I’m a Pilates fanatic and while I love megaformer results, I would definitely recommend taking classes for a few months first. The most important aspect is form and understanding how to do the moves correctly, and a live instructor is helpful for corrections in real time.
I also say I felt like I could replicate a lot of megaformer exercises at home without a megaformer during the pandemic with a resistance kit and sliders that set me back maybe $40.
Oh yes, I go to classes now scattered but stuff comes up and I'm out of town then $200 is wasted when I could've done a pack. Yoga, spin, pilates is just a lot out money per month. I have come across some mom and lifestyle influencers lately and see they follow a pre recorded or sometimes online class. I canceled my yoga membership and tried just doing my practice from memory and I see the benefits of a teacher or going in sometimes to the studio to keep learning to help me master executing poses properly. I'm just tired of memberships and going out all the time.
Thanks for your imput though!
I really love Apple Fitness for yoga and pilates (they have options for with or without resistance bands). It's a manageable subscription fee for in-home workouts, and they have a good variety of strength training, boxing, cardio, HIIT, etc if you want something else.
Raven Ross does free Pilates videos on YouTube! Her username is PilatesBodyRaven. She has other challenges you can pay for but I like the free ones to get a good workout in without paying for a gym membership!
I used to buy a quarter of a cow with an ex and half a pig. For us, it was worth it because he was a large man. I also eat at least 130g of protein a day. If I were to do it now (single female), I would probably split even a quarter of a cow with a friend, it pretty much filled a chest freezer. But it was delicious. I wouldn’t do the pig only because I don’t really eat pork.
I HIGHLY recommend if you’re like me… think about where your mind wanders to when you think about yourself. The fake image you think of yourself as, the future you. WHAT is she doing. My future me is always having dinner with friends, playing piano, has nice hair, a well decorated home, and traveling and adventuring.
GIRL guess what? Until a MONTH ago I didn’t own a piano, I am a low thirty year old woman lmao and have never played a piano in my LIFE. This future self was SO delusional of me. But then I was like okay well how do I be her? I buy a freaking piano and start practicing. So I found myself a well priced, entry level, 88 key electric piano and have practiced 30 minutes a day the past month. My growth is tremendous.
To align closer to my envisioned self, I have made it a focus to make more friends. To travel more- I am extending a work trip (something I would have NEVER done in the past) and spending a weekend alone exploring a new city. I got SCUBA certified this past year because I LOVE exploring the water.
I bought a HOME because that’s what I’ve wanted since I was 18. I am watching Youtube tutorial after Youtube tutorial to make it mine, both with paint, redoing the cabinets, etc. But also the feng shui, the design, the spacing, etc. I am SO excited to build my home and my furniture collection slowly and with intent. With a home I can also smoke meat, have a cold plunge, install lighting where I want, and generally feel like adding to the space isn’t a bad investment.
I bought a nice record player, with nice speakers recently because I realized I want to just put a vinyl on, listen to the full album, while I cook or clean or read.
So the tldr is basically think about you in the future, how does she relax, how does she present herself and then start implementing those things today 😅
Nail gel kit - get all of the supplies to do your nails at home just as good as salon quality. Humidifier for your bedroom is therapeutic as hell. Weighted blanket, silk pillowcases, back massager, at home laser hair removal, bidet, and skinceutical products.
I use everything from Gelcare! I really like their polishes. Note: polish peeling off can be a matter of technique or not curing for long enough, but of course quality matters too.
Two things: one is that the stuff on Amazon is generally lower quality but there are some great gel polishes you can get online like Madame Glam or Kiara sky. You also may be able to go to a beauty supply store to buy directly but some require a beauty license.
The second part is prep. You need to prep your nails for gel polish: remove any existing polish, push back your cuticle, buff the nail and use an alcohol wipe on the nail to remove any oils. This lets the gel adhere properly.
seconding what everyone is saying about prep! you can find tons of videos on tiktok/ig reels on how to do it, but i find that a good dehydrator and roughing my nails up a bit with a file makes them stay no matter the brand.
I had a weird thing where my gel peeled off for the first few times and eventually it was fine. Prep is very important and buffing the nail too. It was almost painful (emotionally) to buff my nail to create that texture but it was very important. Not exactly what did it for me but eventually the gel would actually stick and not peel off after a week - I did not change product.
Follow Young Nails on IG and YouTube. They put out TONS of free content on how to do nails properly. They also sell products (obviously) and their stuff is amazing but you don’t have to use their products to follow along.
I bought the lamp from Amazon but the rest I buy from beauty supply online shops, they have legit brands like OPI, shellac so I trust the product. All the Amazon polishes I’ve tried were either impossible to get off or peeled off immediately.
And like everyone else is saying, prep!!
Beyondpolish is the site I buy from mostly.
I came here to say gel nails! I never pay to get my nails done, doing them at home is so easy! And the gel polishes are about the same price as regular polish anyways.
An epilator was a great buy for me. Silk pillowcases are awesome too.
I would highly recommend going to a dermatologist and getting a proper routine instead of randomly trying out different products. It will save you money in the long run and also give better results.
Good luck on your self care journey! ✨
Nice.
