Tags
Balance, cost of living, cost of looking good, Cost per wearing, cutting costs, effective living strategies, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, stress, The life you want
© 2021 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM. World Rights Reserved. http://www.kebba.com
If you ever want to cut your cost of living, get out your calculator and figure out your cost of looking good, as follows. You may be astonished at the chunk of your disposable income that is going for grooming! So many people are stressed about income, while they are unaware that their grooming is leaching away their cash. Really, it’s a crime against your Stress Quotient to overspend on your looks– and it’s unnecessary! There are 4 main areas you should examine closely.
- CLOTHING. Many say you should save money by buying second-hand clothes in consignment- or thrift stores. But let’s consider cost per wearing. If you enjoy lots of shopping time and if you can find pieces that work with your current pieces, then you may lower your costs this way. Do not buy random pieces! However, a new top you buy on sale for $20 carries no energy baggage and will look good for, let’s say, 80 wearings. That would be 25 cents per wearing. The top you buy used for $5 may look good for 5 wearings ($1 per wearing) and then need pressing with spray starch to not look draggy. So which is the better buy? Personally, I like to shop online, perusing the clearance areas of Major Store’s website. When I find one or two tops that I want, I then use an emailed discount code to get another 15-25% off. So I am getting fresh, new quality clothing for $20 or less that will last and look great for 80 or more wearings. I once bought a dress for $11 in Major Store’s clearance department in person. It does double duty as a tunic, with black leggings, and I am now at about 25 cents per wearing. You get the idea.
- ACCESSORIES. This is an area where you can quickly go broke while helping the fashion industry get rich. So watch it! Women, you may need one large, one medium, and one tiny black (or brown) purse. (You did do color analysis, didn’t you?) Maybe you’ll need one evening purse, not one for each dressy outfit. Purses, scarves, and jewelry are the perfect items to pick up at thrift stores, or better, at yard sales. At these prices, you will be down to pennies per wearing. I have received many compliments on my 25-cent scarves! Need high-end accessories for soirees at the country club? Go to the high-end consignment stores. And consign your own high-end gear you are tired of.
- SKIN CARE AND FRAGRANCE. These are the highest-profit areas for the grooming industry, so listen closely. This article was inspired by my shock at finding Clinique skin care products in a Nordstrom Rack store recently. NR should have had reduced prices, so I approached the Clinique (non-allergenic department store brand) bottles eagerly, to check the prices. HA!! I had just been studying the cost-per ounce of favorite Clinique products so was momentarily an expert on Clinique pricing. HA AGAIN! The bottles were shop-worn and bore three layers of price tags, as though they were on clearance. BUT THE ACTUAL PRICES WERE FULL RETAIL. So I went to my computer and checked in with Major Store. They were having a rare sale that allowed 15% off all Clinique, which is normally never discounted. Plus, they were offering gift packs if you spent more than $50. When– and only when– the gift packs contain items you or your sister will actually use– this can be another $40 in value. So I stocked up! My cost-per-ounce came down by 15%, then my cost-per-season dropped by $40. I can live with that! Can you buy lower-end brands? Of course, if your skin looks as smooth and happy using them– experiment! Fragrance– don’t buy it! Your friends are allergic to it! Go into department stores and ask for samples of your favorite fragrances. You’ll be surprised how long those tiny bottles last.
- MAKEUP. Your mission here is to look as good as possible for small dollars. Note the cost per ounce of, say, foundation makeup, and you’ll see it vary from $5 or less per ounce in drugstore brands to $29 or more per ounce in department store brands. Simplify what you buy, and you’ll find you have more space in the bathroom cabinet. Save money and time with all-day lip color; find your brand and stick with it in 2-3 colors. Do not go to department stores for lip color– those lines are not better. If your foundation is a little drying, put a few drops of Favorite Moisturizer on your fingertips, and blend your foundation in, on your fingertips, before applying. Add a bit of olive oil to your cheap body lotion, and notice it’s now super-moisturizing. To keep your skin moist from the inside, drink extra water and eat avocados daily. You’ll be amazed.
Whew! What a whirlwind of ways to save! Take these general principles to heart, and soon you’ll find you and your grooming budget both have much less stress. And that’s you ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Lifesm!
-
Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert, holistic healer, and award-winning author who celebrates life. She has a longtime natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within: Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine. The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office. To email us, kebba@kebba.com .