The Numbers!

I have been asking around finding out what items women splurge on. I separated the items into six categories to make it simple...

• Clothing and accessories: clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses
• Food and drink: coffee, liquor, soda
• Health and beauty products: makeup, shampoo, vitamins
• Hobby: books, movies, music, crafts
• Household items: cleaning products, candles, decor
• Services: manicure, pedicures, hair cuts/colors, gym services

graph by Charlotte Madsen

 Of the people I have asked about their spending habits and what items they cannot say no to thirteen named things that could be considered needs, nine named items that were health and beauty items or services, and only one said she had to have books. Reading is one of her favorite hobbies. For most the hobby items are probably the first to go when money gets tight, but in reality it is probably healthy to do things that make you happy to help relieve the stress that a tight budget can cause.

The category most of the splurged-on-items fall into is food and drink, followed by household items. It can be argued that these types of purchases are actually necessities. The one thing I found though, is that there are certain food items and household cleaning products that women will pay top dollar for the quality of name brand goods over generic brands no matter what the cost difference. This might also be due to the fact that an expensive bag of chocolates or an air freshener can be tossed into the cart at the grocery store, which is a place where we go to buy food. Food is needed for survival, so if an item can be part of the "grocery bill" it is not really luxury or excess.

 Health and beauty products and services like clothing, shoes, makeup, manicures, and even gym memberships were the second most popular types of desired items. Women like to spend money on things that help them look and feel pretty. Many women (including myself) feel better when they look good, so it is not surprising that keeping up on the things that make us feel pretty is what we are willing to spend money on.

Surprisingly of the nine who named health and beauty purchases as their splurges, only two said that makeup was the one thing they splurge on. In fact, I found that no matter how their spending habits have changed as a result of the economy, most women have not changed how they purchase their makeup. Women who never purchased much, still purchase very little and women who have always preferred certain brands, still purchase the same amount of those same brands.

My Theory:

When the economy is down, cosmetic purchases stay the same not because more women are buying small cosmetic items to satisfy their need to shop, which fills in the empty places left by women who cannot afford makeup anymore, but because women see makeup as such a necessity that we do not buy less or settle for the lower quality brands. Women do not actually change their cosmetic spending habits at all.

An Eye for Deals

Mandy Boyer is a mother with a two-year old daughter and a baby boy on the way. She is a teacher turned stay at home mom. Her husband is a full time student who is starting medical school in the fall. Although she grew up in a house where she never wanted for much, she and her husband have lived on a tight budget since the day they got married. She makes sure that her family sticks to their budget so that they can have everything they need. As a result, Boyer has become an expert on saving money.

“I get off brands, and have started couponing in order to get what I need,” Boyer said. Boyer frequently clips coupons from the local newspaper and scours the Internet for coupons and deals. She also shares her great deals, either by posting links on Facebook or emailing coupons to her friends and family. Her two older sisters even come to her on occasion for couponing advice.

photo by Charlotte Madsen

As cost conscious as she is, Boyer still has some shopping weaknesses. One of her weaknesses is eye makeup. “It's just my favorite. I can't go without eyeliner longer than a couple days, if that.” Cosmetics are not her only weakness though: “I always have to have name brand cereal. I try to find deals but if I can't, I get it anyway!”