Budgeting Money for American Girl

Heyy AG lovers!  Today I'm going to be sharing with you some budgeting strategies I use when it comes to American Girl.  Whenever I decide I want to put aside money for American Girl or purchase something from AG, I count all my money.  So, what do you do after you've saved all this money? Do you spend it all? Do you keep saving?  These are questions I think about, because while saving money is a popular topic, budgeting doesn't seem to be out there as much. So I put together this post  :)

1. Count Your Money
   This post will help most if you have a lot, maybe over $200, because that's when budgeting your money can become more important.

2. Wishlist
    Creating a wishlist can be fun, so put together a list of what you'd like most. From there, you can figure out what you would like to get. Put in some non-AG items too :)

3. Saving What You Have
    Put aside some money to keep saving, if you'd like. That way, you still have some money and you have a starting point for saving after you've spend some money.

4. American Girl/Non-American Girl
    My suggestion would be to put some money aside for non-ag items, like clothing, other hobbies you're interested in/toys , camera, etc. I love art, so for me these other things include art supplies. Try putting 1/4 of your money aside for other items, and keep the remaining 3/4 for American Girl. If you have many other interests other than American Girl, try half for AG and half for whatever else you'd like. Take the non-AG items from your wishlist and put that with your money.

5. American Girl
    AG is expensive, so take a look at the AG items on your wishlist and total the cost. If you have less money than what your wishlist costs, split your list in two. Things you'd like most, and things you want but can wait. This way you're not permanently removing anything and you can get it at a later time. Now, you're ready to order or buy AG items.

5. *Remember*
A few things to remember:
*AG releases and retires items. If you're worried that something may retire soon, get that first. Also, they release new items. If you are around a time when you know AG usually releases new things, wait to see if you like anything from the release.

*You don't have to spend all your money at once. It is okay to keep saving some if you'd like.

*Remember what you like most. If you didn't originally want something, don't "talk yourself into" an item just because you have money for it, if you don't really like it that much.

If you'd like to see Saige, see my post here: http://ag4ever365.blogspot.com/2012/11/saige-goty-2013.html
Now that you know what she looks like, maybe she's your next item to budget money for :)

How do you budget your money? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading/commenting!