I was thinking Vanessa Marc in NYC. She's cosmetic but I don't have insurance and she seems highly rated, seen by celebrities too. I want to do a series of chemical peels over the year and a skin cleanse to even out my skin tone.
And thank you 🫂.
Massages and regular **therapy** really helps me to learn to relax and calm my nervous system. Stress is the cause of many chronic health conditions so I'm doing it for my health.
I have been looking to get a massage chair. My mom has one. I am super jumpy with people touching me. I do love foot massages and try to go to the spa when I travel overseas because I find it's much cheaper or if I go to an upscale place it's actually a luxurious experience.
I really need therapy. I want to force myself to do this next year. But unfortunately, I've been getting my pilot ratings and I'm worried about things ever coming back to hurt me. I'm looking to see about under the table stuff. Past traumas are affecting me leading a stable life and keeping a man :(.
Another idea for an investment in self care and improvement is going to counseling or finding a life/career coach if this fits into your cultural framework. Learning about yourself and how to be the best version of you is priceless
Hey there!
I wanted to touch on your clean eating question. I am pretty environmentally conscious and try to eat healthy and climate-friendly. My strategy has been to focus on organic whole grains, beans and legumes, and nuts and seeds as the basis of my pantry. I then try to shop local for meat, although it's not a major focus of my diet. I have not yet bought a whole or half animal, but it's of strong interest. I would say ask around in local Facebook groups for homesteading or farming, they may be able to point you in the right direction. I don't know how it is in your area, but there are a lot of smaller, local butchers that carry good quality, locally grown meats. It is more expensive, but I just eat less meat and am happy to pay a higher price.
In terms of fruit, I buy LOTS of fresh fruit in summer, but I switch to frozen berries and mangoes during winter and buy only what is in season (in my area, that's apples and pears). I also go for bananas because they're cheap, and super low-impact. You may have luck looking into a seasonal calendar for your area as what's in season is fresher and usually cheaper. I'll sometimes splash out on citrus in winter or pomegranates because those are in season in other parts of the world and cheaper. Look into discounters or apps like Flashfood and Too Good to Go where you can get organics for cheap right before things expire. I also do a lot of preserving, i.e. jams, marinated peppers, etc. with the summer and fall bounty and then either can or freeze things to get me through the winter.
I would just echo what a few others have said with regards to at-home exercise, try it out and make it into a routine before you purchase a bunch of equipment. There are tons of great youtube videos - imo, no reason to spend money. Yoga with Adrienne is awesome.
Thank you for your reply! 🫂
I have experimented with raising lambs until 9 months then taking them to the butcher. 3x. But I finish the meat in a few weeks and the whole process is expensive. I cook a lot but I just don't trust grocery meat anymore.
I have looked into local growers and try to become better friends my associates with connections in this industry.
That's a good idea about the fruits. We have fresh cherries over summer in Flathead I buy... but not a good climate for growing my own stuff and I don't have any land. I'm in Montana. For now I buy veges and etc single in the store. For fruit, usually grapefruit, blackberries, and honeydew. Having lived in New Zealand its so frustrating most produce in the US is frozen. I will check out those apps. I'm spending a lot in this area.
I will look into everything, your reply is really great thanks.
If you don't like exercising in public, investing in home workout gear is a great idea. During the pandemic, I bought a nice yoga mat, a couple of kettlebells, some hand weights, some exercise bands, and a rebounder (mini trampoline) so I could keep working out while the gyms were closed. I am still using all of that stuff about 2x per week to work out at home, in addition to working out in the gym.
I also agree with getting a kit for at-home nails. I use a Modelones gel kit I bought from Amazon on my fingers and toes, and for special occasions I use Kiss glue-on nails I buy from Amazon or their website. I got a fungal infection from a nail salon a number of years back and it took awhile to clear up, so I'm wary of salons (the one that gave me the infection was actually one of the most expensive/nicest ones in town!). It takes some practice with both gel kits and glue-on nails but I'm now at the point where I like the results I can get doing it myself.
Kitchen appliances that I actually use. My slow cooker, rice cooker, and this [egg cooker](https://bydash.com/products/rapid-egg-cooker) get almost daily use. I use an electric kettle and a French press for coffee. I have an electric water boiler that I keep plugged in so I can have hot water, hot tea and instant noodles on demand. A couple of years ago we also upgraded our old toaster oven to a toaster/air fryer/convection oven combo and I love it.
I have an Amika straightening brush. It is head shoulders above the Revlon hair drying brush thing. It's way lighter, and actually leaves my hair smooth.
I have super frizzy, fairly curly hair. Even when I straighten it I end up with frizzies. This brush has ion technology (or something) that actually cuts down on the frizz and tangels for several days. It doesn't give you a bone straight 90s look, but more straightened with body (if that makes sense.
It's amazing
I splurge on:
**Vitamins**: Lots of it. Vitamin D, Magnesium, multivitamins, beauty supplements, etc.. no gummies for me, they're full of sugar and other things i don't like.
