Why I "starve" for beauty

Food has never been an importance or a huge priority in my life. Ever since I was in primary school, I would skip recess time and sit in the library to save my $2 for lunch to buy mcdonalds double cheese burger (now its $3.10 lol) after school. Sometimes I would even skip an entire week of recess to save up enough money to buy manga (almost $20) over the course of few weeks. The habit to skip meals so I can afford to buy what I want has always been ingrained in me since young. My dad once told me, its better to buy material goods that could last long and serve you purpose than to buy expensive food and it'll all turn into poop, literally. As I grew into a teenger, more expensive and valuable things motivated me to skip buying meals & save money to spent on. Cosplay items, kpop albums, concert tickets, figurines, chocolates and more cut into my expenses as I grew into a teenager. I could do all these by bringing home cooked food to school and not starve myself for it. Now approaching to adulthood, my priorities has changed even more since then. With vanity and beauty perking my interest, my expenses has expand to even more luxurious things. Personally, I view this as a part of self investment that can reward me instantly and increase in value in the long run. A tale as old, woman values her beauty. And who doesn't want to feel beautiful and kept even in her golden years? If I could do what I could to make myself feel good, oh heck I would. Facials, spas, hair salons, manipedis, skincare, hair removals, laser removals, gyms, pilates classes, collagen jelly, birdnest, has racked up heavily on my expenses. Food has never been my forte and doing all these self care has made me so happy and content about myself. To me, this is self love. Keeping my skin fed is more important than keeping my stomach fed. As long as I satiate my hunger enough so that I no longer feel hungry, I'm happy. It is healthy too. Over eating n overindulgement is a terrible thing you can do for your body. It kills 2 birds with 1 stone, saving money to buy beauty stuffs & make yourself beautiful, and also preventing yourself from overeating and gaining unhealthy weight. Granted, I'm not a foodie myself. I could live without buying a $6 bubble tea or a starbux coffee. I actively choose to drink mineral water that costs 50c from the supermarket. All my meals are usually drank with only water and you will be surprised how much money sweet drinks can rake up the bill. I am also not a huge fan of buying sugary things because sugar will age and wrinkle you faster (glycation) . It is only a lose-lose situation from buying sweets, costs money and ages you, taste good momentarily but the risk of diabetes isn't. As much as I have a sweet tooth, I could live without much of it. Of course eating snacks and sweets should be in moderation. The only times I eat them is when I'm gifted chocolates and candies from my friends or colleagues as souveniers, which I will happily indulge it in for free. An alternate way I can enjoy sweets without it being unhealthy would be freeze dried strawberries and dark chocolates. Buttt they are expensive and I'm okay to have without it. My other alternate way to curb my sweet craving is to consume my collagen jelly as a snack or drink my green tea chia lemon with honey, which helps me aloot and is a much better alternative.

Now that I live on my own, I tend to cook my own meals and I prefer it that way. Instead of buying food that might cost about $6, buying groceries of $20 can last me about an entire week's worth of meals ($2.50 each)! I can control what I eat and how much healthier my meals are. The amount of MSG and oil used in outside cooks put me off. I would have to think twice to spent $20 on an unhealthy cafe meal than to splurge on a $2k facial package for the year. In my eyes, that $20 meal will turn into poop and doesn't bring much "value" into my well being, other than filling up my belly with mediocre food and aesthetic vibes. On the other hand, spending money on a good beauty salon not only feels good to pampering & loving myself, but heals my soul and relaxes me which brings more treat to my well being than a mere meal could do for me. Maybe because I have yet to find love in food , and my love for vanity and self relaxation is placed at a much much higher priority for me.

Ever since renting out on my own, the thought of buying a $6 sukiya meal is such a huge dilemma for me. In fact my food & grocery expenses for the month is only kept under $200. I will be talking about how I manage to keep my expenses under $300 in my next post. I have known people who spent at least $1k on food and that is not inclusive of their groceries. On average, I would have $800 more to spend than the average person by cutting down my food expenses, cooking at home and drinking only water and not snacking on sweets. In that $800, one can spend $200 on a facial, $200 on pilates, $100 on manipedi and $300 on hair salon. So which would you guys prefer? Investing on yourself for beauty or indulge in food?

#GirlTalk #savingmoney #beautyhacks