Saving and budgeting are prevalent topics during this time of inflation, but saving money seems to be getting more and more difficult every day. Especially in the fashion and beauty industry, where product prices are skyrocketing more than ever. Use these 7 tips to find the best ways to practice self-care on a budget.
1. Pay Off Any Debts
You can’t start saving if you are under a great amount of debt. Unless you’re trying to save up to pay your debt, we suggest that you invest all of your savings in paying off any big debts you have because, sooner or later, it starts piling up and makes you question your spending habits.
Once you’re free from paying interest on your debt, you can easily put that money into savings. You can use the 50:30:20 rule to pay off your debt more quickly. That is when you use 50% of your paycheck for things you need, such as groceries, gas and rent.
You spend the 30% on what you want, like going out to eat, buying something for yourself, or getting a self-care service like a breathable nail polish manicure, and you save the remaining 20% of your paycheck, and in this case, pay your debt.
2. Start Budgeting Your Expenses
Taking a deeper look into what you are spending things on can often make you recognize some aspects where your money might be getting wasted. So planning and budgeting for your self-care expenses help you get through the month without facing the end-of-the-month anxiety, as well as help you recognize your spending patterns.
This will play a key role in helping you limit your extra expenses, which might range from a luxurious manicure to late-night online shopping sprees. You can then start putting the money you saved from recognizing your spending patterns into your savings.
3. Try Doing It Yourself
It may seem obvious, but you save a surprising amount of money when you start doing things yourself. That can range from deep cleansing of your skin or giving yourself a manicure at home instead of getting it done at a spa.
An at-home manicure can be made just as relaxing of an experience with the help of some candles and some good music. You can even choose the different types of nail polish to buy, like Mersi Cosmetics’ halal nail polish, as it is a plant-based alternative to regular nail polish. It allows your nail bed to breathe by being porous.
Halal nail polish is easy to apply and remove and provides a long-lasting at-home manicure. If you’re wondering what is halal nail polish, it is a nail polish where all ingredients are plant-based, relieving you of the thoughts about toxic materials in your nail polish.
Once you start doing things on your own, you will learn about the nature and behavior of your skin better. We recommend that if you can’t figure out how to DIY something after watching a couple of videos, don’t be shy to get professional help because you might end up doing more damage than good, which will cost you a bigger bill.
4. Create A Savings Account
We all know the feeling of how money seems to fly out of our account right after getting paid. After spending on rent and other essentials, you can’t seem to keep track of where your money went and fall short on budget for self-care items. Therefore, we recommend you form a self-care savings account, where at the beginning of every month, you transfer money to your savings account using the 50:30:20 rule.
This way, your mind will think of that money as spent on other essentials, and you won’t get a chance to use it. We also recommend not keeping the card of your savings account with yourself every time you go out so that you don’t feel impulsive about using it. Once you have enough money in your saving account, you can treat yourself to a spa at a salon or buy self-care products.
5. Set Your Savings Goals
Saving money without a clear goal in mind seems unnecessary, which is why we recommend you determine your self-care priorities so you can make a savings plan according to your needs. If you know you need to change your hair dye or buy an LED lamp for your manicure, you should start saving up for it now.
You also have to remember your long-term goals, like saving up for retirement. Your short-term goals shouldn’t overlook your long-term goals because short-term goals will keep changing throughout your life, and you won’t be able to invest anything in your long-term goals.
6. Sell Items Not In Use
The saying one man’s trash is another man’s treasure truly applies here. Look at objects in your house that you don’t use anymore, maybe some hobbies you’ve lost interest in, and sell them to someone else.
This way, you will not only efficiently declutter your home, relieving you of the guilt of buying some of those items, but you can also put the money you get from these sales into your savings account.
7. Analyze Your Splurges
Giving into instant gratification is the downfall of most saving accounts. With advertisements surrounding you everywhere you go, you need to be more mindful of making splurges and think before making any big purchase if you truly need the product or service or if you are just buying it because you can.
Buying things just because you have money at the moment leads to regret your decision after the euphoria of the newly bought items dies down. So before you make any significant purchase, give yourself a couple of days to think about it. This will help you break the cycle of impulse buying for instant gratification.
Takeaway
From trying an at-home halal nail polish manicure to setting up a self-care savings account, all these money-saving tips are practical. You can begin with one or two and gradually adopt more of these tips to start saving money like a pro and practice a budget-friendly self-care routine. It will make a huge difference to your financial manage