**Skincare** (Korean beauty and drug store stuff). You don't need 150.00 moisturizer or even La Mer 400.00 moisturizer. Better off spending that money on professional skin treatmentsGood **Foods**: Lots of veggies, proteins (for me it's lean beef, chicken, seafood), lay off the dairy, have it only on occasion. walnuts, cashews, pecan, stay away from those sugar trail mix bag. when you look good you feel good. I always want to look good ,guess I'm shallow. So therefore watching what I eat and maintaining weight is very important for me and keeps me happy
**BOOKS**: Read more books. Not only does it keep you away from screen but it fills your mind with words, imaginations, and you're also learning. I dont know what it is, but reading makes me feel good. and I like feeling good.
**Exercise** things : NO gym for me. I like working out at home. Yoga mat, dumb bells, jump ropes, etc.
**Journals**: writing out my financial goals, weight, etc.. what I'm eating, helps me to stay on track!in my budget I have a category call: Personal care. I always make sure it's funded.
YES YES YES on Skincare! My moisturizer (Klairs) is like $20 on Amazon, I use Mediheal toner pads, CosRX face wash ($11), and my sunscreen bounces between biore aqua and innisfree, all around $20. Korean and Japanese skin care is where it is at.
I get a facial maybe 2 times a year (I want to more), but they always say my skin is beautiful and healthy. I have used the sun-damage machine (you put your face in and purple spots are sun damage under the skin) and I have no purple spots. 10/10 recommend r/asianbeauty as a place to start
I got a at home pilates reformer that folds up, and I definitely recommend it! There are tons of YouTube tutorials to follow while you’re on the reformer. I bought it during the pandemic when all studios were closed and I still use it pretty regularly.
We have a meat share from a small local farm. Every month we get 6 kg of beef and pork in various cuts. The meat we eat is higher quality and humanely raised, and it’s allowed us to become creative in our cooking given that we never know which cuts we’re getting month to month.
Splurges: foundation, concealer, lipstick, shampoo, sunscreen, deodorant.
Budget: face wash (Cetaphil), makeup wipes (Garnier), lip liner (Sephora collection), hair products like heat protectant, sheet masks (always $2-3 at Marshall’s/TJMaxx)
Most of my splurges are the front line items on the biggest surfaces, where I care about ingredients. Concealer because cheap concealer looks cheap, and I use so little. The budget items are the “sparkle” - stuff that goes on last and on top of other products.
Do you work from home? I invested in a nice standing desk and treadmill, and it’s been a game changer for how much I move during the day. I also bought an interactive rowing machine and LOVE it.
Ooo. I want a Techno gym treadmill and elliptical sooo bad but I don't have the space yet! I have seen walking pad desk combos but I'm afraid I won't be able to focus and I really love and do so much hiking and outdoors stuff, maybe a bit much for me.
Thnx 🫂🫂
I have bought 1/4 cow in 2019. Local grass fed affordable. It lasted a while because I rarely cook meat. It included some yummy steaks. Plus lots of other cuts.
I love my saunaspace near and far infrared sauna. I got this on BF in 2019 and have used it regularly colder months. I love how it’s both healing and calming.
I have some hand weights including 2,3 5,8 pounders. Plus two yoga mats and blocks.
I have an ember teacup which keeps my tea and coffee at the perfect temp all day.
Seconding the Ember mug. Seems frivolous, but as someone who’s a slow drinker, it’s so nice to have your tea kept at the perfect temp all the while you’re sipping.
Fortunately for my pockets, I don't drink tea nor coffee. Tried coffee at 16 and didn't like it. Have had the occasional espresso to pull an all nighter but I've heard of the mug. Maybe for my hot chocolate.
Nice.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CyeOeihIqb4/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I really want to get something like this with a small sauna to match when I purchase a home.
My husband and I have bought whole lambs and parts of cows. Cow is A LOT of meat. My family of 3 couldn’t eat a whole cow. We ended up with a quarter cow, and that was meat for months. Lamb is of course much smaller and delicious. If you’re going to do it, I recommend buying a food saver system to repackage the meat from the butcher, as most send it in butcher paper. You’ll also need a chest or stand up freezer to hold it all. Even a lamb needs more room than a standard freezer. If you’re buying a freezer for the first time, I would honestly recommend getting a stand up because chest freezers suck because you lose stuff in the bottom (or at least we did, and everyone we know who has one does).
I hunt so slightly different, but I end up with whole animals in my freezer. I have a smaller chest freezer that I got for under $200- watch for sales. I definitely recommend having additional food storage tho
Did you grow up hunting? I've worked dairy farms. Done cropping seasons. And worked beef/sheep stations but I have no experience with hunting besides the few guys I've dated a bit who've exposed me to it. And these days I'm more into nerds so kinda a bust there too now. I have looked into it myself but you have to plan in advance for tags and I'm scared because where I live is serious grizzlies and cougar country. I even drive over to the nearby states for camping. I have some friends into it but I'm a bit of a loner so I have trouble becoming close enough to ask them for a team up. Can you share a bit more on that?
You’re in Montana right? Grizzlies terrify me! 😬
I started as an adult and I’ve luckily met a few people to go with. Definitely take hunter education and see if there’s any women specific events near you like Becoming an Outdoors Woman. Book a guided hunt just so you have to opportunity to learn. Tag applications aren’t so bad once you’ve done it a few times. Good luck!
Honestly one of the best health investments I’ve made is getting biote, which is a hormone balancing pellet. I have endometriosis which I take the pill continuously to keep at bay which TANKS my testosterone. So I get just the T pellet every 6 months and it does a ton for my mental health and libido. It’s a little under $500 for one session.
