FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and Level Up
I have recently been embracing the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement and while I’d describe myself as a tentative subscriber to this school of thought I wanted to discuss how no one has bridged the gap between Levelling Up and FIRE.
Most of the female FIRE influencers pay no regard to fashion or beauty, instead espousing saving 70% of your income to invest it. Most FIRE ladies don’t spend anything at all on grooming. While I have an entire chapter in my book, Feminine Energy 101, dedicated to advice regarding levelling up on a budget, I admit no one can do it for £0. Even if someone else is financing your level up, there is a cost involved.
Levelling Up
Even if someone else is financing your Level Up, there is still a cost involved.
So can you be both? Can you both keep levelling up (which is a perpetual journey that will never end) and save parsimoniously to invest and retire before the national retirement age (currently age 68 in England)? You might not be able to hit the 70% savings mark, but 50% would be a good start to your journey to FIRE. So let’s delve in about ways you can be both committed to financial independence and look like you’ve spent a million pounds on yourself!
Skin
Get educated! I studied Caroline Hiron’s book ‘Skin Care’ like a textbook, carefully making notes and planning out my skin care regime for my skin type based on the information in the book. The more information you have the more armed you are against marketing campaigns convincing you to buy products for things you may not need, for issues you may not even have! My absolute essentials are botox twice a year, tretinoin, azelaic acid and SPF. Anything else on top is a ‘nice to have’ which I will only permit myself to buy if my savings goal for that month has been met. Meaning they make a bit of improvement to my skin, but its only really noticeable to me unlike the other four things which make a huge difference.
Get Educated
The more knowledge you have the less susceptible you will be to marketing campaigns. You’ll only spend money on products which actually make a difference to YOUR skin and be able to hit your savings / investment goals for the month.
Hair
Learn to do things yourself. Colouring my own hair is a pain in the bum- but at least at home I can be listening to an audiobook or watching something on YouTube. I can also do it for pennies by mixing up the colour dye and hydrogen peroxide myself. If you’re worried about stains etc.. I have a very old video advising you how not to stain anything, essentially sit at a desk with a mirror when you do it (don’t do it in the bathroom). I use one tube of colour per month and the developer lotion lasts me about four months. Walking around with grey roots is a definite no no. Of course, you can choose to embrace the grey, in that case get all of your hair coloured to the same grey shade and rock it. Roots make you look like you don’t prioritise yourself and gives rise to a whole host of negative connotations. So either go grey all over or stay on top of your roots.
Keep on top of your Roots
Walking around with grey roots (or brown/black if you are a bottle blonde) is a definite no no for someone on a Level Up journey. Learn how to colour your hair at home and do it for pennies.
Visible roots of a different colour make you look as though you don’t prioritise yourself.
Colour your hair at home so you can both look wealthy and be on your way to wealth, meeting your investment goals for the month instead of spending your “wealth creation money” in the salon.
Nails
I also do my own nails, I chose a rather extreme route and decided to get qualified as a nail technician. This was expensive and getting all the kit was costly. However, in about seven months I’ll break even. Acrylic or gel manicures are £35 in my town and last two weeks. If I went full throttle, fingers and toes, that’s £140 per month I’d be spending just in the nail salon. I did attempt to learn for free using YouTube tutorials but it just wasn’t working for me, my gel manicures only lasted a few days. I needed to attend an in person course with fellow students and a teacher. The money it will save me on salon trips though, means it will pay for itself. You might have better luck learning from YouTube, meaning you would only need to invest in the equipment.
Manicure & Pedicure
Well groomed nails are an essential feature of a Levelled Up lady. Your nails are always noticed by others. Short, clean nails are fine if a bit clinical, but why not have fun and learn some va-va-voom techniques?
Learning to do them yourself means you can easily do a pedicure as well when you do your mani, meaning your feet are always beach ready.
