Beauty

[Shanus]

@smoochy   I get it. Downsizing from house to apartment will be saving us a fortune. We're still paying yard man to keep up the outside until a sale is finalized, but the higher electric, water, gas, etc. bills will be gone. 

I never did mani/pedis, but I can understand your missing those appts. and the enjoyment looking at your nails.

Good luck with all your plans to cut back on other expenses. 

[smoochy]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@smoochy wrote:

trying to economize in several areas to help with paying down credit debt. Cutting way back on frivolous spending- unnecessary clothing and accessories, TV streaming services, and now I'm hitting the beauty category. 

No more salon pedicures or gel nails. 😩 those things are actual monthly bills. Will miss the pretty hands that gel nails give me...l will have to get used to that. 

First world problems. 🌎  but living within my means is most important right now. 

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@smoochy 

Good for you, but let's not get carried away.   

This doesn't mean you can never have manicures again, right?   

You can tighten the purse strings and still have an occasional mani or pedi treat .... like once every six months ... or three months?   

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right- but the occasional mani will be a regular one on my natural nails. Not gels or other enhancements that require ongoing appts and cost more. 😊

[nyc1]

@Scooby Doo 

Same here, love cable.  Contacted Xfinity and was surprised they could include the same internet speed, same # of channels and lowered the bill quite a bit

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@rockygems123   What did you say to Xfinity?  They have been so stubborn when it comes to lowering our amount.  We have the trifecta with them... cable and 2 other things and the cost is crazy.

Thanks for any tips.

[Seminole2]

@smoochy I get it! I retired 2 weeks ago. Prior to that I changed our cellphones to Consumr Cellular and saved us about $30 per month. Then I tried to change off Xfinity to Spectrum. That didn't go well. Still on Xfinity but our bill went down by about $150 per month. We were almost at 400. Now down to $250. Got rid of their boxes on most TV's. Changed hairdresser to someone more reasonable and outside "The Villages " bubble. My gel manicure lasts about 4 weeks. So the only change there would be regular polish that I just can't wear. Chips off after a few days. But in the winter months I give toes and hands a break. Other than QVC card, which is being dwindled down quickly we have no other debt. Just your normal living expenses. It's a challenge but saving $$$ is my new goal. Don't need a ton of clothes and shoes at this stage. Hard to resist though

[smoochy]

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@Seminole2 wrote:
@smoochyI get it! I retired 2 weeks ago. Prior to that I changed our cellphones to Consumr Cellular and saved us about $30 per month. Then I tried to change off Xfinity to Spectrum. That didn't go well. Still on Xfinity but our bill went down by about $150 per month. We were almost at 400. Now down to $250. Got rid of their boxes on most TV's. Changed hairdresser to someone more reasonable and outside "The Villages " bubble. My gel manicure lasts about 4 weeks. So the only change there would be regular polish that I just can't wear. Chips off after a few days. But in the winter months I give toes and hands a break. Other than QVC card, which is being dwindled down quickly we have no other debt. Just your normal living expenses. It's a challenge but saving $$$ is my new goal. Don't need a ton of clothes and shoes at this stage. Hard to resist though

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congrats on retirement! Yep your attempts to economize sound familiar. That cable bill though!! Ouch. We were paying $206/mo for spectrum. Too much. So we cut the cable and went with a streaming service (Sling) for TV, and Frontier fiberoptic for internet. That is $73/mo. Our Sling is $45. Overall a big savings. Totally agree with the temptations of clothes and accessories. Even though we no longer need them for careers. I wore scrubs so that was helpful. Still have a major purse craving. Literally have to "shop" my accessories closet multiple times a day to stop myself from ordering another bag or wallet. 😄 I had my gels nails removed a few days ago and already hate my nails. Will try to manage my own manicures for as long as I can. 

[SandGirl]

I feel this!! I too cut down on skincare, going back to basics.

I never buy cloths, worn the same size for 25 years so I have plenty of cloths.

No cable, we just watch whatever is free on antena

Saving for retirement....

I paint my own nails and toes and thankfully don't need to dye my hair yet and I only go in for a cut twice a year.

[just bee]

I guess you have to ask yourself: What can I live without?

Then, if you find you can't live without something, you need to either figure out how you can pay less for it or you need to eliminate something else so you can afford it.

Live shouldn't be Spartan, but it can be simple in a way that's more practical and comfortable.

If you're worried about saving money, is it worth the stress not to pare down?

I found it difficult to "minimalize" until all my collections were damaged when my house burned.  It wasn't that everything was destroyed by fire; many things were damaged by soot, contamination and water.

I had to make hard choices.  What do I want to try to save?  What can I give up?

To see so much of what I'd collected for 50+ years go into landfill has kept me from collecting more.

Just remember: You can't take it with you.  It's expensive to move and store.  Nobody else wants it.

[brandiwine]

Being debt free is the absoute best.  You hang in there!  Sending lots of support.

[shoekitty]

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@smoochy wrote:

So today i had my gels soaked off. I cut my nails very short, fingertip length. Oof, so thin and weak. Now using OPI nail envy and two coats of Active Glow polish. 

Also canceled my Spotify subscription. Ding ding thats $12/mo back in the budget

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@smoochy  after I took my gel nails off, my nails were horrible. I used a protien polish for a while.  Then just cleaR took me almost a year to get my nails back.  They were so trashed!!!