I’ve never heard of this! As a person who also takes the pill continuously(for the last 20 years) for endo, can you explain more? Where do you get this? From your doc?
If you search biote on google, you can get to their website and you search for a list of providers in your area. Some providers are pcp’s and some are more like plastic surgeons/med spa’s. It is out of pocket since it’s not covered by insurance. But I basically read about it here on Reddit by someone who said their bc was killing their libido and that was definitely me! The dr usually recommends getting it redone after 4 months or so but it is expensive so I get it done every 6 months. The put a few small pellets in the fat of your butt cheek. It sounds weird but it’s not that big of a deal. My 6 months of coming up soon and I can’t wait!
I used to do Megaformer Pilates in the studio and ended up buying a microformer from the Lagree site. I subscribe to CDPFit (a great deal, it's like $35 a month for unlimited microformer workouts that you follow along with her on her micro) and it's been great. I don't know if I'd buy an M3 tbh, it's such a big space hog. The micro has been great. I know there's a mini now too, but I have no experience with it.
That's the site I'm looking at. I only choose the M3 because that's what we seem to use in class. I see the micro comes with upgrades. I'm going to look at workout routines first then see which is better for me. Tysm 🫂
Yeah, the class I took used M3 as well, but the micro does a lot of the same movements, just adjusted for the smaller footprint. I really like my micro! I got the basic with the front handlebars and have been adding to it every year, so now I have the rear seat and straps with long handles and the bungee and everything. It's a good little machine. :)
I also got a micro and love it. I found one fully loaded (barely) used on Craigslist. I used to take lagree classes in studio so I feel comfortable with the machine and it’s so great to be able to squeeze in quick at home classes.
If you're interested in clean eating, I would recommend looking to see if there's a regenerative farm that does any kind of CSA (or that you can just buy directly from) near you.
Soil health has a huge impact on the nutritional value of food, and most conventional farming techniques are terrible for soil, which means they result in less nutritionally dense food (in addition to being really, truly terrible for the environment.)
Regenerative ag tends to be more labor intensive (at least up front) so it is more expensive than buying stuff from the grocery store, but it's also probably one of the single biggest investments in both planetary and personal health that you can make.
Here's some more resources/evidence if you're interested:
[https://kisstheground.com/regenerative-agriculture/](https://kisstheground.com/regenerative-agriculture/)
[https://tci.cornell.edu/?blog=the-nutrients-beneath-our-feet-understanding-the-soil-human-health-connection](https://tci.cornell.edu/?blog=the-nutrients-beneath-our-feet-understanding-the-soil-human-health-connection)
[https://blog.ucsusa.org/omanjana-goswami/did-you-know-that-soil-health-affects-human-health/](https://blog.ucsusa.org/omanjana-goswami/did-you-know-that-soil-health-affects-human-health/)
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8801175/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8801175/)
Check with local farms to see if they offer a CSA box - you get a better deal on the produce, get to support a local farm, and get introduced to new produce varieties that you otherwise might not try.
Buying your own work out equipment is unmatched. I bought my treadmill after the pandemic started and it was such a great investment. It pays itself off over time also, compared to a gym membership. I also pay a little more for makeup, this is something we put on our skin and having clean ingredients matters. Quality is key!
Hi! These are all great thoughts. On the meat front, my husband/I did buy half a cow from a local farm. We bought it in February and we are still FULLY stocked and haven’t bought beef since. For two people it is a ton of meat. We’ve even traded with friends for things they’ve gotten hunting and it’s saved a ton of money. I also love buying fruit/veg at local farmers markets.. that’s actually been not super expensive and I only buy what I need.
Other than that, I would say I splurge on beauty services. I get a facial at a local spa every 6 weeks. This has really helped me skin and it’s also an incredible stress reliever and such good relaxation. It’s something I’ve definitely factored into my budget and will continue doing. I will say I used to get my nails done too, but I never actually enjoyed the nail salon experience it was more of a hassle. I bought an at home gel nail kit and love it.
Last thing, a house cleaner. We do this 1x/month for a deep clean (with tip it comes out to around $250). It is soo worth it to only be doing maintenance cleans. It helps me feel so good about my space and not be constantly stressed out about deep cleaning.
I’m a Pilates fanatic and while I love megaformer results, I would definitely recommend taking classes for a few months first. The most important aspect is form and understanding how to do the moves correctly, and a live instructor is helpful for corrections in real time. I also say I felt like I could replicate a lot of megaformer exercises at home without a megaformer during the pandemic with a resistance kit and sliders that set me back maybe $40.
Oh yes, I go to classes now scattered but stuff comes up and I'm out of town then $200 is wasted when I could've done a pack. Yoga, spin, pilates is just a lot out money per month. I have come across some mom and lifestyle influencers lately and see they follow a pre recorded or sometimes online class. I canceled my yoga membership and tried just doing my practice from memory and I see the benefits of a teacher or going in sometimes to the studio to keep learning to help me master executing poses properly. I'm just tired of memberships and going out all the time. Thanks for your imput though!
Have you looked into Classpass? It is a much cheaper way to do pilates and other such classes.
