The list of beauty spending needs can sometimes seem endless: manicures, pedicures, waxing (of all types), spray tans, haircuts, dye jobs, facials, eyelash extensions. The list goes on and on. How do you decide which takes precedence over the others? Here’s an even greater dilemma: with bills, current gas prices, and iced green tea lattes with your friends, you simply cannot justify treating yourself to all the aforementioned beauty treatments. So with $50 in your wallet, how do you decide which take priority?
Obviously, all of these treatments cost money. Let’s be real, a gel manicure and pedicure cost about $60. Waxing? Eyebrows alone are $20. Spray tans, haircuts, facials? We’re talking over $200. Our beauty spending needs tend to revolve around how much money we have. Therefore, money plays an important role in deciding which beauty treatment we can afford. What bills do you have coming up? Rent, car insurance, registration (that reminds me…)? And when’s payday?
Maybe you even go as far as to start setting money aside for your necessary beauty treatments. Depending on what you consider necessary, setting aside $100, maybe $150, a month is enough to be able to splurge once every couple of months or as long as a haircut and dye job last.
Another consideration when deciding which beauty treatment to indulge in is whether or not you have any special occasions coming up. If you’re preparing for your birthday, treat yourself! Mani, pedi, and a facial to make sure you’re picture perfect for your big day. A first date? Or maybe an anniversary. Waxing, for sure, eyebrows and then some, and maybe a nice pedicure. You know, some guys are into that. A job interview? It’s totally acceptable to write your beauty spending needs off on your taxes.
You want the job? You need to feel confident, and that starts with looking your best. A haircut and a manicure, and maybe, if your budget permits, tame those brows. A great first impression goes a long way with potential hires. And yet, sometimes it’s totally rational to splurge, splurge, splurge, like your wedding day, for instance. You’ve spent your whole life budgeting your beauty treatments. Today’s the day you treat yourself to every single one.
Your beauty spending needs can be slashed in half if you’ve got good connections. For instance, maybe you have a friend who’s finishing up in cosmetology school, and she’s dying to practice her skills on you. It’s a win-win situation since she’s getting practice (and hopefully a lifelong client) and you’re getting a beauty treatment crossed off your list for half the price.
And when all else fails, you’ve got the Y in DIY. That’s right. Find out what you can do yourself. It is now easier than ever to give yourself a gel manicure and a new dye job. A quick trip to Target provides boxed hair dye and nail polish made to last two weeks for less than $30. Treat yourself with a Starbucks for saving so much money!
The last and final consideration when prioritizing your beauty spending needs is asking yourself if you really need it. I know, it’s painful. But do you really need that facial? Or do you really need to pay rent this month? Just kidding, of course, you need to pay rent. So probably skip the facial this month and start setting aside money both for rent and for facials. For me, manicures and getting my eyebrows waxed are of critical importance.
So I save haircuts for once every couple of months and, even then, I book my personal hairstylist (my mom) for my trims. Try writing out all of your beauty spending needs. Then prioritize them with numbers; one being all-important, can’t live without, and 10 signifying the beauty treatments you definitely can live without.
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