I’ve had gel or dipped nails for over 5 years now. and now that were getting super strict about our budget, I’ve decided that my manicure needs to go as well.
If you asked me 6 months ago if id ever volunteer to give up my manicure, i’d say absolutely not. Actually, Stephen and I had a long discussion about this one night and I had put my foot down that our budget WOULD allow the room for me to get my nails done every other week.
I’ve lived INCREDIBLY comfortable while being broke, trying to keep up with what I felt was the demands of the world only to find out it was really just the devil’s influence.
Stephen has been incredible about calling my debt OUR debt, and that we’ll tackle it together. My debt is causing him to give up a lot, and i’ve decided this is one thing I can do to show him how serious I am, but also how much I appreciate the sacrifices that he’s making.
To give you an idea of how I got to a debt number of $40,000+:
I went to Ireland, Cabo and Jamaica all on a credit card.
I bought a new laptop I really didn’t need.
I furnished my new home – living room, dinning room and master bedroom.
I purchased appliances for my new home – Refrigerator, Washer and Dryer.
I spent thousands of dollars on Lululemon to stay with what was trendy and popular…like the rest of the world.
I bought a Peloton bike I didn’t need…which has now been sold to pay down debt.
Honestly, those are only the things I can quickly think of.
Some things on my card I couldn’t avoid. I had a bad crack on my windshield that had to get replaced…$500 repair. My turbo in my VW needed to be replaced…that was $3,000. I didn’t have the cash this year to pay my taxes, so I put another $1,000 on my credit card.
But now, as a penalty, not a punishment because its the right, adult decision to make, i’m choosing to give up my manicures. Right now i’m spending $53 every other week…That’s $106 a month, for 5 years, which equals out to over $6,000 I’ve spent on manicures…and that’s just manicures. With that realization, I’ve decided I’m enjoying my last manicure right now.
Because I know my nails are going to be a disaster, I did some research on how to repair and strengthen my nails! These’s are the products I purchased:
- Butter London Horse Power Nail Rescue Basecoat – The reviews on this product are really good and lots are from women who had gel nails and were trying to repair as well!
- Hard As Hoof Nail Strengthening Cream – I LOVE to buy products that are listed as #1 Best Sellers on Amazon, and this product is one of those. With over 1,300 reviews, i’m hopeful that the results are as wonderful as the reviews make it seem! The description says that it prevents splits, peels, chips and cracks even in the most severe case. I haven’t seen what’s under my SNS dip polish yet, but i’m assuming i’m one of the severe cases.
- Revlon CrazyShine Nail Buffer– Everything that i’ve read has said that besides keeping your nails trimmed and short, you also need to keep them buffed, so I bought this buffer to help keep them smooth and shiny.
- Ella+Mila Soy Nail Polish Remover – This is a soy based, acetone nail polish remover that contains lavender essential oils and Vitamins A, C, E oil. These ingredients promote healthy and moisturizing nails without drying out your skin or damaging your nails or cuticles.
- Ella + Mila Love Collection – Stuck on You polish – I know that it’ll be tough for me to not have any color on my nails, so I decided to get a pale pink to enjoy a few weeks after having naked nails. What I really like about the Ella + Mila brand is that they are vegan and animal cruelty free, while also not containing 7 common chemical: Formaldehyde, Toluene, DiButyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor, Triphenyl Phosphate (TPHP) and Xylene.
I have another week and a half or so to enjoy this mani, so i’ll keep you posted on how the healing goes after the removal!
From City Life to Homestead Living 