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Shopping & wishlisting & budgetting

berniek

berniek

I have a girl crush on the Naming Fairy
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
2,224
So I've been a member here for a few years but I have recently decided that I really want to make the Lilypad my scrapping home. Yay!
So I need to get my stuff in order and therefor I am pinning every product that I own which is from LP designers. I'm still working on that but I have already that I do not nearly have enough stuff.

So. I need more. But I'm a poor substitute teacher and I can't just buy whatever I want (or what I feel I 'need'). I have a wishlist here in the store but I feel like it's not really working for me. So I've decided to make a wishlist on Pinterest as well. I'm only through 1,5 designer stores and I've already got 27 pins. And that is me being actually careful because I could just pin everything that I love but then I would have like 127 pins right now.

How do you all handle this? Do you have a wishlist and if so: where? In the store, on Pinterest, on a spread sheet or...?

Also I hear people talking about having a scrapping budget? Tell me more about that. How did you figure out your budget? What do you do if you underspent one month? Or what do you do if you've already spent your budget but see that perfect kit for that special vacation album that you are scrapping right now and it's even on sale so it's a steal and...and...?

My type of budget is not buying anything for a couple of months and then just spending wayyyy too much because I didn't spend anything for so long. Which is not the most intelligent way of budgetting.

Talk to me. Explain to me. I need your insight.
 
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I have always had a monthly budget for spending on books, magazines, games and, more recently, crafty supplies. At the moment I am spending nearly all of it in here! I have stopped buying magazines in order to have a bit more to spend in here.

I figured that £50 per month - $75ish - is enough to buy what I want. I did overspend last month cos of the quarterly sale and Amy Martins sale, though :giggle It looks like a lot of money to spend on scrapbooking stuff, but I used to spend more on cigarettes & alcohol (back in the day) so I figure this is waaaay more healthy!!

I have a wishlist in store, which is pretty long, because I have spent tons of time browsing! I try to stick to my wishlist when the SOSN or Polly Picks sales come up, but sometimes I spot a kit I'd not noticed before and I have to have it!

I guess you should figure out your budget based on your disposable income - what's left after your necessities have been taken into account. It also help me too keep a note of what I have spent. Since it's so easy to spend a few dollars here and there, it can be just as easy to loose track!! I don't think I have EVER underspent my budget LOL, but I would just carry it forward if I did.

I haven't really explored any other scrapbooking sites, I found TLP first and got hooked on the challenges! I have since browsed lots of other sites and seen a few lovely kits, but TLP is so suited to my tastes. I haven't found another site where I literally love ALL the designers. I have bought a few of kits from just three designers who aren't based here, but to be honest I really think most of the best ones are here :heartslub

In fact, two of the three designers I have brought from have done collabs with designers here!! So TLP is the best for me :)
Sorry, went a bit off topic there :giggle

Don't forget to earn your coupons for the monthly challenges! Keep an eye for speed/slow scraps and quite a few of the designers have blog challenges to earn prizes or kits. Sign up for all their newsletters for extra vouchers ond freebies!

TLP should be EVERYONE's scrapbooking home ;)
 
Hooray for you making the Lilypad your home! :woot Now, onto the budgeting/shopping stuff. I definitely use the wishlist feature and my wishlist is a mile long. I use that as a place to store the things that I want to use when I have appropriate pictures. Then when there is a sale you could stock up a bit from your wishlist items. For shopping, I would definitely watch the SOSN (Something Old Something New) sales where designers put things on sale for 50% off. Also if you complete 6 of the 7 monthly challenges you can earn a 30% coupon to help make things a little cheaper for yourself. I tend to stock up when there are sales or right before I go on a scrapping weekend most and know that I'll be using a lot of stuff. I don't really like to buy ahead just because I like something anymore, because if I'm not going to use it right away, I usually forget I have kits. I like to buy specifically for pages that are on my list to-do and then I make a note what products I want to use for each page.
 
I have spent a lot. So much I'm afraid to log in and check my pay pal account. Recently, I've decided to try being more concious about it. Just because I like it, doesn't mean I need it. Trying to limit what I buy, and when I buy it. For instance. ... instead of buying everything I wanted from BYOC this month, I only purchased one thing, because a designer newsletter bundle was a better deal, and the other few things i wanted went to my wish list. Towards the end of the month, i will use my challenge discount coupon to pick up the rest, because the discount was cheaper than the new release, or the buy more save more option. I also narrowed my BYOC choices down to only 3 designers packs, because that's the requirement of the BYOC challenge.

I definitely use my wish list.... shop SOSN, use newsletters and chat/scrap coupons. The one downside is remembering what is on my wish list, and making sure I delete something if I have actually purchased it.

There's something about multiple events in the wishlist. I have been thinking about trying to use events there to separate designers, or maybe say "this is my next purchase" but haven't yet.
 
Yay!! SO happy you feel comfortable here and have decided to make it HOME! :heartslub WELCOME!!

