. I don't have any other real hobbies.
Also anything I sell on ebay goes into that account.
So I save up for a few months, and then buy a doll.

The "finish one first" rule helps slow down that acquisition even when I do have the money though. My current rule is to finish my D&D party, I have just ordered the 5th one and will now be saving for the final member.
Once this new one arrives I need to get his outfit together, his weapons, his wig, his eyes, faceup etc and have him finished, or at least everything ordered and just waiting on arrival before I can order the next.
that means i'm delayed by paying for accessories and stuff, and means I don't end up with a pile of naked unfinished dolls lol.

I ordered this one because my current 4 are finished, just waiting for the clothing for the last one to come in the post (it's on the way!)

Having a "luxuries" account really really helps budgeting though. Put aside a small amount monthly into it, helps stop you from using money for important stuff like food and heating and such accidentally. My mother worked as a financial advisor when I was a kid and so I kinda grew up with her lamenting these people in massive debt over impulse purchases and not splitting up their accounts. She always always advised to have a second account for non essentials. In fact she used to have "pots" in her account, the bank she was with allowed her to subdivide one account into lots of little sub accounts which was awesome. So she had a "car" account, a "boiler broke down" account, a "kids" account, and so on. It made everything a lot easier to keep track of.
Sadly most banks won't let you do this any more, but damn it was a good idea.

Anyway, my suggestion is non essential account and a "finish one doll first" rule heh. Beyond that, do what you want man. If you got the money and the time, go for it.

 

For me I have Kids, bills, and rent, so I do things on a budget. My husband and I sat down a long time ago and wrote out all things we need to pay for, aka the bills, food, car insurance and so forth. Then we also made what we call a "fun" budget. This is the money we use to have fun with, eating out, movies, gaming, and dolls. When the amount of fun money is gone, it's gone until next paycheck. Any other dipping would be into our savings, which we need for emergencies.

When it comes to dolls specifically, I look for things like layaway and sales in order to save money. I also know how to sew and crochet so that saves me from buying a bunch of clothes. I'm actually looking into making dolls myself, so that will help save money in the long run too as I will buy less dolls if I can make my own.

 

Once the doors are open it is sooo hard to close them. I had the same issue when I ordered my first doll, I was so excited I ended up buying three dolls and a floating head before my first doll got to me. The sad story is that I formed a greater bond with the doll that I bought after, but received before my first boy got in. They ended up needing more touch up work and customization since they were second hand. My first boy came in perfect from the company and he's just sat on my shelf since, so I now have him on the market. I am super bummed that I never fully fell in love with my first boy.

I find that a good way to stop myself from buying new dolls while I'm waiting for one to come in is to get started on the customization work early. That might mean that I'm on the hunt for the perfect wig/eyes/clothes. Or the best way to learn how to sew clothes. Every doll's dimensions are online, and there are even patterns you can get. Sew your doll new outfits while your waiting for them. Or learn how to make a stretch cap wig. This is a good way to start the bonding process with your doll.

 

I try not to be impatient when waiting on my dolls!

If I go on a spending spree, I often end up buying a lot of stuff I don't actually want. It's better to wait and buy/make the things you REALLY want, rather than buying a lot of stuff because it's cheap and immediately available.

 

It's nice to see it's a pretty common problem in the hobby. I thought it was just me who was pretty terrible at holding myself back, haha. I just want aaaalll the things!

I am super impatient, and I don't even have my first bjd here yet! I have put my time into preparing items for her and crafting them to keep myself busy. I've still spent quiet a bit, but I have managed to control myself a bit by being like 'it will be more fun to try to make it!'

I also try to use buying such items as motivation. 'If I meet this goal, then I will buy this item.'

 

you have..ten unopened dolls...?
dude..open them.

 

I didn't have this problem with my first doll because for one, he was in stock with a dealer in my country, but also it took me so long to save for him, I literally could not have afforded to buy a second doll anyway. However, financially I have gotten much more comfortable since I started the hobby, and I have had this happen with other dolls. Most recently, while waiting on a doll, I happened to have enough money to buy a different doll secondhand. But, I do need to be careful because I had a couple of years where I was impulse buying any doll I could afford, even if I just kind of liked it. The result was that I had a lot of unfinished cheap dolls who were poor hybrids, in bad condition, neglected or naked and bald. That was overwhelming, and really not fun at all for me. At most, I had something like 38 dolls, and I only enjoyed maybe 5 of them. Now, I usually try to think about things harder before buying, like have I wanted the doll for awhile or just saw it? Can I afford to complete it, with wig, eyes, clothes, shoes, etc? Do I have a character for it? (My dolls represent my RP characters, and I rarely bond if they have no connection.) Do I have other dolls who need things that I should finish before getting anew one? Do I have enough spare money to buy this doll without neglecting other bills/priorities? This helps keep me in check.

 

@purple_monkfish that luxuries-account thing is a really good idea! I might end up doing that in the future

@RainyAvalon Two months might seem long, but some companies have much much longer waits so it could be worse ><
Can't you at least make them skirts though? They don't need too accurate measurements.
I'm kind of crazy in these cases so I always try to use pictures and math to calculate the measurements I'm missing x)
It's rarely accurate though, so I can understand of course if you have a specific plan and want to do it properly.