How Much Money do you Spend on Yourself per Month?

[Anonymous]

I’m 35, I work from home, but spend about $300 a month on clothes. I love fashion. Other then that, about $80 every three to four months on my haircuts (no color yet). I got a really nice facial and products last summer that cost like $350. I do my own nails. That’s about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Less than $20? I buy very few clothes, once in a blue moon, and most of them are second-hand, do my own nails, cut my hair once a year...

I'm the PP above. To the doubters. You're not going to believe this, but the jeans my mother bought me at 14 are still in my wardrobe and they're still in good shape. I'm 38. This is an extreme example to show you that I don't spend much on clothes. I still have some really good quality pieces from my late teens, mostly outerwear and woolens. EBay and second hand stores have standard J Crew, Loft, etc clothes for very little. Those wear out quicker than my teenage clothes! Two years ago I found a wonderful winter coat for $70. I take care of my clothes (wash on cold, low spin, and hang dry or dry on very low), and everything else I own.

I've cut my own hair instead of paying for a bad haircut somewhere. I have beautiful natural nails - no need for professional manis or pedis. I will rock white hairs when I get them.
We all use the same creams, sunscreens, body washes and shampoos in the family, so I did not include them as personal expenses. They are good quality and expensive.
I don't have a gym membership, I do yoga at home and walk the dog.

I can't invent imaginary personal expenses just to please you. However that does not mean I don't spend money elsewhere. We travel internationally to visit parents abroad, some of the food we eat is organic, we live in a expensive area, we have educational expenses that are higher than average for our child with special needs, etc...

To each his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Less than $20? I buy very few clothes, once in a blue moon, and most of them are second-hand, do my own nails, cut my hair once a year...

Ok -- I'm a super low maintenance, ordinary looking 38 year old but this is ridiculous.

I can't break it out by month but my expenditures by year look like:
Clothes: $750/yr (This is from last year. Most of this was a few business suits, work tops, nice but not designer shoes with a few pairs of jeans, casual tops etc. thrown in. I buy the vast majority of my stuff from Thanksgiving to Christmas each yr so I can get a good # of pieces each yr for 500-700 total).
Waxing: $200 (pretty much $50/quarter).
Haircuts: $40 (usually 2 haircuts/yr at a Hair Cuttery kind of joint).
Products: $20 -- hair product, replacing a BB cream if needed etc. (not a daily make up wearer).
Dry cleaning: $30/month = 360/yr (said business suits listed above as well as wool coats, raincoats, cashmere sweaters etc.)

Not a mani/pedi or massage person. Don't color my hair yet though that's coming VERY soon and will up the budget.

So overall that's = $1370/yr = $115/month. And I think I'm CHEAP compared to my peers who spend several hundred per month. IDK if I didn't spend at least $100/month, I'd feel like -- WTH am I working for, JUST to be able to save it and invest it all for retirement, while I cut my own hair and wax my own eyebrows and wear jeans from 20 years ago?? No thanks. I invest plenty, but I need to feel like I'm living a little too. And I'm sorry I don't believe any 37 yr old who says that they don't need to buy new jeans ever bc the ones their mom bought them in 1998 still look good. Uh -- no I promise you they don't. Sure you may fit into them, but you're kidding yourself if you think that no one can see how worn out they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Less than $20? I buy very few clothes, once in a blue moon, and most of them are second-hand, do my own nails, cut my hair once a year...

Ok -- I'm a super low maintenance, ordinary looking 38 year old but this is ridiculous.

I can't break it out by month but my expenditures by year look like:
Clothes: $750/yr (This is from last year. Most of this was a few business suits, work tops, nice but not designer shoes with a few pairs of jeans, casual tops etc. thrown in. I buy the vast majority of my stuff from Thanksgiving to Christmas each yr so I can get a good # of pieces each yr for 500-700 total).
Waxing: $200 (pretty much $50/quarter).
Haircuts: $40 (usually 2 haircuts/yr at a Hair Cuttery kind of joint).
Products: $20 -- hair product, replacing a BB cream if needed etc. (not a daily make up wearer).
Dry cleaning: $30/month = 360/yr (said business suits listed above as well as wool coats, raincoats, cashmere sweaters etc.)

Not a mani/pedi or massage person. Don't color my hair yet though that's coming VERY soon and will up the budget.

So overall that's = $1370/yr = $115/month. And I think I'm CHEAP compared to my peers who spend several hundred per month. IDK if I didn't spend at least $100/month, I'd feel like -- WTH am I working for, JUST to be able to save it and invest it all for retirement, while I cut my own hair and wax my own eyebrows and wear jeans from 20 years ago?? No thanks. I invest plenty, but I need to feel like I'm living a little too. And I'm sorry I don't believe any 37 yr old who says that they don't need to buy new jeans ever bc the ones their mom bought them in 1998 still look good. Uh -- no I promise you they don't. Sure you may fit into them, but you're kidding yourself if you think that no one can see how worn out they are.

