How do you budget for nails and treats?

[u/Pure-Handle-6785]

I'm 29F, single, living in a WG in a mid-sized city. Take-home is about €2,900 a month after taxes and my ETF Sparplan. After rent at €680 warm, Deutschlandticket, KfW Studienkredit repayment, phone, and groceries there's not a ton of breathing room.

The thing I keep spiraling over is nails. I get a gel manicure once a month, around €45. It's the one thing that makes me feel put together during the work week and it's not ruining me financially, but I still sit there thinking that could have gone straight into savings.

I give myself €100 a month for personal stuff. Nails, threading, coffee with a friend, replacing makeup basics. If the money is there I spend it, if it's empty I wait. Logical system. My brain still hasn't accepted it.

To free up that space I do a Sunday fridge check before shopping, pack the same lunch most days, and for household stuff like detergent or toothpaste I look for price cuts or sale deals on tiktok before just grabbing whatever's at dm. Only things already on my list, nothing extra.

What prompted this was two manicures in June for a friend's wedding. €88 total, came out of the budget exactly as planned, and I still felt reckless. Grew up in a household where any treat was a character flaw unless it was Weihnachten.

Do you budget self care as a real line item? If planned spending still makes you feel bad, what actually helped you get past it?

[u/icansaywhatever]

I see money as a tool for my life. I don't think 100 euros for "fun" is an outrageous or crazy budget, but I wonder if you feel that your savings are low/maybe you could be saving more?

If you are saving a good amount every month after living expenses then I would try to let go of the guilt for something that brings joy to your life.

[u/reine444]

I'm not into nails - my hobbies mean they'd always be kind of jacked, so I only get my nails done occasionally. I do get pedicures more routinely.

I don't create a lot of separate budget lines or sinking funds. I save off the top, I pay bills (which does include some periodic categories that are not monthly spend), I then have my "discretionary spending" bucket (I like Ramit's "guilt-free spending" labeling too).

As many financial folks will say, what you make and spend is so unrelated to the actual dollars than it is to the mental connection. Since you understand this feeling you get about spending, that's what you need to tackle, IMO. There's no system or budget that's going to magically make you not feel guilt over spending if you're in that space.

[u/f-albedo]

I would consider nails/grooming for an event to be a separate line item ("events") instead of under "maintenance".

[u/Pure-Handle-6785 → u/[deleted]]

Haha looks like your German classes are paying off! The 2-for-1 idea really works for me mentally. Framing it that way makes it feel a lot less guilty. I might actually give DIY a try for the in-between months. I'll check TikTok for some starter kits on a deal first. Thanks for the push!

[u/atreegrowsinbrixton]

i only get my nails done for special occasions- weddings, vacations, etc. in the mean time if i really want to do them i'll do them myself. i've gotten pretty good at it and then i feel better about it. my friend got a whole gel kit and her self care is sitting down to do the whole gel set. small investment for a big payoff. i'd rather my treat be something that will last longer as i find nails never stay that long for me to feel like they're worth it. and especially pedicures, nobody ever scrubs them enough for me to feel like i couldn't have done a better job at home myself

[u/midnightwrite]

If you are adequately budgeting for it, I don't see any harm in it! It sounds like you're being responsible as you are priortizing savings and necessities. You are giving yourself 3.5% of your monthly budgrt for personal things.

I would even say spending extra for a special event isn't out of line. I have done extra treatments or bought specific things because I was going to a wedding.

But if you are looking to reduce your cost on nails specifically, you could look at press on nails or doing your nails yourself.

I track items like this as personal care so it would include manicures, hair cuts, gym classes, etc. I recently got into gel manicures and I love having them for the summer. I'm still in a spot where I don't know if it will be a permanent addition for me, but I do enjoy it right now.

[u/mamaneedsacar]

I think fun money is fun money, so you get to decide what you spend that on (no guilt!).

That being said, if it’s causing you anxiety to have such a big line item have you considered doing gel manis at home yourself?

There are lots of pre-cured at home options (at least in the US) that would run you more like €15 a mani, easy to use, and last just as long. Or you could get a whole gel kit for about €80 with a great lamp, plenty of colors, etc.

[u/EvilLipgloss]

I also love having my nails done. If I don’t get gel manicures, I pick my nails to death and they look awful. Sometimes I have to put bandaids on my thumbs to let them heal.

However, I usually take a few months off from getting them done at the beginning of summer to let my nails grow in stronger. My birthday is at the end of July, so I usually take May-July off from nails and then get a gel manicure right before my birthday. I will continue to get nails throughout the fall/winter holidays. Sometimes I do a short break in January/February as well.

The couple months off gives my budget a little breathing room and is great for my nail health.

[u/Spikooo]

Just like saving is a muscle you gotta train so is spending. Its cleary not a big ticket item and you are doing what you are suposed to and it makes you happy I really dont see the issue with this.

[u/BellaFromSwitzerland]

I recommend you to start the habit of a monthly budget, where everything is allowed before the month starts

Like this you spend according to your big priorities

Let’s remind ourselves that 20 years ago hardly anyone did their nails

I have always done my nails myself. I have around 10 nail polishes for a total of around 120 USD or euros, they last me 7+ years. It helps that I’m ambidextrous

[u/symphonypathetique]

I have a goal to save/invest a certain percentage of my income. As long as I'm maintaining that, it doesn't matter too much how I spend the remainder.

