While I really enjoy the pampered feeling I get along with getting a manicure and pedicure, I have found four greater reasons for including a nail category in my monthly budget!
1. BREAK A HABIT. My name is Myra and I'm a recovering nail-biter. I'd like to blame the awful habit on my dad, who is even worse than I am about picking and biting his nails, but let's be honest: that's just an excuse. And habits are hard to break. Even with my husband constantly bugging me to stop. It's a habit. And I'm almost free from it! Since moving to New York, I have managed to keep my hands out of my mouth! Getting a weekly manicure significantly helps me to not bite my nails. Biting typically stems from seeing a hanging nail or imperfection in the cuticle and working to "fix" it by biting off the loose epidermis. (I feel a lot more grossed out about nail biting when I talk about the actual act rather than just obliviously doing it.) So, when my nails are properly manicured, I lose the excuse to "fix" them! My manicures started out with really short nails but have eventually grown to be a very comfortable length that looks natural; no longer stubby! I keep them short compared to most people while I get used to the couple of extra centimeters I have on the end of my fingers. Sadly, I have scratched myself in the eye and some other weird "I forgot my fingers were longer" things when they've been a little too long. But I just laugh and smile because I have finger nails again!
2. CHEAP. For some reason, manicures are INSANELY cheap in my neighborhood. Within a ten minute walk, there are approximately thirteen nail salons. I go back and forth between the two that are less than two minutes from my place. Almost every one of them runs the same special: Mon-Wed, Mani and Pedi for FOURTEEN DOLLARS!! Yes, $14US dollars. Regularly, it's $16. That's still cheaper than just a pedicure near the place I lived in Fort Worth. But, that's a little out of budget, and my toes don't need a weekly pedicure. I just throw some crackle polish on top and they're good for several weeks. So, I instead opt for the any-day-of-the-week $6 manicure. Yeah, that could be an order of Chinese food or a drink during happy hour, but it could mean that my nails stay out of my mouth and looking pretty for a week. When manicures are $6/week, I'll find room in the budget for that!
3. HEALTH. When I taught elementary school, I had the best immune system out of all first year teachers, people who most notoriously get sick from exposure to all the new germs that come from your students. I like to think I've got such a great immune system because I'm so good at sharing! Germaphobes aside, anyone who wanted a taste of my smoothie or to double dip their fries never bothered me. I'm guessing I just built up a pretty good tolerance. But my medical minded husband is very quick to remind me just how dirty New York City is. How many times you come into contact with something that thousands of other people have touched, like the subway poles. And I know he's right. Subway germs are not something I want to be putting into my mouth. So sitting for a long period of time, when I'd normally be biting my nails unknowingly, I am now able to consciously keep my nails free from the grip of my teeth and trapped on my hands (or sleeves--I'm learning!) until I get home and wash them first thing!
4. SELF-CONFIDENCE. The last reason I'm willing to allot money for such a luxury is because it makes a tremendous difference on my self-confidence. Think about it. My hands are something I see all the time. And when I see ugly, stubby fingers that I'm constantly chewing on, I feel grossly unattractive. But now, I look down when I'm typing and see nails! I type on my phone and feel the tap from my short, squared and painted tip. I play my trumpet and look at how beautiful my fast moving fingers flow through the scale patterns. I love it. I love feeling pretty. It's amazing, and maybe a little sad, how my confidence relies so much on the beauty of my hands. But it is what it is. And my self-confidence is much closer to where it should be thanks to getting to look at some lovely hands all day long! Even my wedding ring looks prettier! :D
And speaking of my husband, he is 110% in favor of this. He sees the improvement in my confidence, knows I'm healthier, loves looking at my beautiful hands and no longer has to constantly pester me to stop biting. He will actually remind me to go get a manicure when my polish starts chipping. He's more than ok skipping out on Starbucks and Chinese to have a happier wife! He's pretty special.
What does that mean for my budget? Well, if I budget a pedicure a month, plus four manicures (and a little extra incase the month happens to fall with 5 weeks on the day I get manicures), then I would need to set aside about $40. The unused money rolls
These are NOT my nails; they're a friend of mine's! I loved them so much, I took a picture and left it as the lock screen on my phone for motivation.
These are not how my nails look after a manicure! This is after my husband and I volunteered at a community center. The white is primer splatter from a roller. It just goes to show how pretty I think my hands are that I'd take a picture with my husband's hand even with them covered in paint splatter and unpainted <well, sort of> nails!
And here's how my nails look after a mani/pedi! I'd say I'm spoiled, but we're making the necessary sacrifices to reap the rewards!