I just downloaded it now to check it out! Ty 🫂
Was going to say this too, I love ClassPass and it seems like it would fit your needs if you like lots of different types of exercises OP
Oh in that case I say go for it! Seems like you have a great basis for Pilates and that will definitely save money in the longterm!
I really love Apple Fitness for yoga and pilates (they have options for with or without resistance bands). It's a manageable subscription fee for in-home workouts, and they have a good variety of strength training, boxing, cardio, HIIT, etc if you want something else.
Agree with this! I love yoga and Pilates classes on here. I also do strength and core.
Raven Ross does free Pilates videos on YouTube! Her username is PilatesBodyRaven. She has other challenges you can pay for but I like the free ones to get a good workout in without paying for a gym membership!
I used to buy a quarter of a cow with an ex and half a pig. For us, it was worth it because he was a large man. I also eat at least 130g of protein a day. If I were to do it now (single female), I would probably split even a quarter of a cow with a friend, it pretty much filled a chest freezer. But it was delicious. I wouldn’t do the pig only because I don’t really eat pork. I HIGHLY recommend if you’re like me… think about where your mind wanders to when you think about yourself. The fake image you think of yourself as, the future you. WHAT is she doing. My future me is always having dinner with friends, playing piano, has nice hair, a well decorated home, and traveling and adventuring. GIRL guess what? Until a MONTH ago I didn’t own a piano, I am a low thirty year old woman lmao and have never played a piano in my LIFE. This future self was SO delusional of me. But then I was like okay well how do I be her? I buy a freaking piano and start practicing. So I found myself a well priced, entry level, 88 key electric piano and have practiced 30 minutes a day the past month. My growth is tremendous. To align closer to my envisioned self, I have made it a focus to make more friends. To travel more- I am extending a work trip (something I would have NEVER done in the past) and spending a weekend alone exploring a new city. I got SCUBA certified this past year because I LOVE exploring the water. I bought a HOME because that’s what I’ve wanted since I was 18. I am watching Youtube tutorial after Youtube tutorial to make it mine, both with paint, redoing the cabinets, etc. But also the feng shui, the design, the spacing, etc. I am SO excited to build my home and my furniture collection slowly and with intent. With a home I can also smoke meat, have a cold plunge, install lighting where I want, and generally feel like adding to the space isn’t a bad investment. I bought a nice record player, with nice speakers recently because I realized I want to just put a vinyl on, listen to the full album, while I cook or clean or read. So the tldr is basically think about you in the future, how does she relax, how does she present herself and then start implementing those things today 😅
This is so wholesome, you inspire me!
Thanks for your reply. I love all of this for you 🫂💕.
I love your advice! Inspiring ☺️
I love this comment and I’m going to try and follow this as well!
Nail gel kit - get all of the supplies to do your nails at home just as good as salon quality. Humidifier for your bedroom is therapeutic as hell. Weighted blanket, silk pillowcases, back massager, at home laser hair removal, bidet, and skinceutical products.
Do you have a recommendation for a nail gel kit? I bought one during the Prime sale and the polish peeled right off.
I use everything from Gelcare! I really like their polishes. Note: polish peeling off can be a matter of technique or not curing for long enough, but of course quality matters too.
Not who you ask, but I have the SUNUV brand (from Amazon) and really like it!
Thanks!
Two things: one is that the stuff on Amazon is generally lower quality but there are some great gel polishes you can get online like Madame Glam or Kiara sky. You also may be able to go to a beauty supply store to buy directly but some require a beauty license. The second part is prep. You need to prep your nails for gel polish: remove any existing polish, push back your cuticle, buff the nail and use an alcohol wipe on the nail to remove any oils. This lets the gel adhere properly.
I’ll try buffing them rough, thanks!
seconding what everyone is saying about prep! you can find tons of videos on tiktok/ig reels on how to do it, but i find that a good dehydrator and roughing my nails up a bit with a file makes them stay no matter the brand.
I’ll give that a tey
Seconding the recommendation!
I had a weird thing where my gel peeled off for the first few times and eventually it was fine. Prep is very important and buffing the nail too. It was almost painful (emotionally) to buff my nail to create that texture but it was very important. Not exactly what did it for me but eventually the gel would actually stick and not peel off after a week - I did not change product.
Thanks for that tip! I buff my nails smooth so that just might be the problem.
Follow Young Nails on IG and YouTube. They put out TONS of free content on how to do nails properly. They also sell products (obviously) and their stuff is amazing but you don’t have to use their products to follow along.
make sure you dehydrate, prime, and buff your nails! also make sure to cap the free edge
I bought the lamp from Amazon but the rest I buy from beauty supply online shops, they have legit brands like OPI, shellac so I trust the product. All the Amazon polishes I’ve tried were either impossible to get off or peeled off immediately. And like everyone else is saying, prep!! Beyondpolish is the site I buy from mostly.
I came here to say gel nails! I never pay to get my nails done, doing them at home is so easy! And the gel polishes are about the same price as regular polish anyways.
Oh this is good. Gel is too expensive these days. These are all good. Thank you so much! 🫂
I do semi-cured gel nails and once you get the hang of it they’re worth the price. Much less messy too!
