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How you students save for dolls?

May 5, 2018

    1. I also save up money slowly, and since my parents won't let me work yet, I do odd jobs and commissions occasionally, and ask for dolls instead of other present for events and holidays.
       
    2. I babysit and clean houses for money, I usually have to save very slowly to be able to buy a doll. Also birthday and Christmas money usually go towards dolls. Layaways are great :sweat
       
    3. I would save money from my summer job and pick up extra shifts to put towards the BJD hobby. I also started selling my old toys/collectibles on eBay as well :)
       
    4. I have a part-time job and I always do layaway. If I can set aside 100 or 50 dollars each paycheck then I'm good. The real painis clothing. Because before the doll is even finished being made I want her to have a full closet. xD
       
    5. I work at a bubba place, and I just literally spent my whole month salary on the dolls.
       
    6. Focus on your schooling, if you have time then get a part time job and work hard. If its possible then choose layaway when you purchase dolls, layaway will make your life so much easier
       
    7. I’ll admit I’m very fortunate. My dad pays my tuition, and textbooks. I love at home (for now) so I don’t have to buy my own groceries. I pay for my phone, and any other non-necessities I want. But mostly my money goes into a savings account to buy a house in 4-6 years. Yes, I’m trying to be a homeowner at 24, potentially, which is insane in this economy. It really is. But that’s the dream.

      That said, I have to put away 750 a month for my house down payment, but I can spend the rest.
       
    8. I’m still in school and I’ve been saving through a part time job! My first doll was bought with savings from my first summer job. It’s really tiring and hard to juggle school and work, but when I buy my next doll, it’ll be worth it ^^
       
    9. I just didn't buy any, haha. I bought my last one the summer before starting college, then didn't buy another until after I had graduated and gotten a job. I was only able to afford dolls prior to going to college because I had no other bills to worry about, so I was able to just save all my part time wages to buy dolls. I wasn't able to do this during college, so I chose food and shelter over dolls. Once I had graduated and got a full time job that pays decently, I was able to afford both.
       
    10. I used the money that I have saved up over the years and never really used. I would really like a job or paid internship, but the happenings at the moment make it difficult.
       
    11. When I was a student (which lasted for the 7 out of 10 years that I've been in the hobby- meaning the decade in collecting overlapped with my studies and this time lasted for 7 years xD)
      Anyway, I was saving up, that's primarily how I dealt with the financial side of the hobby. Often, not in a smart way, sacrificing my own health or clothes. I had my dolls clothed nicer than myself, more often than not. I can't deny this is still often the cause, but it's only cos you can't wear rococo daily...
      Also, I used to look for deals and not mind having older, less expensive or damaged dolls. Or less fashionable. So, often I had the dolls I could afford and not the dolls I truly wanted. I've kept only two dolls from the time when I was a jobless student. Both gotten ridiculously inexpensively or for the price of shipping (and 3 weeks x 8 hours per day of sewing a lot of clothes for the trade).
      I never worked as a student, because I had my grades good enough to have a scholarship. It was like a minimum wage salary.
      I also decided that I need to only buy what I can't make, e.g., shoes or fiber wigs. The fur wigs that were a big deal at the time were, thus, convenient.
      I remember the first time I bought an expensive pair of shoes for my doll. About 60 bucks. It changed how I perceived the dolls and the hobby... I then thought quality over quantity.
      Meanwhile I had my ups and downs. But I learnt to set my priorities straight. Dolls have always brought me so much fun, it seemed only reasonable to spent a lot of my savings on them.
      Nowadays I don't plan to get any more dolls, so this year I only got 2 new dolls and two heads. Still, I plan to sell 2 heads and one body... Or get it a head with the money I'll get from the sale. We'll see :) Anyway, curating the collection of wigs and shoes (by replacing older with newer) isn't that expensive.
      My old habits of sewing everything on my own or ocassionally trading have stayed :)
       
    12. I worked full time last semester—nearly crushed me, but it’s my last year, and I made it work—otherwise I’ve always done 8-16 hours per week of work, and loaded up my summers—I worked 6 days a week (sometimes 55-56 hours) this summer from 3 days after my last exam until 3 days before my next semester started. I’d describe it as “unadvisable in the extreme.”

      I can’t wait to be done my last semester and able to just work—I wouldn’t have taken on this bonkers work schedule if I didn’t need to to keep my healthcare, but the side effect is that I can buy dolls sometimes!
       
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    13. Back when I was a student, I didn't have time to work because of all my classes and optional classes. And since my family and I were kinda... poor... I was able to get a scholarship, and in France, college is free for students with a scholarship. So I saved it as much as I could, and finally got enough to buy my second doll (my first one was a gift from my mother) :3nodding:
       
    14. As a student I literally just can’t . I try to take part in the doll community cause I love it so I use various ways to imagine what it would be like to have one like soft toys and like rainbow high dolls but I can’t really afford a bjd now so maybe in the future?
       
    15. I'm very lucky since I'm on a scholarship and don't have student loans at the moment. All I have for bills right now is my car loan. I also work per diem a few weekend days a month to save up, but I'm an older non-traditional student so I also had some savings built up when I started, too.