I’ll admit it: I don’t currently have acrylic nails and only tried them once in my life (it didn’t appeal to me). But, because of a chance encounter, I recently started thinking: How much do acrylic nails cost anyway?
It all started with an innocent date night. Mr. C and I went to a small, locally-owned Italian restaurant for our weekly date. (Yeah, 19 years later and we will still DATE!) The proprietor is a friendly woman who takes time to get to know and build relationships with her customers. Pleasantries and small talk took us to our five kids that we left at home for the evening. We are pretty used to people’s surprise when we tell them we have five kids, because, apparently, no one has that many kids anymore! It’s like being in an exclusive club. As soon as you reveal you have a large family, people immediately begin telling you everyone they know who also has a large family.
And so that’s how this conversation went. Ms. Propietor quickly revealed that her son and his wife just found out they were unexpectedly expecting–twins! The problem in their eyes? They already had two children. Two plus two equals FOUR! YIKES!
The Stress of Money on Family Life
She quickly explained how worried the family was about how they would afford so many kids. We smiled our smiles and shrugged our shoulders. Our standard answer came out, “Kids really cost as much as you decide to spend.” Having survived on one modest income for all but three months of our 19 years together, welcoming five kids, and paying for two bachelor’s along with three master’s degrees leaves us pretty confident that if we can do it, anyone can. Especially if you have two incomes (which apparently this couple had)! Ms. Propiertor quickly agreed: there is always a way to manage. Then she shrugged her own shoulders and confided, “After all, she drives into the city [45 minutes each way] every two weeks to go to the nail salon for her acrylic nails.”
We all nodded our admittedly self-righteous heads and went our separate ways. But it did get me thinking!
How Much do Acrylic Nails Cost Anyway?
In the interest of full disclosure, I have only gone to a nail salon four times in my entire life. Once the day before I got married, once on a whim for my birthday (my only encounter with acrylics) and again right before the births of #4 and #5. (I could no longer reach my feet and had learned that I feel really, really yucky after C-sections and if I could at least look down at gorgeous feet I would feel slightly less miserable).
I dug around and found some nail salons in my area that list prices. After looking at list prices (that just say something like “$35/up) and searching blogs like this one, I decided that $40 for a full set of acrylics was pretty darn reasonable and perhaps downright cheap depending on all the special designs that are very common. Then I discovered you have to return every two weeks to get things touched up as they grow out which would set you back at least $30. And let’s not forget the $25 pedicure that most people get when they have their nails done. There can be a host of other services, but I’ll be conservative and stick with the basics of nails.
Monthly Cost of Acrylic Nails and Pedicures
That means you will spend about $70 for your fingers and $50 for your feet in a month assuming you go to the salon twice a month.
Oh, but let’s not forget tipping! Although I HATE the lack of transparency associated with tipping (seriously, set your prices to actually PAY for your people or station and let me know upfront what this service will actually cost me!) I don’t want to take advantage of people who aren’t compensated properly. Going with a basic 20% (no, really it’s outrageous how much you need to tip so people can survive on their ridiculous paycheck) as is set out in this article on tipping, would mean you would pay at least an additional $26 tips in a month. Although, as tips tend to get rounded up I’m going to say tips will cost more around $30 every month.
Yearly Cost of Acrylic Nails and Pedicures
Where does that leave us? A total of $70 for acrylic nails, $50 for pedicures, and then $30 for tips gets us to a grand total of $150 every month. That’s $1,800 EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. Wow! This doesn’t even count the cost of transportation. No wonder Ms. Propietor thought there was room in the budget to wiggle in two extra kiddos.
(In case you are wondering, I’m not just out to attack the cost of acrylic nails. This conversation could easily be applied to any number of self-care services.)
The Value of Acrylic Nails Over Time
And now the mathematician in me really started to show up! What would happen over the minimum eighteen years that those twins would be in the house with mom and dad? I decided to look at what would happen if mom decided to forgo the salon visits and put that money in some ETFs that track the S&P500? And I’m not interested in some future value that doesn’t reflect reality because it completely ignores inflation. No, I want to know how much money mom could have saved up in today’s value.
