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

I have five.... FIVE on order.

I’ve decided that’ll be it for a while now. I’m going to work on making sure everyone has some nice clothes and getting a proper place set up for all of them. Learning to make clothes has gotta be cheaper than more dollies, right?!

 

Honestly, the best way to avoid buying more dolls is to just look for things to finish them with. Find wigs, shoes, clothes, eyes ect. Participate in the discussion threads here. And stay out of the marketplace.

 

This hobby will test your patience, and your wallet. Take up another hobby while waiting for your doll, like sewing, so you can save money on doll clothes, or leather work to make doll shoes, or beading to make jewelry for your doll. This hobby opens all sorts of other creative doors.

 

I sleep on it. Always. Sometimes, I don’t even remember what it was I wanted so badly at 11pm the previous night... or at 2:30am.

I also make lists of the things I want, prioritize them and space everything out so I know what to spend that month and not go over. In theory, I could spend more... but saving is a priority too. My budget for dolls sometimes takes more than a year to complete. Things I want the most and are least expensive are at the top. Things I’m so-so on are at the bottom. Usually, so-so things fall off the list. If I buy a new doll from a company, I put it on layaway if I can. Then everything on the list has to wait until the doll is paid off. I really don’t like impulse buying... I’ve had too many experiences of disappointment and just feeling lousy over a purchase that ruined my budgeting and kept me from getting what I really wanted.

 

I have had lots of short "infatuations" with sculpts and I have sculpts that I am for-sure going to get (or have already ordered) that I have been in love with for about half a year. It's hard to explain, but you can sort of tell right away if you will still want that doll over time--at least I can. It's the difference between, "Woah, that is beautiful!" and, "This speaks to something inside of me". At the risk of sounding weird and overly-serious, the better you get to know yourself, the better you'll be able to tell which dolls you actually want. Don't ask yourself, "do I want this doll?" but rather "why do I want this doll?"

This also makes it easier for me to keep from overspending, as it isn't related to "limited panic" or "comfort shopping". The problem sort of takes care of itself, it seems.

 

Waiting for your FIRST doll? Don't buy any more until you've seen and handled your first doll. I thought I could love an off-topic ballerina doll. I bought her and NOPE! I thought I could love another OT doll with a truly HUGE head - NOPE! Glad I didn't buy a bunch before they were in my hands. The sales photos are TOO tempting. The actual doll will differ from those photos.

While you wait, don't actually wait. Write furiously about your pending doll - their character, back story, future story, other interacting characters. Sketch furiously - every costume that comes to mind. Colorize and notate your sketches with fabric and treatment ideas. Start a file - when, how much and from whom you purchased the doll. Ask DoA-ers who own the same doll you're waiting for what they like and don't like. Start a bjd wish list, but write down every reason why you want each bjd. Start a resource list of where you're going to buy shoes, eyes, wigs, etc.
Then there's always distraction - exercise until you have to sit down. Talk to friends and family until your phone burns out. Ask for extra hours at work. (Okay, that last one was a little desperate!)

When your bjd finally arrives, your ideas might change - what you love about it, what you'd like to change, etc. If your ideas do change, that will change everything you buy next. That's why waiting can be a very good thing. Or not.

tl;dr There's no cure for bjd fever, but there are treatments!

 

Oh yes! Tax time is particularly dangerous for my newly found love for bjd. I put deposits down on not one but THREE dolls!!! AHHHH!!!! But now comes the dreaded 6 month wait and I have to stop myself from buying even more lol I have found that sewing and crafting for my current doll and diorama has not cured but pacified my need to buy new dolls!

 

I was totally out of control a few years back, I spent all of my extra money on dolls, wigs, shoes, clothing and fabrics (for making doll clothes). My solution to not buy more dolls was ... to buy a house instead. Now all my extra money goes to pay the mortgage. But, if and when I'll see my grail on the market place I will buy him.

 

The only thing that stops me is seeing nothing I want! LOL If it's there Im gonna try to get it on layaway even if I have to eat ramen noodles :/

 

it's hard hahaha. not when you have friend who keep spam and poisoning u to buy more bjd hahahahah

 

It's true!

 

yes hahaha i wish we can but no, it's like we are lying to ourself hahaha

 

always the same dilemma but I try to control myself by setting my goal straight to finish the doll i already have on hand
and most importantly to stop making yourself encounter more sculpts that might possibly just wreck your wallet anytime, and weight if you like the sculpt enough or it can probably wait for more time

 

I have a checklist. The important thing in my case is that I've never seen a limited doll that I've REALLY WANTED (I'd rather build on a blank from scratch), so that's a note. If I ever do find a limited that really catches my eye, well... I'll figure it out.

