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Collegiettes, you deserve a fabulous life—even if your college budget isn’t exactly fabulous. Why not enjoy a little luxe for less from time to time? Check out a few ways to enjoy life’s luxuries without emptying your bank account!
1. Know Where to Shop
“Outlet mall”: two of my favorite words in the world. When it comes to clothing, I would rather have a few quality pieces than buy a ton of cheaper, trendier clothes that will just fall apart after a few washes. However, as a recent grad, my budget doesn’t quite allow for frequent trips to high-end boutiques (hello, student loan bills—so not nice to see you). That doesn’t mean I have to skimp on quality, though! I’ll gladly take a mini road trip to an outlet mall or factory store to get good clothing for cheap prices. In fact, I just hit up some factory stores this past weekend; “Labor Day weekend sales” are some more of my favorite words.
2. Take Yourself Out to Dinner (at Home!)
As much as I would love to treat myself to fabulous restaurant dinners every weekend, if I actually did, I would probably run out of money to buy groceries for the other five days of the week. So every so often, I’ll put my culinary skills to the test and actually attempt to create something fancy I’ve pinned to my recipe board on Pinterest (shocking, I know). You know who deserves strawberry balsamic caprese chicken, a side of sautéed spinach with garlic and lemon and a mini caramel macchiato tiramisu for dessert? You do! Cooking for yourself at home is much cheaper than going out to dinner, and you can still enjoy some pretty delicious meals while doing so (just don’t expect them to look exactly like the original pins). Put on some classy music, and you’re basically dining in a five-star establishment.
3. Go on a Mini-Vacay
You go to class there and you sleep there, but how well do you really know the town your school is located in? Instead of going on a full-fledged vacation, I love to take weekend “staycations” and explore Boston (the city I live in). I’ll spend time walking around and discovering new places as well as trying out the touristy things that one-visitors would do but I never actually have. Sometimes I’ll even check out a nearby town just to see what they have to offer!
4. Go to “the Spa”
I adore getting my nails done, but not so much that I would give up, you know, heating my apartment in order to afford a biweekly mani/pedi. So from time to time I’ll take a “me day” and pamper myself with a DIY manicure and pedicure. I’ll do the whole shebang: soak my feet like they do at the nail salon (read: stick my feet in the bathtub), use a body scrub, apply some good-smelling lotion and maybe even try a cool nail design. The best part of my relaxation time is that it’s free! Ahh.
How do you get luxe for less, collegiettes? Let us know in the comments below!
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