How to Maximize Your Lego Budget in 2026
Lego released over 150 new sets on January 1st to kick off the new year. There are some really great sets that could easily wipe out your Lego budget, unless you have a plan and some patience.
That being said, if you're a fan of Stranger Things, then go ahead and blow that budget on day 1….
If you did not buy 11370 The Creel House or the Brickheadz, below are some tactics I use to get the most bang for my Lego buck.
FOMO is the enemy of your budget
We have all been in the situation where an amazing set is released and we feel like we need it on day 1 only to find that it is sold out everywhere. Then you check eBay and it's selling for $100 or more above retail price.
Don’t let the fear of missing out win. Especially if it is a new release. It will be available soon enough and you won't need to overpay for it.
If you are a release day buyer and can find it at retail, expect to pay full price. If you have some patience and willpower, you can expect to see the standard 20% discount at some point within the first year of release. This does not always apply to Lego exclusive sets.
The one exception I make for buying on release day is if there is a super cool and limited GWP that is only available at release. For example, I bought 11370 The Creel House on day 1 to get 40891 WSQK Radio Station GWP which includes the Hopper and Joyce minifigs.
Learn the retirement schedule
Lego operates on a system that all sets have a finite retail life cycle. Meaning at some point a set will no longer be available for sale at the retail level. We can use this information to our advantage in order to structure our wishlists in a way that prioritizes sets that have the shortest remaining shelf life.
Retirement dates can and will change periodically during its life cycle. The best way to track retirement dates and their inevitable changes are twofold:
Check the Bricktap retirement list on Reddit which is updated monthly
For a more current and accurate retirement list, use the Brick Dynasty app (free version) for changes that are tracked and updated daily. Your already here, check it out if you haven’t.
Note: Lego has shifted a large number of sets to retire mid-year on July 31 instead of December 31. More than 130 sets are slated to retire this July to be more specific. This is crucial to know as you may only have half of the year to acquire a set rather than 12 months.
If there are sets on your wishlist that retire in 2026, they have to be a priority as the clock is ticking on their retail lifespan. If you can be patient, you will most likely find that set on a great sale at some point during the year.
Know the sales calender
The beginning of the year can be rough for finding Lego deals. Typically, we only see deals around the various holidays like Valentines, Easter, Mothers and Fathers Day. Sales increase in frequency starting Memorial Day Weekend and beyond.
To maximize your Lego purchases in the beginning half of the year, plan your buying around the aforementioned holidays and/or pair your Lego.com purchases with double points events and GWP’s.
If you do your homework early in the year you will not be caught off guard when you come across an unexpected sale or a random in-store clearance. When you familiarize yourself with the Lego market you can make fast, frugal, and lucrative decisions when those opportunities present themselves. For Example, I was in a local dollar store in December looking for Christmas lights when I spotted Lego on an end cap that was 20% off. I noticed two things right away, one: they had five 10789 which retired at the end of 2025, which at the time, this set was sold out on Lego.com, Walmart, Amazon, and Target. I paired it with a $10 in-store coupon they were offering and wiped them out. They also had one 76275 Motorcycle Chase: Spiderman vs Doc Ock for $10 and 20% off. 76275 retired in 2024 and sells for $30 currently….ChaChing!!
There are 8 other locations of the same dollar store within 30 minutes of my house so I hit them all and bought over 30 sets of 76275. I also found a few stores doing remodels of their toy aisle that had other Lego sets at 70% clearance sale to make room for new merchandise.
All this was possible because I had studied sets and retirement schedules over the last couple years, therefore I was able to make a quick decision when a unique opportunity presented itself.
To recap how to maximize your Lego budget and things you need to do now:
Be patient and try not to buy sets when they are first released
Learn the retirement dates of sets that are on your wishlist and prioritize according to its retirement date.
Learn and study patterns of when sets go on sale so you can take advantage when opportunities present themselves.
By doing your homework early in the year you will be able to easily spot opportunities later and maximize your Lego budget. Now get to work!
Until next time AFOL’s….