The jeans depend entirely on original quality, how well you take care of them, and how often they are in use. As far as the others -- can you not believe that some people enjoy doing these things for themselves? Must everyone be like you?

I like doing my own nails, cleaning my own house, all that. It isn't a hardship. It's a lovely, cozy, tidy feeling. I don't like other people in my space or doing intimate things for me. But I won't judge you for feeling otherwise. It's a wide world.

I also like having things I have a long relationship with. I don't feel like I am depriving myself. I indulge in other things. Why is that offensive, or hard to believe?

[Anonymous]

^^ NP here -- if you enjoy cutting your own hair, congrats to you and good luck with any kind of fashionable haircut on your own head. No way jeans from 1999 look good, doesn't matter if they cost $1000 back then and you've been licking them clean all this time. Plus wasn't that the era of wide wide jeans?? You don't think they look out of place? Or do they look so good because they've been on a hanger this whole time. What do you indulge in? I'm really curious.

[Anonymous]

I indulge in what I spend time and attention on, not money, for the most part.

My haircut isn't fashionable. It's simple. In my life, nobody really cares. I wear it up most of the time.

This seems to really irritate you. Why is that? I'm not advising you to do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ NP here -- if you enjoy cutting your own hair, congrats to you and good luck with any kind of fashionable haircut on your own head. No way jeans from 1999 look good, doesn't matter if they cost $1000 back then and you've been licking them clean all this time. Plus wasn't that the era of wide wide jeans?? You don't think they look out of place? Or do they look so good because they've been on a hanger this whole time. What do you indulge in? I'm really curious.

Not the PP but I realize that my clothes sometimes make me look dated. I'm sorry that I don't have the money to better my appearance to community standards. What do I indulge in? Well, $92k HHI doesn't go too far inside the beltway. After the mortgage, medical expenses and groceries I guess my indulgence would be my tiny garden that gets me outdoors for half the year.

[Anonymous]

I haven't seen anyone who spends little on these type of things either make fun of or belittle people who spend more, even much more. Quite the opposite.

I find that extremely interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s very unusual pp


I’m probably on the other end of the spectrum. Pedicures Botox and hair every 4 weeks (pixie cut) once a month massage and frequently purchase new clothing as I’m working and like having clothes that are fresh and crisp looking- probably $500/month realistically on clothes if I include sportswear coats shoes.

But how much do you make?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Less than $20? I buy very few clothes, once in a blue moon, and most of them are second-hand, do my own nails, cut my hair once a year...

Ok -- I'm a super low maintenance, ordinary looking 38 year old but this is ridiculous.

I can't break it out by month but my expenditures by year look like:
Clothes: $750/yr (This is from last year. Most of this was a few business suits, work tops, nice but not designer shoes with a few pairs of jeans, casual tops etc. thrown in. I buy the vast majority of my stuff from Thanksgiving to Christmas each yr so I can get a good # of pieces each yr for 500-700 total).
Waxing: $200 (pretty much $50/quarter).
Haircuts: $40 (usually 2 haircuts/yr at a Hair Cuttery kind of joint).
Products: $20 -- hair product, replacing a BB cream if needed etc. (not a daily make up wearer).
Dry cleaning: $30/month = 360/yr (said business suits listed above as well as wool coats, raincoats, cashmere sweaters etc.)

Not a mani/pedi or massage person. Don't color my hair yet though that's coming VERY soon and will up the budget.

So overall that's = $1370/yr = $115/month. And I think I'm CHEAP compared to my peers who spend several hundred per month. IDK if I didn't spend at least $100/month, I'd feel like -- WTH am I working for, JUST to be able to save it and invest it all for retirement, while I cut my own hair and wax my own eyebrows and wear jeans from 20 years ago?? No thanks. I invest plenty, but I need to feel like I'm living a little too. And I'm sorry I don't believe any 37 yr old who says that they don't need to buy new jeans ever bc the ones their mom bought them in 1998 still look good. Uh -- no I promise you they don't. Sure you may fit into them, but you're kidding yourself if you think that no one can see how worn out they are.