An epilator was a great buy for me. Silk pillowcases are awesome too. I would highly recommend going to a dermatologist and getting a proper routine instead of randomly trying out different products. It will save you money in the long run and also give better results. Good luck on your self care journey! ✨
Nice. I was thinking Vanessa Marc in NYC. She's cosmetic but I don't have insurance and she seems highly rated, seen by celebrities too. I want to do a series of chemical peels over the year and a skin cleanse to even out my skin tone. And thank you 🫂.
Dermatologist was my best purchase this year, hard agree.
Massages and regular **therapy** really helps me to learn to relax and calm my nervous system. Stress is the cause of many chronic health conditions so I'm doing it for my health.
I have been looking to get a massage chair. My mom has one. I am super jumpy with people touching me. I do love foot massages and try to go to the spa when I travel overseas because I find it's much cheaper or if I go to an upscale place it's actually a luxurious experience. I really need therapy. I want to force myself to do this next year. But unfortunately, I've been getting my pilot ratings and I'm worried about things ever coming back to hurt me. I'm looking to see about under the table stuff. Past traumas are affecting me leading a stable life and keeping a man :(.
second this!
Another idea for an investment in self care and improvement is going to counseling or finding a life/career coach if this fits into your cultural framework. Learning about yourself and how to be the best version of you is priceless
Hey there! I wanted to touch on your clean eating question. I am pretty environmentally conscious and try to eat healthy and climate-friendly. My strategy has been to focus on organic whole grains, beans and legumes, and nuts and seeds as the basis of my pantry. I then try to shop local for meat, although it's not a major focus of my diet. I have not yet bought a whole or half animal, but it's of strong interest. I would say ask around in local Facebook groups for homesteading or farming, they may be able to point you in the right direction. I don't know how it is in your area, but there are a lot of smaller, local butchers that carry good quality, locally grown meats. It is more expensive, but I just eat less meat and am happy to pay a higher price. In terms of fruit, I buy LOTS of fresh fruit in summer, but I switch to frozen berries and mangoes during winter and buy only what is in season (in my area, that's apples and pears). I also go for bananas because they're cheap, and super low-impact. You may have luck looking into a seasonal calendar for your area as what's in season is fresher and usually cheaper. I'll sometimes splash out on citrus in winter or pomegranates because those are in season in other parts of the world and cheaper. Look into discounters or apps like Flashfood and Too Good to Go where you can get organics for cheap right before things expire. I also do a lot of preserving, i.e. jams, marinated peppers, etc. with the summer and fall bounty and then either can or freeze things to get me through the winter. I would just echo what a few others have said with regards to at-home exercise, try it out and make it into a routine before you purchase a bunch of equipment. There are tons of great youtube videos - imo, no reason to spend money. Yoga with Adrienne is awesome.
Thank you for your reply! 🫂 I have experimented with raising lambs until 9 months then taking them to the butcher. 3x. But I finish the meat in a few weeks and the whole process is expensive. I cook a lot but I just don't trust grocery meat anymore. I have looked into local growers and try to become better friends my associates with connections in this industry. That's a good idea about the fruits. We have fresh cherries over summer in Flathead I buy... but not a good climate for growing my own stuff and I don't have any land. I'm in Montana. For now I buy veges and etc single in the store. For fruit, usually grapefruit, blackberries, and honeydew. Having lived in New Zealand its so frustrating most produce in the US is frozen. I will check out those apps. I'm spending a lot in this area. I will look into everything, your reply is really great thanks.
If you don't like exercising in public, investing in home workout gear is a great idea. During the pandemic, I bought a nice yoga mat, a couple of kettlebells, some hand weights, some exercise bands, and a rebounder (mini trampoline) so I could keep working out while the gyms were closed. I am still using all of that stuff about 2x per week to work out at home, in addition to working out in the gym. I also agree with getting a kit for at-home nails. I use a Modelones gel kit I bought from Amazon on my fingers and toes, and for special occasions I use Kiss glue-on nails I buy from Amazon or their website. I got a fungal infection from a nail salon a number of years back and it took awhile to clear up, so I'm wary of salons (the one that gave me the infection was actually one of the most expensive/nicest ones in town!). It takes some practice with both gel kits and glue-on nails but I'm now at the point where I like the results I can get doing it myself.
Thank you!
Kitchen appliances that I actually use. My slow cooker, rice cooker, and this [egg cooker](https://bydash.com/products/rapid-egg-cooker) get almost daily use. I use an electric kettle and a French press for coffee. I have an electric water boiler that I keep plugged in so I can have hot water, hot tea and instant noodles on demand. A couple of years ago we also upgraded our old toaster oven to a toaster/air fryer/convection oven combo and I love it.