*Assumptions: Here’s what I did: Since we don’t know what will happen in the future, I decided to look at the past 18 years of data. I looked at returns from the S&P500 as well as inflation over the same period. Although it’s admittedly over-simplified, I subtracted the inflation rate from the S&P500’s return rate to get a yearly return on investment and assumed $1,800 would be invested at the beginning of every year.
Here are the numbers:
Suddenly, nails alone have turned into almost $70,000! And check out the profits from investing!
The profits are actually MORE than the money that would have been invested. And remember this time period covers the Great Recession when the economy tanked.
How to Slash the Cost of Acrylic Nails
Unlike some budget analyzers (mostly men?) out there, I do realize that nails are about more than just money. This mom of soon-to-be-four kids didn’t drive an hour and a half every few weeks just to spend money. There is obviously an emotional component that numbers don’t account for. I don’t think giving up nails is the only way to go here.
But I am adamant there is always an alternative that can be friendly to both your wallet and your emotions.
DIY
First and foremost, I did a quick search on doing your own acrylic nails at home. After perusing some sites I think this is a legitimate alternative for someone determined to learn how it’s done. From experience doing my own nails (not acrylic though), cutting kids’ hair, and even highlighting my own, I am sure there will be a learning curve. The first few times might not come out just as you like, but you will learn and get better! You have probably already watched the process numerous times. Also, there are a ton of blogs and videos that show you how to do it. Here is just one of many sites outlining the process. And here is a video that claims to be great for beginners.
There are other benefits to doing your nails yourself! This could be an awesome creative outlet for you. It also allows more flexibility of when you can change your color or design. Perhaps you have a daughter or friend you can do it with.
Obviously, the health of your nails and avoiding any fungus (yuck!) is at the top of your list, so make sure you read up and keep things safe!
Simple Alternatives
Another way to save money might be to find an easier alternative. How about keeping your own nails and painting them? You can use regular polish or advance to a gel. Here is a video with awesome tips for gel polish. (Yeah, I am way too lazy for this!) Since gel extensions don’t damage the nail bed, that might also be a good option for DIYers. Or try alternatives that are specifically targeted to DIYers who like salon acrylic nails, but don’t like the time and cost that go with a salon.
Take these fake nails for instance.
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/KISS-Salon-Acrylic-French-Nails/dp/B08D8Z98CD?keywords=Kiss+Salon+Acrylic+Nude+French+Manicure+-+Leilani+-+28ct&qid=1639686368&s=beauty&sr=1-1&linkCode=li2&tag=paintthebudge-20&linkId=48bf513f6a85a54b760ee5713ec19fd4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08D8Z98CD&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=paintthebudge-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=paintthebudge-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B08D8Z98CD" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />I was rather surprised to see what great reviews these nails have.
Another option that was new to me were these gel thingamajigs from Dashing Diva available at Target They are like polish in stick-on form, completely forming to your own nail. Most reviewers loved them, with a few having issues. As with anything, it probably gets better as you learn how to use them properly. One reviewer said she had great success using a top coat for extra protection.
As far as the pedicure goes, once again, you have probably seen the process dozens of times. Get yourself some foot scrubbers and nail polish. If you can’t reach your feet, you might have a problem. It might be a good time to work on some flexibility, but that might not be realistic depending on your physical condition. Thankfully, pedicures last longer than manicures and are cheaper than acrylics.
Keep Your Salon Nails
And if your salon acrylic nails are truly something that gives you an immense amount of pleasure, find a way to KEEP THEM! Just make sure you compensate by either cutting things in your budget that don’t give you the same joy or finding a way to bring in an additional $150 every month. Is it worth working overtime for? Or maybe you would rather get rid of your lawn guy? You could also try reselling unused items or shopping at thrift stores.
Or perhaps you can save the salon only for special holidays or occasions?
If you simply can’t find the money to keep your salon trips, give yourself some grace and realize that your current financial situation doesn’t need to be the same a decade from now. Use the promise of a return to the salon as a way to motivate yourself to improve your financial outlook. Put a TEMPORARY pause on the salon trips. Look at your current financial obligations (like a house, car, or twins perhaps?) and find the happiness that they bring you.
I would certainly take the kids over my nails any day, wouldn’t you?
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