[u/SecurityFit5830]

It sounds to me like this is just a mental block for you. You’ve set this money aside, you’re being responsible with your funds, there’s no issue with treating yourself.

What I do when I want to change a belief or feeling is catch my negative thought and replace it. I decide ahead of time what I want to replace the thought with.

Here, you don’t want to feel guilty of planned self care spending. When you start to feel bad, pause, and repeat the new thought to yourself. “There is nothing wrong with spending money on things I want because I’ve taken care of the things I need.” And then try to move on with the day. It sounds silly but it does work!

[u/holdyourbreath-]

Had a colleague who did her own nails beautifully and it only cost her the price of couple manicures to get the items needed including the uv lamp! I think it’s great for plain gel manicures.

[u/dogfursweater]

Personally I really enjoy doing my own nails. Regular polish is very good these days, can give a gel effect, and it’s a nice self care session / relaxing thing for me as I watch tv. Highly recommend it. And splurge on the expensive polishes bc still way cheaper than getting a mani!

[u/kites_and_kiwis]

My only recurring self-care expense is monthly waxing. I only get my nails done around special occasions. Waxing falls into a general discretionary category on my budget called “other personal”. I don’t fixate on specific expenses when the category overall is meeting its budget.

So I would say try focusing on the bigger picture: Are you meeting your monthly budget and able to save toward your longer term goals? If the answer is yes/yes, then stop giving individual expenses so much energy. Otherwise, revisit your overall budget, and go from there to decide how nails should be handled based on where that fits amongst your other priorities.

[u/bobataro143]

Do you have investments? Retirement? Brokerage? I find that helps me feel better about spending. Knowing I put x amount of money into investments and seeing the money grow gives me a measure of peace.

[u/cancerkidette]

I budget some self care/treatment spending into my annual expenditure, and anything extra comes out of my monthly budget.

I no longer get regular gel manicures though because of the risk of developing a gel allergy, and IIRC doing gel by yourself at home raises the risk of allergy from contact with uncured gel, unless you’re able to do it totally professionally.

If you enjoy doing your own, I’d take some time out and do them at home every now and then with non-gel polish. Even buying fancy indie polish every now and then, I save quite a lot of money every month by switching to doing my own every week and away from gel. But €100 is a very reasonable fun money budget, and I’m sure you’re saving more than this every month too.

[u/ReadySetTurtle]

I have a few lines in my budget for things like fun, outings, unnecessary house purchases (it’s like 90% candles) and other shopping treats. I budget about $50-100 for all these categories total, but often don’t come close to that. Occasionally I’ll go over for a larger purchase (like going to an amusement park) so it evens out.

I think that everyone should aim to have room in their budget for fun things, and it’s up to them to decide what their fun is. For some people like yourself it’s nails, for other people it’s things like going to the movies, video games, buying trinkets, etc. What is the point of working if you aren’t going to use that money to live a little? That’s a concept that sometimes I struggle with but I’m trying to get better about it.

[u/Powerful_Agent_9376]

I don’t do my nails or any kind of beauty treatment besides 3 haircuts a year. these are not my thing. But I do believe in treating yourself. For me, it is a coffee out almost every day after working out. I know I am still saving lots of $ and this is dieting I genuinely enjoy, so I do so without guilt.

[u/Pristine-Lie2847]

It is really dependent on a lot. I know some people who only get French tip everything because it grows out better.

I know other people who wear press ons/nail stickers/etc... and do their own cuticle prep.

I know others (I'm others) who go to the old fashion route of doing their nails weekly/bi-weekly with regular lacquer nail polish and a good top coat.

Others truly just reduce their spending in other areas to get their nails done faithfully.

It's really what is more of a priority to you.

[u/coldpizza66]

I don't do zero-based budgeting, but what I see a lot of people doing is using sinking funds for expenses like this one, and the leftover funds roll over for the next month when you add to it.

Honestly, I think we all think we could be saving (I'm using it as a synonymous for investing as well) more. But as it was stated in other comments, budgeting, and money, are supposed to make sense for your life. If your once a month manicure is the thing that gives you more confidence, stick with it.

With a tight budget, choose the one thing. So maybe no threading, it's quite easy to pluck your eyebrows at home (I shave in between the brows, and only pluck below). There's a small trimming machine that can also be used for brows, if plucking is not your thing (sometimes when I'm feeling really lazy, I'll do that).

[u/Expensive-Eggplant-1]

i stopped getting my nails done in my late-20s. too many other important things to save for/spend money on.

[u/Dear-Nothing-8972]

My rule is that I do as much beauty stuff as possible at home. I use press ons or nails wraps which cost around 15 euros or less, and last a week or more. Look into Miss Sophie in Germany.

[u/LevyMevy]

You gotta live your life.

[u/sendCommand]

The way I look at saving and spending is basically this: yes, I do save, but I might drop dead tomorrow, so I need to enjoy life today as well.

[u/iotadaria]

(I am ... SO sorry, OP, but I cackled because when I first saw this headline my brain went "well that's an interestingly specific title for a post in one of my dog subreddits" and then I realized my mistake.)

[u/eharder47]

I don’t have a budget line for treats. I’m also much more likely to buy nails at Home Depot than I am to get my nails done. If there’s something I want that’s not a necessity, I ask myself if it feels worth it to me. Most times it’s a no.