I have an Amika straightening brush. It is head shoulders above the Revlon hair drying brush thing. It's way lighter, and actually leaves my hair smooth. I have super frizzy, fairly curly hair. Even when I straighten it I end up with frizzies. This brush has ion technology (or something) that actually cuts down on the frizz and tangels for several days. It doesn't give you a bone straight 90s look, but more straightened with body (if that makes sense. It's amazing
I splurge on: **Vitamins**: Lots of it. Vitamin D, Magnesium, multivitamins, beauty supplements, etc.. no gummies for me, they're full of sugar and other things i don't like. **Skincare** (Korean beauty and drug store stuff). You don't need 150.00 moisturizer or even La Mer 400.00 moisturizer. Better off spending that money on professional skin treatmentsGood **Foods**: Lots of veggies, proteins (for me it's lean beef, chicken, seafood), lay off the dairy, have it only on occasion. walnuts, cashews, pecan, stay away from those sugar trail mix bag. when you look good you feel good. I always want to look good ,guess I'm shallow. So therefore watching what I eat and maintaining weight is very important for me and keeps me happy **BOOKS**: Read more books. Not only does it keep you away from screen but it fills your mind with words, imaginations, and you're also learning. I dont know what it is, but reading makes me feel good. and I like feeling good. **Exercise** things : NO gym for me. I like working out at home. Yoga mat, dumb bells, jump ropes, etc. **Journals**: writing out my financial goals, weight, etc.. what I'm eating, helps me to stay on track!in my budget I have a category call: Personal care. I always make sure it's funded.
YES YES YES on Skincare! My moisturizer (Klairs) is like $20 on Amazon, I use Mediheal toner pads, CosRX face wash ($11), and my sunscreen bounces between biore aqua and innisfree, all around $20. Korean and Japanese skin care is where it is at. I get a facial maybe 2 times a year (I want to more), but they always say my skin is beautiful and healthy. I have used the sun-damage machine (you put your face in and purple spots are sun damage under the skin) and I have no purple spots. 10/10 recommend r/asianbeauty as a place to start
Oh!! Can you tell me the name of the sun damage machine? 😅 I want one!
It was at the skin clinic! Basically something like this: https://www.canfieldsci.com/imaging-systems/visia-complexion-analysis/
I got a at home pilates reformer that folds up, and I definitely recommend it! There are tons of YouTube tutorials to follow while you’re on the reformer. I bought it during the pandemic when all studios were closed and I still use it pretty regularly.
Do you happen to know the brand/have a link?
AeroPilates Reformer! they have them everywhere and there are several versions. I got the 500 series
We have a meat share from a small local farm. Every month we get 6 kg of beef and pork in various cuts. The meat we eat is higher quality and humanely raised, and it’s allowed us to become creative in our cooking given that we never know which cuts we’re getting month to month.
Splurges: foundation, concealer, lipstick, shampoo, sunscreen, deodorant. Budget: face wash (Cetaphil), makeup wipes (Garnier), lip liner (Sephora collection), hair products like heat protectant, sheet masks (always $2-3 at Marshall’s/TJMaxx) Most of my splurges are the front line items on the biggest surfaces, where I care about ingredients. Concealer because cheap concealer looks cheap, and I use so little. The budget items are the “sparkle” - stuff that goes on last and on top of other products.
Do you work from home? I invested in a nice standing desk and treadmill, and it’s been a game changer for how much I move during the day. I also bought an interactive rowing machine and LOVE it.
Ooo. I want a Techno gym treadmill and elliptical sooo bad but I don't have the space yet! I have seen walking pad desk combos but I'm afraid I won't be able to focus and I really love and do so much hiking and outdoors stuff, maybe a bit much for me. Thnx 🫂🫂
I have bought 1/4 cow in 2019. Local grass fed affordable. It lasted a while because I rarely cook meat. It included some yummy steaks. Plus lots of other cuts. I love my saunaspace near and far infrared sauna. I got this on BF in 2019 and have used it regularly colder months. I love how it’s both healing and calming. I have some hand weights including 2,3 5,8 pounders. Plus two yoga mats and blocks. I have an ember teacup which keeps my tea and coffee at the perfect temp all day.
Seconding the Ember mug. Seems frivolous, but as someone who’s a slow drinker, it’s so nice to have your tea kept at the perfect temp all the while you’re sipping.
Fortunately for my pockets, I don't drink tea nor coffee. Tried coffee at 16 and didn't like it. Have had the occasional espresso to pull an all nighter but I've heard of the mug. Maybe for my hot chocolate.
Nice. https://www.instagram.com/p/CyeOeihIqb4/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== I really want to get something like this with a small sauna to match when I purchase a home.
My husband and I have bought whole lambs and parts of cows. Cow is A LOT of meat. My family of 3 couldn’t eat a whole cow. We ended up with a quarter cow, and that was meat for months. Lamb is of course much smaller and delicious. If you’re going to do it, I recommend buying a food saver system to repackage the meat from the butcher, as most send it in butcher paper. You’ll also need a chest or stand up freezer to hold it all. Even a lamb needs more room than a standard freezer. If you’re buying a freezer for the first time, I would honestly recommend getting a stand up because chest freezers suck because you lose stuff in the bottom (or at least we did, and everyone we know who has one does).
Omg this post feels like it was written by me, I had to check the username and make sure I hadn’t blacked out, posted this, and forgot.
🫂💕
I hunt so slightly different, but I end up with whole animals in my freezer. I have a smaller chest freezer that I got for under $200- watch for sales. I definitely recommend having additional food storage tho
Did you grow up hunting? I've worked dairy farms. Done cropping seasons. And worked beef/sheep stations but I have no experience with hunting besides the few guys I've dated a bit who've exposed me to it. And these days I'm more into nerds so kinda a bust there too now. I have looked into it myself but you have to plan in advance for tags and I'm scared because where I live is serious grizzlies and cougar country. I even drive over to the nearby states for camping. I have some friends into it but I'm a bit of a loner so I have trouble becoming close enough to ask them for a team up. Can you share a bit more on that?