About the same for me though add another $300 for the years that I need new contacts or glasses. I buy a few years worth of contacts at once and probably update my glasses once every 3-4 years. Maybe those are medical expenses but I think of contacts as cosmetics since I could wear glasses permanently but choose not to for vanity purposes. I too feel cheap amongst my peers — we all make 200k plus or minus 5-7k and I have a feeling other women spend a ton more. At $20/month, I’d feel like a preteen whose parents keep saying no to everything. I have a feeling this is industry specific and those spending $20/month work from home, are slobs in an industry like IT, or are drs in an environment where you wear scrubs. No way a woman in any professional, client facing role can get away with spending less than $100-200/month at minimum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Less than $20? I buy very few clothes, once in a blue moon, and most of them are second-hand, do my own nails, cut my hair once a year...

Ok -- I'm a super low maintenance, ordinary looking 38 year old but this is ridiculous.

I can't break it out by month but my expenditures by year look like:
Clothes: $750/yr (This is from last year. Most of this was a few business suits, work tops, nice but not designer shoes with a few pairs of jeans, casual tops etc. thrown in. I buy the vast majority of my stuff from Thanksgiving to Christmas each yr so I can get a good # of pieces each yr for 500-700 total).
Waxing: $200 (pretty much $50/quarter).
Haircuts: $40 (usually 2 haircuts/yr at a Hair Cuttery kind of joint).
Products: $20 -- hair product, replacing a BB cream if needed etc. (not a daily make up wearer).
Dry cleaning: $30/month = 360/yr (said business suits listed above as well as wool coats, raincoats, cashmere sweaters etc.)

Not a mani/pedi or massage person. Don't color my hair yet though that's coming VERY soon and will up the budget.

So overall that's = $1370/yr = $115/month. And I think I'm CHEAP compared to my peers who spend several hundred per month. IDK if I didn't spend at least $100/month, I'd feel like -- WTH am I working for, JUST to be able to save it and invest it all for retirement, while I cut my own hair and wax my own eyebrows and wear jeans from 20 years ago?? No thanks. I invest plenty, but I need to feel like I'm living a little too. And I'm sorry I don't believe any 37 yr old who says that they don't need to buy new jeans ever bc the ones their mom bought them in 1998 still look good. Uh -- no I promise you they don't. Sure you may fit into them, but you're kidding yourself if you think that no one can see how worn out they are.

About the same for me though add another $300 for the years that I need new contacts or glasses. I buy a few years worth of contacts at once and probably update my glasses once every 3-4 years. Maybe those are medical expenses but I think of contacts as cosmetics since I could wear glasses permanently but choose not to for vanity purposes. I too feel cheap amongst my peers — we all make 200k plus or minus 5-7k and I have a feeling other women spend a ton more. At $20/month, I’d feel like a preteen whose parents keep saying no to everything. I have a feeling this is industry specific and those spending $20/month work from home, are slobs in an industry like IT, or are drs in an environment where you wear scrubs. No way a woman in any professional, client facing role can get away with spending less than $100-200/month at minimum.

May I reintroduce you to the first post of the thread?

Anonymous wrote:We are starting a budget as money is tight. I'm wondering what is a normal monthly budget for a woman who doesn't have to dress to impress (part time child care) taking into account...hair, nails, make up, skin products, and things like that and then also clothes, shoes, etc. and whatever else I'm missing. I appreciate you sharing your normal monthly expenses.

[Anonymous]

^OP is the one in childcare. The woman spending $20/month didn’t specify what she does — at least not in her first post; haven’t read 5+ pgs that carefully. So I’m speculating that the lady wearing jeans from 1998 is a SAH/WAH, an IT slob, or a dr in scrubs 24-7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^OP is the one in childcare. The woman spending $20/month didn’t specify what she does — at least not in her first post; haven’t read 5+ pgs that carefully. So I’m speculating that the lady wearing jeans from 1998 is a SAH/WAH, an IT slob, or a dr in scrubs 24-7.

Always good to get an update on how the upper half views those of us in the lower half.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^OP is the one in childcare. The woman spending $20/month didn’t specify what she does — at least not in her first post; haven’t read 5+ pgs that carefully. So I’m speculating that the lady wearing jeans from 1998 is a SAH/WAH, an IT slob, or a dr in scrubs 24-7.

But that's … the whole point of the thread. It's the first post. It's not buried on page 3.

You are knocking people talking about the whole point of the thread, because they aren't instead talking about you and your life? And insulting them for it? Good gracious.

You may have money, but you do not have sense or class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^OP is the one in childcare. The woman spending $20/month didn’t specify what she does — at least not in her first post; haven’t read 5+ pgs that carefully. So I’m speculating that the lady wearing jeans from 1998 is a SAH/WAH, an IT slob, or a dr in scrubs 24-7.

Always good to get an update on how the upper half views those of us in the lower half.

Yes. You can be clean and neat without spending much money, but you're still a "slob."

Fascinating.