As for budgeting, figure out what you would feel comfortable with - maybe would you be willing to skip Starbucks or a lunch out somewhere a few times a month and reassign that money to scrap supplies? That's the easiest way when you're on a tight income - find what you're already spending in flexible areas & decide to spend it somewhere else instead. Otherwise, if you have a bit of extra discretionary income, you can use a portion of that to buy supplies. :)

As for what to buy first... I would look at what you already have. Next, decide what layouts or projects you want to work on first. Then, fill in the gaps with supplies to buy. Do you need patterned papers? Neutral backgrounds? Extras like stitches and paint? Prioritize those products first, and then work your way through your wish list. Also, keep in mind that the BYOC, MPM, & MMM come out at the same times each month... If it were my budget, I would be sure to leave a bit of spending $$ for each of those because they always have amazing products!! :)
 
Thank you all for the feedback!

This is definitely giving me ideas of how to create a budget and how to handle the shopping. I don't really go out much for drinks, or whatever so there is not really money to be saved there. If I do do that, it's a treat. But I do have a magazine subscribtion that I rarely read and some other things I should probably cancel. I'm just not good with budgets. I don't have a budget grocery shopping either. I just watch sales and I meal plan and then I just buy what I need and want. Maybe I should just try to learn to budget first. I'm sure there's money there that I can save too.

Oh and I might need to rephrase my 'need' of supplies. Because I have enough to scrap anything I might photograph. I have many hundreds of kits. (but most are not from LP designers) I do not need more things perse. But I do experience a sort of need when I see all the amazing things the designers make. And also I'm not big on scrapping with the same kit over and over. That being said, I know for a fact there are enough kits and other scrapbooking supplies that I have bought but have never used.
But to be honest I think I'm not alone in this.

Is there a simple way to see if a product from my wishlist is on sale or is in the SOSN?
 
I am so happy that you've decided to make the Pad your home! These are all awesome tips for keeping a handle on your scrapping supply budget. I guess the only thing I could add is sleep on it, or in this case wait for a sale. If I put something on my wish list and no longer feel that strongly about it when I have a chance to snag it on sale, I must not need it that bad and I cull it from my list.
 
Just wanted to say so glad you are making TLP your home!!! I have actually picked up a few tips in this thread that I am going to try so thanks for starting it.
 
You should create a 'To Be Used' folder for the kits you've already purchased. That way, you can 'shop' through that folder first when you want to scrap & then will know for sure if you need a kit or if you already have a similar kit in your stash. Your money will go a lot farther once you know what you have and what you don't.
 
I agree that it's best to know what you have.
So I have just made a special Lilypad folder on my EHD with a seperate folder for each current Lilypad Designer. I have everything organized now. And I also pinned every preview on a Pinterest board. There are 92 pins. So I might have a bit more then I knew. That's including freebies but excluding templates.

I'm used to only scrap with full kits or collections. But the LP designers have a lot more packs that you can mix and combine so I needed a different organization. I hope this is gonna work.

I'll continue with my wishlist. I'm going thru every designers store to see what's there. So I wouldn't be tempted to buy it all when it's on sale. But by making that board on Pinterest I definitely realised that I own a lot more then I knew and I should really just start to reuse it.
 
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So many great suggestions in here! I organize my supplies by designer, just like you, EXCEPT for the BYOC and MPM collections. Those are grouped into folders by month so I can see what all I have that coordinates.
 
Some people also just put all the BYOC previews together to find what they want, then grab it from that designer's folder.
 
Berniek, welcome to TLP! I am so glad you're going to be making your digi home here. :)
 
sm_amber said:
Some people also just put all the BYOC previews together to find what they want, then grab it from that designer's folder.
Click to expand...

This is what I do :)

I also keep Pinterest boards for digi supplies, and I have and use those boards frequently. I need to be more selective about what I actually purchase, because like you, I definitely have TONS of stuff I haven't used.... challenge myself to use things not as they were designed for, but to stretch myself creatively. I definitely have room to grow. :)
 
What everyone else said, but I would like to add that I "purge" my wishlist on a regular basis. 1- because the official wish list here does not automatically delete something once it is bought , you have to do that your self, though it has helped a lot that now the shop has an already purchased tag on the kits once you sign in. and 2 - because I am on a fairly strict budget and my basket is sometimes fuller than I intended it to be, I use the move to wish list option to remove some from the basket. But if for example they are byoc kits I might not really want them the next month.
Have fun what ever method you use, and remember there are always sales, offers or coupons to be had.
 
Aw, it is always a wonderful thing to find a scrap home. I think there has been lots of great advice here ♥
 
Welcome!
My budget is $15-$20/month. I know that doesn't seem like much, but I support my family of 4 on my own. I love the SOSN. I buy Just Jaimee's Storyteller every month. That goes a long way. I do all the challenges every month for the coupon. Also, some chats have participation prizes. I love those. I make BYOC a priority so I can use it for the BYOC monthly challenge. I do keep a wishlist here, but I find if I really want a kit, I'll remember it. Also, keep in mind that some percentage of non-TLP product is allowed. That helps when you just want that one certain finishing touch.
Good luck!
 
Pad is a great , warm and welcoming home. As Laura said, We're always glad you came...

My this type of stuff used to be spent mostly on paperback books. I'm a voracious reader and probably spent 20 to 30 bucks on novels every week. Moving to e-reader and finding BookBub has freed about 90% of that budget - so I spend it at the Lilypad...

I do like bang for my buck in all things monetary, so while I do the challenges for fun, the 30% off coupon comes in handy. I also try to shop the sales, and Lilypad has lots. SOSN, BYOC, Subscriptions like M3, and New Stuff on Friday.

Home Sweet Home.
 
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