General Grooming
Prioritise doing things in your grooming routine that only cost you once. There are many grooming treatments that only require you to pay once upfront and then there are no further on-going costs. Dry body brushing for example, once you’ve bought the brush you are going to use, there are no further expenses. You just need the discipline to actually brush your skin every day. Compare that to covering your body in lotion, cheap yes, but not free. The lotion does eventually run out and you have to buy more. (Perhaps you could argue the dry body brush is going to wear out but mine is still going strong after ten years of daily use). If you have dry skin then body lotion would be an essential for you but for me its not necessary at all, the brushing alone makes my skin soft. Other things that only require a once only cost: Gua Sha stone, jade roller and Refa Caxa Ray.
Prioritise Once Only Costs
There are many grooming treatments that only require you to pay once upfront and then there are no further on-going costs.
These types of treatment can really help you level up your grooming routine and look without impacting on your savings and investment goals for the month.
Mix up cheap with more pricey products. More expensive doesn’t mean better which is why getting educated and reading up about beauty and grooming is so essential. Be a sleuth when using new products, take photos of yourself to document your progress. Just because this new eye cream works on other people doesn’t mean it will have any affect on you at all. I remember paying £125 for a serum that really didn’t make my skin look any different to another one I found for £2.50. Ouch! That was an expensive lesson! I’ve also spent £40 on Lancome mascara only to be disappointed when I realised Maybelline Great Lash is still the ultimate and best mascara at less than half the price. My Babyliss curling tongs that cost £25 still curl my hair better and more effectively than my platinum GHDs. I bought my GHD straighteners second hand but brand new they are retailing at £230! So although there are many companies vying for the money of a woman who cares about her appearance, you often don’t have to spend very much at all to get the look you want.
Tips for FIRE and LU
(Level Up)
*Set yourself a spending limit for ‘grooming’. If you hit the limit, then your spending is done. You’ll get paid next month, you’ll be able to get whatever it is then.
*Educate yourself. Knowledge is power. The more you know the more bang you’ll get for your buck. I recommend five books in particular: Skin Care by Caroline Hirons, 90 days to beautiful hair by Crystal Aguh, Pretty iconic and Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes, How to Look Expensive by Andrea Pomerantz Lustig and How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp. You can find all of these in your library.
*Learn to do things yourself. With a bit of judicious searching (or paying for tuition like me) you’ll be able to do home facials, colour your roots, manicures, pedicures and everything else besides. The only things I pay someone else to do for me is to inject botox and cut my hair. Nowhere am I advising you to cut your own hair!
*Document everything! What products actually work for your skin and hair, what make-up looks great on you and what is just ‘nice to have’. This will give you your list of essentials. It will be different to mine. Not everyone needs azelaic acid in their skin care regime.
*You might not be able to afford a £30 exfoliant every single month AND hit your FIRE goals. Very expensive products (I class this as anything priced over £20 for 50ml) you’re unlikely to be able to buy regularly and meet your goals. In which case remember working less, retiring early and being less stressed will have a tremendous effect on your looks, perhaps much more than the exfoliant ever would. Remember many women are buying such expensive products to combat the battering their body, skin and hair is getting from over-work. You’ll be leisurely milling about, reading a book for pleasure, lovingly making dinner and going for an after dinner walk with your family. Or you can buy the exfoliant, forget about your retirement early plans and need as many chemicals to fight the stress. Put in perspective it isn’t a difficult choice to make. You don’t need it.
The Inside that Counts?
If you’ve read all this and are thinking how superficial it all is, how I’ve devoted an entire blog post to looking good while meeting investment goals, making female investors look like airheads, well I agree it should be what is on the inside that matters, but that isn’t what happens in reality. Looks matter. They matter even more for women. The feminist in me hates this but one can’t fight reality.
If you don’t believe me, do an internet search for ‘Halo Effect’. It is in your best interests to look as good as you possibly can. If you neglect your appearance while meeting your investment goals it is likely going to affect your life in a negative way.
If you’d like to discuss any aspect of levelling up or feminine energy with me then please schedule an appointment, subscribe to my newsletter and check out my book, Feminine Energy 101.