1) Do I actually have the money for it? If I'm going to be put out for any reason, then I won't spend the money. The sculpt will still be there when I get my next few paychecks. I will also only buy dolls that I can pay for outright; I do not do layaway. If I don't have the money, then I save until I do, and pay for the things that I need to pay for (Bills, phone bill, etc.).

2) Do I have the space for it? At this very moment, not anymore, so no more dolls until I have my own space to put more in (And I avoid temptation by not looking at dolls).

3) If it's an accessory: can I make it, or learn how to make it? And I have seen tutorials on how to make everything, including shoes. It isn't easy, but it's definitely cheaper, and if a first try comes out badly, I don't mind making it again and again until I get an acceptable result-- paper towels and cheap, cheap fabric are good for that. I'm still trying to make the first outfits I want for my dolls, and failing hard, but EVENTUALLY-- (Give someone a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime. XD)

The only accessories I've bought somewhere else were their eyes and one wig that I need to fix up; it's a fur wig that got all stringy in the box during shipping.

I'm generally a hard sell with clothes anyway, because I'm perfectly willing to take all of my dolls' measurements (They're RIGHT THERE) and attempt to make stuff myself, but I'm not willing to figure out if they'd fit the dimensions of clothes listed on company sites, or Etsy, hahaha. Seriously, that lazy.

EDIT-- I would like to add the addendum that it is VERY EASY to break your own rules. I totally did-- what can I say, Snowborn's fullset spoke to me, and I put him on layaway-- three of my rules destroyed in one blow, good job Doll Chateau. So my primary recommendation would be to not look at dolls or accessories if you know you can't, or don't want to, swing it at the moment.

Instead, look at fun things you can do for your already existing dolls. But, willpower is a fragile thing, and only you know how your own works. Find a way to make it work for you. XD

 

I am easily sucked into that vicious circle where working stresses you out so much that you need to buy things to numb the pain and then you need to work even more so you can buy more things to feel better because now you’re even more stressed... etc... it’s under control but I recognize where a problem could occur if allowed to.

In order to keep myself leashed in, I keep an organized plan of projected purchases, down to the last $10 craft supply. I constantly change this plan and shuffle around the priority tiers, but sometimes seeing the items and their prices written down is enough to say “is that really worth X working hours to me?” (I also like lists, and sometimes checking off that $10 purchase is satisfying enough compared to a much larger fix.)

I also do not idly browse sale threads. I have a list of things to search for when money is available, but if it isn’t I don’t torture myself with it. If you don’t know what’s for sale you can’t feel bad about not being able to buy it.

Finally, if I am tempted by something, I turn away from it for hours/days/weeks to test my fervour for said trinket ... often I can’t even remember the details of the item, and that to me is a sure sign I don’t need it.

Speaking from experience, it’s far more satisfying to have one or two dolls with loads of props, clothing and established styling than loads of blank naked people fighting over the last spare wig. Quality of experience over quantity of acquisition!

 

Actually the spending money on Dolls are not just spending, it is investing! You can not to resale your mobile phone with a good price three years later, but your doll erlyer or later will find own lover, even five years later!

 

My hobby money flows one way - out!
I have sold dolls on the secondary market and it's almost always at a noticeable loss, especially when I include my time, photography, writing the description, fees and shipping. I figure it's the nature of a hobby: my "return" is in enjoyment.

I am truly impressed by those who can break even or make money with their bjd hobby.

 

No,no! I am not talking about a making the money, at least in my case! But, as long as the doll in my hands, the money invested in a doll are also on my hands, just in other way, not in a paper way, but as art subject! According Accounting at least! And it is not so when you have another hobby, like diving on Maldives, or snowboarding in the Switzerland!

 

Ah! I see! I love my bjds, too, and I don't regret a penny for the ones I love.
But oh! the Maldives or Switzerland would be nice, too! (In addition to bjds, that is!)

 

One thing what is also working, is:
to put in your room the big and beautiful money box, and write on it:
"For my dream doll!" and if it is visible enouth, your relatives and friends probably will remember about it, when they have an idea to make a present to you!
Beleave me, it will simplify their life, and they do not to have to break their head guessing what do you like! And the same time "dream doll" means, that you dont want just a any doll, so, maybe they will not present you just a next Barbie!