Beauty on a budget…you’re joking, right?
All those currently overspending on beauty, say “I!” Did you hesitate, or catch yourself making an excuse for yourself if you didn’t? Guess, what I’m here for you too. I don’t blame you at all, on either side of the fence. Beauty marketing (well, marketing in general) is in our faces 24/7 with the ease of social media shopping directly in the app. It’s dangerous. I’ve fallen victim myself too. I’m willing to bet 50% of you that opened this article even had a mental eye roll. Budgeting isn’t a sexy word, in fact, it sounds more like a limitation. It’s not. It’s true, you don’t have to cut back on the things you love to spend money on: that daily latte, your high-end beauty, any of it. You do, however, have to pick a lane though.
Here’s what I mean. Treating ourselves doesn’t go for every category. Just a select few (or more), as long as the total amount spent is within your free spending allotment. Is top-shelf beauty your top splurge of choice? If so, this article is for you. Welcome to your playbook for beauty budgeting: I’m going to teach you how to get your finances and buying patterns in order to eliminate over-purchasing, lower your annual spending, and help you get those dream items purchased. Get ready, this is going to be a wild ride. Welcome to the unofficial guide to beauty on a budget: how to never buy more than you need, and buy whatever the f*ck you want while you’re at it.
Beauty Budgeting: The Basics
Before we can start budgeting for beauty, it’s important to make sure you are acting responsibly on the rest of your finances first. Do you know how much money you have leftover for free spending? Are you currently paying yourself first for retirement, if not. You’ll want to start there. Head to the bottom of this post right now, and download my budgeting spreadsheet to get a birds-eye view of your current sitch first. Additionally, you should read this book, it goes into heavy detail on a lot of the practices I’ve been doing for years to keep my financed in check. I even learned some new hacks! Next? It’s time for the good stuff.
Take account of your necessity products (monthly)
How quickly do you go through the products you use every day? I’m talking about cleansers, serums, moisturizers, etc. While hairdryers and styling devices might be considered a necessity to you, it’s not something you purchase on the reg because it runs out. If it runs out in one or two months, and you use it daily, that’s what we’re counting on this one. Once you have a solid idea of how many times a year you’re purchasing a specific product, you’ll be able to control it and lower your annual spend. More on that later.
Take account of things you want…like REALLY want.
You can have the luxurious tools and products you want, and you should! Just like you shouldn’t go without your daily latte, the same goes for your beauty product desires. There has to be a strategy, though. We’ve all been there, getting stuck in revolving debt just to snag the latest drop. The next thing you know, it’s a complete financial disaster! Is that you? This is the hard part: take a hard look at your spending. What did you really use and love, and what just sat around? Take account for the next quarter/year of purchases, and alter your list accordingly. Make a list of wants, and put them in order of importance to you. Only buy what you can afford every quarter, or month, depending on how much cash you have available for free spending.
Beauty Budgeting: Strategize Your Buying Frequency
The goal is to never buy anything from your necessity column full price. This also extends to your wants list as well, if you’re able to wait for sale periods/the item ever goes on sale. If not, leave it as a splurge during a month when you have cash on hand. Here’s the key to business marketing that companies don’t want you to know: the sale periods are designed to get you to spend more, and make snap decisions in a short time period. As a result, you end up with random stuff you won’t use or bore of later. The good news? You can take the power back if you take a few hours to do the math on your own spending habits.
The Math
Add up the amount your necessity beauty items cost, every quarter. Buy them in one go during sale periods. This does require you to have gotten your spending under control previously, but when you do, you’ll never spend full price again. The monthly cost is now lowered to 20% off in your necessity column. I can’t tell you the last time I paid full price for Olaplex, or worse, had to go pick up another bottle because I ran out in between sales.
Start Building Your Budget
We procrastinate on solving our spending problems because it seems like a daunting task. Not to mention the sticker shock anxiety you’ve been avoiding. It gets better, I promise. Rip the bandaid off, and get started with a spreadsheet that’s already ready to go for you. I’ve turned this article into a spreadsheet you can use to start doing the math on your own beauty purchases, right now.
Download It Here
That wraps it up for basic beauty budgeting! To get your prepped and ready for the holiday season of spending, get more budgeting advice from this post, and start planning for the upcoming Sephora Sale with my tips on how to shop it smartly.
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