Quote from: Katie on January 15, 2014, 07:39:44 PM
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.......

Oh my, you're so right!

The amount I spent on toys, thrills and doing silly things in the last 10 years of my former life... Could easily have paid for SRS a number of times over.

 latoya im right there with ya i like nice things and will fork out the case for it. Also I shop at a specialty store long tall sally cause i'm tall and their clothing is more money LOL

just because i like to get my hair and nails done, doesn't mean i'm high maintanance thanks, and yes lady oracle, but i don't have fro lol. i just have so much volume that i have to get it flattend

Expensive perhaps, worth it? Absolutely!!

Latoya, is your avatar you? Gorgeous!

I spend about $50 on makeup but then I spend $40 on HRT. I have my wardrobe and I live in Philly so I hit soup kitchens (I'm poor and live with my BF and we are scraping by) and I'm piecing the est of my wardrobe there. I got like three quality pairs of skinnies and a pair ofripped  jean capris (BDG, Express and Sample). I got tops covered, got a bunch of 34D and 36C bras. Both fit. The former better and is my fave.

Seriously, I got this free empire waisted, plunging neckline black print romper. OMG it's the best fine ever. But if I had more money I'd be saving for one thing: GCS. Maybe a score a job with city gov't and get it fo free. The most low maintenance cut is a pixie which I rock like Michelle Williams and it looks totally femme. But yeah its way more expensive then that other life but so worth every penny. Gawd, I love clothes. Seriously my whole life I have reamed of shopping malls and now it's real!!!!

Jez, now I want a new bag. All I have is this duffel. I also only wear a pair of keds and two pairs of ballet flats. But its working. Cant wait for summer!!!!

It depends on how girly you are.

If your plain than I guess it would be cheaper being a woman, But if your more glam it does cost.

It's a necessary evil. I don't mind it though whatever it takes to achieve the look I'm going for. The longer you're in the game the more you find ways to get around certain things.   

High 5 Latoya I know EXACTLY what you mean...lol

I spend nothing because I'm still forced to live as a male :/ and the makeup I have was given to me

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on January 15, 2014, 05:46:45 PM
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.......

>sniff< I like my girly crap...

I'm old so I like to dish on good cosmetics and skin care products. Don't have everyone here's natural beauty so I need every advantage I can get

RANT
I will never pay retail for anything ever!
I don't play the fashion game and never cared what anyone thought of me because they are simply not qualified to do so!
I am past all of that submitting myself to the approval of strangers!
My friends are chosen from among those who do not judge me on my appearances, but for my bright and shining spirit!
As far as I am concerned, it is society at large that needs the makeover!
I am free of needless spending altogether!
END RANT

Wait....ok, I'll pay up for decent leather shoes and boots, and half-decent quality make-up...ok ok, panties & bras, those are important too, and well, you know, clothes, you have to have current stuff. Alright, a few..make that at least a dozen decent handbags and did I mention having a decent shoe rotation? It's important. Perfumes, lotions, you know..my pharmacy makes more money off me than my local friendly supermarket. OK ..so after all the 'essentials'...Expensive? nahh.

I buy classy fabrics at local Pakistani shop and make my own skirts at about $5 each so I always have new ones. 
As everything I have is pink/red/purple or black and white I can mix and match endlessly.
I have zero interest in any sort of trousers no matter what cut, fabric or colour everyone else is wearing.
I do have some trainers/sneakers? for when I go exploring along streams or backstreets.

You're funny Trisha...that twas good and made me smile.

thank you michelle.

lol joanna, you sound like me

Yep, it's true - it costs more to be a girl. As a dude I could get by with a couple pairs of jeans, a few worn t-shirts & sweatshirts, a few button down shirts & some dockers for work, a pair of sneakers, and a couple of pairs of brown & black dress shoes.

As an "older" gal I need a wig (the prices i've seen on a human hair wigs are $700 and up - eeek!!!), makeup (the eyeshadow I recently bought at Sephora was $60), clothes, shoes (my weakness LOL....), my transitiong meds and my therapist & endo visits (mostly paid out of pocket since my insurance only covers E and spiro), legal costs for my name change, and so on - and I haven't even considered cosmetic surgery and GRS costs yet - it all adds up.

There are things that you can do of course to trim these costs like catch sales and shop at thrift stores, and you must decide what things are a necessity and what things are a luxury that can be put off until later. We all have to manage our funds and we all make decisions about the way that we live and what we "need" based on our funds.

Are the costs worth it to live an authentic life? Absolutely.

Quote from: latoya fox on January 16, 2014, 08:42:45 AM
lol joanna, you sound like me

Hehe great minds think alike! IDK, shopping really is a big part of being a girl. I know of no girl that doesn't always look nice. And shops. And loves shopping. I can't think of one. Well maybe my bestie from college but shes femme and is also so pretty she could be on Vogue so she can put on a trash bag and look like a bombshell.

You dont even have to spend tons of money but I totally understand about your hair. I'm white but am friends with women of color and their haircuts are so expensive but ya gotta look good. My mom spends $150 a month on her hair alone and she is 68 and not running for beauty queen.

I was so totlly thinking of making a topic like this the other day when I was longing for money and needed this shimmering bronzer they have at rite aid. They have a tester and every time i go in and im all up on it and every other tster lol

I actually hate shopping.  I'm indecisive and there are too many choices for girls. I have times I want to be girly and I agonize over my choices. But yeah,  "girly" stuff does cost more!
Of course that's all aside from working on physical body change.
It can be expensive to present in a way that we project our expectations of social response.
Coming from a cis woman that generally behaves tomboy.

Never meant you were high maintenance just meant that sometimes having nice things can cost a lot is all.

Quote from: Lana P on January 15, 2014, 09:25:18 PM
latoya im right there with ya i like nice things and will fork out the case for it. Also I shop at a specialty store long tall sally cause i'm tall and their clothing is more money LOL

checked out your blog , it's nice

Quote from: Katie on January 15, 2014, 07:39:44 PM
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).

Yep, hair is actually way more high maintenance as a man for me. Before if it got too long, I'd pull it back. Now I look positively awful if it's not kept up.

I just spent $180 on a small work out wardrobe and my wife is so mad at me for not asking her.. I feel terrible but they're so nice