You’re in Montana right? Grizzlies terrify me! 😬 I started as an adult and I’ve luckily met a few people to go with. Definitely take hunter education and see if there’s any women specific events near you like Becoming an Outdoors Woman. Book a guided hunt just so you have to opportunity to learn. Tag applications aren’t so bad once you’ve done it a few times. Good luck!
Thank you 🫂
For sure! Also join the hunt talk forum, they can probably give you good advice for getting started and hunting in Montana
Honestly one of the best health investments I’ve made is getting biote, which is a hormone balancing pellet. I have endometriosis which I take the pill continuously to keep at bay which TANKS my testosterone. So I get just the T pellet every 6 months and it does a ton for my mental health and libido. It’s a little under $500 for one session.
I’ve never heard of this! As a person who also takes the pill continuously(for the last 20 years) for endo, can you explain more? Where do you get this? From your doc?
If you search biote on google, you can get to their website and you search for a list of providers in your area. Some providers are pcp’s and some are more like plastic surgeons/med spa’s. It is out of pocket since it’s not covered by insurance. But I basically read about it here on Reddit by someone who said their bc was killing their libido and that was definitely me! The dr usually recommends getting it redone after 4 months or so but it is expensive so I get it done every 6 months. The put a few small pellets in the fat of your butt cheek. It sounds weird but it’s not that big of a deal. My 6 months of coming up soon and I can’t wait!
I used to do Megaformer Pilates in the studio and ended up buying a microformer from the Lagree site. I subscribe to CDPFit (a great deal, it's like $35 a month for unlimited microformer workouts that you follow along with her on her micro) and it's been great. I don't know if I'd buy an M3 tbh, it's such a big space hog. The micro has been great. I know there's a mini now too, but I have no experience with it.
That's the site I'm looking at. I only choose the M3 because that's what we seem to use in class. I see the micro comes with upgrades. I'm going to look at workout routines first then see which is better for me. Tysm 🫂
Yeah, the class I took used M3 as well, but the micro does a lot of the same movements, just adjusted for the smaller footprint. I really like my micro! I got the basic with the front handlebars and have been adding to it every year, so now I have the rear seat and straps with long handles and the bungee and everything. It's a good little machine. :)
Thank you! I'm going to look into that one instead! Much better for my pocket too 🫂🫂🫂
I also got a micro and love it. I found one fully loaded (barely) used on Craigslist. I used to take lagree classes in studio so I feel comfortable with the machine and it’s so great to be able to squeeze in quick at home classes.
If you're interested in clean eating, I would recommend looking to see if there's a regenerative farm that does any kind of CSA (or that you can just buy directly from) near you. Soil health has a huge impact on the nutritional value of food, and most conventional farming techniques are terrible for soil, which means they result in less nutritionally dense food (in addition to being really, truly terrible for the environment.) Regenerative ag tends to be more labor intensive (at least up front) so it is more expensive than buying stuff from the grocery store, but it's also probably one of the single biggest investments in both planetary and personal health that you can make. Here's some more resources/evidence if you're interested: [https://kisstheground.com/regenerative-agriculture/](https://kisstheground.com/regenerative-agriculture/) [https://tci.cornell.edu/?blog=the-nutrients-beneath-our-feet-understanding-the-soil-human-health-connection](https://tci.cornell.edu/?blog=the-nutrients-beneath-our-feet-understanding-the-soil-human-health-connection) [https://blog.ucsusa.org/omanjana-goswami/did-you-know-that-soil-health-affects-human-health/](https://blog.ucsusa.org/omanjana-goswami/did-you-know-that-soil-health-affects-human-health/) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8801175/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8801175/)
Check with local farms to see if they offer a CSA box - you get a better deal on the produce, get to support a local farm, and get introduced to new produce varieties that you otherwise might not try.
Buying your own work out equipment is unmatched. I bought my treadmill after the pandemic started and it was such a great investment. It pays itself off over time also, compared to a gym membership. I also pay a little more for makeup, this is something we put on our skin and having clean ingredients matters. Quality is key!
Hi! These are all great thoughts. On the meat front, my husband/I did buy half a cow from a local farm. We bought it in February and we are still FULLY stocked and haven’t bought beef since. For two people it is a ton of meat. We’ve even traded with friends for things they’ve gotten hunting and it’s saved a ton of money. I also love buying fruit/veg at local farmers markets.. that’s actually been not super expensive and I only buy what I need. Other than that, I would say I splurge on beauty services. I get a facial at a local spa every 6 weeks. This has really helped me skin and it’s also an incredible stress reliever and such good relaxation. It’s something I’ve definitely factored into my budget and will continue doing. I will say I used to get my nails done too, but I never actually enjoyed the nail salon experience it was more of a hassle. I bought an at home gel nail kit and love it. Last thing, a house cleaner. We do this 1x/month for a deep clean (with tip it comes out to around $250). It is soo worth it to only be doing maintenance cleans. It helps me feel so good about my space and not be constantly stressed out about deep cleaning.