You love beauty products sometimes, a little too much. Is it possible for you to keep up this hobby without spending more than you should?
The Dangers of Overspending
What’s the harm in overspending? Spending beyond your means will do more than leave you broke until your next paycheck comes in. It also leaves you vulnerable to the unexpected. What if an emergency expense crops up, and you don’t have the funds to cover it? Like your car stalls and you need to bring it to the mechanic, or you urgently need to pay for your economics homework because you do not have time to do your assignments, and a high grade is important to you, or your pipes freeze, and you need to call a plumber to thaw it out.
You have a few options to bail out of this bad situation. You could ask a friend to lend you some money — this means that you’d have to know someone who has extra savings in their bank account and is comfortable giving it to you. You could apply for online loans in Ohio or apply for a personal line of credit to help you cover the emergency costs quickly. A line of credit is a convenient borrowing strategy, and its repayment process might be easier than slowly paying back a friend or relative.
You don’t have to get in this sticky situation. Take a look at these tips that can stop you from spending too much on beauty products:
Set a Shopping Limit:
You can still enjoy this hobby without going overboard. Check your household budget to see what savings you can reasonably set aside for shopping. That’s your spending limit for the month.
Skip the Makeup Wipes:
You buy a pack of makeup wipes about once a month. The packs usually don’t cost more than $20, but if you’re replenishing them every four weeks, you’re going to be dishing out about $200 on wipes per year.
To cut that cost, you could make DIY makeup wipes using items that you probably have sitting inside of your medicine cabinet. Or another savvy idea is to buy a bottle of cleanser and use 100% cotton washcloths to wipe away your most stubborn makeup before bed. Once you’re done, toss the washcloth in with your laundry. You can use it over and over again.
Find “Dupes”:
You don’t need to empty out your wallet on luxury brand products. You can find excellent duplicates of your favorite eyeshadow palettes, lipsticks, foundations and more at your nearest drugstore. The color and quality will be virtually the same — the main difference will be the price-tag.
Make Wishlists:
Make a makeup wishlist for those products that you’d love to have but could live without. This can come in handy for the winter holidays, your birthday and any other special occasion. A wishlist makes it easy for a friend to find the perfect present for you, and it helps you add to your collection without racking up your credit card.
Extend the Lifespan of Products:
You don’t have to buy replacements so quickly. You can save yourself some money by stretching the lifespan of your products as best as you can:
- Dry mascara? Use a saline solution to give it the right texture again.
- Empty mascara? There are lots of ways to use your old mascara wand after you’ve thrown out the tube. Just remember to wash it first.
- Shattered powder? Use isopropyl rubbing alcohol to blend it back together.
- Broken lipstick? Use a lighter to melt it back together.
- Lip product almost empty? There are ways to get lipgloss out of the tube and salvage the last bits of your lipstick so that you can avoid tossing away perfectly good products in the trash.
Keeping up with the latest beauty trends isn’t worth jumping into financial trouble. Especially because you can sustain your love of beauty products without breaking the bank.