being a woman is EXPENSIVE -.-

[latoya fox]

has anyone noticed how expensive it is to be a woman? i honestly pay more money for things than i did in my "previous life" ( i will not say male) it just feels like now that i'm living the life i always wanted, that i love spoiling myself with things, getting my hair done, shopping for clothes, etc. unlike before i spend over 700 dollars a month just to get my hair done, hair extensions, hair straightening, etc, ( otherwise i just look like some f**ked up dancing queen) what is the most expensive thing you pay for to a monthly basis?

[JRD]

My cell phone bill is the most expensive thing I pay every month, of course, its got a second line for use by my late father's girlfriend who is like a mom to me( and happens to be my immediate boss) and she will always have use of it as far as I'm concerned.

Really, I don't spend much on clothes, makeup, jewelry and such. I have someone(the lady that is mentioned above) trim my hair and color it periodically and I spend less then $100 a month average on clothes, makeup, haircare, etc. So maybe I'm cheap, but I get along fine with it. I buy good quality clothes on sale and wear them forever, lol.

[latoya fox]

you're lucky i wish i only spent that much lol.. why do you have the name big head horsey face though?

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Honestly, I just don't understand that whole thing about how you "MUST" spend all of this money on clothes, make up, etc.

Screw that.

Spending money on electro, therapy, HRT meds, surgical procedures?

Yeah, that makes more sense.

I just stick to plain women's jeans, plain women's tops and women's sneakers.

I don't need all of the stupid girly crap. I don't need to waste money on it. Dressing casual is MUCH cheaper. Besides, I already tried all of that girly crap a long time ago. *yawns* I'll pass.......

[Sarah Rose]

I'm realizing it is expensive but at the same time I no longer have 5,000 hobbies to keep my mind occupied so the money really just shifted around instead of spending more :p

[JRD]

you're lucky i wish i only spent that much lol.. why do you have the name big head horsey face though?

its not obvious?  I find it quite fitting...

got any hay?

[Jenna Marie]

Mortgage.

I dunno, once I got the initial fashion-binging out of my system, I spend like $30 every other month on clothes or makeup... probably another $30/month on hair care stuff (conditioner, detangler and curl gel, b/c I have *seriously* curly hair). I'm not sure I'm actually spending more than I did before, although I love my clothes and jewelry a lot more now!

[Emmaline]

So true latoya!

Ever notice that female clothes vs. male clothes can vary dramatically even in the same shop- it is not the fabric costs.  I think we pay a premium (on top of lower wages- yay).

For me, well I am bracing myself for the sudden influx of choice.   In boy mode- don't like clothing choices- strictly grab the basics (a cis lesbian friend says I dress like a "butch dyke") But give me girl clothes... oh my... I could shop all day.

That in itself is going to push up my budget- even though I am like horsey face (you need a more positive handle) and love an item of clothing to death.  Accessories are going to be the death of me.

Oh.. and we need multiple bags and shoes... you cannot just pull off the 'I am a guy, these are my good shoes and these are my everyday shoes'.  Grumble.  I am personally gonna work my style so doc martins rule my feet.  I will solve my red carpet shoes for the oscars later

Has anyone done the maths on their budget changes?  A ballpark like 'clothes x8' would be good.

[Missy~rmdlm]

Ongoing costs are stacking up in my pre-op path.
If anyone is interested in my hard cost number let me know, I do get some breaks through decent insurance.

[latoya fox]

no need to be so grumpy laura, and i am not a white woman honey i'm only half, so i can't just pull off going around with frizzy hair, looking raggedy. we have different hair types, and i've already had a bunch of lazor, and no big, because you don't look horsey.

[JRD]

and no big, because you don't look horsey.

Well now, that's a huge blow to my self esteem.  Thanks!

[latoya fox]

lol

[Lady_Oracle]

I'd say its completely dependent upon your lifestyle. Budgets are magic!! thrift store shopping and ebay are life savers.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

no need to be so grumpy laura, and i am not a white woman honey i'm only half, so i can't just pull off going around with frizzy hair, looking raggedy.

I didn't mean to come off as a grump. I'm most certainly a frump, though. I simply don't care about getting dolled up. All the women I've known growing up were pretty much the same way. Unless they were working in an office or getting dolled up on Saturday nights, they dressed casual.

[stephaniec]

nice sweater and skinny jeans

[Lady_Oracle]

i can't just pull off going around with frizzy hair, looking raggedy. we have different hair types

YEP! I go through hair products like crazy(specifically conditioner), having mixed hair takes a lot of special care. Frizz for me equals afro/big 80s hair.

[Katie]

You know something. I am a woman and to be honest I think I spend less than I did before. How do I say that. Well for one I am not a high maintenance gal. I do my own nails. I get my hair cut perhaps three times a year (instead of every month). I don't buy a ton of clothes. Lastly the one thing I can say I don't do is buy big toys.

In my past life I brought all sorts of toys and ->-bleeped-<-. These days that stuff is not meaningful to me and I don't find that desire to spend 40,000 dollars on a car or whatever.......


So there you have it.

Katie

[Misato]

Rent
Hair extensions (bi-monthly)
Therapy
Facials and skin care products I'm clued in on
Food
Gas
Clothes
Shoes

Used to just be video games. And travel. I miss travel. Will have to get that back on the list.

[Missadventure]

For me, well I am bracing myself for the sudden influx of choice.   In boy mode- don't like clothing choices- strictly grab the basics (a cis lesbian friend says I dress like a "butch dyke") But give me girl clothes... oh my... I could shop all day.

I'm finding this to be the case as well. In boy mode I have one style - I dress like a homeless person. I once had a friend give me a piece of cardboard on which he had painted "I am a vet, spare some change?" I dunno. I couldn't buy what I wanted, so I didn't care about what I got.

But, now that I can get what I want... Good god. The joys of shopping are hard to walk away from. I also figure that, being that I still haven't figured out a personal sense of style, I'm going through a trial and error experimentation stage. It's like being a teenager all over again.  But, as I move along in this process I'll settle into a style that is "me", and be more content about it.

thrift store shopping and ebay are life savers.

I tend to find ebay a waste of time these days. ebay had its glory days back around the turn of the mellinia, and was awesome. Now... Well, Target and Bestbuy have ebay accounts. So, I feel like I may as well just go to Target or Bestbuy and cut out the middleman...

Thrift stores, however, are a godsend. There are three where I live, and all have the most amazing finds in them for seriously cheap prices. I once scored a Neiman Marcus camel hair trench coat for $1. Some crazy woman probably paid close to $1,500 for it new.

[Adam (birkin)]

I'd say I spend more as male than female. I was rather plain as a girl though. But now, I need to get my short hair cut every month or I look like a dandelion, I pay for razors to shave my face (costs the same as monthly pads), and...well, maybe that's it. Before my only costs were pads really. Clothes stayed about the same.